Questions of a weird mind

[Story Time]

Question: Has anyone ever tried to get to the center of a tootsie pop without biting, and if so, how many licks did it take?

Six hundred and eleven licks.

Yes, it does vary based on the size of the tongue, the type of lick, and the...ability of the individual. Try tying ( not just folding ) a tootsie pop stick with only your mouth. Almost certainly someone will be impressed.

[Riverdance]

I wouldn't know. Being Australian, I've never had one. But, I'll try and find an answer. Perhaps an experiment should be set up?
Wait... The University of Cambridge beat me to it.
As did half a dozen different universities.

Wow, that is a wide range of results...
Here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tootsie...or_Tootsie_Pop

In conclusion, I'm going to say it varies from person to person.

Suddenly I can't help but read everything in an Australian accent.

[Grinner]

Why do we put milk on cereal?

Edit: While researching the matter, I came across a caption of a picture that made me realize that perhaps not every country follows this practice.

This is what I meant:

Spoiler

Show

[Ravens_cry]

Because it makes them easier to chew, and it's more filling with milk?
Also, a lot of them are designed so that milk, or at least liquid, brings out their flavour more.

[Xuc Xac]

Originally, the purpose of the milk was to add fat and protein to make the cereal a more balanced meal. You could drink the milk separately for the same nutritional benefit, but the cereal would be dry and harder to swallow. The same reason you put butter and jam on toast instead of eating it plain and then swallowing a pat of butter and a spoonful of jam. Early American colonists used to pour cream on bowls of popcorn and eat it with a spoon like cereal for the same reason. Now, it's just traditional.

[Story Time]

Woah-woah-woah!!! Milk in pop-corn!?



Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwww!

No wonder I always eat my cereal dry.


A better question: Why do women oppress cultures by trying to insert strawberries at every meal? ( Including the breakfast cereals! )

[Elemental]

Well, admittedly, strawberries are known to be delicious.

[Xuc Xac]

Woah-woah-woah!!! Milk in pop-corn!?

Milk in popcorn isn't any stranger than milk on puffed rice or puffed wheat or flakes of those same grains.

[Yora]

I'm only just really getting into Rammstein, but swiftly discovering how much more there is to them than just Du Hast and Amerika.

They do seem to love their wordplay, which is always good when you're trying to learn a language. And yes, surprisingly poetical. Engel and Haifisch immediately spring to mind.

You might enjoy Knorkator. Very good music, very silly lyrics, and lots of playing with language.
I think they have put most of their videos on youtube.

[Story Time]

Milk in popcorn isn't any stranger than milk on puffed rice or puffed wheat or flakes of those same grains.

I'm not sure which is scarier. The fact that I think you're probably right, or that it's weird enough to try at least once.



Some brown sugar might make it interesting...

[Ravens_cry]

I'm not sure which is scarier. The fact that I think you're probably right, or that it's weird enough to try at least once.



Some brown sugar might make it interesting...

It is pretty good. It tends to get soggy very quickly, at least with air-popped corn, but it's just as flavourful, if not more so, than Rice Krispies.

[Story Time]

It is pretty good. It tends to get soggy very quickly, at least with air-popped corn, but it's just as flavourful, if not more so, than Rice Krispies.

If I do this will someone do it with me? It's just so...

Ew. Y'know. That automatic reaction.

[Grinner]

If I do this will someone do it with me? It's just so...

Ew. Y'know. That automatic reaction.

What sort of popcorn?

[Ravens_cry]

If I do this will someone do it with me? It's just so...

Ew. Y'know. That automatic reaction.

We're not talking salted and buttered popcorn here, or whatever that stuff they add to microwave popcorn, we're talking fresh from the popper, no additions except in the bowl, popcorn.
Your reaction does not surprise me, it is a human instinct to reject unfamiliar foods, it is a safety protocol for omnivores, but really, it's good. Not exactly filling, but good.

[Story Time]

So my Yucky Instinct is a safety mechanism?

Interesting thought.

Anyway...air popped. This means...using hot air to pop kernels? I don't have one of those. I'd have to use a pot and probably oil?

[Grinner]

Anyway...air popped. This means...using hot air to pop kernels? I don't have one of those. I'd have to use a pot and probably oil?

Sounds good.

[Ravens_cry]

So my Yucky Instinct is a safety mechanism?

Interesting thought.

Think about it. As an omnivore, we can eat anything, but a lot of things are trying to not be eaten. Herbivores evolved immunities to the toxins of the plants they consume, but tend to restrict themselves to a fairly limited variety. An extreme version of this is Koalas eating almost exclusively eucalyptus leaves, which to other critters are very toxic.
Us omnivorous apelings move around a lot, so we couldn't evolve specific immunities, but we can watch what our fellow apelings eat and basically use them as taste testers when we are very young.
If they don't die or get sick, chowing down is probably A-OK.

Anyway...air popped. This means...using hot air to pop kernels? I don't have one of those. I'd have to use a pot and probably oil?

Yes, but there is another way. Do you have a microwave? Get a a soup bowl and sprinkle a few kernels on the bottom. Cover the mouth of the bowl with a teaplate or saucer and nuke for 30 seconds, than 15 seconds at a time. You should hear popping. After a while, you'll have a bowl of tender popped corn.
Be careful when removing the saucer, hot steam inside.
A microwavable glass bowl would probably be best, so you can see when it's done.
I actually like this better than the dedicated machine air popped, as the steam released during popping is trapped in the bowl, meaning the popped kernels are more tender and flavorful.
It's also much more convenient when you want some just for yourself and not a gallon bucket of the stuff.

[Xuc Xac]

Your reaction does not surprise me, it is a human instinct to reject unfamiliar foods, it is a safety protocol for omnivores, but really, it's good.

Little kids will put anything in their mouths, including stuff that isn't food. People who think escargot is disgusting will happily pay premium prices for clams and oysters. People who would never eat fried crickets will happily suck on the head of a crawfish before ripping the legs off to get at the tail meat. Some people will happily eat venison but not understand how a horse could be considered edible. Lobster and shrimp used to be cheap "poor people food" that no one would eat unless they were starving, but now they are expensive delicacies. Learning what is "disgusting" is a result of culture, not instinct.

[Eldan]

Little kids will put anything in their mouths, including stuff that isn't food. People who think escargot is disgusting will happily pay premium prices for clams and oysters. People who would never eat fried crickets will happily suck on the head of a crawfish before ripping the legs off to get at the tail meat. Some people will happily eat venison but not understand how a horse could be considered edible. Lobster and shrimp used to be cheap "poor people food" that no one would eat unless they were starving, but now they are expensive delicacies. Learning what is "disgusting" is a result of culture, not instinct.

Fun fact: there was a law in the 19th century in the city of Basel, which is on the rhine, which stated that you weren't allowed to feed your servants salmon more than three times per week.
Salmon's extinct now, in Switzerland.

[Eldan]

Little kids will put anything in their mouths, including stuff that isn't food. People who think escargot is disgusting will happily pay premium prices for clams and oysters. People who would never eat fried crickets will happily suck on the head of a crawfish before ripping the legs off to get at the tail meat. Some people will happily eat venison but not understand how a horse could be considered edible. Lobster and shrimp used to be cheap "poor people food" that no one would eat unless they were starving, but now they are expensive delicacies. Learning what is "disgusting" is a result of culture, not instinct.

Fun fact: there was a law in the 19th century in the city of Basel, which is on the rhine, which stated that you weren't allowed to feed your servants salmon more than three times per week.
Salmon's extinct now, in Switzerland.

[Yora]

Fun fact: there was a law in the 19th century in the city of Basel, which is on the rhine, which stated that you weren't allowed to feed your servants salmon more than three times per week.
Salmon's extinct now, in Switzerland.

You too? We had the same law in Lübeck, which is at the Baltic Sea.

[Elemental]

If I remember correctly, there was a similar law in England.
But I think it referred to apprentices, not servants.

Fortunately, salmon isn't extinct in England, just not easy to fish out of the river. Hurrah for the History Channel!

Anyway, as far as I'm aware, we've never had any laws like that in Queensland.

[Story Time]

There is no popping corn in my entire house!

...groceries, then maybe testing popped corn kernels in milk.

[Karoht]

Little kids will put anything in their mouths, including stuff that isn't food. People who think escargot is disgusting will happily pay premium prices for clams and oysters. People who would never eat fried crickets will happily suck on the head of a crawfish before ripping the legs off to get at the tail meat. Some people will happily eat venison but not understand how a horse could be considered edible. Lobster and shrimp used to be cheap "poor people food" that no one would eat unless they were starving, but now they are expensive delicacies. Learning what is "disgusting" is a result of culture, not instinct.

I had to laugh at the notion that lobster and shrimp were considered poor people food. It's entirely true, I assure you, but it still made me laugh.
It wasn't until the maritimes fished their waters into oblivion that they realized that Lobster and other crustacians were making a comeback. Now they are largely considered a plentiful food source. However, as a result of overfishing and the destruction of the turtle populations, Jellifish are now making a comeback in record numbers. It is entirely probable that in our lifetime, jellifish will make the transition from delicacy to common food source. They are fully sustainable, they are easy to produce in farming stocks (unlike fish), and if handled correctly, 100% safe to eat.

PS-Fried Jellifish tastes like deep fried wonton, it's actually quite tasty. And it's very protein rich, or so I hear. They serve it at some chinese restaraunts, but not very commonly. And I think there is a warning on it, in case they don't remove all the barbs.

[Grinner]

It is entirely probable that in our lifetime, jellifish will make the transition from delicacy to common food source. They are fully sustainable, they are easy to produce in farming stocks (unlike fish), and if handled correctly, 100% safe to eat.

Some have proposed that idea to be the origin of this song.

[Matthias2207]

Why feels ALL CAPS like screaming?

How do I write 7331 in non-7331? LEET? LEEI?

And what's the proper use of the numbers in 7331? Or do we all just use them a lot, and hope people will understand?
1 6u355 4h15 15 h0w y0u 5h0u7d wr143 1n 7331, 8u4 1'm c0nfu53d 8y 1h3 u53 0f 4h3 4, 7 4nd 1.
4 could be A and t.
1 could be i and t
Or at least, that's how I used them here...

[pffh]

Why feels ALL CAPS like screaming?

How do I write 7331 in non-7331? LEET? LEEI?

And what's the proper use of the numbers in 7331? Or do we all just use them a lot, and hope people will understand?
1 6u355 4h15 15 h0w y0u 5h0u7d wr143 1n 7331, 8u4 1'm c0nfu53d 8y 1h3 u53 0f 4h3 4, 7 4nd 1.
4 could be A and t.
1 could be i and t
Or at least, that's how I used them here...

You got it backwards it's 1337 and it is indeed LEET. 4 is A and 7 is T and 1 is L.

And wow I didn't even know 13375P4K was still around considering that it is over a decade old I would have thought txt speak would have completely overtaken it.

Now excuse me while I go and purge myself of my 13 year old self again.

[Grinner]

And wow I didn't even know 13375P4K was still around considering that it is over a decade old I would have thought txt speak would have completely overtaken it.

Well, it's never really been practical for eased textual communication, and as an encryption method, it's about as effective as Pig Latin. Really, it's just used in jest anymore.

[Elemental]

Eyhay! Iglatinpay isyay ayay erfectlypay acceptableyay encryptionyay ethodmay. Unfortunatelyyay, onlyyay enwhay okenspay.

In my opinion, Leet Speak is just annoying. I can never remember which number means what letter. And how do you communicate large numbers in it?


Anyway, moving on from novelty languages, but not very far at all:
Why do people insist on constructing languages in an attempt to fix the problems that exist in existing languages?

[Goosefeather]

Anyway, moving on from novelty languages, but not very far at all:
Why do people insist on constructing languages in an attempt to fix the problems that exist in existing languages?

Real languages are full of irregularities, which are usually a massive bitch to learn. I guess some linguists just snapped one day

Of course, perfection may be practical, but it's also dull, and a language's quirks are what give it character, in addition to being metonyms for its history, literature and evolution.

Besides, there are other reasons to create a new language. Wikipedia divides constructed languages into three categories:

Engineered languages (engelangs /ˈɛnd͡ʒlæŋz/), further subdivided into logical languages (loglangs), philosophical languages and experimental languages; devised for the purpose of experimentation in logic, philosophy, or linguistics;

Auxiliary languages (auxlangs) devised for international communication (also IALs, for International Auxiliary Language);

Artistic languages (artlangs) devised to create aesthetic pleasure or humorous effect, just for fun; usually secret languages and mystical languages are classified as artlangs

Exploring language can thus be a useful way of investigating the human psyche and condition.