Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Four quarters used to buy a can of AriZona Iced Tea.
asserted
quarters → use → Tea
You’d crack it open and savor the artificially flavored, high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drink between fits of giggling on the walk home from school.
asserted
You → crack → school
For some, the can symbolized childhood autonomy.
asserted
can → symbolize → autonomy
It was among the first solo purchases a kid made or a reward for satisfactorily completed chores.
asserted
kid → make → chores
An AriZona “tallboy” — the printed price on the can serving as a measuring stick for the value of a dollar — remains especially affordable and instructive for American youth with allowance, disposable income from part-time wages or birthday money.
asserted
tallboy → print → wages
Founded in 1992, AriZona Beverage Company first launched drinks in Brooklyn, New York.
asserted
Company → found → Brooklyn
The 99-cent cans launched in 1997.
asserted
cans → launch → 1997
Popularity — and profitability — of the drink came soon after.
asserted
Popularity → come → drink
But it was the price sticker that promoted a kind of utilitarianism — a warning to shop owners looking for a higher profit margin.
asserted
that → promote → margin
Countless American preteens and teenagers across class have paired AriZona drinks with their bagged snack of choice and candy — a trifecta downed before reaching the front door and discovering ... dinner.
asserted
preteens → pair → dinner
Some could count on receiving a few dollars irregularly or not at all.
uncertain
Some → count → dollars
Still, when most other prices went up, the AriZona drink’s price permanence was something that didn’t necessitate debit cards or parental approval.
asserted
that → go → cards
Coins and dollar bills sweetened the experience of forging friendships on the journey home.
asserted
Coins → sweeten → journey
Just who gets the privilege of experiencing money as freedom makes the AriZona can more than just a bodega staple.
asserted
can → get → staple
It shows how much culture can be concealed in ordinary consumer transactions.
asserted
culture → show → transactions
On Feb. 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin left the gated residential community in Sanford, Florida, where his father lived en route to a 7-Eleven.
asserted
father → leave → Eleven
The hoodie-wearing Black teenager was filmed on surveillance purchasing a watermelon-flavored AriZona drink and a pack of Skittles.
asserted
teenager → wear → Skittles
When he discovered he was being tailed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, Trayvon confronted him.
asserted
Trayvon → discover → him
The teen didn’t survive the encounter; George Zimmerman shot him in the chest.
asserted
Zimmerman → survive → chest
The AriZona drink and Skittles became evidence in a homicide investigation, and soon after became one of the earliest protest symbols in the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by Zimmerman’s acquittal.
asserted
drink → become → acquittal
More than 13 years later, some still associate these items with questions of who in the U.S. is truly free to move through public spaces without being regarded as suspicious.
asserted
who → associate → spaces
This story is part of a recurring series, “ American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.
asserted
story → recur → States
The Aporia
