Why couldn't she have carried it herself? That's what i would have done... and then i would have complained all the way home of having an aching back, until the poor guy felt compelled to buy me something sweet/sparkly/huggable. No feminine wiles, that one...:0)
And as for the salad tongs? Good grief, i dread the day that men catch up with us in terms of brains, and discover all our mind-games, it's going to be hell...