Really? We just bought a second fan and it has thinner materials than the one that is 5 years old. Then again, maybe we didn't get the first one from Walmart and Lasko makes a cheaper version for Walmart than it sells elsewhere. When I was in school, I worked for a major clothing manufacturer and Walmart told them what they were going to pay wholesale for their underwear. Walmart said, "take what we offer or we'll pull all of your products from our stores". Of course they folded since, even though it hurt their bottom line, without Walmart they were going to take an even bigger hit.