Re: The Invention Intervention

1

I believe carbonated wine already exists.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:29 PM
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As an aging liberal arts major with no mechanical skills, I'm going to conceive of but not make a novel and/or screenplay.


Posted by: PGD | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:30 PM
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3

Stanley you can't take a regular bra off without removing your shirt? It is a well-known skill.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:31 PM
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4

The proposed invention is completely unnecessary.


Posted by: Gaijin Biker | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:32 PM
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5

Curses, pwned by #3.


Posted by: Gaijin Biker | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:32 PM
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3 is right. It's not hard, and I'm not even particularly skilled.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:32 PM
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1: That was but one step in the conceived-of process, the entire process which I'm leaving seekrit, you know, in case she gets off her tuchus and runs with it. The rest of you, however, should feel free to give up ideas you're too lazy to do something with.

Not that I think you're lazy or anything.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:33 PM
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I can totally take off someone's bra without removing my shirt.


Posted by: Gaijin Biker | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:33 PM
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8: not me.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:33 PM
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I have a really great idea for an iPhone game but Blume says it's too dangerous. Also I think Honda may have beaten me to the punch.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:34 PM
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11

It's not hard

Okay, but what if one is wearing many layers? Like two shirts a sweater and a sweatshirt? Even then?


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:37 PM
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11: Yes, even then. I do it with layers on all the time.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:38 PM
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12: Well, crap. So, my idea sucks.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:41 PM
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I do it with layers on all the time

Wait, now I'm confused. Why do you find yourself needing to do this all the time? Are you using the underwire to break into locked cars, or do you just routinely forget to take it off before otherwise getting yourself ready for bed? Or what?


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:41 PM
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I want to get one of the squat toilets and I want to adapt it for a dog. This idea occurs to be every year about this time, even though I no longer have a dog to walk.


Posted by: MH | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:42 PM
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do you just routinely forget to take it off before otherwise getting yourself ready for bed?

If I'm in for the night and writing or reading, not yet ready for pajamas, I will take it off.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:46 PM
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17

Fuck bras. What the world needs is underwear that can be removed without first removing one's pants. For those times when you're sitting around and suddenly think, "damn, I wish I wasn't wearing underwear right now."


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:49 PM
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18

Three words: modular cat furniture.


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:49 PM
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18: for the modular cat in the family. ("Honey! Where's the tail?!")


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:51 PM
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20

More specifically, it is a brassiere that fastens in three locations: the front or back, the left strap, and the right strap.

This is called a nursing bra. It allows the user to remove it without meddling excessively with the outer garments.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:52 PM
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21

I think Honda may have beaten me to the punch.

Corporations sure seem to steal your ideas a lot, don't they?


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:53 PM
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22

20: Oh, so I've been pwned on top of coming up with a crappy idea? Well, tonight is just not my night. Harumph.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:54 PM
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23

Well, crap. So, my idea sucks.

No, no, it doesn't! It is useful! For sucking.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:54 PM
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24

19: Could be a person named Honda.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:55 PM
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21: Like Omni Consumer Products.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:55 PM
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26

Somehow, in 24 19 was supposed to be 21.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:56 PM
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27

I'm going to make a beverage with electrolytes!


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:56 PM
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28

It's not nice to make fun, Stanley. Modular cats are people too.


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:57 PM
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29

I'm going to put wheels on the bottom of my shoes so that I can zoom around, instead of walking!


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:57 PM
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30

If you build a better mousetrap, something something something. So be careful, is what I'm saying.


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 8:59 PM
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31

I'm going to invent a cold that can be treated with common cures.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:01 PM
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32

27,29: Or better yet "a thin, durable slice of rubber, about the size of a washcloth" for unscrewing jar lids.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:01 PM
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I have this idea called "give me a dollar." I put up vending machines all over college campuses that look just like the machines that sell bottled water. Except they don't sell anything. You just give them a dollar.

Then, I blitz MTV and Cartoon Network with ads featuring a passel of hipsters of various races and genders feeding a dollar into my machines. The voice over says "You are the new generation. You don't have time for bottled water. Give me a dollar."

It seems to me that if you can sell bottled water, you can sell this.


Posted by: rob helpy-chalk | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:05 PM
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22: And you know what? I think I saw a bra like that advertised in Rolling Stone.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:06 PM
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30: On TAL they had a story about this guy who ran a mousetrap company, and people were always submitting ideas for a better mousetrap. One plan consisted of a morsel of bait, placed at the end of a tiny gangplank, which in turn was balanced at the edge of a bucket. Mice would be tempted towards the bait, and when they reached the end of the little plank, it would tip, and dump them into the bucket, which was filled with antifreeze. Then in the morning, you would wake up and go to the kitchen, and find a big bucket of antifreeze, with dead mice floating in the top. It was very effective.

What I mean to say is, go with God, Stanley.


Posted by: jms | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:09 PM
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36

I was at the gym yesterday, listening to the recent TAL episode where they play the "best" and "worst" songs, according to the polls. The worst song made me laugh so hard that I drew attention to myself, but it's just so goddamn funny: all those kids singing "LABOR DAY! LABOR DAY!"


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:11 PM
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Well, tonight is just not my night. Harumph.

Well, I just made a little batch of creme brulees that never fully set up, and then tried to use the whites to make meringues, forgetting that you can't add cocoa powder with fat in it or the whites will fall. Me and eggs ain't on good terms tonight.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:11 PM
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38

I spent the whole weekend pouring hours into the Everloving Paper Of Doom, and I feel zero weekend rejuvenation and grumpy that tomorrow is Monday.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:12 PM
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39

I am going to invent tradition.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:14 PM
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40

I'm going to come up with a catchy word for that thing where you do something just because that's how it's been done last year, and the year before, and as far back as anyone can remember.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:15 PM
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41

My other failures of the weekend include homemade black bean burgers that just sort of sucked and a wrestling match with a car stereo installation that I'm still losing.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:15 PM
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42

Also:

The Great Awakening
Eastenr Europe
Popular Sovereignty

and many more!


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:15 PM
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43

Well, tonight is just not my night.

You could have been a contender.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:16 PM
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44

36: I have the whole song. It's like 22 minutes long, and incredible throughout.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:16 PM
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45

44: "YOM KIPPUR! YOM KIPPUR!" I'm laughing again just thinking about it.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:19 PM
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46

Here's a link, Heebie. Not sure if it's the full version, but I'd assume so.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:19 PM
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47

44: In-a-gadda-da-vida , baby.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:19 PM
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48

Here's the most wanted and unwanted songs.

Ramadan! So much fun! Do all your shopping...at Wal-Mart!


Posted by: Cryptic Ned | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:23 PM
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49

I've invented a process for slowly oxidizing iron exposed to air. Good for the economy, especially the domestic auto industry.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:24 PM
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50

Christ, how often is the Most Unpopular Song going to come up here?

I have this idea called "give me a dollar." I put up vending machines all over college campuses that look just like the machines that sell bottled water. Except they don't sell anything. You just give them a dollar.

Someone already thought of the Million Dollar Homepage.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:25 PM
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21: they kind of do! Although Wendy's really just stole the name of my idea, and applied it to a sandwich, and I think Honda (and probably several thousand other people) probably just had the same idea I did, because it's a great idea, and somewhat obvious.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:25 PM
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52

And here's the W-lfs-n Holiday Remix of the most unwanted song.


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:26 PM
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53

trying to carbonate wine; that was probably unwise

Sounds that way, but maybe you had some quirkily brilliant reason, so I'll suspend judgment.

It would be nice to think that if you built a worse mousetrap, you could prevent the world from beating a path to your door. Because a person wants peace and quiet, and building a worse mousetrap would be a cinch.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:28 PM
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54

Just put the new mousetraps along the path to your door, I guess. People will get the idea.


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:28 PM
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55

because it's a great idea, and somewhat obvious.

It's an app where a number is associated with people you know, and when you enter the number, you call them!


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:29 PM
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For more than 20 years, I have desperately wished someone would create a saucepan with a removable or collapsible handle. Pots are the the perfect environmentally friendly, laborsaving way to save leftovers in the fridge, except the stupid handle always takes up so much room.

For years, I was absolutely certain that someone would market this, under the general principle of if-I-can-come-up-with-it-surely-someone-else-has-already-filed-for-a-patent, but no. If it's ever existed, it certainly hasn't been widely marketed in a decent-quality version.

Hurry up, world!


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:29 PM
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57

Sounds that way, but maybe you had some quirkily brilliant reason, so I'll suspend judgment.

Cutting costs versus traditional champagne/sparkling-wine. I don't think the Wine Dude we know was involved. We were just bored and curious. So, yeah, probably dumb.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:30 PM
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58

Whoever came up with this idea, while totally evil, is also quite clever.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:30 PM
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59

The trouble with modular cats is they act all funny near the corners of the moduli space.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:32 PM
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60

Oh I totally forgot about another pretty damn good video game idea I had that has probably missed its window of interestingness.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:32 PM
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For more than 20 years, I have desperately wished someone would create a saucepan with a removable or collapsible handle.

They exist. There are lots of pots and pans in this awesome store (where, indeed, I got a cherry pitter) that have just little hollow handle-stubs: wooden handles go in them, like with broom handles. Mostly they're cast iron or enameled cast iron.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:32 PM
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62

Why not just invent a fridge with holes for saucepan handles?


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:35 PM
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63

saucepan with a removable or collapsible handle

Ooh, like you can fold it over the top? I think camping cookware exists like that, but I'd love something similar with a more robust handle for everyday use.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:35 PM
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Ben, you would have my undying gratitude, but for the small matter of widely marketed. It ain't widely available if I gotta fly 3000 miles.

(Also, cast iron? It's lovely, but I only own one and most people I know, even those who cook, are the same.)


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:36 PM
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Or, you could just get a pot with no, or very short, handles, and buy some potholders.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:37 PM
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57: Dumb in itself, perhaps, but with prom-oriented marketing and a distribution system centered at your local high school, you'd have cleaned up. Don't give up, man.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:38 PM
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I think they're all holdovers from an earlier time. I would bet money that, if there's a similar secondhand cookware or even general-with-cookware shop in your burg, you could find something similar.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:39 PM
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68

Potholders? Someone stole my invention!

67: The word "similar" is doing a whole lot of work in that sentence.


Posted by: Cryptic Ned | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:40 PM
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My grandma likes to tell how brilliant it was when they moved the serrated edge of a Saran Wrap dispenser from the near edge to the far edge, so that the wrap would cling to the edge for next time instead of wrapping up on the roll. Then she says, "The obvious isn't obvious till it's obvious." Then she explains to you what she means by that. Still, I love that example.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:40 PM
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63: I used to - or might still - have a pan like that. It worked very well, except for the time a friend tried to flip a pancake by lifting the pan quickly and the handle collapsed a bit. I don't remember exactly what happened after that, aside from the laughter.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:40 PM
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Only Stanley understands. The world needs this, guys. It isn't about problem-solving my little leftovers issue. For that, I can just go to the H-Mart and get more of those useful little glass boxes with the snap-on tops.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:40 PM
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72

Stanley's idea in yet lower-rent form.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:41 PM
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58 is awesome and brilliant.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:41 PM
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74

Removable handles, terrible website.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:41 PM
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75

Speaking of removable handles, I just tried to open my hood today (anti-freeze leaks, so I check it often). The handle for the hood release came right off.


Posted by: MH | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:41 PM
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76

I like heebie's grandmother.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:42 PM
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77

I'm going to conceive of and then not make babies.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:45 PM
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I have a special edit of the worst song that's just the holiday parts! It's the best, and I put it on my Christmas mix for this year.


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:46 PM
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74: Wow, that is an impressively terrible website.

Their handles look cool but I don't think I'd trust them not to come loose with normal (non-infomericial) use.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:47 PM
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Or, you could just get a pot with no, or very short, handles, and buy some potholders.

Or get calloused hands.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:47 PM
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81

Don't lots of camping cookpots have removable handleS?


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:47 PM
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82

"The obvious isn't obvious till it's obvious."

I think that was the justification one of my undergrad professors gave for category theory.

Me, I just want to see everyone rolling around in giant padded hamster balls. It would make my daily commute so much more amusing. Is that so much to ask?


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:48 PM
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78: Really? Jammies was just saying that he was thinking about just sampling all those parts. Can you send it to me?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:48 PM
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84

You're welcome, rfts.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:49 PM
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85

79: I dunno, they seem to be well regarded. Also, they're expensive, so that's a plus.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:49 PM
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86

Comment 52 cries out to you, heebie.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:49 PM
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52 is great! Why didn't you point it out to me earlier?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:52 PM
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88

From the link in 85:

Top quality professional pots and pans from the same country that produces Le Creuset.

That poor copywriter was really reaching. I'm clearly tired and punchy, because boy is that cracking me up.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:52 PM
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89

I thanked you at the time, too!


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:52 PM
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90

LABOR DAY! LABOR DAY!


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:53 PM
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91

(Later, someone else helped me to make a slightly smoother edit, which is what's on my own mix. I'm sorry.)


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:54 PM
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92

Well, the edit I made was made extremely hastily, so there's really no reason to apologize or anything. I'm just being a little bitch.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:56 PM
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88: I guess there's no equivalent to "German engineering" which is a phrase that makes the same kind of claim.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:56 PM
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94

Almost as sorry as I am to have failed to notice comments, oh, 50 through 62 or so before embarking on this line of discussion.


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:56 PM
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95

93: french... engineering?


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 9:59 PM
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96

Artisanship?


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:05 PM
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97

french... engineering?

That reminds me... I dearly want one of these.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:08 PM
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48: "Fewer than 200 individuals of the world's total population will enjoy" the most unwanted song? Nonsense! It's great! Most entertaining new thing I've heard in weeks, and I finally listened to the ever-so-hyped Fleet Foxes album.

Do all your shopping... at Walmart!


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:11 PM
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77 took you long enough.


Posted by: TJ | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:27 PM
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100

I'm a late bloomer.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:34 PM
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101

This thread reminds me about an episode of the Simpsons, and an episode of Southpark about the Simpsons.


Posted by: paranoid android | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:35 PM
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102

Oh yeah? Well, it reminds me around an episode of Samurai Jack.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:37 PM
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103

That reminds me... I dearly want one of these.

We had one when I was growing up .... it was two parts awesome and one part suckitude. It was fun to learn to drive in though, since it had this strange sorta automatic sorta not transmission. I reccommend them if you enjoy tinkering with cars to no end, like a car with hydraulics that isn't an 80's low-rider Cadillac, and appreciate the fine engineering of a car body that comes apart in handy dandy panels for repainting at home illegally in the backyard shed with toxic paints.


Posted by: DL | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:41 PM
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I think a bra that opened in front and back would be easily removable, w/o having to open the straps (and that hardware rubs, IME). Each half would come off freely when pulling through the sleeve.

Also, maybe the back could usually be used for fitting, and the front for easy fastening?



Posted by: clew | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:43 PM
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105

they kind of do!

Probably spying on you through the iPhone.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:46 PM
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106

I only ever saw three or four episodes of Samurai Jack, but I really liked them. I recall that one episode revolved entirely around his replacing his sandals.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:47 PM
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107

I'm going to conceive of and then not make babies.

Shhhhhh!


Posted by: OPINIONATED USAID | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:48 PM
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108

I recall that one episode revolved entirely around his replacing his sandals.

I found it touch and go; a lot of it was a rehash of the rehash of the adaption of the satire on the remake of the whatever the original source was. On other hand, some bits were greats.

I feel so decisive.

Also, I think Stanley's invention is great, except for one little drawback - I almost never wear bras. But for whatever times I have, I'm sure it would've been fantastic.

max
['Has anybody invented dirt yet? Otherwise, I call dibs.']


Posted by: max | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 10:55 PM
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I have plenty of ideas, but I implement the best ones. The best idea I currently have I'm planning on implementing over the next year.

Incidentally, they're all software.


Posted by: paranoid android | Link to this comment | 01-25-09 11:11 PM
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Samurai Jack was a damn good show. Typically very understated, and extremely pretty style. The scorer was quite fantastic as well.

Most episodes were deliberately obvious reinterpretations of extremely well-known storylines and archetypes, but I think Genndy deliberately chose that route so dialogue would be mostly unnecessary. When you can safely assume the audience already knows the story, it allows all the effort to instead go into pacing and atmosphere, and allows for an extremely spare style that would otherwise render the show impossible to follow.


Posted by: Po-Mo Polymath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:00 AM
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111

110: Genndy's slated to direct the Dark Crystal sequel.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:21 AM
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112

I'm going to invent a magic wand that will make all my belongings pack themselves nearly into cardboard boxes.


Posted by: Bitchphd | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 1:01 AM
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113

#110: Best news I've heard all day!


Posted by: Gaijin Biker | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 1:17 AM
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114

Oops, I mean #111 was the best news I've heard all day.


Posted by: Gaijin Biker | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 1:18 AM
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115

One such invention idea we did act upon had us in the backyard with a CO2 tank, trying to carbonate wine

Couldn't you just get an old fashioned soda water syphon and fill it with wine instead of water or sugary shit?


Posted by: OneFatEnglishman | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 1:56 AM
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116

I'm going to invent a magic wand that will make all my belongings pack themselves nearly into cardboard boxes.

All my belongings already nearly pack into cardboard boxes.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 3:08 AM
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117

You know what's a good moustrap? Wine bottles with a little wine in the bottom. I think that it's helpful if it's sweet wine.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 5:43 AM
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118

I've long wanted to make a series of alternative snowglobes. For example, one with a trashcan full of garbage inside and when you shake it a swarm of flies swarms all around. Or an iron foundry belching sparks and coal ash. Or an ovum surrounded by sperm.

I remember as a child being struck deeply by that scene in Mary Poppins where she's singing the song about feeding the birds and there's a snowglobe but when she shakes it it's not snow but pigeons flying all around St. Paul's Cathedral, IIRC. Maybe that's where I got this idea from.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 6:00 AM
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119

I had a truly good idea the other day, which I now can't recall. I mentioned it to AB, so maybe she remembers.

My mom had these beautiful enameled pans that had little half-round loops to which you could attach a plastic handle, but I was never able to figure out how to make the handle attach - abortive '70s technology, I think.

They're probably still at my dad's house, all forlorn.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 6:06 AM
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Also, that little fob thing that opens your car door? I want one of those that works on my house.

And one that worked on bras would be useful too.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 6:09 AM
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118: Wow, that's pretty good. And you could totally make the whole gamut, for different markets.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 6:16 AM
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I firmly believe that there's a snowglobe for everyone, and everyone needs a snowglobe.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 7:24 AM
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||
Dept. of Course of Right Action department:

...stay in the hotel room with the new Mrs. Wrongshore, turista-stricken, or go out and see Muay Thai (anything-goes Thai boxing)?

...I'll probably stay in reading Bangkok Tattoo (very good locally relevant crime fiction) cuz i'm sleepy, but anyway.
|>


Posted by: Wrongshore | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 7:30 AM
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Bangkok tattoo is pretty good. As is the earlier one, Bangkok 8.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 7:36 AM
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95: We had a Renault R4 when I was a kid. Perfect Third World car - it even had a little hole in the front bumper where you could use the wheel spanner to crank the engine if the battery died. My dad maintained that thing himself for nearly ten years, with me helping out. At one point we completely dismantled the engine and rebuilt it. That's pretty much the most fun you can have when you're an eight year old boy short of playing with high explosives and flamethrowers.


Posted by: togolosh | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:22 AM
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I think a bra that opened in front and back would be easily removable, w/o having to open the straps (and that hardware rubs, IME). Each half would come off freely when pulling through the sleeve.

I think I would end up with a big pile of half-bras and have trouble every morning trying to find a matching pair. Then I'd write a post postulating the invention of a bra with an idiot string, like mittens have. Then we'd be set.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:26 AM
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And of course, the Citroen DS.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:27 AM
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The idea of storing leftovers in the fridge in the pot seems a little wrong to me, as a general principle. I've done it, sure. But if you had a cast-iron pot, wouldn't leaving it wet like that be dangerous for its surface? And what would the effect of regular temperature extremes be on your average metal?

Maybe I'm being silly to worry about this, but I would want to see a detailed and professional-looking instructional booklet before I bought a pot-tupperware device.


Posted by: Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:37 AM
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My dad maintained that thing himself for nearly ten years, with me helping out. At one point we completely dismantled the engine and rebuilt it.

We did this with our Mini. I think my step-father was grooming me to be the son he never had, but unfortunately I completely failed to be of help beyond fetching things and watching in excitement as things were levered up and down.


Posted by: DL | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:42 AM
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128: The difference between storing a pot at room temperature and refrigerator (or freezer) temperature isn't going to do anything to it (although you might be able to do something weird by getting a pan really hot and then plunging it into ice water. But that wouldn't be an ordinary thing to do.) Worrying about rusting your cast iron is more realistic.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:42 AM
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I'm sure that washing machines would especially delight in eating half-bras. They're all probably sad that no such thing exists.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:43 AM
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The trouble with storing leftovers in pots is that soon all of your pots are in the fridge. Although I guess this does compel one to finish said leftovers before cooking anything else. Now if only there was an empty bowl somewhere.


Posted by: Mo MacArbie | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:43 AM
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I took apart two clocks when I was a kid. I never put any back together, though. In one case I bent the hairspring, and in the other case something came up.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:45 AM
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The trouble with storing leftovers in pots is that soon all of your pots are in the fridge.

This is Buck's only domestic flaw.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 8:49 AM
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133 - One of my favorite things to do as a kid was take things apart. My Dad encouraged this and would bring me broken stuff to take apart. I'd then solemnly sort all the reusable bits like screws into jars kept for that purpose. We had a fairly well stocked store of hardware after a while.

My most vivid memory of early childhood was taking apart a broken alarm clock. I didn't know that the spring was fully wound, and when I loosened the bit that restrained it the whole clock more or less exploded. Scared the living shit out of me.


Posted by: togolosh | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 9:47 AM
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Regarding 123: Is Wrongshore on the longest honeymoon ever, or am I misremembering? I thought he was reporting suffering overseas from "the trots" like weeks ago...


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 9:49 AM
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Wrongshore's whole marriage is like one long honeymoon, Stanley.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 9:51 AM
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But if you had a cast-iron pot, wouldn't leaving it wet like that be dangerous for its surface? And what would the effect of regular temperature extremes be on your average metal?


As to the first: never, ever treat your (non-enamelled) caset iron like that.

As for the second, temperature shift from fridge or even freezer to room temperature are fine for these metals. You could make the cookware do exciting things by going fridge/freezer to a hot stove, or even hot water. Don't do that then.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 9:55 AM
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You can definitely crack a cast iron pan by pouring cold/cool water in it when it's very hot. I think it should be able to handle going directly from the fridge onto the stovetop or oven, unless maybe you've got one of those professional burners used for woks that pump out about a gazillion BTUs. Even then, I think it would probably be okay.

But as soup (and others) have said, don't store food in your cast iron pan.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:06 AM
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Wrongshore's whole marriage is like one long honeymoon, Stanley.

He certainly seems to have found his number two.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:09 AM
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118- I have one that's a Wall St. broker tossing money in the air and when you shake it little dollar bills fly all over.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:30 AM
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It's not like cast iron frying pans are rare, precious, and fragile. Buy two and abuse one until you've ruined it, and then switch to the second. That should get you through most of the rest of your life.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:34 AM
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Thing is, though, short of breaking it, you can always rehab cast iron -- if you've really wrecked the seasoning or gotten it all rusty, you just steel-wool down to the metal, and start all over again.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:36 AM
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142 is fine from the point of view of heat changes, but if you leave them wet they'll just rust and lose seasoning, which is a pain in the ass all out of proportion to the efficiency of not emptying/cleaning it.

Cast iron is great though, I use it pretty much every day.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:37 AM
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144->143


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:38 AM
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141: Cool. Along those same lines a ticker tape parade would also work.

I'd also like to make one of little people running terrified and when you shake it killer bees swarm everywhere.

And a tornado with lots of little people and debris and pigs and chickens flying around.

And one shaped like a TV set with a seated newscaster inside and when you shake it it looks like static.

And . . . .


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 10:39 AM
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125: Oo, the teapot Renaults! I had to crank-start mine once, and once one of the wheels came loose while I was driving it -- it turned out all the nuts were threaded the common way, bad design -- and I clearly recall being able personally to lift either end of it off the ground, although I am not normally a brute of strength. Delightful.

If one sold bifurcatable bras, one could also sell their mitten-cords, or better yet things like the things for washing feed caps in the dishwasher. But for bras, they could be pink and cup-size-specific.

I think the best way to rehabiliate cast iron is to bury it overnight in a banked fire; IIRC this actually works even on rust.


Posted by: clew | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 11:40 AM
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I think the best way to rehabiliate cast iron is to bury it overnight in a banked fire; IIRC this actually works even on rust.

The seasoning is basically fat that has adhered to the metal, so you need to coat your pan in some kind of fat before heating it. And I would imagine a banked fire would actually be too hot and would just burn off the fat instead of causing it to stick to the metal. And you can season over rust, but you'll likely end up with metallic flavors in your food.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 11:48 AM
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rust comes off cast iron pretty easily by scouring with steel wool. Afterwards, you've got little or no seasoning left.

For reseasoning, you want it clean and rust free. You want a very thin (that's important) covering of oil/lard/grease (there is a lot of disinformation about the latter floating around --- only use this/never use that. Any neutral veg. oil with high smoke point works fine, as does lard or bacon grease). Put it upside down in a 350 degree oven (drip tray underneath) for an hour. Voila, done.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 11:54 AM
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Much as I love cast iron pans, I have trouble seasoning them. They always come out of the initial seasoning vaguely gummy, and aren't right until I've used them for months. But then they're perfect.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:00 PM
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150: In my experience, that's because you've put too much oil/fat on them before they went in the oven. You really want it about as thin as you can put on.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:01 PM
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Probably to late to answer 123, but I went to see Muay Thai when I was in Bangkok and found the combination of 14 year old fighters and vigorous betting a little... creepy. Definitely a unique experience, though.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:04 PM
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Sounds like a reducing oven.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:08 PM
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Applied with a paper towel, even.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:08 PM
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I used to date a woman who had competed internationally in Muay Thai. She'd previously also had a career as a runway model. An unusual mix.


Posted by: John F. Kennedy | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:08 PM
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150: What oil/fat do you generally use to season? While soup's basically right, I find that seasoning with vegetable oil does tend to produce a gummy seasoning. Animal fat doesn't.

Maybe what clew's referring to by "rehabilitate" is cleaning all the crud off an old cast iron pan or pot that one inherits or finds at a garage sale or thrift store? I've seen people recommend putting it in a self cleaning oven (i.e. exposing it to superhigh heat) to burn off the accumulated layers. I've also heard it said that this can crack the pan. Spray-on oven cleaner seems to be the other common recommendation.

All of my vast array of cast iron cookware is secondhand or inherited, and I've only ever scrubbed the crud with steel wool to get a smooth cooking surface (no need to remove it all, particularly from the outside) and then reseasoned it in the manner soup suggests. Regular cooking with hot oil is generally sufficient to maintain the season as long as you just use water and no soap to clean it. Occasionally when something really sticks you have to scrub hard and then a dedicated reseasoning is in order.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:10 PM
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(Soup's mileage may vary.)


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:12 PM
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156: Yes. I was thinking of thrift-shopped, or rescued after some extremely stupid action: burning boston beans onto it and taking it out for the dogs to lick clean and forgetting about it, say, or something involving batik.

I'm totally horrified by the idea of spray-on oven cleaner, though since I haven't lived with a wood-stove for decades, it's a handy idea to have in reserve.


Posted by: clew | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:16 PM
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I'd never use spray on oven cleaner on something that porous, I think.

I once fixed up a cast iron frypan that had been left outside in the rain after something like 158 describes. They'd decided it was a write off and left it on the back porch.

I used a brass scouring brush and then some steel wool. Took about 15 minutes, then reseason, good as new.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:20 PM
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fwiw, even the "no soap" thing you often hear is overdone. You don't want to soak the pan in soapy water or whatever, but a little soapy water on the brush/cloth/whatever has never hurt the seasoning for me.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:22 PM
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The motivation for some people getting a newly acquired but very used cast iron pan completely clean is so they can read the stuff on the bottom of the pan to figure out if it's a Griswold or some other old valuable type, either because they collect them or because they want to resell them to collectors. I'm not really bothered about that, as long as it's sturdy, heavy, and well-made. But I know a guy who carries a little chisel tool around to the thrift stores so he can chip off crud to see if he's found a coveted Griswold #13 or the like.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:31 PM
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There are valuable types of cast iron pan? Huh. Who knew?

Are they noticeably different in design from your standard Lodge, or what's the deal?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:33 PM
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There are valuable types of cast iron pan?

Well, there are once you cover them with enamel.

I had not idea about the phenomena in 161 though.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:37 PM
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I agree about the soap, but it's a good general guideline. If the seasoning's in good shape to begin with, most things will come off with just hot water and a little bit of scrubbing. I sometimes use coarse salt as an abrasive for tougher jobs.

And the oven cleaner isn't for rust, it's for the thick layer of baked on crud that some old pans have all over, although usually particularly on the outside. I wouldn't use oven cleaner either, for anything, but that thick crud baked on over years or decades is very very hard to remove mechanically. I think some people also use lye solutions to help break it up for removal. Again though, this is mostly so that they can figure out and/or prove the make and model for collecting and/or selling purposes.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:37 PM
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weird.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:37 PM
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164: Yes, I forgot to mention the coarse salt (+ oil) trick, that works well.

Won't a bead blaster work on the built up crud you describe?


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:39 PM
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Are they noticeably different in design from your standard Lodge, or what's the deal?

Not so much, they're just old. Although I think some of the older ones have a higher grade of iron and are denser than the more modern ones, and were often designed to be used on hearths, over campfires, etc.

Part of the appeal I think is kind of like with wrenches made in the fifties or before are so much heavier and more durable than most anything you can buy today. It's not that they're necessarily better, but there's something cool about working with a tool that's been around a half century or more.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:45 PM
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Part of the appeal I think is kind of like with wrenches made in the fifties or before are so much heavier and more durable than most anything you can buy today.

Yeah, but they're less stylish.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:47 PM
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Won't a bead blaster work on the built up crud you describe?

Dunno.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:48 PM
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There are plenty of good wrench sets still available new, and honestly they're probably better made (at least more consistne). They just aren't cheap, and you can't buy them from a big box store.

That's what a tool allowance is for, anyway.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:51 PM
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170: Sure, but my grandad's old hand tools didn't cost me anything, are heavy and sturdy as all hell, and have a patina.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 12:56 PM
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fair enough. I've got some of my granddads too.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 1:00 PM
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The trouble with storing leftovers in pots is that soon all of your pots are in the fridge.

Also your leftovers almost never fill the pot, so soon there's no room in the fridge because it's full of huge-ass pots containing food that would store much more tidily in small tupperware. That and few pots are really air tight.

(Mr. B. is constantly putting pots, and even plates with half-eaten meals in them, in the fridge. Drives me crazy.)


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 4:21 PM
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even plates with half-eaten meals in them, in the fridge.

Dishwashing dodge?


Posted by: Tassled Loafered Leech | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 4:24 PM
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Sure, but my grandad's old hand tools didn't cost me anything, are heavy and sturdy as all hell, and have a grandpatina.


Posted by: Michael H Schneider | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 5:00 PM
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re: 155

Not totally unusual.* At least one of the female full-contact savate champions is a model.

http://file042a.bebo.com/9/large/2008/02/22/16/4016623323a6965320553l.jpg

http://www.sport24.com/autres-sports/boxe/actualites/divine-mais-dangereuse-98242/

* not common either, I'd bet, mind.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 5:04 PM
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And there's always Emma Peel.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 01-26-09 5:05 PM
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and even plates with half-eaten meals in them, in the fridge

Oh, I do that, because I have a bit of a thing about waste, and want to make my children eat it whenever they next say they are hungry. Not that they do. I don't do it so much now we have a dog.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 01-27-09 2:06 PM
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