r/hypotheticalsituation • u/thesounddefense • 14h ago
You are cursed to always patronize a business whenever you pass by it. What business do you choose?
If you walk past it on the street, you have to walk in and buy some food/goods/services from it. If you're driving on the freeway and you see it at the next exit, you need to pull off and head over. If you walk by at the airport, I hope your flight isn't leaving that soon.
It has to be a business that you are likely to pass by frequently (so you can't look up a sandwich shop on the other side of the world that you'll never go to). It can be a specific place (Taco Bell) or a category of business (card shop).
What do you choose?
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u/youngsp82 14h ago
Buccees. Already do this so no big changes here
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u/Already_Texan42393 13h ago
This would be my choice too. I don’t think I’ve ever passed one without stopping.
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u/amorok41101 12h ago
I feel this. I have to drive past one several times a year for work, it’s at a perfect halfway point for a several hour drive so I gas up and get road snacks. Best bathrooms in the world.
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u/youngsp82 11h ago
The closest one to us is about 2 hours away. Good thing it is even without the curse. They have to just make bank in the location closest to me (only one in MO). It’s always been just packed every time I’m in there.
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u/21-22-VER-23-24 6h ago
I live 1/2 miles from one and accidentally/casually spent $3600 at Bucees the first month I moved there
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u/Effective_Fly_6884 5h ago
I pass one on the way to work. That would ruin my day, having to get off the highway, park, go in, buy something, get back on the highway and go to work.
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u/21-22-VER-23-24 14h ago
Strip club
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u/thesounddefense 14h ago
"Okay, hold on, kids..."
"Again?!"
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u/Admirable_Summer_917 14h ago
What happens if they aren’t open? I drive by chick fil a at 5:30am when they aren’t open. When I drive by in the afternoon I’d be happy stopping for a sandwich or a salad.
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u/thesounddefense 14h ago
If they're not open, you need to get close enough to confirm with your own eyes. Once you've done this, you're free to leave.
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u/deletefac3 13h ago edited 10h ago
My local secondhand book store. I pass it every now and then, and since it's secondhand the prices are reasonable. I'm sure I could pick something every time, no trouble.
There are two locations, so if I go to the next town I'll be "cursed" to check out their selection, too. Oh nooooo.... tragic..... more books..
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u/Feeling-Pea5281 13h ago
Dispensary. If I'm broke, I come out with a pack of papers. If I'm flush, I come out with a bag full of joy.
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u/muffinMan2422 14h ago
Cold stone
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u/ScottyC33 14h ago
Next time on my 600 lb life…
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u/muffinMan2422 14h ago
No, see the best thing is I hardly eat as it is so I weigh practically nothing so if anything, this can only help
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u/Totakai 9h ago
Dude my local coldstone left a few years ago and the 5 other ice cream joints the immediate area around it just don't hit the same. 😭
Former chronically underweight person totally agreeing on the calorie thing. Remembering to eat is such a struggle sometimes
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u/muffinMan2422 8h ago
The worst part is your body screams at you that you’re hungry, but you just don’t notice but if I was forced to eat ice cream I would not have these under weight issues
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u/pdubpooter 14h ago
GameStop - I’m never going to outgrow the nostalgia of popping into one. Also looking at their retail business outlook it’s likely they’ll be headed towards a future where they close a majority if not all of their stores if they keep their current business model at which point the curse will solve itself.
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u/LuluBelle_Jones 14h ago
H‑E‑B- I can always use groceries or gas or tubes, sunscreen, squishmallows, sushi, or a prescription.
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u/Improvident__lackwit 13h ago
Ymca. They are all over the place and you pay to patronize it so I think it qualifies. I’ll walk in and do a few curls or a bench press or 5 mins on the treadmill or an actual workout if I so desire.
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u/Serrisen 13h ago
There's a little hole in the wall diner about 3 blocks from me. I go about once a month. Since it's close and I actually go it should fit your criteria, but it's also easily avoidable if I don't wish to go.
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u/Organic-Present165 14h ago
Chipotle. I love the food, it's near enough that I would pass by it frequently enough, but it's not something I pass by so often that I would go broke or start to hate it. Most Chipotles are not advertised on the interstate, so I wouldn't get in too much trouble going on road trips either. Airports might be tricky, but I don't fly very often and I'd just have to plan for the extra delay.
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u/Amazing-Software4098 12h ago
Donut shop. Not too spendy, doesn’t take too long, and it would make me happy.
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u/AletheaKuiperBelt 14h ago
My local takeaway.
I pretty much do this anyway. They're next door to the pharmacy I normally use. They do good salads, quiches and pies, decent vanilla slice, burgers, chips, home made baklava, semolina cake. Plenty of choice.
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u/No-Willingness-4804 14h ago
McDonald's. Just because they have Dr Pepper.
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u/WillDreamz 13h ago
I was going to choose McDonald's but there are too many of them.
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u/No-Willingness-4804 13h ago
I rarely leave my hometown and we don't have one because we're so small. I could just get a lot of small drinks or free water, if I traveled!
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u/Free-Willy-3435 13h ago
Krispy Kreme doughnuts is on my drive to work. I'll get a box of doughnuts for work and a box on the way home.
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u/ExcellentEnergy6677 14h ago
Walmart because I’m British and we don’t have those.
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u/WillDreamz 13h ago
Mucho Burritos - there are few enough of them that I'll pass one when I get gas at my local Shell or come off my highway exit, but it's not near other highway exits the way McDonald's is.
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u/Antitheodicy 13h ago
I feel like a particular chain of gas station is a pretty safe bet—specifically one that’s not in your neighborhood or on your commute. It’s an inconvenience, but topping up your car is quick and doesn’t cost you any extra money.
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u/Clive_Bossfield 13h ago
Im gonna call that business stupid. Ineffective. They have low profit margins. Ill go in and give them a list of suggestions on how to organize their parking lots better. That'll show em
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u/Boring_Kiwi_6446 12h ago
My immediate thought was that coffee shop by the beach but I do go there every day anyway. Perhaps the Banh Mi shop near it.
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u/No-one-special1134 12h ago
My local landfill. I don’t have garbage pickup here and they are a business that charges a very small fee. I live close enough and if I have a small enough load, they waive the fee.
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u/Phantom_316 12h ago
Warhammer store. I have one in town that I go to fairly often anyway, but is easy to avoid if I don’t want to go there. If I’m traveling, I like to stop and check it out their displays and stopping for a thing of paint isn’t that expensive or inconvenient.
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u/Metharos 11h ago edited 10h ago
There's a small chain of sandwich shops in my general area. It's not exactly on the beaten path, but I do pass it from time to time. Like three stores owned by one guy. Would that count?
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u/Runneymeade 11h ago
There's a Warhammer store in my mom's town. I visit her every week, and we probably walk by the store once or twice a month. That would be a nice treat for my son if I were to buy him something every few weeks.
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u/gmoney1259 11h ago
See's Candy. There are a lot of them but you can go days without seeing one and I guess it'd suck to have to eat those dark chocolate walnuts all the time.
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u/BookWyrm2012 11h ago
Lou Malnatis Pizza. Not just a random place, it's my favorite pizza in the world. Although it is currently pretty far from me, so I'll understand if it's not allowed. We go past one (on purpose, by going way out of our way) when we visit my parents. I would honestly very happily stop in anytime I'm in/near Chicago. 🙂
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u/sdss9462 11h ago
This actually happened to me when they put a Cinnabon right near the platform for my bus home at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
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u/brittanyrose8421 10h ago
Book store. Always the book store. Or better yet the library if that’s allowed. Cause then it’s books I can actually afford
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u/wellchelle 9h ago
I'm a Canadian who lives in a town with a Tim Hortons donut shop on every corner, so that would be the worst the curse could get. Most of them are even open 24hrs so driving anywhere would take a really long time. Upside, a Timbit (aka donut hole) only costs 33¢ so I might not go broke.
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u/Johnthespider85 9h ago
I'm gonna pick the business that I own or McDonald's or Sonic. The business that I own I'm in the process of selling it or it's just gonna go out of business thus freeing me of this curse. The other two are for when I'm traveling I always like having a cold caffeinated beverage.
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u/themarko60 9h ago
The local game and collectibles place ran by my friend. There’s only the one and I get buy cool stuff.
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u/TheSilverFalcon 9h ago
Kind of already do this, I stop at anything run by a kid. Street side lemonaid stand, girl scout cookie booth, bake sale, farmers market stand, etc. They're just doing their best and it sucked when I was a kid and no one bought anything, so it's nice to buy something
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u/dimriver 13h ago
Blockbuster, if I walked past one I'd want to go in anyway to have a look around, buy some overpriced candy.
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u/AutoModerator 14h ago
Copy of the original post in case of edits: If you walk past it on the street, you have to walk in and buy some food/goods/services from it. If you're driving on the freeway and you see it at the next exit, you need to pull off and head over. If you walk by at the airport, I hope your flight isn't leaving that soon.
It has to be a business that you are likely to pass by frequently (so you can't look up a sandwich shop on the other side of the world that you'll never go to). It can be a specific place (Taco Bell) or a category of business (card shop).
What do you choose?
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u/thesounddefense 14h ago
My local gym. I'll drop by and do a set of two of weight lifting and then take off.
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u/DoookieMaxx 11h ago
Blockbuster Video. Don’t look at me like that, there’s still one left.
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u/DoookieMaxx 11h ago
Damnit, you said I have to pass by regularly. Guess I’ll be putting some cross country miles down for this mistake.
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u/chicksonfox 6h ago
Can I tell people I’m cursed so they’re more understanding when I pull of at every thrift shop anyway? Can I include yard sales for free?
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u/AJM_1987 14h ago
Royal Farms. I'm generally down for a fill up or empty down of some kind, IYKYK.
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u/Defiant-Engineer-296 13h ago
I'd never get anywhere. There are too many close to the house that I have to drive by two just to get to 95. I'm going with Wawa or Sheetz. But I do like Royal Farms chicken and potato wedges.
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u/AJM_1987 13h ago
LOL, I'm in the city and (un)fortunately need to go out of my way to get to a RoFo.
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u/goagod 14h ago
Is a library considered a business?