# Is it immoral to leave the stump behind? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756 "2005-08-05T18:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/21 "2005-08-05T21:06:20Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I am still trying to understand this concept of not wanting to eat an entire muffin. How big are these things anyway? Since a lot of people are questioning eating only the top, I guess I should explain. The top is where the muffin breaks free of the pan. It gets those thin edges, which get a little crunchy. It’s like a little crunchy UFO of yum. And if it has sugar or frosting on the top, you get that too. The stump? That’s just cake. Boring. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/22 "2005-08-05T22:03:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > The stump? **That’s just cake** Damn. It’s like I’m visiting another planet. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/23 "2005-08-05T22:14:45Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I am still trying to understand this concept of not wanting to eat an entire muffin. How big are these things anyway? I’ve never even _heard_ of such a thing. This must be one of those weird big-city decadences mama warned me about. Why not just get scones, then? Easy to make, actually. And they have nice crusts on them if you make 'em right. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/24 "2005-08-05T22:24:15Z")
Huh, muffin top. Isn’t he a comedian? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/25 "2005-08-05T22:24:08Z")
[The obvious compromise.](http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=178296) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/26 "2005-08-05T22:34:08Z")
I think the reason most people are mystified as to why you leave the stump of the muffin is that muffins are pretty much a single-serving item, like donuts or bagels. To repeat Manduck’s question: Are these muffins the size of volleyballs or something? ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/27 "2005-08-05T22:36:50Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > I’ve never even _heard_ of such a thing. This must be one of those weird big-city decadences mama warned me about. > > Why not just get scones, then? Easy to make, actually. And they have nice crusts on them if you make 'em right. It’s basically the continuing the decline of western culture and society. Soon, we will see single people buying vehicles that seat 12 because they’re “roomy,” and people eating only the toppings off of pizza because the bread makes them fat . . . wait . . . Seriously though, while I am normally not the world’s biggest anti-consumerism activist, something about discarding the stump does bug me. It just seems so wasteful and grossly hedonistic. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/28 "2005-08-05T22:36:51Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > So I submit this for debate: Is it moral to leave the stumps behind? Etiquette would dictate that you take and eat it all, not be wasteful. mo·ral·i·ty Pronunciation Key (m-rl-t, mô-) n. pl. mo·ral·i·ties 1. The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct. 2. A system of ideas of right and wrong conduct: religious morality; Christian morality. 3. Virtuous conduct. 4. A rule or lesson in moral conduct. Some folks would say you feel superiors to others and can do as you please, taking the top, ‘best’ for yourself, and leaving the ‘stump’ for those not as good as you are. IMHO there is no debate, just an attitude, good or bad, peculiar to each individual. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/29 "2005-08-05T22:45:54Z")
It irks me when people do this or similar things (like taking half a doughnut). The problem is anyone so gauche is probably covered in festering boils and so the other half must be covered in more cooties than Courtney Love’s bed spread. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/30 "2005-08-05T22:55:14Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > It irks me when people do this or similar things (like taking half a doughnut). The problem is anyone so gauche is probably covered in festering boils and so the other half must be covered in more cooties than Courtney Love’s bed spread. :eek: that’s **a lot** of cooties! ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/31 "2005-08-05T23:54:14Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > It’s basically the continuing the decline of western culture and society. Soon, we will see single people buying vehicles that seat 12 because they’re “roomy,” and people eating only the toppings off of pizza because the bread makes them fat . . . wait . . . > > Seriously though, while I am normally not the world’s biggest anti-consumerism activist, something about discarding the stump does bug me. It just seems so wasteful and grossly hedonistic. Yeah, I don’t normally get upset over things like this, but something about it seems _so_ wrong. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/32 "2005-08-06T00:13:38Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I always take the top when one is available. Stumps are for times of desperation. > > I don’t consider leaving some for others to be immoral or unsanitary, but perhaps because so many people have an ick factor over it, I should just go ahead and waste the stump. It’s an office politics thing. > > I’m really surprised how much ick factor there is. Seeing I don’t know how the stump got there (did the stump leaver eat off the top of the muffin? I don’t know. But there are people in my office that I certainly wouldn’t put that past and my bet is they don’t wash their hands) or your general level of hygene, the stump is garbage. Not only that, but it’s garbage left among good food - which makes the good food also suspect. If you absolutely must, separate it from the pack and leave the aforementioned note. But really, take the whole muffin. Eat the stump for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/33 "2005-08-06T00:50:27Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > I’ve never even _heard_ of such a thing. Really? Never? I guess you missed that episode of Seinfeld, then. Which inspired numerous coffee houses to market muffin tops. ---
**Author:** ![Domokun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Domokun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Domokun)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/34 "2005-08-06T02:15:01Z")
I’d eat a stump - unless there’s obvious drool or bite marks all over it. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/35 "2005-08-06T02:35:10Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > It’s an office politics thing. Isn’t there any real work to do around the office? Methinks some company needs to downsize. You all have too much time on your hands. I wouldn’t eat a stump someone left behind, but I usually don’t eat any unwrapped food that’s been set out, just because I’ve worked with some scuzzy people and I don’t trust them to not put their dirty hands all over the stuff before I have a chance to see it. But I eat the whole muffin anyway, and think it’s really wasteful to do otherwise. Would you pick chocolate chips out of a cookie? Scrape the icing off a piece of cake? I don’t care how sanitary it is, it’s the wastefulness that gets me. Eat your cake-stump and STFU. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/36 "2005-08-06T02:42:44Z")
It seems kind of offensive to me because the messege seems to be “Oh, I’ll just take the good parts. The rest of you guys can have the crap I don’t want to eat.” Even if you arn’t eating more muffin than you would if you ate the whole thing, it still leaves the impression that you are a bit greedy and childish. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/37 "2005-08-06T03:17:40Z")
[Stump Removal - Quick and Easy:](http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/ka_fucking_boom/demolit.html) > [@](#): > > 3-25. Stump Removal > Military Dynamite is the explosive best suited for stump removal. A rule of thumb is to use 1 pound per foot of diameter for dead stumps and 2 pounds per foot for live stumps Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/38 "2005-08-06T07:11:04Z")
Yes, I think circumcision is reprehensible! 😛😛😛 ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/39 "2005-08-06T21:23:53Z")
Didn’t I see this on Seinfeld? Paging Elaine, Miss Elaine Benes. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/40 "2005-08-06T22:19:52Z")
Next time, just order scones and avoid the entire moral conundrum. Problem solved. If you like, you can subscribe to my newsletter, but then I’d have to put one together. In lieu of that, just re-read the _Principia Discordia, or How I Found Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her: The Magnum Opiate Of Malaclypse The Younger, Wherein is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely Anything_. All hail Eris. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756.md?page=3)