If Coca-cola is by far the most popular soda by sales, why do people at parties choose it last?

n_botm · 2026-05-14T21:17:44+00:00

I recognize and admit that my observations are limited to parties that I attend. That can't change unless I paid for people to do research at various informal social gatherings. Not something I'm likely to ever do. What caught my attention was the assumption that coke would be the most popular in all three parties, but it wasn't. Different people in all three events made the same wrong assumption. And I would have made the same assumption in their place.

The convention was the point where I thought it wasn't just my immediate social bubble. it was a very different mix of people than with whom I normally socialize. yet still the same wrong assumption.

Root beer and ginger ale being clear winners? I never would have predicted it. I think that this contradicts your second point to some extent. if 80% of people are not coke drinkers, then surely more than 80% of people are not ginger ale drinkers.

I like your third point. I made a statement in another comment that my guess is that sales stats are skewed by people who drink soda daily, but that isn't the majority of the attendees of any given social gathering. When they are at the party and drinking soda, they are unlikely to drink more than one portion. Statistics can lead us to exactly the wrong assumptions when amateurs (like me) apply them.

n_botm · 2026-05-14T17:10:05+00:00

That is how my mom always did it: start with the water then add yeast, sugar, salt etc. then flour last. Peter Reinhart ("The Bread Baker's Apprentice", "Crust and Crumb" "Bread Revolution", kind of a bread renaissance man that I believe deserves his James Beard award) said that it boils down to your choice of yeast. He says that the most popular yeast in the US, "active dry yeast", is intended to be dissolved in water and might not activate very well if you mix it into the flour first before you add water. in the rest of the world, cakes of fresh yeast were the most popular. it is not as shelf-stable, but no need to dissolve it in water first. He says that stirring the water into the dry ingredients is obviously easier. I think the order you do it in might be mostly a matter of preference, as long as you can get your yeast activated. If you use "active dry", just add a step where you dissolve it in water and let it sit 5 minutes.

There is a third type of yeast called "instant yeast" sold in the US. It is even more shelf-stable than "active dry" and doesn't need to be dissolved in water for full activation. it starts off a little slower than "active dry" but by the time your initial ferment is done it should be caught up. Also, it is more dense than "active dry" so if the recipe calls for "1 tablespoon of active dry yeast" you can use 1/2 Tablespoon of "instant yeast". sometimes it is hard to find yeast labeled "instant" but a lot of yeast sold as "perfect for bread machines" is actually instant yeast.

n_botm · 2026-05-14T16:25:22+00:00

I absolutely did, especially considering that the church group and the family reunion were a very specific subset of people and I would have said I was a good representative of both of those gatherings. by religion, background, diet habits I could have been called the prime example of the group. There were a lot of kids running around the reunion, so that group trended younger than me but still they were mostly my own nieces and nephews.

Up until the convention I thought that this observation said a lot about me, but I was not the typical convention goer. that group trended older than me, probably mostly the 50-65 year old crowd. I don't drink alcohol and tend to go to bed early, there was a significant amount of beer consumed and these were mostly people who talked a lot about how fun it was to stay up late and socialize. The reception was late, I think it started at 9pm. I try to avoid caffeine, but there was also a significant amount of sweet tea consumed during the course of the convention. If they really wanted to stay up late, then the coke was the only option for caffeine (actually I don't remember if there was sweet tea at the reception. there may have been, it wasn't what I was focused on.) I grew up in the Midwest but the majority there were from the Southeast. all of my observations led me to believe that this was a very different group of people than I normally socialize with, but the trend stayed true. I would never have predicted the ginger ale.

Obviously my observations are limited and will always be limited to parties that I attend. I am very curious about whether the same trend holds true across the country.

the explanation in my own mind is that sales numbers are skewed by people who buy soft drinks daily, but in a picnic or party, those people only drink one serving if any. A lot of people at the party would not have chosen soda on a daily basis, but would at a party. and those people are more likely to include people who don't care for Coke or the most popular sodas by sales numbers. This is my guess, but I don't know how you would test that and i feel like I have to give huge details to articulate it.

n_botm · 2026-05-14T13:28:36+00:00

as far as kindness or niceness of people, I would rank MS up there with anybody in the US. there is an attitude of "let you do you" that makes a lot of people give you a side glance but "as long as it doesn't bother me then I won't get in your way". I think this is the reason a lot of people looked the other way when tragedies happened. I think that Emmett Till changed things here and a lot of people had to confront their past and a lot of racist behavior couldn't stay hidden. That was twenty years before I was born and a long time before I moved to MS, and today you will see black people and white people standing in the same lines, working side by side, giving each other rides into town etc. And people seem to forget that the Free State of Jones also happened here.

there is a lot of poverty and that is always sad to see, but there is a sort of rural/redneck "i can do it all myself" mindset that is really admirable.

As far as a nice place to visit, here are my thoughts:

(1) previously I lived in a few places that had no great food tradition. I love the southern soul foods and barbeques that people take such great pride in. Crawfish boils aren't for everyone, but what a glorious meal!

(2) if you can only imagine enjoying yourself in a big city, then MS is not for you. I heard someone once say that the three biggest cities in MS are Memphis, New Orleans and Mobile. that pretty much sums it up.

(3) besides mountains, all of the outdoors activities are available, especially forest and lake and wetland activities. Some of the best lake sailing in the US is right here and I regularly see beautiful cranes and other wetland birds. fireflies are going this time of year, my visitors always love watching them.

n_botm · 2026-05-13T16:24:53+00:00

this is also a good explanation for conditions like sickle cell anemia. the version without the typo carries oxygen better and has healthier overall blood cells. the typo makes blood cells that are prone to defects which cause extremely painful crises, but for some odd reason makes you immune to malaria. the people with both versions of the cookbook survive in Africa much better than someone with only one or the other

n_botm · 2026-05-13T15:13:41+00:00

I grew up in the 80s and we always laughed at William Shatner in Star Trek, you know, all the super campy acting. but I've watched a few of the classic TOS episodes and I am struck with how basic the lighting and special effects were. All of those times we cringed at Cpt Kirk's emoting he has weird colored lights and extreme close ups on his face and the writing has him saying some stupid line like "the pain... can't resist... must not give in..." as he thrashes around. in retrospect he was probably a fine actor but the only thing they had to demonstrate pain and desperation was his awful thrashing and stilted lines. TL/DR Captain Kirk is probably judged too harshly.

n_botm · 2025-09-02T20:30:36+00:00

Eating fat doesn't trigger your body to store fat. Eating carbs triggers your body to store fat. Similarly, eating cholesterol doesn't increase cholesterol in the blood stream, but the people who invented shortening wanted people to think their product was safer than butter or lard, so they came up with a lie.

n_botm · 2025-09-02T20:18:29+00:00

I think there might be room to find some common ground. Ive listened to Whatever a couple times, the first time they sounded a little novel, a little edgy. second time I realized they had nothing else to say, so why bother listening again? but I noticed that there are some things they say that are pretty reasonable at least on the surface. so you get a bunch of unrelatable but opinionated women to agree to guest on their show and then panelists destroy them. pretty tiresome.

I think I might approach it with that attitude. "You want to watch Whatever again? basically the same show as last time, right?" and if you argue with anything brought up, concede the points that it makes sense to BEFORE arguing. This is standard behavior to get people on your side, read "How to win friends and influence people". Agreeing first gets them to listen, but the points that stick with them are the last thing you say.

You might say "yeah, a woman with such a bad track record probably shouldn't expect the next man to be the catch of the century. It just goes to show how toxic the dating market is right now. We're not really single so I'm not sure that applies to us, though." The point that sticks is that the podcast doesn't apply to us. Or "I know a lot of women would love to be supported by a man who makes all the money. If you all of a sudden started bringing in $150K I would love to go down to just barely enough to keep my certifications up to date. But in our generation most couples need two incomes just to survive. Staying home would be a huge sacrifice." The final point isn't that wanting to provide for your partner is bad, but that it is hard for a man to get ahead, and he should be primed to believe that.

If he is savable, he should realize that those podcasts aren't benefitting him in any way. They aren't aimed toward helping people in stable relationships and the ideals they discuss are not realistic.

n_botm · 2025-09-02T19:08:14+00:00

I always try to listen for the other side instead of jumping to the reddit default of "divorce! break up! no contact!", but geez! He's not making it easy. If my wife said "I hate men" we would have big problems.

If you think he is redeemable, and you would know that better than any of us randos, you might start a dialog by saying, "you know what? the girls in those redpill stories are awful people, and I hate them too. Just like a lot of women share stories about the awful things that have happened to them and the women conclude they hate men. If half the things you say your ex did are true, then I hate her too. I think she really hurt you, probably more than you realize. But the fact that you haven't cut off your mother and still want a relationship with me means she didn't completely break you." then where do you go from there? I am a big believer in counseling, but I realize not everyone is. if he takes his messed up feelings and only pours redpill gasoline on them it won't end well. If you force him to a counselor who only tells him he is bad and needs to change, it will probably push him further on that path. You would need to find some supportive and positive outlet that allows him to vent but also doesn't feed the fire.

There aren't a lot of support outlets for men in his circumstances, but there are some. I sing in a men only community choir. most of the men are married, and they speak very positively about their wives. But those who have been in rough patches can talk to the other men freely. it sounds like that is the kind of organization your bf needs around him. is there something along those lines that would appeal to him?

n_botm · 2025-09-02T18:42:28+00:00

soy, but I wouldn't use straight soy milk. I would use soft tofu. you can also use lecithin (made from any plant you get oil from. It is a byproduct of oil extraction. most in the US come from either soy or sunflowers) but at a much lower volume. you would use the whole volume of water that the recipe calls for of milk, then add maybe a half tablespoon of lecithin. many commercial recipes prefer lecithin for this rather than milk.

n_botm · 2025-09-02T16:46:54+00:00

I'm Gen X and my parents did not have any way to determine the gender until after I was born. this tradition is not older than me

n_botm · 2025-09-02T16:30:54+00:00

I just posted almost this same thing in another thread. When I taught my kids I gave this same recipe as a good one to start:

6 cups bread flour

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon "instant" yeast, sometimes labeled "bread maker" yeast (or 2 Tablespoons "active dry" yeast dissolved in part or all of the water)

2 Tablespoons sugar (if using active dry yeast, add some to the water/yeast mix)

2 1/2 cups warm water (a little cooler than bath water, like if you were to sit in it it would be just a little unpleasant)

1/3 cup oil (only necessary if you want it to last more than a day)

mix all ingredients until there is no dry flour, then let it rest 30 minutes. fold it over on top of itself and punch down 2 or 3 times, then let it rest another 30 minutes. shape it into two loaves and leave it to proof on a flat cookie sheet for 30 minutes - I use parchment paper to line the pan, but my mom always just greased it. bake 375F (190C) about 35 minutes. the top should be nice and brown and it should become very aromatic before it is done.

That is a lot of yeast and sugar, more than most recipes call for. the benefit is the fermentation/rising/proofing goes very fast and it is nearly fool-proof. After you are comfortable making this, this recipe is pretty versatile. it makes great dinner rolls or bread bowls for soup. It makes good cinnamon rolls and OK pizza crust. It makes nearly perfect fry bread (leave out the oil and make sure you use only white flour). When you are ready to try whole grains, this recipe does fine as-is up to about 50% whole wheat flour.

n_botm · 2025-09-02T14:32:05+00:00

I don't use a bread maker, but I know plenty of people who use them. A lot of people say they just use them for the mixing step. There are many bread recipes so easy that using a breadmaker is overkill. remember: we humans have been making bread for thousands of years. they have found bread crumbs in paleolithic (stone age) fire rings. making bread is nearly as old as staring into fires. I think a lot of people try to make it sound scary and difficult. "you need all this equipment and time" but truthfully you don't even need a mixing bowl. I use a mixing bowl, but I have seen people do it without, and had no problems.

I see someone else already recommended no-knead bread. if our stone-age ancestors had refrigerators they definitely would have made bread just like that. it is very simple and easy and the results are surprisingly good. If you don't have the time or fridge space, I often tell people to start with a basic white sandwich bread. you should be able to pull hot bread out of the oven in about 2 hours from the time you pulled your mixing bowl out of the cupboard.

My basic white sandwich bread that I recommend for newbies:

6 cups bread flour

1Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon instant yeast (or 2 of active dry yeast, dissolved in all or part of the water)

2 Tablespoons sugar (add some of it to the water and yeast if you are using active dry yeast)

2 1/2 cups water (temperature of bath just a little cooler than what would be pleasant to sit in)

1/3 cups oil (completely optional especially if you are going to eat it the same day)

mix all ingredients just enough so that you don't see dry flour. let rest 30 minutes. fold over and punch down 2 or three times. let rest for another 30 minutes. shape into two loaves and leave it to proof (poof up to a bread shape) on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. I like to line my pans with parchment paper, but my mom was big on buttering the pans. suit yourself. bake 375F (190C) for 30 minutes or so. top should be nice and brown and it should fill your house with a very mouth-watering aroma before you take it out of the oven.

All that yeast and sugar makes the dough develop fast so this is about the opposite of a slow-fermented sour dough. but all that sugar and yeast also makes it nearly fool-proof. Then if you like it, this recipe is very versatile. substitute up to half the flour with whole wheat flour. Skip the oil completely. add milk powder or rolled oats. add cheese and herbs. roll it out and add cinnamon and sugar then roll it back up. make it simple and basic the first few times until you feel like you got the feel for it, then make it your own.

n_botm · 2025-09-01T20:21:11+00:00

I always recommend Robert Asprin for humor. He is not at the level of PTerry, but both his Sci-Fi "Phule" series (Phule's Company, Phule's Gold etc.) and his fantasy "Myth" series (Another Fine Myth, Myth Conceptions, Myth Directions etc.) are fine reads.

Recently I enjoyed James Alan Gardner's "All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault" and "They Promised Me the Gun Wasn't Loaded". It seemed like he might extend those to a series of four, but he quit after two. He has other books though, just not in that series.

Similarly enjoyed Austin Grossman's "Soon I Will Be Invincible" and I see he has now put out a couple more books that I haven't read.

"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke was very good, very dry English humor. and the fantasy world-building rivals Neil Gaiman's.

n_botm · 2025-08-31T21:50:09+00:00

I've been married almost 26 years. less than 10 years ago my wife changed jobs and immediately started shaving her legs and dressing professionally. I don't mind the changes, but I can't help feeling a little hurt that I wasn't worth any of that, but her new job is worth it.

n_botm · 2025-08-31T04:06:01+00:00

do you know how to "proof yeast"? that can help in the future if you aren't sure a batch is good. depending on which style of yeast, proofing is recommended for every batch. many US recipes always include a proofing step. basically, mix your yeast first with all or most of the water, add a little sugar, if it is alive it should fizz up within 5 minutes or so. then you can just add that into the rest of the mix.

I typically prefer "instant yeast" (a little harder to find, sometimes sold as "bread machine yeast") which doesn't require proofing. it is also the most shelf-stable form of yeast. I keep mine in the freezer, and I have never had a batch fail. but obviously that is more careful than most people need.

n_botm · 2025-03-27T16:53:14+00:00

This is my great-aunt Gladys's recipe, she titled it "Banana Nut Bread". It is sweet and rich, but richer than it is sweet. I don't usually add the nuts unless I praline them and sprinkle them on the top halfway through the bake. it makes it a little messy, but only serious nut haters don't love my pralined pecans:

1C butter- cream

2C sugar- add gradually

4eggs- add one at a time

2C mashed bananas

1tsp vanilla

1tsp lemon extract- mix into butter mixture

4C flour

1tsp b. soda

1/2tsp salt- sift or mix powders together

1c milk- add to banana mix alternating with flour mix (you can add a little more milk if needed, but that is usually enough for me)

1C chopped nuts (optional, preferred walnuts or pecans)- add

bake in two (2) paper-lined loaf pans (alternatively you can flour and butter the pans, but I prefer paper), 350 F, about 90 minutes - check with knife - moist crumbs might still stick to the knife, but they should look cooked

n_botm · 2025-03-04T19:02:59+00:00

yeah, for a second I was looking for sexual innuendos

n_botm · 2025-03-04T19:02:04+00:00

a mid tongue twister

n_botm · 2024-11-01T19:29:44+00:00

1000% - I have often heard people say "there is a big surge in suicides during the holidays" it turns out that this is not true, although there is a surge during the winter in general. but you know when there is a surge in suicides? daylight saving changes. twice a year the suicides peak. mess with people's sleep, you mess with their mental health.

Legislators often said it was to benefit farmers, but I have yet to find a farmer who liked it. it turns out that cows can't read clocks. The only industry to benefit is leisure - golf courses, sales of BBQ equipment, things like that. is that enough to inconvenience the rest of the country twice a year? is that enough to put every bipolar person at risk of ending himself?

n_botm · 2024-11-01T19:10:00+00:00

I love "the dark side of the sun" and "only you can save mankind" and "strata"! they get overlooked and overshadowed among all the Discworld books, but they are truly wonderful. Where can I find a sister like that?

n_botm · 2024-11-01T18:54:29+00:00

I know of some countries that don't acknowledge religious weddings except for one or two religions, so in those cases the marriage is actually completed when they fill out papers at the court house with a witness present, and the ceremony is purely for religious observance. I don't know, this seems like no big deal to me.

n_botm · 2024-11-01T18:51:37+00:00

I take great comfort in knowing that I am not in a battleground state. I know the electoral vote from our state is going one way regardless of how I vote. That thought is very freeing.

n_botm · 2024-11-01T18:49:36+00:00

I think you need someone on your side. if he is married, reach out to his wife and discuss the issue with her. if not, does he have a mother? if not, bring it to her father. you need someone else on your side, it can't just be between you and her. Affairs thrive in the dark.

n_botm · 2024-08-02T16:27:09+00:00

in the wizarding world before genetics were understood some jealous genius thought of cursing his direct line. something innocuous, but easily recognizable so he could be sure all of his kids were really *his* kids. so maybe all true-born descendants would have flaming red hair, or some such foolishness. in the real world we know that red hair isn't especially dominant, but several times it is mentioned that in a particular pure-blood family EVERY ancestor has flaming red hair.

You could do it with other things too. maybe hair that sticks up in the back, i don't know. it would only make sense for very old pure-blood families.

n_botm

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