Should I Hop?

So, it appears my letter to Mother Nature last week was not strongly-worded enough, as we are getting two storms back-to-back today and tomorrow which will give us another couple of treacherous driving days and a fresh foot of snow on the ground. That is all I'm going to say on the matter because, frankly, I'm getting tired of complaining about the snow. We've been getting snow once a week and the topic has been played out. There is almost nothing left to say at this point. Besides, the first round is already over and, to be honest, it wasn't too bad. We've already shoveled it away and it was so light and fluffy it felt like shovelling sugar. The entire driveway was done in less than an hour. Instead I'm going to turn my attention to an issue that is snowstorm-adjacent: cold toes.

It was a bitterly cold morning and no matter how thick the pair of socks I put on, I couldn't shake the chill from my toes. So, before I went out to do the shovelling I grabbed a packet of toe warmers, which are a small bag that will stick to the bottom of your socks and contain some kind of chemical mixture which reacts when air hits it and gets hot, but not so hot as to burn your feet. I don't know what is in them; I assume it is just magic. Anyway, they are a staple in Christmas stockings around these parts, so I've got a bunch and have used them many times in the past. But, it wasn't until I was downstairs getting ready to put my boots on that I noticed that one particular brand of toe warmers come one per packet, while the other comes in a pair. Who is the brand with just one warmer for? I can not think of any situation in which I would only need to warm one foot at a time. (Well, except for right now, as I was in such of a hurry to get the shovelling over with that I didn't go upstairs and grab another toe warmer, so my left foot just had to tough it out.)

Are there enough one-footed citizens out there that the manufacturers felt too many of the second packets were going to waste? Could you imagine if socks, gloves or sneakers were sold individually? There would be complaints like you couldn't imagine. You would assume they are sold this way to make you buy them in a set and spend more, but here's the weird part of the whole thing (even weirder than the fact that I sat down and thought all this through): buying two of the single warmers costs less than buying the brand which gives you a pair. That doesn't make any business sense to me: double the manufacturing and shipping costs and they still charge less? Why not just put two in one bag, charge double and save on packaging costs? As long as the company still charges less than the other guy, people are going to buy it. Hell, you might even make more money. After all, this is not a long-term item which requires a lot of consumer research and consideration: you stick them under your feet for an hour and then throw them away. People are simply going to buy whichever is cheaper, so just start selling the toe warmers in pairs. It would make things easier: a lot easier than trying to shovel without putting your left boot into a snowbank, I know that.