Today I Learned

[BillTre]

Well, it won't be possible to claim he's at the North pole for too many more years.

 

[BWV]

People who don't like cilantro / coriander have a genetic defect
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11398

 

[hutchphd]

Brussel sprouts too. (Too lazy for reference...my brother told me...he's an MD)

 

[DaveC426913]

People who don't like cilantro / coriander have a genetic defect
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11398

Brussel sprouts too. (Too lazy for reference...my brother told me...he's an MD)

Genetic advantage, I'd say. Like sickle cell anemia prevents malaria.

 

[jack action]

People who don't like cilantro / coriander have a genetic defect
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11398

The article doesn't say "genetic defect", it says "genetic variant".

 

[Bystander]

The article doesn't say "genetic defect", it says "genetic variant".

Yup, cilantro tastes like soap...additionally artificial sweeteners taste to me like gasoline/kerosene/coal oil. Don't know if that's an additional effect or not.

 

[BWV]

Yup, cilantro tastes like soap...additionally artificial sweeteners taste to me like gasoline/kerosene/coal oil. Don't know if that's an additional effect or not.

Sounds like a defect to me, kind of like being colorblind or tonedeaf or something. Never to know the awesomeness of cilantro /coriander ;)

 

[fresh_42]

Yup, cilantro tastes like soap...additionally artificial sweeteners taste to me like gasoline/kerosene/coal oil. Don't know if that's an additional effect or not.

<rant>Artificial sweeteners are the foods industry's response to the fact that people want to be lied to and betrayed.

If I do not want the sugar in the coke, then serve me some water. Otherwise, let me alone with my unhealthy coke. That's next to low-fat cheese. This is as reasonable as lactose-free milk is, or vegan burgers are, or gluten-free bread. I am not talking about people with coeliac disease, I am talking to the thousands of other folks who think it is healthier to avoid essential ingredients. Don't eat it if you don't want to, but stop pretending. There is really healthy food available. Eat veggies and fruit.<\rant>

 

[BillTre]

<rant>Artificial sweeteners are the foods industry's response to the fact that people want to be lied to and betrayed.

If I do not want the sugar in the coke, then serve me some water. Otherwise, let me alone with my unhealthy coke. That's next to low-fat cheese. This is as reasonable as lactose-free milk is, or vegan burgers are, or gluten-free bread. I am not talking about people with coeliac disease, I am talking to the thousands of other folks who think it is healthier to avoid essential ingredients. Don't eat it if you don't want to, but stop pretending. There is really healthy food available. Eat veggies and fruit.<\rant>

Although I agree with your general food thoughts, I think your rant would be better directed at those making and MARKETTING their products for PROFIT rather than any the improvement in anyone else's condition.

Chemical In Your Mouth aside:
I used to use a chemical in labs to prevent fish embryos from making pigment (so we could see everything going on in them as the grew). The pigment cells were still there, but they could not make the pigment molecule (melanin).
At first we thought of it as run of the mill chemical, not to worry about toxicity or disposal (dump down the drain). Eventually it was identified as mildly toxic and something to be disposed of in a particular way.

When I was in a lab in England, my boss told me, that when he was a kid, this chemical (Phenyl Thio Urea (PTU)) was used as a grade school lab demonstration that a common genetic variant in people can control if their ability to taste a specific chemical. They would have kids taste, keep records, and show difference. Kind of like tongue rolling.
Then they found out it was mildly toxic, and of course changed what they did.
(Life is full of these kinds of contradictions based on the historical development of knowledge.)

My Rant:
Reactions to new knowledge in food realm will be slowed by opposition of financial powers with interest in food production.
This gets into social structure, politics, and such.

Another issue with the food field is that it does not seem to be what I would call a mature field. There are lots of changes going on in what people think about basic issues. There is also a very large, the non-academic source of many people's awareness, is often profit driven and not too concerned with facts.

 

[fresh_42]

Although I agree with your general food thoughts, I think your rant would be better directed at those making and MARKETTING their products for PROFIT rather than any the improvement in anyone else's condition.

I am a purist and don't like the attitude that something is better because it is trendy. It took us thousands of years to digest lactose, a major achievement. The problem with gluten arose from the needs of the food industry which required much higher amounts of it in wheat than is naturally the case. And low-fat cheese doesn't make any sense to me at all. Good camemberts have 50%-60%. What's left from cheese if you subtract fat? And if I eat meat, I made a decision. We certainly do not need it seven days a week. In former times, meat was for Sundays and holidays, so there are plenty of good recipes without meat. But if I made the decision to eat meat, then I know it is a luxury and I don't want to be taught by self-announced apostles of veganism.

I think it is a good idea to eat seasonal, local food, and to pay more attention to what we eat in general. Faking food isn't a solution in my mind. I even have difficulties understanding the hypes around some trends. In the end, they are the same people who usually condemn processed food.

 

[epenguin]

There's a can o' worms alright.

House-flipping shows are a staple in our house, but I still cringe every time they enter the front door into the "foyur".

I always disliked the word originally because of posh snobby sounding connotations. Dictionary pronunciations correspon to neither normal English nor French. You could make a justification for your 'foyur' - the word originally means 'hearth' in French, and so is related to 'fire'.

 

[KingGambit]

Today I learned, actually a few years ago, as a computer programmer that...
You can type.
Create
Database
DataSet
Read
Text
Trace
Date
Feed
all with your left hand.

While for me, when I was wearing the cast.
popup
link
lookup
loop
are the worst.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned a new word: cheugy.

What Is ‘Cheugy’? You Know It When You See It. (New York Times)

It’s not quite “basic,” which can describe someone who is a conformist or perhaps generic in their tastes, and it’s not quite “uncool.” It’s not embarrassing or even always negative. Cheugy (pronounced chew-gee) can be used, broadly, to describe someone who is out of date or trying too hard. And while a lot of cheugy things are associated with millennial women, the term can be applied to anyone of any gender and any age.

It’s not just a way to describe people. According to people who have embraced the word, the following are also cheugy: The Hype House, Golden Goose sneakers, anything associated with Barstool Sports, Gucci belts with the large double “G” logo, being really into sneaker culture, Rae Dunn pottery, and anything chevron.

This article is now eight months old, which shows you how far behind the times I am, as an aging Boomer. Paleo-cheugy, perhaps?

 

[Frabjous]

I guess I am NOT cheugy. I have never heard of The Hype House, Golden Goose sneakers, anything associated with Barstool Sports, Gucci belts with the large double “G” logo, Rae Dunn pottery, and anything chevron. Looking at my sneakers, no one would consider me a member of sneaker culture.

 

[Ibix]

Today I learned a new word: cheugy.

What Is ‘Cheugy’? You Know It When You See It. (New York Times)

NYT doesn't like me, but from glancing at the illustrations at the top that I managed to see it looked like somebody didn't know the word "kitsch" so invented a new word with the same meaning, to be honest.

 

[hutchphd]

Bits of the Wikipedia entry are wonderful in particular

Among Generation Z, the reaction to cheugy has been described as one of confusion. Inside Hook reveals that many Zoomers were unfamiliar with the term before its popularization by online spaces such as Twitter and Buzzfeed, and a common sentiment reflects that Zoomers do not view themselves as participants in the spread of cheugy, rather perceiving its popularity as “millennial on millennial violence."

Good God I am old...

 

[Rive]

TIL that though nor day/night nor winter does not concerns moles, around Christmas they too might have a soft spot about eggnog: their (very deeply) hidden creativity just got some inspiration.

Definitely not your common molehills

 

[DaveE]

TIL that train wheels aren't cylindrical, and why they do that.

 

[ergospherical]

It's recently come to my attention that some people use milk instead of water in the cooking of porridge oats; now I wonder whether this is a popular practice and whether it actually tastes nicer than using water?

 

[BWV]

It's recently come to my attention that some people use milk instead of water in the cooking of porridge oats; now I wonder whether this is a popular practice and whether it actually tastes nicer than using water?

Never tried it, but milk scalds at around 170F/ 77C , so would have to be careful with the temp

 

[DaveC426913]

...porridge...

...actually tastes nice...

You've put these two phrases in the same sentence, and I'm having trouble parsing that.

 

[hutchphd]

It's recently come to my attention that some people use milk instead of water in the cooking of porridge oats; now I wonder whether this is a popular practice and whether it actually tastes nicer than using water?

One of the primary reasons I got my instant pot at the urging of several friends. Put in steel cut oats, milk, maybe some fruits (fresh or dried) and push the "porridge" button and walk awy. Come back later (half hour) to perfect oats. The milk sugars make it much more delicious.
These cookers are really good IMHO: hi or low pressure, very even heat up the sides, and also very smart sensors. Great for stews, dried beans, rice, braised meat. The rest of my kitchen is black cast iron: pretty much old school. I use it thrice weekly typically.

 

[ergospherical]

Come back later (half hour) to perfect oats.

Half an hour! I usually just bung it in the microwave for a few minutes.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that train wheels aren't cylindrical, and why they do that.

Richard Feynman was asked this question as part of his fraternity initiation.

 

[Frabjous]

It's recently come to my attention that some people use milk instead of water in the cooking of porridge oats; now I wonder whether this is a popular practice and whether it actually tastes nicer than using water?

Steel cut oats made with 2/3 milk, 1/3 water with pecans, maple syrup and frozen (coldness provides contrast) fruit (usually blueberries, but cherries or pomegranate seeds are a treat)

 

[hutchphd]

Half an hour! I usually just bung it in the microwave for a few minutes

Philistine! Time is ours to use. Worth every minute.

 

[BWV]

Philistine! Time is ours to use. Worth every minute.

No one on their death bed ever wished they took more time for oatmeal

 

[hutchphd]

They were probably busy frantically smelling the roses. I'll take edibles.

 

[mfb]

TIL about Zsigmondy's theorem.
If a>b>0 are coprime integers, then $a^1-b^1$, $a^2-b^2$, ..., $a^n-b^n$ will always have a new prime factor not present before, with just three exceptions:

• If a=b+1 then $a^1-b^1=1$ which is not a prime (trivial)
• If a+b is a power of 2 then $a^2-b^2=(a+b)(a^1-b^1)$ does not introduce a new prime factor as a-b is even. Still pretty easy to see.
• If a=2, b=1 then $a^6-b^6 = 63 = 3\cdot3\cdot7$, both 3 and 7 appeared before (e.g. at n=2 and n=3). Why does this weird exception exist?

I also learned about Skype's new account creation captcha which looks like a joke.

 

[strangerep]

No one on their death bed ever wished they took more time for oatmeal

That might be partly because they never had it cooked right, and served with milk and a generous helping of brown sugar. I quite liked that breakfast as a child, though not without the brown sugar.

But since you said that, I'll now try to remember, on my death bed, to ask for porridge with milk and brown sugar.