polenta

I have a question. What do they sell in drugstores in US?

marius

What a great question!
Will you tell us what they sell in drugstores in Uruguay too?

Drugstores in the Midwest sell sell about anything and as far as I know, it's pretty much this way around the whole country! There is not a gigantic variety for each item, but drugstores are like "mini-markets."

You can buy: drugs - of course, and all the things that go with health care such as humidifiers, baby care products, special bath chairs, canes, etc.

You can also buy cigarettes, make-up, hair products, fingernail care products, dental care products, food (canned goods, boxed foods, coffee, ice cream, milk, candy and chocolates, soft drinks-colas) film/cameras, kitchen items, clothing items (lsocks T-shirts, summer sandals, shorts, women's hosiery), candles, seasonal items (Halloween, Christmas - any holiday decorations or needs), greeting cards, arts and crafts things (string, yarn, glue, scissors, drawing paper, etc.), books, music CD's, movie DVD's, also seasonal items (in summer - coolers, lawn chairs, outdoor tables, floating devices for swimming pools, etc.), sewing kits (little packs of thread, needles, etc.) and you can even buy gift cards for area restaurants and stores.

We used to have an old-time drugstore where I live and they also sold hardware items: nails, hammers, electrician's tape, etc.

polenta

thanks for the answer. I saw a question in a book asking where you would buy a newspaper and the answer was: IN A DRUGSTORE.
It surprised me because I thought that like in a SHOESTORE you buy shoes, in a drugstore you would buy drugs or medicines.
Here we have what we call FARMACIA (pharmacy) where they mainly sell medicines, band-aids and health things. They could take your blood pressure or do the glicemia or sugar test. They also sell perfumes, deodorants, soap, toothpaste but the thing of the newspaper surprised me. I have also heard there are PHARMACIES in the States. I thought it was the same as DRUGSTORE but it seems a drugstore is more like a little "supermarket!.

I thought you bought a newspaper or magazine in a newsstand and stationery at a stationer's
Thanks Marius

Arw65

Yes polenta you are right, however there are some differences. Well the difference between a drugstore( the same as a pharmacy) and a Supermarket is size mainly, but also in a supermarket you can buy produce-fresh fruits and vegetables and Meat- Chicken, beef, perk, seafood etc. Also supermarkets have a deli and bakery where they make items daily that are ready to eat such as donuts, macaroni and cheese, potato salad etc.

marius

Your question (and reply, and Arw's contribution) got me thinking and there probably aren't any "true" pharmacies in the USA much anymore, at least not as a separate business in a separate buliding. Now we have drugstores ... and in the drugstores, there will be a Pharmacy section.

And, more and more one can find pharmacy's (or pharmacy sections) in the super-big stores like Walmart and Kmart. You can drop off your prescription and then shop for anything: food, clothes, garden things, furniture, and on and on.

The ONLY store I know about that only works with ONE product is a small shoe repair store on our town square. That is the only thing they do - repair shoes. They do not sell ANY products at all!

And yes, you can buy newpapers in drugstores, grocery stores, bookstores, coffee shops, etc.

marius

And this gets me to thinking about truckstops ... and also if (giggle) this belongs in Polenta's other thread about other cultures. I'll post it there. : )

polenta

All this is SO INTERESTING!!!
I understand that small shops are disappearing more and more.... but the difference is interesting to know.
Thanks arw and marius. I should have studied sociology or the like. I like how different societies solve their problems, what solution they give to them. REALLY INTERESTING.

polenta

I wonder where I could buy an elephant in US.
Maybe also at a drugstore. LOL LOL LOL

Baldur

Polenta, You could try buying one on eBay.
My local drugstore doesn't carry elephants anymore.
They spoil too quickly

belladonnis

Hey polenta I cant say where you can get a real elephant but if you would like a Big Al elephant, which is the college football team mascot to the team I mentioned in one of my pics you asked about. I can hook you up!!!!

marius

Polenta, if Walmart thought they could profit with the selling of elephants I've no doubt there'd be one in every home! Seriously!

When I moved to the small town I live in 20 yrs ago - there was no night entertainment. There was no movie theater. When my friends asked what people here did for entertainment I said, "They go to Walmart!"

This is STILL true. People love that store although I've never been able to share that affection. To me it is merely ten acres of stuff and more stuff and more stuff, and 99.90% of it is stuff I can live without.

Do you have Walmart's in Uruguay? McDonald's?

polenta

Well, I wouldn't know where to go to buy an elephant either , we should ask a circus owner.
We don't have Walmart but we do have Mc Donald's. What I like about Mc Donald's is that their food has a standard size so that if you order something you know how much you will get. Apart from that, it's tasty but a little repetitive and not very good, healthy or distinguished food. What is also terrible is the "white" light there. They're not inviting places and you have to stand in line and serve yourself with a tray... but it's a good solution to eat fast. Also everything looks PLASTIC!!! There is not the warmth of wood etc. So it has advantages and disadvantages. ah.... children adore Mc Donald's in general.

polenta

Baldur, what's eBay?

lynnspotter

ebay is a site where you can buy or sell just about ANYTHING from people all over the world! You could probably google it & it would come up for you to check out!

Baldur

Polenta, the site id www.eBay.com, which started as an online auction.
It still is mainly an auction site but has added many direct sales.
Anybody can put things up for sale, the items are bid on and and the end of the designated period, the winner pays for the item and the seller ships it to them.
eBay makes money for itself by charging the seller for each listing.
Baldur has bought many items through their site but has never sold anything there.

Dragon

One of my favorite bands, The Arrogant Worms, (they're quite Canadian so I won't be surprised if no one else has heard of them) does a song about Wal-mart type stores.

Some of the lyrics include
"It's as if a football field made love to a mall and the baby that they had is my sweet suburban sprawl who's parking lot is bigger than the downtown it destroyed. Come on and enjoy shopping on steroids!"

It's quite funny, I wish I could find the rest of the lyrics. I did find it on Youtube, I'll try to post a link but I'm not sure if it'll work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QURou1LTQB0&feature=PlayList&p=F9AB3E7AB4FA0452&pla ynext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=85

Dragon

Yay, it did work!

marius

And it's an absolute HOOT!
Expresses my feelings exactly!
Thanks, Dragon!

Baldur

I'm not sure if it can match ' SubRosa Subway ' on my charts Dragon.

polenta

Thanks Baldur for your kind answer.
I've heard the word Walmart here but from what you say it also looks PLASTIC to me, nothing personalized or distinguished.
It sounds like the opposite.
VIVA EL PLASTICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1