# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380 "2022-09-28T11:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 142
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2822 "2023-03-20T03:49:21Z")
I don’t keep butter in the refrigerator door either, because butter absorbs odors from other food very easily. I keep it in a Ziploc bag. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2823 "2023-03-20T04:02:05Z")
Also, malt vinegar, tartar sauce and cocktail sauce, plus a couple of different oils ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2824 "2023-03-20T04:02:08Z")
Until the heat of summer, I don’t keep butter in the fridge at all. I use a glass butter dish with a lid. Which is always on to keep other scents away from the precious substance. I used to use two dishes so I could rotate and clean them. Last week, my curious engineer decided it looked interesting so he reached up and pulled the full dish with room-temperature butter to the floor. Glass everywhere. I made sure he didn’t put his big paws on the mess as I cleaned it up. I need to buy a second butter dish. That is cat proof. My fridge has French doors. One side is taken up with the ice/water dispenser and only has narrow trays. I still find them surprisingly useful. One tray is full of condiment packets. Another often has a packet of bacon because it is just the right width. Lastly, that side holds slim salad dressing jars. The other holds my various mustards and sauces. Keep your ketchup away from me. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2825 "2023-03-20T04:41:08Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I don’t keep butter in the refrigerator door either, because butter absorbs odors from other food very easily. My fridge door has a butter (well, it says dairy) compartment with a hard plastic door. I keep the butter in there in a mid-century modern aluminum butter dish. Double protection! ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2826 "2023-03-20T06:39:53Z")
I keep a stick of butter in a covered metal dish on the counter to keep _cat tongues_ away from the precious substance. I put a half stick out at a time in the hot months, but in this house, we do like a little bit of butter to our bread, and it has to be room temperature. The metal in favor of glass or ceramic is because the humans are too clumsy, not for cat-proofing. We keep the opened package of butter in the compartment in the fridge door (and the other four or five pounds in the freezer). We should probably cut back on the butter. For the condiments on the list, I keep many of them on a pantry shelf instead of refrigerated. Soy sauce is too salty to go bad; vinegar is…well, it’s as bad as it’s going to get. I’d keep the mustard and ketchup there, too, if we went through them faster. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2827 "2023-03-20T15:36:02Z")
I don’t go through either mustard or ketchup very fast, but I still don’t keep them refrigerated. I’ve never had either go bad. – flavored mustard I usually keep in the fridge, but I don’t have any right now. I checked ‘soy sauce’ but it’s actually Bragg Liquid Aminos, which is the same general idea but less salty. I just got a new fridge. (Complicated story, but the thing was free, but I had no choice in model.) It has very deep door shelves and while I’m still not sure of my usual layout with this model I’m probably going to wind up keeping some things (such as peanut butter and bread) on the door that I used to keep in the main section. It does not, however, have a butter compartment. I’m considering figuring out some way to improvise one. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2828 "2023-03-20T15:40:19Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is it necessary to clarify that “gaslighting” has a more specific meaning than just any instance of trying to get someone to believe something that isn’t true? Yes. I voted in the pool anyway, but that’s a serious problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2829 "2023-03-20T15:44:15Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I don’t keep butter on the door in the fridge. There’s just milk, 1/2 & 1/2, mayo, and jarred bouillon paste. And maybe 1 bottle of salad dressing. Everything else goes in drawers or on shelves. I counted all that stuff if it lives anywhere in my fridge. Enough things migrate in and out of the doors that the poll was otherwise too hard to answer at all. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2830 "2023-03-20T15:45:22Z")
Most of that “fridge door” stuff I don’t keep in the refrigerator at all. I keep the mayo in there, and I like my ketchup and mustard to be cold, but otherwise if it wasn’t made with eggs or dairy or specifically says it needs to be refrigerated, it stays in the pantry. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2831 "2023-03-20T15:46:03Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > I answered the killer polls, but my responses were colored by the fact that I’m not going to try to kill many of the creatures on the list I tried to include “I’ll just leave them, rather than squash them” in my poll. Maybe i was unclear. I’ll remove bees from the house without killing them, I’ll trap mice with a snap-trap that kills them, and I’ll ignore spiders and let them nest in the bathroom. I intended all of those to be “nope, won’t squash it”. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2832 "2023-03-20T16:53:38Z")
I’m not always as close a reader as I should be! I voted in the new poll, and it looks like I’m in the majority on most (c’mon, people, spiders and bees are our _friends_). ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2833 "2023-03-20T17:43:55Z")
Yeah, I’m unhappy about the number of people who want to kill beneficials. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2834 "2023-03-20T18:46:02Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I’ve used ‘hoover’ as a verb, especially when watching the dogs eat, but not as a noun. Yes! Me, too. > [@InternetLegend](#): > > I’m not always as close a reader as I should be! I voted in the new poll, and it looks like I’m in the majority on most (c’mon, people, spiders and bees are our _friends_). I never kill spiders, and I once tried to keep a sadly dying bee aloft by waving my hands. I’m seriously bummed when I see a dead one. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2835 "2023-03-20T18:53:29Z")
I’ve never stepped on a frog but I nearly crushed one with an automobile once. I was getting in mine at the apartment complex I was living at and spotted what looked like a pebble about an inch and a half big tucked under the back of the driver-side front tire. The flowerbeds in the property had pebbles about that size and the place abounded with children so I assumed one of the moppets had placed it there. I knelt down to pluck it out and it turned out to be a small frog, which hopped away. I don’t know it if was startled but I sure was. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2836 "2023-03-20T20:29:30Z")
[![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56858337cbced60d3b293aef/1585275892448-HBAOY5DF1J99VUZ7QM3M/Albumism_Silverchair_Frogstomp_MainImage.jpg?format=1500w) ](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56858337cbced60d3b293aef/1585275892448-HBAOY5DF1J99VUZ7QM3M/Albumism_Silverchair_Frogstomp_MainImage.jpg?format=1500w) #Silverchair ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2837 "2023-03-20T23:06:25Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I don’t go through either mustard or ketchup very fast, but I still don’t keep them refrigerated. I’ve never had either go bad. – flavored mustard I usually keep in the fridge, but I don’t have any right now. This got me curious, so I checked stuff on my fridge door to see how they’re labeled: “_Refrigerate after opening_” full stop: BBQ sauce Soy sauce Tamari Creamy horseradish Prepared horseradish Ponzu Yellow mustard Hoisen sauce “_Refrigerate after opening to maintain freshness_” (or similar words): A1 sauce Oyster sauce Fish sauce Ketchup Brown mustard No suggestion at all: Sriracha Topatio hot sauce I think the products in the second list don’t really need refrigeration, but start getting a bit weird left at room temperature. I know sriracha doesn’t need refrigeration, but I do it anyway because it turns into this (perfectly edible, but) weird brown goo after a few weeks unrefrigerated. The soy and yellow mustard surprised me, as I’d thought those didn’t really need refrigeration. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2838 "2023-03-21T01:14:39Z")
I just looked at my jar of brown mustard — and there, on the back, in small print, it says “refrigerate after opening.” Huh. However, as I’ve been doing otherwise for decades now, I doubt I’m going to start refrigerating it now. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2839 "2023-03-21T03:53:50Z")
Who would stomp on a frog?? (Everyone knows you’re supposed to put them in a pot of cool water and then turn up the heat slowly.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2840 "2023-03-21T04:38:11Z")
I don’t refrigerate my soy sauce, tamari, or hoisin sauce. I’ve never had a problem. They maintain quality for longer than i keep a large bottle of soy sauce or a jar of hoisin. We do keep the ketchup and mustard in the fridge. They probably don’t need it, either, but that’s where they live. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/2841 "2023-03-21T05:09:35Z")
I would never intentionally kill a frog if it got into my house. The cat, on the other hand… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=141) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=143)