dani
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thread 1/15
Alright, so there’s been no feedback that has come even remotely close to the tale I was told tonight.

To set the stage, my father told this story at dinner tonight, he’s 73 years old.
dani @danismashingit
I have a strange question if you’ll all indulge me.

When you order Chinese take out, does the place you order from add in a complete bizarre free item?

I particularly interested if you live in a small town.
11:00 PM - May 14, 2023
11:21 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
A
thread 2/15
My father grew up in a very small, company town in Northern Ontario. At the time, the population was under 2,000 people, today it’s under 4,500, which is impressive considering that company is long gone. It was paper and pulp.
11:23 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 3/15
So when you live in a small, remote town, distances become relative, and if you can reasonably drive somewhere, it’s close enough.
11:25 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 4/15
Chinese immigration to Canada, after all of the horrible things, meant that Chinese entrepreneurs ended up being scattered all over Canada, especially in areas that had developed a rail system for the forestry and mineral trade.
11:28 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 5/15
Many set up restaurants, often in those remote communities, which ended up being the first taste of something “foreign” that people in the area ever got to experience. It was a big deal, and those restaurants flourished.
11:31 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 6/15
So going for Chinese was a big deal, and my dad remembers a particular restaurant in Kapuskasing. It was well established even when he was little and had been a part of the community for a very long time.
11:33 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 7/15
This business did well through the years, was a very local place, beloved in the community. But eventually they had to sell their business, they didn’t have kids so they sold to someone else.
11:35 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 8/15
They kept the menu, kept the decor. A lot of the staff was older, so they retired but on the surface it looked like business as usual.

But customers started to drop off.

Why?

There weren’t a lot of alternatives. The food was pretty much the same.
11:38 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 9/15
The new owners were baffled. They had done their best to respect what the previous owners had built.

But there was one thing they hadn’t considered. One thing that had become so ubiquitous, so obvious, that no one had even thought to mention.

What could it possibly be….?
11:41 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 10/15
Toast.

For some reason, that no one can remember, every order they had every filled included toast.

Buttered toast.
11:43 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 11/15
Not shrimp toast. Just toast. Which can’t have even been good when delivered.

Toast.
11:44 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 12/15
The previous owners had included toast with every order. We don’t know why. Was it a joke? Who’s to say.

But when the new owners took over and saw a drop in orders, they found out. People were mad about the toast.
11:45 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 13/15
Why was there no toast? Was it necessary? No, but it had always been there. The people wanted toast, and they weren’t getting it. They were mad, and they stopped ordering from there. And you know they were big mad, because there was no alternative.
11:47 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 14/15
As my second cousin Raymond says, “why do they call it Chinese toast?… Because it’s buttered on both sides”.

What does that mean, I don’t know.
11:49 PM - May 14, 2023
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dani
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thread 15/15
So while most of us are used to getting a free order of fried rice, or chicken wings, or fortune cookies, I want you to know that there are communities in Northern Ontario that have been receiving free cold buttered toast for at least 70 years and that’s a beautiful thing.
11:52 PM - May 14, 2023
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That Clark You Remember
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In response to dani.
Around here, you'll get a handful of donut holes or a free plain glazed if you buy more than about three bucks' worth.
09:54 AM - May 15, 2023
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Jack Mcgraw
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In response to dani.
did they start sending the toast again?
09:34 AM - May 15, 2023
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dani
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In response to Jack Mcgraw.
Yes they did!
10:33 AM - May 15, 2023
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Pamela
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In response to dani.
Fascinating thread.

I grew up in NY with free white rice. I was shocked in Pittsburgh, PA when I had to pay for it.
01:16 AM - May 15, 2023
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(laura) elsen
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In response to dani.
knowing your audience is smart business
12:22 AM - May 15, 2023
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dani
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In response to (laura) elsen.
So it’s not that weird.
12:23 AM - May 15, 2023
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William Turner
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In response to (laura) elsen.
This spout was removed because the account associated with it was suspended.
01:17 PM - May 15, 2023
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