False economies

I've recently become aware of two false economies that strike at the heart of our way of life.

1 Wrapping paper. Cheap wrapping paper is a disaster and rips as you wrap. Not only that but it's immediately obvious as soon as you see a present wrapped in the stuff that it's cheap. Wrapping paper orginated as the industrial revolution started and mass produced goods started to replace home made ones. The orginal wrapping paper was decorated with designs by the giver to add some sort of personal contribution to the gift. Over time this too became mass produced and now very very tacky. It's all down hill from here....

2 Incense. There was a time incense sticks from Asia were relatively more expensive, hard to get and high quality. As demand has increased and large factories have taken over we now have incense which is fragrancy and worker pay 'lite'. Cheap incense smells cheap, doesn't linger and burns quicker. Originally of course incense was used to hide smells and to worship gods. We still have the smells but not the beliefs to go with them. So we're not just going down hill but to hell as well.