Sociological experiement.

So I am thinking about conducting this experiment. You know, for the further advancement of sociology.

Every experiment needs an independent variable. In this case, it would be the contents of the sugar shaker on the counter at Starbucks. A few hours ago I was buying a venti cup of coffee (which is now on my carpet being soaked up by a towel) and after putting in a little half-and-half I decided to switch it up a bit, go a little crazy, and add a dash of sugar. While pouring it out of the big glass shaker. I thought to myself "I feel like I am putting salt in my drink. How often do you see sugar shakers?" This, of course, led to my brilliant idea to replace the sugar with salt and sit back with my regular venti coffee and a little half-n-half and watch the morning rush.

My hypothesis is that the subjects' reaction will depend on how much of the salt they actually put in their drink. A small dash might not be that noticeable, but any more will definitely change the way their drink tastes. I also believe that once the customers notice how wrong their coffee tastes, they will be unable to pinpoint the reason why. I have never glugged down a big salty cup of joe, but I am guessing that the strong flavor of the coffee mixed with the... salty... taste of salt creates a brew that is too confusing to decipher. They will most likely blame the coffee itself or maybe even wonder if there was something wrong with the cream. Either way, they would hop back in line to convince the baristas to make their drink correctly.

It would really be interesting to see a few things from this experiment. Would all subjects detect the new variable in their coffee, or is it possible that some would be so convinced that it was sugar that they would be able to convince themselves it tastes fine?

How long would it take for the problem to be discovered? How many replacement drinks would be served? Who would finally discover it, worker or customer?

It would be especially fun if a single customer kept demanding new drinks, putting the same "sugar" in them over and over.


Now that I think about it, this experiement might be a bad idea. It would drive people crazy. Coffee is a hot liquid. Caffeine is a drug. And we all know the saying, "never intentionally make drug fiends go crazy around hot liquid."

Also, how the hell would I replace the sugar discreetly enough not to be noticed? Pouring the sugar out and scooping salt in would take too long. I could steal it, take it home, and replace it later. But then I would be stealing. The only option is to prepurchase an identical shaker, fill it with salt, replace the sugar shaker, and set the real deal down somewhere in the coffee shop. That way I could at least get around the theft. But I have a feeling it would still be illegal. Plus, what kind of a crazy person am i if i spend my time and money searching ebay to get a specific kind of salt shaker shipped to my apartment so I can fill it with salt and replace the sugar at Starbucks just to watch people react?