Day 19/183: Unscientific Poll + 366 meme questions

[nanila]

Poll #23398 Kitchen implement

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 24

What would you call the pictured kitchen implement?

It’s a jar-opener, and it is bloody brilliant. My grandmother gave it to me when I first moved out of my parents’ home. She said, “Nani, I’m giving you this because if you have one of these, you never need to have a man living in your house.” Thanks, Gram.

Jan 29: What is your skin care regimen?

You what now? “Wash face. Dry face. Apply moisturiser.”

Jan 30: What song are you listening to a lot right now? (Post a link?)

(Spotify link) Sebastian Plano - Purples

Jan 31: What superpower best suits your personality?

A list of "standard" superpowers would have helped here. In the absence of that, I will say sarcasm.

Feb 1: What is your birthstone and flower?

Sapphire and aster.

Feb 2: If you could redo today, what one thing would you do differently?

I'd get out of bed later because it's Saturday. However, I have two children under the age of eight, so no chance.

Feb 3: What’s your favorite salad dressing?

I find most of them too thick and cloying. Just a drizzle of toasted sesame oil or balsamic-and-oil will do for me.

Feb 4: Is your home tidy right this minute?

No. It is usually tidy upstairs, but upstairs is now full of stuff from downstairs due to the impending building work.

Feb 5: Would you rather go to an amusement park, a zoo, or a sporting event?

No contest there. Zoo.

Feb 6: If you were to win a “shopping” spree in a store, where you could grab anything you want in five minutes, what store would you choose?

Apologies for the boringly mercenary but honest answer: The Apple store. Not because I wanted much for myself, but because the resale value of a big pile of iPhones and Macbooks would probably net us a very nice three week summer holiday.

Feb 7: If you could step into the TV and be part of a TV show, which one would it be?

What We Do in the Shadows, duh. As a vampire. I would snaffle Nadja and go on adventures

Feb 8: What will you miss the most when the world finally runs out of petroleum?

Well, assuming we have managed to replace it with alternative energy sources, exactly nothing. I certainly won't miss global warming, climate change and air pollution.

Assuming we don’t manage that, I think commercial flights would probably come to an end unless there was a major and imminent shift in mass production and maintenance capabilities for non-jet-fueled aeroplanes. That would cause a rather big shift in lifestyle for quite a lot of people, including me, and I would miss being able to fly places for work and holidays.

Comments

[ursajoanna]

Ooh that jar opener looks fantastic. My guess was very wrong!

Snap for February 6th answer, very practical.

[nanila]

It's saved me from a lot of swearing and frustration, that jar opener.

Thanks. Now that I think about it, the only real option for stuff just for me would be photography equipment (especially lenses and a full-frame dSLR, but there are so few photography equipment physical shops any more that it didn't occur to me while I was answering the questionnaire.

[ursajoanna]

That's why I went for John Lewis as well, probably more on display there including cameras!

[azurelunatic]

Ooo! I guessed very wrong as well!

We have two friction enhancing jar opening pads hung on the refrigerator. They are referred to as "our boyfriend".

[conuly]

That sounds almost dirty.

[conuly]

It's probably a jar opener, but if my scale is wrong I guess it could be a nutcracker.

[hamsterwoman]

Your grandma is wise!

(I've never seen a jar opener like this, but my grandmother taught me the "crack vacuum seal with a butter knife" method, which always works, even on jars that my surrounding males can't open with their hands.)

A list of "standard" superpowers would have helped here. In the absence of that, I will say sarcasm.

I think that totally counts!

[word_geek]

Oddly, you are the third person in my orbit to be talking about planes in the post-fossil-fuel era this week. Apparently, there are biofuels, most of which are being trialled in blends because nowhere is yet making them at the scale required. Anyway, they seem to be a possible option, and sufficient trials have been done of them, at long and short distances, that it's fairly clear that we could significantly reduce emissions from flights, if only there were the manufacturing capabilities.

The really gutting part is that the first person to mention this to me said he'd been told that one manufacturer offered to make green fuels for the defence dept of their country about 15 years ago, which would have meant that by now, there would be a lot of capacity for making such fuels. The other manufacturers put in a complaint because they would not be able to offer the same, and so public procurement rules stopped it.

Weird detail - we need different biofuels for shipping - the ones that are safe to use in the air would be unsafe in the ocean (I'm guessing this is the algae-based ones, which could pollute oceans badly, but would be safely burned by the time they made it to ground level from a plane, but this is pure guess)

H

[antisoppist]

Never heard of a jar opener but it would be a thing that would be very useful. I grew up with a Rayburn with a permanent hot top so you put jars on that upside down until the metal lid expanded enough to release it. Since leaving home, I have recreated the effect by putting jars upside down in thick bottomed saucepans on the hob but a dedicated implement would be easier.

[bryangb]

I run a bit of near-boiling water over the lid (carefully!) and differential expansion handles most of the rest.

[worlds_of_smoke]

I have never seen something like that! That would be super handy when my hands are being bastards.

[quoththeravyn]

Re: the jar opener and your grandmother's words... I recently saw an allusion to something called "a rubber husband" which turns out to be a sheet of high-friction rubber/plastic that can help open jars.

[bryangb]

Yes, those sheets are good, but unlike the opener above they don't give you any extra leverage, just a better grip.

[fred_mouse]

I recognise the object, and its purpose, I just don't have a name for it! I know the one we have is a specific plumber's tool with a special name, so I wasn't sure whether this one had one as well.

[silveradept]

I had thought of it as an opening device, but for things smaller than what it is actually used for, given that it has a very similar design. Maybe if I had seen it in size context before the reveal, I would have guessed correctly.