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Really minor annoyances


Kevj said:
Bloody yanks man. Antiquated system of measurement coupled with the philosophy ‘more is better’.

That said. Yanks don’t use kettles.
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If telly is anything to go by, they call them ‘tea kettles’. I never understood why a kettle was apparently, specifically used only for making tea.
 
Mousehold Mackem said:
And paint kettles. Wtf?
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Obviously for making a cup of refreshing paint.

(tbf I used to work in the Chemical Industry and massive processing vessels where reactions often took place were often referred to as ‘kettles’.

But they wouldn’t fit in your kitchen)
 
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BiG said:
If telly is anything to go by, they call them ‘tea kettles’. I never understood why a kettle was apparently, specifically used only for making tea.
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When I lived in Sweden one of my neighbours was really proud of the electric kettle they had bought when on holiday in the UK.

They said it was great for making soup!!!! Not a cup-a soup, lobbed the veg and liquids into it and popped the kettle on.
 
Kevj said:
Bloody yanks man. Antiquated system of measurement coupled with the philosophy ‘more is better’.

That said. Yanks don’t use kettles.
Click to expand...
I've been watching a lot of guitar making videos where a lot of the woodwork is fairly precision stuff. The fractions being thrown around are mental. If you look up a US drill bit gauge, it goes 5/32, 11/64, 3/16, 13/64, 7/32, 15/64 etc. You hear phrases like "so I'm just going to cut this recess twenty seven sixty fourths deep".

Then you watch a European one or look at a metric drill bit gauge. It starts at 1mm and goes up in half millimetre increments. "so I'm just going to cut this recess to 10.5mm deep".

Is 7/32 more than 13/64? Well multiply top and bottom of the first one by two and you have 14/64, 14>13 so yes. Or which is the biggest, 5mm or 5.5mm? If a 6mm drill bit is not quite big enough, what do you look at next? 6.5mm, easy. If 21/64 is not quite big enough, what strange fraction have Americans decided is next?
Slatz63 said:
When I lived in Sweden one of my neighbours was really proud of the electric kettle they had bought when on holiday in the UK.

They said it was great for making soup!!!! Not a cup-a soup, lobbed the veg and liquids into it and popped the kettle on.
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Surely it would cut out before the veg had cooked through?
 
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DaveH said:
I've been watching a lot of guitar making videos where a lot of the woodwork is fairly precision stuff. The fractions being thrown around are mental. If you look up a US drill bit gauge, it goes 5/32, 11/64, 3/16, 13/64, 7/32, 15/64 etc. You hear phrases like "so I'm just going to cut this recess twenty seven sixty fourths deep".

Then you watch a European one or look at a metric drill bit gauge. It starts at 1mm and goes up in half millimetre increments. "so I'm just going to cut this recess to 10.5mm deep".

Is 7/32 more than 13/64? Well multiply top and bottom of the first one by two and you have 14/64, 14>13 so yes. Or which is the biggest, 5mm or 5.5mm? If a 6mm drill bit is not quite big enough, what do you look at next? 6.5mm, easy. If 21/64 is not quite big enough, what strange fraction have Americans decided is next?

Surely it would cut out before the veg had cooked through?
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The swedes like their Swede cut up really small so it kettle cooks geet quick
 
Martin F said:
Fig rolls coming in packs of 11.
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We bought some gorgeous chocolate in Helsinki. It came in 5 squares, sorry but that is just bloody stupid, we try to bite the final square in half then squabble about the size of the bite.
Cockney Mackem said:
"It's really important that when we get home you remind me to -"

*Changes subject mid sentence"
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Sorry but that's me. I will try harder.
 
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DaveH said:
Who doesn't want a cup of tea with a hint of carrot and coriander?
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I’d made an assumption that this was an electric kettle and was gonna post “Who doesn’t want an impossible to clean kettle with a variety of vegetables sticking to the heating element and gradually rotting?” But then if it’s a kettle, you just stick on the gas hob, I suppose the only difference between that and a pan is that it has a spout and a lid (both of which are pointless for making soup) and it’s more difficult to clean. So I’m still puzzled as to ‘why?’
 
BiG said:
I’d made an assumption that this was an electric kettle and was gonna post “Who doesn’t want an impossible to clean kettle with a variety of vegetables sticking to the heating element and gradually rotting?” But then if it’s a kettle, you just stick on the gas hob, I suppose the only difference between that and a pan is that it has a spout and a lid (both of which are pointless for making soup) and it’s more difficult to clean. So I’m still puzzled as to ‘why?’
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Swedes are weird
 
BiG said:
I’d made an assumption that this was an electric kettle and was gonna post “Who doesn’t want an impossible to clean kettle with a variety of vegetables sticking to the heating element and gradually rotting?” But then if it’s a kettle, you just stick on the gas hob, I suppose the only difference between that and a pan is that it has a spout and a lid (both of which are pointless for making soup) and it’s more difficult to clean. So I’m still puzzled as to ‘why?’
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The poster did say an electric kettle.

Americans don't generally use electric kettles, though apparently they are now gaining popularity as word spreads "hey gee wizz guys, you can like boil water by flicking a switch". They tend to use a stove top kettle or microwave. My sister in law is engaged to an American and he was surprised that an electric kettle is just a standard thing here.

It is funny the little cultural differences.
 
DaveH said:
The poster did say an electric kettle.

Americans don't generally use electric kettles, though apparently they are now gaining popularity as word spreads "hey gee wizz guys, you can like boil water by flicking a switch". They tend to use a stove top kettle or microwave. My sister in law is engaged to an American and he was surprised that an electric kettle is just a standard thing here.

It is funny the little cultural differences.
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Missed that. Using an electric kettle to make soup is just weird.

I was surprised - whilst down a YouTube rabbit hole - that Americans are amazed when they visit and discover that some places in the U.K. have, like, two taps!! One for hot water and one for, like, cold. Couldn’t get their heads around why every tap wasn’t a mixer tap. I couldn’t get my head around why the fuck it was a big deal or why it made a jot of difference.

I was gonna say that it’s confusing that they speak the same language but have a totally different take on loads of things… but then I remember how the pronounce ‘route’ and … loads of other words … and I realise they don’t actually speak the same language. We’re just confused because we mostly understand what they’re saying.
 
BiG said:
Obviously for making a cup of refreshing paint.

(tbf I used to work in the Chemical Industry and massive processing vessels where reactions often took place were often referred to as ‘kettles’.

But they wouldn’t fit in your kitchen)
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There's a drum called a kettle drum. I wouldn't try and boil water in one though. Doesn't even come with a lead to plug it in.
 
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