I was being virtuous - okay, semi-virtuous. I was on the go, in the fast-food mart looking for a snack to tide me through the afternoon. I had contemplated buying the "sleeve" of Oreos; it wasn't the full-on package, but it probably had 10 or 12 cookies in it. However, I knew that once I started I would eat them all, and I knew that this would probably mean at least 600 calories.

So I talked myself out of them, and opted instead for one "big cookie." You know the kind: a basic chocolate chip number, not quite as good as homemade (or even as good as Oreos), but an acceptable alternative. The operative principle was that there was just one cookie, so you couldn't really inadvertently overeat.

I took my cookie outside and sat down on a bench in the sunshine to enjoy it. I unwrapped it. I took a bite. Then I thought I'd take a peek at the nutritional information to see exactly how virtuous I was being by giving up the Oreos for this alternative. "Calories per serving: 150." Good girl!

Keep reading.

"Servings per container: 4."

Whom are we kidding here? Have you ever met anyone who gathered her three dearest friends around her to divide a big cookie with? If it was supposed to be four servings, why in blazes didn't they make four little cookies out of the same amount of dough? Were they completely oblivious to the distinct possibility that one person might expect to eat one cookie unaided?

Moral of the story: If you're going to eat cookies, throw away the wrapper before you have an urge to read the nutritional information.