Random Food Questions: 3 yeast packets, 10 hot dogs, "natural" flavors, and all the tea in China

As I wander through the grocery store, immersing myself in the complex challenges of one-ply or two, I am sometimes struck by food non-sequitors. Here are four questions that I couldn’t get out of my mind, and the answers to my random food thoughts. Enjoy.

The questions.

I’m not the first to ask this question; although, judging by the amount of “net noise” it apparently it has been asked for over 50 years.

Why, do hot dogs come 10 to a package while the buns come in packages of 8?

Meatpackers sell by the pound and most hotdogs weigh a tenth of a pound. Buns are typically baked in eight roll pans. I have no idea why the manufacturers haven’t gotten together on this. But if you need them to come out even purchase five bags of the 8-pack buns and four of the 10-pack hotdogs. Time for a Labor Day cook out!

Why do yeast packages come in threes when all you need for most recipes are two packages?