When Stellan Skarsgård accepted his lead role in the film Sentimental Value and found out that it was shooting in Norway, he had one condition. In fact, he was willing to take a pay cut and become executive producer of the movie in order to ensure that his wish was granted. He wasn’t going to do the movie unless everyone in the cast and crew was ensured “good lunches” during filming.
The reasoning behind this was due to Skarsgård’s first experience shooting a film in Norway when he was cast in the 1997 production of Insomnia, later remade by Christopher Nolan in 2002. The lunches offered during the shoot were a “loaf of bread, that’s pre-sliced, and a plastic salami” and he “lost eight kilos” during the production. The experience was so horrid to Skarsgård that he promised himself that he’d never live through that again.
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“After Insomnia, I gathered the whole crew and said, ‘I’ll never film in this country again – unless we get a good lunch,’” said Skarsgård. “I’ve made other films in Norway since then, but it has always said in my contract that everybody should get lunches of the highest European standard. And that’s expensive. Norway, they’re the richest country, but they don’t want to spend money on food.”
Skarsgård took “half a million kroner” from his salary to ensure everyone would be able to sit and eat good food “served on real china” during their lunch break. “It makes everybody happier and makes the film much better,” he claimed.
It may sound a bit like an overreaction or indulgence, but Skarsgård isn’t wrong regarding his passion for a quality lunch break for himself and his coworkers. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 57% of workers in the United States and Canada report feeling stress throughout their workday and a growing number of them are skipping their lunch breaks. Nearly half of them skip lunch at least once per week.
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This is counter to data that says taking a scheduled lunch break each day not only recharges employees physically, but recharges them mentally and makes them more efficient at their jobs. If you work alongside other employees, a Cornell University study found that lunch breaks are opportunities for camaraderie and the team’s overall performance improves. If an employee works remotely, lunch breaks still provide a needed mental break while creating opportunities for socialization via “lunch Zooms” and the like. After such a break, the employees will not just be more energized and productive, but also less stressed and resentful of their work in the long run, too. Skipping lunch also doesn't improve a person's standing at their job either.
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So Skarsgård is right. While it doesn’t have to be served on fine dishware or fit the highest standards of European cuisine, having a relaxing lunch break each day to just savor your meal, enjoying the company of your coworkers, and taking a full break from your duties benefits both the humans involved and the quality of the work they do. Just be sure to eat something better than a loaf of bread and plasticky salami.
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21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.