The thick peel of an orange can prove a formidable barrier to the sweetness inside, but is it really a deal breaker?

Apparently, yes, according to the people of England, where orange sales are in decline for the third year in a row. The main reason? They're too time consuming to eat, and in a nation where most working adults take no more than 15 minutes for lunch, every second counts.

Additional reasons for the shrinking appeal of nature's candy: they drip all over your keyboard, make your fingers sticky, and release a potent aroma that draws the attention of your office mates.

Are we really all so busy at work that we can't step away from our computers long enough to eat a piece of fruit? Are we really so concerned with our privacy in cubicle land that drawing attention is to be avoided at all costs? Are we really so determined to eat on the run that one of life's simple pleasures -- the peeling of citrus fruits -- is being lost on the next generation?

Think I'm exaggerating? A survey taken three years ago showed that 7% of children ages nine to 13 didn't even know how to eat an orange.

Maybe the Onion's News Network's recent piece on fast-food feedbags isn't so far-fetched after all:

I'm going to go buy an orange and eat it right now. On the street. Near a school. Maybe a vitamin-C starved child will see me and learn that not all food comes in a plastic wrapper.