03/15/2022
's Part 1
While perusing the aisles of your local Walmart, Targét, or Publix; one rarely finds an item they have yet to discover. Fields of produce, rows of beverages stacked to the ceiling, frigid containers of chicken, and various forms of fried potatoes are all common occurrences. But in a post-2020 world it should now become clear to expect the unexpected. Well readers of Daniel's Daily Digest, it should surprise you to learn that I did not expect to find a new item in our local markets. I discovered the Arizona Combo Tray Nachos'n'Cheese Dip stacked high and deep upon an endcap. These prepackaged chips and cheese retail for the well under deserved price of 99cents.
Inside these teal treated trays are a few handfuls of tortilla chips and a generously described government cheese substance. Before we continue to describe the food, let us first discuss the packaging and preparation for consumption. The exterior of the package has the standard Arizona logo with colorful South-West adornments. The reverse has the standard labels of ânutritionâ contained within. Instructions for heating the product are difficult to find. Only in black, 8pt font at the bottom right of the cover can you find the instructions. âPeel off coverâ âPlace in Microwaveâ âApprox. 30 Secondsâ. Instructions, easy to follow, hard to find.
The cover peeled off, the tray placed in the microwave, 30 seconds on the clock, press start, IMMEDIATE CRACKLE. It sounded as if I left a fork inside a take-home foil swan. I immediately stopped the microwave and checked inside. The cover has a thin foil inside, but none was stuck to the tray. Nothing else is metallic or of issue inside the device. We shall press forward. Restarting the microwave provided a similar crackle, but clearly it was coming from the cheese. It seemed these instructionsâ true goal was to reanimate this cheese into a full cow through radioactive mutations. Donât worry, I stopped the heating half way through to mix the nuclear waste. 15 more seconds and the moment of truth had arrived.