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gfonner
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Never having eaten at a Jack in the Box, I don't know how necessary it is to add the sweet & sour sauce to your meal. Maybe it'll actually be less wasteful if the majority of people don't use the full ounce?


Please feel free to correct me if it is actually necessary is to add as much sweet & sour sauce as one possibly can get his or her hands on.

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4 replies
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StyckyWycket
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@gfonner: I'm willing to bet it's less about consumer waste and more about corporate profit, though.

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Preyfar
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@gfonner: Very good point. I know at the dreaded McDonalds, when I get nuggets, I generally nom down about 1.5 packets for my nugget meal. So that's about half a thing of sauce gone to waste.

This may be less about \"shrink ray\" and more about \"how much do people consume on average\".

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shepd
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Preyfar:

1 sauce per 3 nuggets (sometimes 1 per 2 nuggets) here. Since the local McDs charges for \"Extra\" sauce, I'm happy that the portions there won't be going down.

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reynwrap582
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@shepd: THATS MORE SAUCE THAN NUGGET! ARE YOU CRAZY?!

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West Coast Secessionist
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@reynwrap582: I bet you're from New England. (in my experience, they often prefer to eat their McNuggets plain, which is blasphemy where I come from.)

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JohnQPublic
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Preyfar: But if they increased the size to 1.5x it's current size, you'd only need one packet.

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Preyfar
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@JohnQPublic: True, but how many people will still grab two? Most people'd be used to grabbing two for that second one \"just in case\".

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MostlyHarmless
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@JohnQPublic: However giving out only one packet is a much more negatively noticeable change than handing out two smaller ones. Most people will then ask for a second one anyways because they know that one wont be enough. Trying to tell them that this one is bigger can only end with another article on consumerist.

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Kogenta
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Does anyone else notice that the ingredient order changes from water, HFCS, brown sugar, vinegar to HFCS, vinegar, water, brown sugar between the two packets in the shot (you know, other than the weight)?

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5 replies
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Blueskylaw
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Kogenta:


Now with more concentrated HFCS so you use ⅛ less.

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Applekid
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Kogenta: Sugar/HFCS is hydrophillic, so, maybe they're counting on 0.125 oz worth of water getting extracted from the air upon opening it?

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tcp100
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Applekid: Folks, does EVERY food story have to delve into the HFCS madness?


HFCS may not be the sugary gooey equivalent of Flintstones Vitamins, but it's not mercuro-asbestos, either.


I know antihighfructosecornsyrupism is in and popular these days, but this story is about DoS; Denial of Sauce.


This is a much bigger travesty, IMHO.

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YardanCabaret
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Kogenta: Probably means that most of the lost .125 oz (3g) is water. So I'd guess that if you need the full ounce then just add water?

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nybiker
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Kogenta: My old eyes first went to the container on the left as it's the larger one and I could read it easier. I also noticed that HFCS was the 2nd item in the list and thought \"The next time I might find myself in a JitB I'm going to skip the sauce.\"
But good catch on noticing the new order on the shrunken head, oh, package.
BTW, what's an 'extractive of paprika'? Would it be the same as paprika extract? Or extract of paprika. And why not just use paprika, without any extractives?

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Loias calls you out if you can't RTFA
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Does the Scary Clown Man really think he's saving money by reducing the packaging contents by 12.5%? If anything, it will end up costing them more per ounce since packaging costs decrease as the package becomes larger (i.e. bulk = cheaper).

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2 replies
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RogerTheAlien
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Loias: Yeah, they do. I know I, and many of my friends, grab three sauce packets of this general size strictly out of need for three of them. Do we use all 3? Sometimes, yes. Is it wasteful to not use EVERY. SINGLE. PACKET? Yeah, a lil bit. But we always grab three. If they were slightly smaller, J in the B saves money in the long run. So, good for them.

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oblivious87
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Loias: Do you really think the company didn't consult the producers of said product first? They were given a quote and since most of these are easily manufactured regardless of size, the odds are good they pay between 5% and 15% less then before.

Most people will grab the same amount of packages and a few will grab an extra, which would actually require them to use more packets, which means they might get a better bulk discount.

Industrial Automation in the food industry is pretty advanced, especially when mass producing small packages like these.

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zjmuse
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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This is one I don't really think is a problem. Its a free item that comes with meals, if you need more you can ask for more. But by and large it will save them money. Better this than charging for the sauce packets, no?

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4 replies
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amberlink
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@zjmuse:

You can \"ask\" for more, and I'm sure they'll charge you for extra ones.

Taco bell in NY charges for extra packets as does Mickey D's.

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West Coast Secessionist
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@amberlink: JitB never charges for sauce. Except maybe rogue franchisees. but i've never seen one do that. That's more of a McDonald's thing.

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samurailynn
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@amberlink: Wow... at the taco bells around here you end up getting at least 8 sauce packets if you order one burrito.

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reynwrap582
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@samurailynn: Here they ask like 3 times if you want any sauce. They ask at the little speaker, then the person you pay, then the person that gives you the food... and then half the time, if you do want sauce, they forget to give it to you anyway... And if you don't want the sauce, half the time they give it to you anyway! It's quite strange.

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Preyfar
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@samurailynn: Yeah, same. We've got a drawer full of the stuff. Never need to buy hot sauce unless we /really/ want the good stuff.

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Kishi
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@zjmuse: At the Jack-in-the-Box near me, no need to even ask- they just put them out on the counter to take.

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blandname
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Fast food restaurants should probably turn their shrink ray towards ketchup packets. Many times I have received a good 8-10 with my meal, sometimes without even asking for ketchup, thus ensuring I will never have to actually buy a bottle of ketchup.

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CompyPaq
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Unless they conducted research that shows that the majority of people use <1oz of the sauce, this could end up costing them more because someone might just get a second packet when they run out of sauce. So instead of using 1oz from 1 packet, they use 1.75oz from 2 packets.

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3 replies
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ChuckECheese
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@CompyPaq: You all betray your ignorance of the details of Jack in the Box living.

You can't just grab sauce packets like these treasures. They are guarded behind the counter and must be rationed out depending on what dippables you purchased. Sweet and sour sauce fiends must pay for their excess, unless you're ordering midnight munchies and the person working the counter is more wasted than you are.

This sweet and sour is intended for their egg rolls, which can be ordered alone, or as a part of a boxed set of deep fried consumables, known as a \"variety pack,\" which includes cheese sticks, jalapeno poppers, and egg rolls. There used to be chicken strips, but not any longer. The cheese sticks get one pack of marinara, the poppers get one mini tub of ranch. The only condiments kept out are salt and pepper, hot sauce, and maybe ketchup.

The sweet and sour tastes as you'd expect it to from the ingredient list. I had some a few weeks ago, and while regarding its viscous sweetness thought, \"So this is what you'd get if you crossed Aunt Jemima with a Chinese guy.\"

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tcp100
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@ChuckECheese: Bully!


I don't do McDonalds much, but the ones that have the sauce pumps - you know, the ones where you're free to pump out a liter of sauce - they get my business.


Burger King seems the same way to me; Sauce is guarded, and you must pay the King's Tariff or be a known-and-allied Duke in order to see the Sauce Counting Room and get your full share.

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zjmuse
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@CompyPaq: I think most give you two packets anyway, so if they don't use the full second packet, say 1.5oz total, then the 1.75oz is still enough for most folk and they still come out saving .25oz (and not wasting .5oz if the 1.5oz is pretty standard amount).

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Skipweasel
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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It's just gone metric - 25g instead of 1oz.

Go on, America - you know you want to. Think how many spacecraft you could save.

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2 replies
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floraposte
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Skipweasel: I suspect you're right on the cause--this might also enable them to keep the same packaging inside and outside the U.S.

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katia802
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Skipweasel: You know, I still haven't gotten over my anger with they school system for making me learn metric conversions, then pretending they didn't exist for the rest of my childhood and adult life. All those brain cells gone to waste!

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Rachacha
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Nothing to see here. When I go to a fast food restaurant and get a sauce packet, I typically use only 1/2 of a single package, so decreasing the size is no big deal. If you need more, open a second package.

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MarketMaven
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Anyone wonder if the caloric value changed with the package decrease!?! It may just be a way to decrease the overall calorie count when factored into a meal. That is my two cents anyways.

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Gracegottcha
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I think they could easily save cost by not tossing a handful in the bag because you asked for some, especially at the drive-thru.

Remember when you actually got napkins with your drive-thru order - without having to beg?

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pecan 3.14159265
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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On the rare occasion I get to go to Chick-Fil-A (there aren't any in DC, apparently) I get two packets of sauce, and end up using all of it between the nuggets and the fries. Mmmm.


Crap, now I want Chick-Fil-A.

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5 replies
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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: Mmmm.. Polynesian...


..Never understood why they name their sauce strange things.. but that don't make it less good.


Now *I* want Chick-Fil-A!

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DoubleBaconVeggieBurger
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: There is a Chick-Fil-A \"Express\" in my college student center, and they are very strict about their sauces. You get one sauce per sandwich or nuggets. But I put the sauce on both my sandwich and my fries. I guess I could just pay for the extra sauce, but still. Upsetting. Doesn't mean I'm not still going there in 10 minutes though.

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West Coast Secessionist
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Ayarkay: Damn you! My closest Chick-Fil-A is 90 minutes from here!

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pecan 3.14159265
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Ayarkay: They make you pay for another packet of sauce? I always remember receiving two.

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iron_chef
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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they'll brag that it's now with fewer calories!

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Bargaineering.com
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I think this is a case of shrinkage I could appreciate... as long as it means less sauce is wasted. If this means that people take more packets than they need and throw them away, then BOOOOO jack in the box!

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lannister80
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Great, now I'll grab an extra sauce tub and they'll be laying out an extra 0.875 ounces.

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mbz32190
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I never understood why fast food restaurants always use such small portion containers for things like this. Like getting fries at McDonalds...I use at least 5 or 6 packets for the large fries....wouldn't it make more economic sense to make the packets larger? I don't know anyone (yes, a hasty generalization) that uses one or two packets, even for just a small fry).

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2 replies
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broncobiker
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@mbz32190:

That is a LOT of sauce...what kind do you use?
McDonalds Sweet and Sour is the greatest thing ever. I sue it on the fries and the nuggets. Maybe I should try putting it on a snack wrap?

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mbz32190
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@broncobiker: Oops I was talking about ketchup packets.

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PLATTWORX
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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As sick as it sounds, I have a love for McDonald's sweet & sour sauce and use it on french fries too. That said, I can't imagine they are saving much by dropping such a small amount from the packages. Perhaps they switched vendors.

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Scatter
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Seems like a non issue to me unless they actually charge for them.

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AndroidHumanoid
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Cutting down the people of the US's intake of HFCS? Woohoo! Go Jack!

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2 replies
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broncobiker
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@AndroidHumanoid:

As stated earlier, it doesn't look like this is the case, looks more like they just removed some water from the normal recipe to reduce size. Look at the change in ingredients order.

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krista
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I went to Taco Bell over the weekend, and it seems like they shrunk the amount in a packet of taco sauce. I'll have to find an old packet under the seat of my car and verify. It's a non-issue to me unless they start charging for it.

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rwalford79
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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you might be missing some mili-ounces (I love that word) but I mean LOOK AT THE NEW JACK LOGO!!! I mean, JACK LOGO screams awesomeness even if its smaller.

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tcp100
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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HFCS? Calories? \"I only dip 3 microns of nugget into sauce, so it doesn't bother me\"??


Some people don't understand sauce. Others do. To those unsauced, I cry for your blandness.


As someone extremely pro-sauce, I have a big problem when fast food restaurants treat condiments like gold bullion. No, two ketchup packets is not enough. No, one thing of sauce is NOT enough for 9 nuggets.


Woe is the timid dipper; I've seen you.. Barely touching that fry / nugget to the sauce. Why bother? Sauce is boss. Dunk or step off.

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