# Are there things that have been discussed to death that we should not debate anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649 "2025-01-06T18:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/62 "2025-01-08T18:44:23Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > If I’d waited for the chicken and the bun to cool, would it then have been transmuted back into being food? No. Mayo being heated causes some weird changes in its texture & flavor that do not reverse when the stuff cools again. The heat de-emulsifies the mayo or something. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/63 "2025-01-08T18:57:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I may not be paying close enough attention, but I don’t _think_ we’re presently being flooded with OPs about that. If anyone thinks otherwise I’m happy to be edumacated. > > The other bans were more in response to excessive numbers of threads, not excessive vehemence of disagreement. I would say the issue is not the _subject_ of an excessive number of threads, but it consistently has a tendency to derail even tangential threads - ones on any sort of athletics, schools, and of course trans treatment by society. The reason it sucks in bad faith arguments, and trips up even people who otherwise may be arguing in good faith is there is a tiny, tiny _sliver_ of legitimacy to the argument compared to 99% of the other ones. And the bad faith folks do everything they can to magnify that tiny bit to make a mountain out of an anthill. And _here_ it’s one of the last arguments anti-trans individuals can still make in light of the TOS so… But in terms of overall thread discussions by volume, it is still pretty minor. Just that it’s the one that came to mind in terms of the OP’s intent, and one that I haven’t seen any movement on in the 4ish years since I actually joined. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/64 "2025-01-08T19:01:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > This just needs two things: > Clarification and > Realization that I am right and you are wrong. Interesting. I asked a bunch of people who was right. More than half agreed with me but less than 50%+1 did so IDK. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/65 "2025-01-08T19:09:09Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > And _here_ it’s one of the last arguments anti-trans individuals can still make in light of the TOS so… > > But in terms of overall thread discussions by volume, it is still pretty minor. Just that it’s the one that came to mind in terms of the OP’s intent, and one that I haven’t seen any movement on in the 4ish years since I actually joined. Agree completely. As I sorta pointed out back up at > [@LSLGuy](#): > > A lot of convo around here on trans sexuality and transsexual people has that same fantasy air as does flat-Earthism or 9/11 denial. > > It’s real. Get over it. Once everyone is past that hurdle then maybe, as @Velocity suggests, there are useful debates to be had. My intent there was to put trans denial & all the trans-adjacent whining about bogeymen into the banhammer on-deck circle. I just didn’t say it as well as you did. Thank you for that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/66 "2025-01-08T19:20:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Mayo being heated causes some weird changes in its texture & flavor that do not reverse when the stuff cools again. The heat de-emulsifies the mayo or something. At what temperature does this happen? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/67 "2025-01-08T19:25:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My intent there was to put trans denial & all the trans-adjacent whining about bogeymen into the banhammer on-deck circle. I just didn’t say it as well as you did. Thank you for that. Great minds think alike and so forth! (use whichever version of the saying you like depending on mood 😜 ) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/68 "2025-01-08T19:26:42Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > At what temperature does this happen? FTR: This is only a semi-serious rant about one man’s opinion of warm / hot mayo. And probably one that would do better in a different thread. But … IMO/IME if you slather typical refrigerator-temperature mayo on a warm hamburger and immediately try to eat it, at least some of the mayo is already destroyed and the flavor and texture is abominable. It’s not food. YMMV. And probably does. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/69 "2025-01-08T19:33:05Z")
Mustard and ketchup/catsup are a personal matter. I may judge you. But, I will not say anything or interfere with your right to condiment choice. Borscht is just wrong though. Pickled beets in beet juice. My Dad used to microwave it with sour cream ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/70 "2025-01-08T19:38:15Z")
English literature teachers would thank some version of god if there were such a book … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/71 "2025-01-08T19:42:01Z")
my aunts from michigan … this explains a lot … ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/72 "2025-01-08T22:12:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Allow me to educamacate you on the one rule of mustard. > > 1. Food with mustard applied ceases to be food. History proves you wrong. Approximately 4000 years ago, in the second millennium BCE, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt in search of the Promised Land, famously parting the Red Sea to help with their egress. He apparently parted the Atlantic Ocean, too, because some of them found their way to Montreal, where they established iconic Jewish delicatessens. There they crafted Montreal smoked meat, and to this day it is said that you have not lived if you have not tasted an authentic Montreal smoked meat sandwich on rye bread with a full-sour kosher pickle on the side. The essential condiment on such a sandwich is, of course, Dijon mustard. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s not far from the one rule of mayo. > > 1. Hot food with mayo applied ceases to be food. Cold food with mayo is fine. Here we have a universal truth, indeed. It is one of many reasons that the Big Mac, with its mayo-like glop, is not actual food. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > The lunch in question was a piece of fried chicken on a toasted bun with lettuce and mayo. If I’d waited for the chicken and the bun to cool, would it then have been transmuted back into being food? And a couple of slices of tomato, surely? The lettuce and tomato are the crucial factors here; they act as insulation between the hot chicken and the mayo. Even if the bun is toasted, it doesn’t have enough thermal mass to do much to the mayo once it’s been squished on top of the cool lettuce and tomato, and in any case, any decent chef will have buttered that side of the bun first, thus cooling it before the application of mayo. This has all been empirically demonstrated in that famous culinary lab, Wolfpup’s Kitchens. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/73 "2025-01-08T22:14:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Allow me to educamacate you on the one rule of mustard. > > 1. Food with mustard applied ceases to be food. Here in Philly, we have mastered a thing called the soft pretzel. It is food. It is definitely improved by the addition of mustard. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/74 "2025-01-09T00:41:57Z")
All of these inane food topics are OK with me as long as I can still tip the vet for declawing my cat. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/75 "2025-01-09T00:52:29Z")
Good point. Back to the OP. Ref the sage @ParallelLines’ several posts, there’s a distinct difference between topics unworthy of discussion because one side is purely trolls or morons, versus topics unworthy of discussion because although both sides are informed and sincere, nobody is budging and every plausible argument on both sides has already been made and every useful bit of objective evidence cited repeatedly already. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/76 "2025-01-09T04:30:44Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Borscht is just wrong though. Pickled beets in beet juice. That’s not _borscht_. ---
**Author:** ![Bbbb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@Bbbb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bbbb)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/77 "2025-01-09T12:03:36Z")
The obvious examples I can think of are debates that are regarded as settled among most liberal internet westerners (board people here) but not globally and perhaps only recently. The really nasty stuff to us: Is it good to enslave some people? Is it OK to murder certain races because they are dangerous and/or inferior? Can married women be raped by their husband? As a society we debated these topics and had some big violent disagreements but I’d argue they aren’t fruitful topics now and there aren’t any useful tangential issues there. So yes, there are issues that shouldn’t be debated because we’re done with them. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/78 "2025-01-09T13:03:39Z")
So m-\>f trans athletes circumcision is off the table than. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/79 "2025-01-09T16:14:55Z")
Speaking of pointless food debates, there are always those stupid “right type of BBQ” or “correct type of chili” inanities. It’s like what you put on hotdogs or pizza. Your food, your choice. My food, my choice. I have no idea what’s going on with people who insist on telling others what is “right” in this regard. I don’t see how it is a debatable topic at all. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/80 "2025-01-09T16:20:56Z")
Sounds like something that somebody who eats the wrong kind of BBQ would say ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/81 "2025-01-09T16:24:56Z")
I agree. Except for borscht. How I loathe borscht. How could a loving G-d allow borscht? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649.md?page=5)