# Buttering corn on the cob w/bread and butter: movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761 "2010-07-15T10:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/21 "2010-07-15T16:56:50Z")
We had a set of these types of corn dishes, so when the butter slid off you just gave the corn a spin to re-butter it. [http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/pugladyat91/items/Corn\_on\_the\_Cob\_Dish\_Ceramic](http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/pugladyat91/items/Corn_on_the_Cob_Dish_Ceramic) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/22 "2010-07-15T18:43:48Z")
My mother would dip half a lemon in a mix of salt and black pepper and rub the corn with that. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/23 "2010-07-15T18:48:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > My mother would dip half a lemon in a mix of salt and black pepper and rub the corn with that. I like how your mom thinks. Now I want to try dipping half a lime in some chili powder and rubbing corn with that. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/24 "2010-07-15T19:46:12Z")
> [@maladroit](#): > > I like how your mom thinks. Now I want to try dipping half a lime in some chili powder and rubbing corn with that. Mmmmmmmm! ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/25 "2010-07-16T00:28:45Z")
It was in _War Games_. Ever since I saw that scene I’ve buttered my corn that way. Also, in the _War Games_ commentary, they mention that they got the idea for that from a documentary, _The California Reich_, wherein an aging American Neo-Nazi butters his corn in that fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/26 "2010-07-16T00:44:43Z")
I see kidneyfailure does it that way, but is this a common way to do it anywhere? Is that scene supposed to be about how weird his Dad is? It is genius, of course. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/27 "2010-07-16T00:48:43Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I see kidneyfailure does it that way, but is this a common way to do it anywhere? Is that scene supposed to be about how weird his Dad is? > > It is genius, of course. I don’t know about everywhere, but that’s how I grew up buttering corn. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/28 "2010-07-16T10:48:45Z")
> [@missred](#): > > I don’t know about everywhere, but that’s how I grew up buttering corn. Yeah, me too. I thought everyone did it this way until I went to college. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/29 "2010-07-16T11:53:47Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Yeah, me too. I thought everyone did it this way until I went to college. Everyone around me as a kid just slathered the butter on the ear directly with a knife. I did the same, of course, until I saw that film and switched to the bread. My dad saw me do it one night at the dinner table and said, “Hey! That’s a good idea!” and started doing it himself. He always liked to eat some bread and butter with his meal, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/30 "2010-07-16T20:19:49Z")
I thought it was intended to show that David’s goofy father is also clever and a problem-solver, in his own way. Hence it’s movie shorthand that hints his parents might not be the predictably dim stereotypes that one might expect in films about young geniuses. Not that buttering your corn with a slice of bread is equivalent to nearly causing a nuclear war by hacking into NORAD’s computer system, but hey, David got his brains somewhere. Seems like a nice little character touch. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/31 "2010-07-16T20:59:30Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Thanks, DF! This corn is RAW! Can we take pills, and cook the corn? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/32 "2010-07-16T21:26:42Z")
Can’t you just _taste_ the vitamins? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/33 "2010-07-17T01:47:51Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > O.K., am I misremembering the scene in _Breaking Away_? Does anyone remember for sure whether it happens it that movie, too? Yes, you are mis-remembering. The scene is definitely from War Games, and not from Breaking Away. It was a clever scene … somehow simultaneously disgusting and perfectly logical. Of course, I’ve learned since then that there’s no reason to ruin perfectly good corn by slathering it with butter. There are similar scenes at the dinner table in Breaking Away with Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie, but I don’t remember any involving either corn or butter. French fries, yes, butter no. ---
**Author:** ![ripopgome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@ripopgome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ripopgome)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/34 "2010-07-18T02:32:38Z")
> [@choie](#): > > I thought it was intended to show that David’s goofy father is also clever and a problem-solver, in his own way. Hence it’s movie shorthand that hints his parents might not be the predictably dim stereotypes that one might expect in films about young geniuses. > > Not that buttering your corn with a slice of bread is equivalent to nearly causing a nuclear war by hacking into NORAD’s computer system, but hey, David got his brains somewhere. Seems like a nice little character touch. This. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/35 "2010-07-18T03:39:28Z")
wargames I still do it because of that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/36 "2010-07-18T04:37:36Z")
No no, you use the hot corn to melt the butter into the dish, then roll the corn around in the butter sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761/37 "2010-07-19T03:52:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iFYKoce-FA) it is at 5:40. (BTW, I can’t imagine where it would be in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, as the only meal I remember is the fancy sit-down dinner in the snooty restaurant.) Fixed your [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iFYKoce-FA#t=5m40s) for you - appending #t=\_m\_s is a very useful trick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttering-corn-on-the-cob-w-bread-and-butter-movie/546761.md?page=1)