h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I was a teenager, we used to "hang out"(get together) and "cruise our rides"(drive 'round and 'round, showing off our cars) in the shopping center. There were always loose grocery carts(US for shopping trollys)laying about.

There was one crazy dude(of course he was a friend of mine) who thought it would be neat to be pushed around the shopping center in one....with a car. I volunteered myself and my '71 Mustang Mach 1 to do the pushing.

It was great fun, at least for me! It was quite a site to see, especially when we'd reach a speed bump!

A few of the guys decided it would be fun to race them like that,and it actually became a rather popular unofficial sport!

This is one of those things in life which has convinced me that teenagers do not comprehend the term "death and dismemberment"!LOL

NM

It sounds quite an experience!
However, I hope you don't mind if I don't recommend that one to people... Especially in the way that the carparks that most supermarkets seem to have can only hold about 3 cars and a bike.

Around here, we have hundreds of "parking spaces" in the central area, with a rather large driveway circling in front of the businesses. It's more like a street.

After the shops close, there's no one in the lot, which opens up a considerable amount of space!

NM

I've seen carparks like that... Great fun, if you're lucky enough to live near them.
They seem to be used by the local radio controlled car clubs, though..

Those are the teenage "hangouts" here.....no radio controlled car enthusiast would be crazy enough to try it! Their car wouldn't last 5 minutes!

NM

Where I lived, the peir and esplanade between it and the nightclub "Colonel Bogeys" along the beach was the hangout...
The nearest large supermarket was outside Lake, a village right next door to Sandown.

You'd never know it if I blindfolded you and brought you to my house, but I live about a 5 minute walk from 4 very large shopping centers. A fifth one(Wal-Mart and all) is a 10 minute walk.

Teenager heaven!

NM

I'm sorry - but if I had to choose between a 5 mile beach or 5 shopping centres, I'd choose the beach.
You don't even have HMV!

Erm... what's HMV? Oh, and I'm about a 3 hour drive from the beach!
NM

HMV is THE music/video/games shop in Britain. Even better than it's main rival Virgin, and WH Smiths etc... It sells all the best things ever.

Hmm, we have a limited form of trolley sports here in england but I don't think we've tried the car one... However I could probably tie a trolley to the back of my motorbike and pull people...

Now that sounds like fun!!!

I've got one over in the woods by my house some thief has left. I've been threatening to bring it home, remove the basket, and use it for a dolly to move engines around my shop. It looks like it would be perfect for the job!

NM

Why not? I doubt anyone else is using it.
Is it obvious which store it came from?

"K" Mart......a block away. Somebody noticed it and rolled it back down to the edge of their lot.


That's ok...in my line of work, they aren't hard to come by! I've seen them piled 6 deep on jobsites in the middle of nowhere. Next one I see is coming home with me!

NM

That's true, there are millions of the things everywhere!
They've installed a new security device in Safeways trolleys - if you take them outside a certain area, their wheels freeze and they can't be pushed. Which means that you cannot push the trolley to where the taxis park if you've bought lots of food. Great thinking by Safeways, Portswood.

Sounds like an expensive trolly!!!! They'd probably be better off with cheaper trollys and let them get stolen!LOL

NM

Probably, but no, they've decided to go for the hard way of not losing trolleys. I can understand small stores without much cash wanting to keep all the trolleys they can, but why the fuss with Safeways, who can afford to lose a trolley or two?
And why does no-one seem to care about people stealing shopping baskets?
And why does no-one steal shopping baskets?

They don't roll!?LOL

If our "Wallyworld" doesn't worry 'bout them, I don't see why anyone would!

NM

That's true... Although you'd think that someone would steal them for the sheer novelty value of it all - but then, I guess they're normally kept inside the shop and exchanged for those annoying plastic bags that like ripping.

Leo's in Louth, has a huge car-park down a really quite steep hill, with a large stream at the bottom. We used to take a trolley, pack as many people into and onto it as possible, and roll down the hill at quite ludicrous speeds. The last one to jump out before the trolley went down the bank and into the stream was the winner. As you can probably realise after a few beers, in an effort to win, no-one jumped out at all and the whole lot would go careering into the water.