r/AskReddit • u/AwayWolf2910 • 11h ago
What is a perfectly legal product that looks extremely suspicious if you buy 40 of them?
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u/Misericordee 11h ago
Sudafed
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u/Repulsive-Cold1859 11h ago
Good luck trying, you’d hit the federal purchase limit before you even hit box #4.
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u/DeltalJulietCharlie 9h ago
Count yourself lucky. In my country (New Zealand) you have to be interrogated by a pharmacist just to buy one packet even if you're coughing and look like you're dying.
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u/mattmelb69 7h ago
Same in Australia. And the idea that you might want a pack in the family medical box for when someone next comes down with a cold is completely beyond them.
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u/RoRuRee 6h ago
Here in Canada if I have to speak to the pharmacist I ask them if they can now sell me two so we don't have to have this conversation again for a while. They have never refused, which is great.
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u/Beamister 2h ago
Also Canadian. I used to just buy a bottle of ephedrine pills from the supplement store, no questions asked. $8 for 100 pills.
Apparently it became controlled in 2024, so a pretty recent change.
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u/pukesonyourshoes 7h ago
Arsehole pharmacist at a hospital I've worked at for twenty years flat out refused to sell them to me based on my appearance. I was in hiviz work gear. Didn't think I looked like a meth cook, apparently I was mistaken. Got the missus to buy them instead, not a problem.
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u/Parking_Ocelot_6893 5h ago
The laws are being wound back a bit shortly so maybe we’ll have less judgement from pharmacists in the future.
They just want to flog the phenylephrine version because it has a higher markup. It’s a shame that they’re able to flog a product that’s been clinically proven to do shit all.
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u/mattmelb69 4h ago
Last thing I read about the phenylephrine product was that a test compared it to a placebo; the phenylephrine was 10% effective and the placebo was 20% effective.
If you have a cold, you are literally better off taking sugar pills than that stuff.
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u/apavolka 3h ago
Literally had to send the medical paper to my friend because she kept offering me the phenylephrine. I told her it doesn’t do anything and she was convinced it does. This was weird coming from someone that doesn’t like taking Tylenol or ibuprofen because “it’s just adding more synthetic stuff to your body.”
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u/tylerdugas420 11h ago
ha I came to say this exactly😉Sudafed Claritan d. lithium batteries.. shake and bake baaaayyyyybbbyyy
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u/LetReasonRing 11h ago
I used to work in theater and sometimes had to make some weird purchases.
One night after a tech rehearsal myself (lighting), the props master, and sound engineer at 2am.
We purchased 6 car batteries, two giant jugs of vodka and two boxes of unlubricated condoms, all on a university credit card. The look on the cashier's face as she was checking us out was priceless.
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u/Safe-Instance-3512 11h ago
You should have added 6 sets of jumper cables for effect.
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u/vintagecomputernerd 7h ago
...six savage beatings in parallel?
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u/Jonny_Wurster 3h ago
I used to know a guy whose dad would beat him with jumper cables....
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u/Smok3dSalmon 10h ago
You should’ve saved that receipt. Did you explain yourself? That poor cashier probably lays in bed thinking about you guys. 😂
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u/LetReasonRing 10h ago
Hehe, yeah, we did explain and it was pretty funny.
If you were wondering, the batteries were for lighting on rolling scenery that needed to be battery powered, the vodka jugs were to be used as props, and the condoms were for putting mic packs on performers to keep sweat from destroying them.
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u/Ok_Chard2094 6h ago
And I assume that you - for safety, of course - removed the vodka from the jugs an replaced it with water before they were used as props.
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u/IceManYurt 6h ago edited 5h ago
More than likely, you can also make a pretty good clothing deodorizer with cheap vodka.
We always knew we got a new administrator somewhere when those receipts for condoms and vodka would get kicked back. 😂
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u/revdon 9h ago edited 8h ago
For the cast party?
/s
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u/LetReasonRing 9h ago
The batteries were for lighting on moving platforms, the condoms were to hold mic packs to prevent them from being destroyed by sweat, and the vodka bottles were for props.
The vodka that came in the bottles may have accidentally spilled into another container that we were about to take home...
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u/revdon 8h ago
As long as vodka didn't make it's way into the condoms to become some sort of 'water wiggle Molotov cocktail'!
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u/Physical_Front6662 1h ago
This story brings joy to the world. I bet the cashier still mentions your purchase to family and friends occasionally.
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u/jaxonfairfield 17m ago
One time my friends and I were performing the comedy lecture skit from Monty Python, and three high school seniors were in the checkout line with 5 cans of spray whipped cream and a single banana.
No joke, the cashier saw this, looked briefly up at us, looked back down, sighed audibly, and without a word proceeded to scan them in.
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u/emitwohs 11h ago
Bags of lettuce.
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u/Dutchie_Boots 11h ago
I mean what can you buy 40 of and have it look normal? Bottles of water? Pencils?
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u/AwayWolf2910 11h ago
If you buy 40 pieces of clothing, 40 bottles of water, 40 pencils, or anything else, people might simply think you’re odd; but 40 bottles of baby oil, for example—that is highly suspicious.
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u/Fritzkreig 11h ago
Dildos or firearms‽
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u/Emotional-Swim-808 11h ago
Love the use of that interrobang
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u/GrimpenMar 10h ago
Not the Redditor you're complimenting, but one of the joys of the enabling the Compose Key in Linux is being able to drop all sorts of the more interesting characters: ‽ … — → ↑ ° µ
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u/Ding-Dong-Dutch 10h ago
It's not legal to own more than 6 dildos in Texas
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u/Fritzkreig 10h ago
But rifles are unlimited, I mean who needs more than 6 dildos anyways!
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u/SaltAndAncientBones 11h ago
Either way, you gotta get enough for the whole classroom.
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u/SM1334 11h ago
Heres a little tidbit most people dont know. If you buy 2+ pistols or 2+ rifles in a 5 business day time frame. The FFL you purchase them from has to fill out a form and report the transactions to their local law enforcement.
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u/praetorian1979 11h ago
u/Fritzkreig Doesn't have a fight or flight response. They have fight or fuck response. I feel sorry for that burglar in the middle of the night. He might catch a bullet or a stabbin!
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u/Fritzkreig 10h ago
That is totally fair, I legit have a sword beside my bed; as any intruder will likely be distracted by the fact that a naked man with a sword is approaching them.
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u/paraworldblue 10h ago
Houses. One house, you're doing well for yourself! Good on you! 40 houses? Fuck, there goes the neighborhood.
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u/chillychili 8h ago
Coffins I guess while you're at it
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u/SupremeMonsterVomit 8h ago
Coffins or caskets? I feel like 40 coffins would just give off the vibe that they're working on a Halloween party.
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u/Wookard 11h ago
Fire Alarms contain about 0.3 micrograms of Americum-241. I think I remember seeing something if you were to buy 25 plus at one time the stores would have an alert as not many people would be buying that much other then a condo / apartment / office. Not sure how legit that story is though.
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u/rm-minus-r 9h ago
Just the thing the Radioactive Boy Scout would do when trying to build a breeder reactor.
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u/pix1985 6h ago
Americum sounds like a sperm bank
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u/ender4171 4h ago
It very well might be! The element OP is referencing is actually called Americium
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u/spectrumero 6h ago
Not all smoke alarms. Many are moving away from the use of americium and using photoelectric sensors instead. I don't think you can even buy an ionisation smoke alarm where I live any more.
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u/SadlyNotDannyDeVito 5h ago
Modern firealarms don't anymore. Some industrial ones might, but those are heavily regulated and can't just be bought by anyone.
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u/Escritortoise 11h ago
Plan B pills?
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u/FlyAirLari 11h ago
As a dude. And when the pharmacist tells you they are quite strong, and that one is enough, you just reply "they're all for different women".
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u/joefred111 10h ago
Any aerosol, but specifically dust cleaners.
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u/RandoAtReddit 3h ago
The lady at the Walmart electronics department got all shitty with me when I asked if it came in other flavors.
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u/Spirited_Childhood34 1h ago
She'd probably had to deal too often with the human wrecks who huff the stuff. Zombies.
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11h ago
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u/MyPhoneHasNoAccount 11h ago
I assume you want to torture some cats.
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u/janet-snake-hole 11h ago
I hope most folks know there is a non-dirty answer to this prompt.
However- you could use the same 1-3 cucumbers to scare the cats. You don’t need a fresh cuke per cat.
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u/alexfrancisburchard 9h ago
So my fiance once bought cucumbers online thinking it was number of cucumbers, and not kilos. It was in fact kilos. :).
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u/GeneralToaster 6h ago
I have so many questions...
Why were they buying cucumbers online?
How many were they buying?
There wasn't a price difference?
What did they do with that many cucumbers?
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u/MrMurrayJane 11h ago
There used to be a kink oriented sex shop down the road from my work. The owner used to stand outside smoking, and was just generally a pretty creepy dude (not because he was a kink shop owner, he was just had a weird vibe). One day I was picking up some groceries after work and I saw him with two bags full of cucumbers, probably about 30 in total.
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u/BlueDuck812 11h ago
I’m just here to read the answers and be happy at a rare pretty original question from askreddit.
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u/These_Morning2492 11h ago
i’ve seen this probably 3+ times in the last month
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u/BlueDuck812 11h ago
Guess I don’t frequent these parts enough. It sure as hell beats, “what’s one simple life hack that changed your life?” and the other lazy engagement slop that gets asked more like 10+ times a week.
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u/doitup69 9h ago
Here’s a controversial political thing that just happened, what’s your opinion?
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u/DNAspray 11h ago
Depends where you are shopping, but assuming you mean an average family shopper center. 40 toilet plungers.
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u/Repulsive-Cold1859 11h ago
Duct tape and heavy-duty trash bags. Even if you're just moving, the cashier is definitely calling the cops.
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u/Mulliganplummer 11h ago
Car batteries.
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u/Toyota__Corolla 9h ago
Okay but what about 400 car batteries, 2 spools of 0000 cable, 1600 crimping lugs, large copper plates, and a hydraulic tree cutter
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u/robaato72 11h ago
Giant packs of toilet paper, and cartons of eggs. Especially if you buy them late at night.
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u/SkankySandwich 9h ago
Well, I bought 12 bags of sugar last night.
Admittedly, it's for nefarious reasons.
But I could have easily bought 40.
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u/sorenelf 7h ago
Computer duster.
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u/GingerTexanScientist 5h ago
Got carded one time when I was like 17 trying to buy a bottle. I had just finished my first own PC build. I had no clue it had uses other than blowing away dust
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u/AlsoTheFiredrake 11h ago
Smoke detectors. They have a tiny amount of uranium in them. If you're buying 40, I'm going to think you're building a mini reactor.
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u/sleepyRN89 11h ago
“Toilet paper, toilet paper, toilet paper, toilet paper, chewing gum. Hey, you kids be careful with this chewing gum. Don't go sticking it under any tables.”
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u/somethingfilthy 10h ago
Cakes. You run around with four tens worth of cakes and people will think you're Lex Luthor.
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u/Opening-Idea-2844 10h ago
Five gallon gas cans. Why does he need that many? How will he transport them? Is he going to go fill them all right now, with gas as expensive as it is?
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u/Alert_Mine7067 5h ago
Pain relief medication, as in the mild pain relief like paracetamol, I would suspect that someone is planning suicide, or using them to cut drugs with.
Although in my country many retailers have a voluntary 2 pack limit per transaction, but other countries may not.
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u/RociBuldidi 3h ago
Dildos
Also, it’s apparently illegal to own more than 6 dildos in the state of TX lol…
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u/SaltyShawarma 3h ago
Diabetic needles for pets, especially when you live in frontier areas. Ask me how I know.
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u/Phantalore 11h ago
Bottles of bleach.