# 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:** 71
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1402 "2023-01-12T01:00:48Z")
I bring a laundry bag. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1403 "2023-01-12T01:01:35Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Work is a hellhole. Then if you can afford to retire (including healthcare costs) you should do it! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1404 "2023-01-12T01:09:25Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > For anything more than a one-night stay, I empty my suitcase into whatever drawers and/or hangers are available. The suitcase then becomes a hamper; I just stuff the clothes back in after I’ve worn them, and then I’m automatically packed to go home at the end of the trip. Same here. Particularly since a fair number of my trips, until the last few years, have been business trips, where I’m hanging up a suit or sportcoat, slacks, and dress shirts – and the latter two will get ironed before I wear them, to get out any travel-induced wrinkles. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1405 "2023-01-12T03:09:02Z")
I can’t give an opinion on Henry Kissinger’s living-or-dead status without googling first, because I read something about two days ago that caused me to google it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1406 "2023-01-12T03:25:37Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > I still don’t like the idea of altered reality even when it’s magic. > > You’re my sister? I may have overstated. The idea is fine. No problem reading about it or seeing it in movies. But we are our brains. I don’t want anything screwing around with that. I had a stroke. It gives perspective on how fragile our selve is. Leave my brain alone. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1407 "2023-01-12T14:14:55Z")
I have a big military duffel that I travel with if I’m going to be more than a few days and I take time to organize it impeccably. No reason to unpack. I can find specific items in it without even looking. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1408 "2023-01-12T14:38:09Z")
I have a garlic press (doesn’t everyone?) but I prefer to just mince it with a knife. The press is a pain to clean, and I’m slicing/chopping/dicing/mincing anyways. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1409 "2023-01-12T14:44:32Z")
I have the one with the flip-around handle and the permanent cleaning tool. Use it all the time. Not hard to clean at all. Spent garlic skins pop right out, anything else just rinses away. Mincing with a knife is a pain in the ass. I’ll do it for one or two cloves, but any more than that, I break out the press. [![](https://mysacredtable.com/wp-content/sabai/File/files/l_7d1cd29d46fcf332ac83bce799de2a9d.jpg) ](https://mysacredtable.com/wp-content/sabai/File/files/l_7d1cd29d46fcf332ac83bce799de2a9d.jpg) It’s one of the few things I disagree with Anthony Bourdain about: “I don’t know what that junk is that squeezes out the end of those things, but it ain’t garlic.” Bullshit snobbery is all that is, and coming from a man who likened himself the champion of anti-food snobbery, no less. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1410 "2023-01-12T14:47:57Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Mincing with a knife is a pain in the ass. It’s one of my kitchen joys! Don’t get me started on matchstick carrots. My gf is like you. Oftentimes she’ll snare me when she’s cooking and hand me a bunch of veggies, saying, “dice”. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1411 "2023-01-12T14:51:18Z")
I’m fine chopping other things, I have a good knife that I love to use, but the small size of garlic makes it difficult to work with for me. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1412 "2023-01-12T15:00:38Z")
I like chopping things fine. But crushing the garlic changes the flavor. i sometimes slice or dice garlic, and other times i use a press, depending on what I’m going for. Usually i use a press. Mine came with a plastic gadget to clean it, but I’ve misplaced that, so it is kinda a nuisance to clean. I use it all the time anyway. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1413 "2023-01-12T16:42:59Z")
I once took an American Lit class, and we had to write two papers during the quarter, and there was a midterm and a final. On the first three “tests,” I found the topics boring and did well enough for a borderline B/C. But there was an essay on the final that really piqued my interest. I filled every inch of that blue book with great insights. The professor said he’d have been suspicious of plagiarism or something if I’d done as well on the outside class work as I did on the final. I ended up with a borderline A in the class. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1414 "2023-01-12T23:30:52Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > The professor said he’d have been suspicious of plagiarism First this. In high school Chemestry, I got a C and then a D the first two quarters. I had been out sick for over a week and my class partner failed to take notes. I was very frustrated and complained to the teacher, who didn’t care. I switched to the other teacher for the next semester and got a C, then a B and I aced the final. The second teacher saw me after school at my friend’s apartment building where he also lived and he looked at me, very puzzled and asked me about my grades. When I explained about the mumbling teacher, the lazy partner, and my illness, he said “Say no more. Thanks.” and that was that. I can only assume that he was questioning my sudden brilliance. It wasn’t sudden, I had been handicapped and then was given freedom to learn. But if he hadn’t asked, I wonder what my final grade would have been. Re garlic press: I have a garlic press that I rarely use, now that I know how to smash and dice. If it’s a lot of garlic, that’s what the food processor is for. Re hotel room habits: It very much depends on my trip, how long I’m staying, what type of clothing I will wear, and whether or not I have roommates. The bathroom stuff gets unpacked when I enter for the evening and repacked before I leave every day. That way, I don’t forget to take medications, use eyedrops, etc. If it’s in the toiletries bag, I’m done with it. If it is still on the counter, I haven’t used it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1415 "2023-01-13T00:06:27Z")
I do not have a garlic press and I’m on the fence about whether it’s worth it. I mince one or two cloves of garlic almost daily. I try to avoid single-purpose items in my kitchen, but I have an amazing lemon juicer that I’m grateful for every day, so you never know. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1416 "2023-01-13T00:11:00Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I mince one or two cloves of garlic almost daily. My wife isn’t a fan of garlic. We probably use it once or twice a year. She buys pre-minced for that purpose. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1417 "2023-01-13T00:37:32Z")
I probably use my garlic 90% of the times that I cook. I’m almost as astonished to hear that some people don’t have a garlic press as I would be to hear that they don’t have a knife in their kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1418 "2023-01-13T00:44:49Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > My wife isn’t a fan of garlic. My husband is kind of sort of allergic to garlic, but he’s usually okay with a couple of cloves in a whole meal. His allergies aren’t severe but rather cumulative, so if he eats too much stuff he’s allergic to at once, he gets sick. I’m not a bad wife, I promise. He has informed consent. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1419 "2023-01-13T00:45:06Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I’m almost as astonished to hear that some people don’t have a garlic press as I would be to hear that they don’t have a knife in their kitchen. This is why we do polls like this. We learn how others live. I have been very surprised by many things I’ve learned here. (how many men urinate sitting down, for example. Not that there’s anything wrong with that) ---
**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:** [January 13, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1420 "2023-01-13T02:43:44Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I probably use my garlic 90% of the times that I cook. I’m almost as astonished to hear that some people don’t have a garlic press as I would be to hear that they don’t have a knife in their kitchen I use a lot of garlic. (And I grow the stuff; some people at market call me “the garlic lady”.) I’ve got a garlic press somewhere, because somebody gave me one; but I always just use a knife. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/1421 "2023-01-13T13:18:41Z")
Not a fan of zombies. I prefer undead with capes, fangs, and Eurotrash accents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=70) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=72)