Ha ha.  I could be perfectly happy traveling the world comparing products and stores in all the various countries.  And by stores I mean grocery and hardware stores and pharmacies.  My favorite store in all of Florence, Italy is a hardware store that goes on and on, seemingly forever.  I could spend a lifetime looking at the items for sale in that bazaar alone.

Last fall I traveled through London on my return from Italy to USA and bought a few items on my London layover.  One of the quotidian items I purchased was this funny box of safety buds.

In the US we call safety buds Q-tips.  You know the brand.

Let’s do a side-by-side comparison of the products:

The swab in the center above is the British safety bud.  Interesting shape, no?

 

I can tell you from experience that it is difficult to shove the safety bud into your ear after a shower.  It’s too big.

 

But, even though the safety bud is too big for my ear canal, the packaging assures me that the cotton buds are “good for baby and you.”  If you say so!

Ah, but then it says, don’t put it in your ear or nose.  Got it!  My bad!

 

Here’s another interesting fact:  the British Boots safety buds are actually made in Turkey!

So this is a very multi-national post. I actually have to wonder if the shape of the Turkish safety bud, which looks like an Islamic arch, is a cultural thing.

 

 

Who knows?  Not I.  But it is fun to think about.  And I have a fun Turkish/English souvenir.