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

One thing that you don't see any more (when I were a lad and all that) is the barber shop selling condoms and the question "something for the weekend sir".
Then again you don't really see proper barber shops either.

Oh, that's a nice trick. The patrons who didn't need one would feel pressured to buy one anyway.

I just buy them in the gas station bathroom for a quarter a pop. They're pretty reliable, aren't they?

There are still proper barber's shops, in the sense of men's hair-styling only, but I doubt that many of them would shave you.

I guess the reason condoms were sold in barber's shops is that the barber's shop was a male-only preserve. Buying condoms there was less embarassing than having to go into your local chemist's shop and buying condoms in full view of the hoi-polloi. Even the phrase, 'Something for the weekend, sir?' neatly avoids actually mentioning the product by name. Even if the customer said yes, I'll bet the article was neatly slipped to him with his change, and the package was barely visible to the rest of the customers.

This is true. I think it's only recently that one of the places that I got my hair cut as a child has removed the shop front durex sign.

Something for the weekend Sir - how do you think they managed to slip in, um yes can I have a six pack? Or did they only ever buy just the one? Just a thought...

I don't think they had 6-packs in those days, so it would have been just the one. Any man who wanted more than one for the weekend would have quickly got himself a reputation.

So why do you get packs of three then...

Friday, saturday, spare or once on friday, twice on saturday?

So you abstain on Sundays, then?
It's been asked elsewhere, but are condoms (and Ferrero Rocher chocolates) the only things that are sold in threes?

This puts me in mind of the old joke:

A boy was out shopping with his father when he saw packs of condoms in a shop. He asked his father what they were, and his father explained that they were to stop women getting pregnant and to prevent the spread of STD. 'Why are there packs of three?' asked the boy. 'Those are for college students,' replied his father. 'One for Friday, one for Saturday, one for Sunday.' 'Why are there packs of twelve,' asked the lad. 'Those are for married men,' his father said. 'One for January, one for February...'

PS Polo mints used to be grouped together in packs of 3, but they seem to have gone to packs of 4 now.

I have been told (don't know how true) that it was part of the kit given to soldiers on their 48Hr leave before going off to war. On the sunday they'd be in church in uniform before leaving back to base.

Something I remember from Tim Brooke Taylor (of Goodies and I'm sorry I'll read that again) was the problems associated with buying condoms in a chemist.
He had a friend that was on a blind date, so being the optimist he went to the local chemist to get a 'pack of three', buying from the most sweetest, innocent looking girl in the world. Okay, you guessed it.. she was the blind date.
I suppose that is unlikely to happen when you buy from the barbers, or maybe not thinking back to the barbers in my home town...

[Broken link removed by Moderator]has illuminated irish manuscripts in packs of three.
I don't think anything should be read into this, however...

You get Walnut Whips in packs of three...

Jaffa Cakes from Vending machines come in threes.

Merc