Meteorologist’s Facebook post on grocery dividers sparks wild debate

JONESBORO, Ark. (Gray News) – The divider is divisive. That checks out.

A Facebook post by meteorologist Ryan Vaughan from KAIT, a Gray Television station in Jonesboro, Arkansas, has gone viral, with 20,000-plus reactions and 12,000 comments.

The topic? How to use the dividing bar in the grocery checkout line.

“This started as a goofy conversation between my wife and I at the grocery store,” Vaughan said Friday. “I like to put the divider longways so that my groceries don’t go right up against the people in front of me paying.

“It was a boring weather day, so I posted my opinion on Facebook, and everyone went crazy.”

The chief meteorologist unleashed a high-pressure system of many others’ thoughts and opinions.

“I’m at the store tonight and noticed some of you don’t know how to use the divider,” Vaughan wrote in the post Saturday. “You need to put it long ways to trip the sensor and keep a distance. Some of y’all use it as a privacy fence.”

He added two photos, one with it placed longways and marked “right,” the other horizontally and marked “wrong.” Vaughan added a pair of laughing emojis.

While many commenters were along for the ride, other seemingly serious folks were quite critical.

“I have no clue who you are but you apparently think you’re someone important enough to re-educate people on the way you handle such a menial topic. By the way your right is absolutely wrong,” one wrote.

Some brought COVID, social distancing, politics and the overall quality of meteorology into the discussion.

Others offered alternatives, like standing it on its end or using multiple dividers to make shapes. One guy brings his own.

“I take a 24″ 4x4 with me when I shop and use that, parallel to the belt. Never have a problem, do get some looks though,” he said.

Vaughan has kept the party going for several days with his responses, including a tease on how you may be doing the drive-thru wrong - to be continued?

“It doesn’t take much to fire up the world,” he added in the comments.