# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/41 "2005-08-06T22:25:59Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Every now and then there will be a catered meeting in the office, and there will be leftover breakfast-type foods behind. Bagels, lemon cake, pastries. > > And muffins. > > These all go into the break room where anyone who wants one can have one. I have been know, on occasion, to make off with just a muffin top, leaving the stump behind. And I’m not the only one who does it. Hey, it’s the best part. > > But a few times I went into the break room while a few of my coworkers went in. They would see a decapitated muffin and shriek “Oh my god! That’s horrible! Who would do such a thing? Why can’t they just eat the whole muffin? That’s disgusting!” They were not joking. They were truly mortified. I ended up agreeing with them, as if they found out it was me, they’d have lynched me on the spot. > > So I submit this for debate: Is it moral to leave the stumps behind? Man! I thought this had something to do with what remains of my leg! Stump Removal! Wasn’t the first amputation _enough_? ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/42 "2005-08-06T22:35:28Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Sending this stump of a thread over to IMHO… [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/43 "2005-08-06T23:10:34Z")
Sometimes muffins really are as big as a volleyball, with enough calories to replace an entire meal. The way it goes at my workplace is: leaving a stump is bad. It is perceived as having cooties and having taken the best part and leaving crumbs for those peons you’re forced to work with. A sign probably won’t work because either you won’t be believed, nobody wants the note-writing freak’s stump, or nobody else wants the stump either. You’ve got three choices. Eat the whole muffin, perhaps saving the stump for a little snack. And/or, before taking the muffin, ask if anybody would like the stump, but call it the ‘bottom part’ (mystery stumps are bad, knowing the stump seperator means you can check for cooties, you see). Lastly, cut the muffin in half, vertically. Using a knife to cut the muffin reduces cooties. Usually I ask if anybody wants the bottom part and there’s always a guy who wants it. No waste, because there are children starving in Africa, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.Pepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sgt.Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/44 "2005-08-06T23:25:15Z")
> [@Nic2004](#): > > Man! I thought this had something to do with what remains of my leg! Stump Removal! Wasn’t the first amputation _enough_? And I thought this was about tree stump removal and the ethics involved. I didn’t even do the mouse-over to read the first few sentances, I just jumped right in to see what the big deal was. I thought there was a whole new world of morality that I had passed over all my life. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/45 "2005-08-06T23:29:24Z")
I thought everyone knew that all the good nutrients are in the stump. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/46 "2005-08-07T01:57:42Z")
Muffins are _huge_ these days; a whole one is a meal. In our office, it’s quite common to bring food in, and put a knife and napkins beside it. Point being, help yourself, but show some moderation. The accepted etiquette in our office is to use the knife to take half a pastry, or smaller, lessening the cootie factor, and yes, to cut the muffin vertically, leaving half a muffin that has both a top and a stump. I think it’s kind of funny, the unspoken bit with the knife, but sometimes I have half a pastry instead of feeling like a piggy eating a whole one. My vote is that if you’re going to eat half a muffin, you have to have a half that’s cut through the middle from the top, with a knife. It’s better for everyone that way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/47 "2005-08-07T02:21:53Z")
Ettiquette in my office is the same as others have mentioned: cut the muffin in half vertically with a knife (and, yes, muffins are now the size of wedding cakes). If you must have the whole top, find a way to dispose of the stump. Looking at muffin stumps creeps me out. It’s like decapitated muffin corpses are lying there amidst my food! Hide the bodies dammit! ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/48 "2005-08-07T02:28:20Z")
Obviously, it’s better to cut it in half, unless there is such an ungodly profusion of muffins that it is clear they will not all be eaten. That said, eating just a muffin top does not seem horribly wasteful if that’s all you eat. On the other hand, eating TWO muffin tops would be positively decadent. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/49 "2005-08-07T13:29:01Z")
> [@MaddyStrut](#): > > If you must have the whole top, find a way to dispose of the stump. Looking at muffin stumps creeps me out. It’s like decapitated muffin corpses are lying there amidst my food! Hide the bodies dammit! I suppose I could Hoffatize the stumps hide bits of them in little hidden places around the office. Then again, we have a bad mice problem, so how sanitary is that? Better yet, I could just not take any muffins at all. It’s not like I need the extra calories. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/50 "2005-08-07T19:40:00Z")
Sucking out the jelly and leaving behind the doughtnut? Immoral. Pulling apart the Oreos, eating the halves with the creme filling, and putting the other halves back in the package? Immoral. Eating all the M&Ms out of the trail mix? Immoral. (For zombies only) Eating the cerebral cortex and leaving behind the cerebellum and medula oblongata for the next guy? Immoral. But what can you expect from zombies? ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/51 "2005-08-07T20:05:26Z")
Could you find a friend who just wants a small snack, take the top for yourself and give the stump to him/her? I’d be your perfect muffin-buddy. (Heh.) I’m watching what I eat, so I don’t want a whole muffin, and just about all commercial baked goods seem to sweet to me. The crust on the top is really sweet, and I wouldn’t miss it at all. That goes double if there’s frosting. (Ick!) You can have the top and I’ll be content to munch on your stump. (Heh heh heh.) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/52 "2005-08-07T21:06:03Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > 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. This is my take too. It’s like scraping the frosting off the top of a cake, or picking out the chocolate chips from a cookie or the crabmeat from a pasta salad. If you take only part of a food item, at least take it in appropriate proportions. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/53 "2005-08-08T00:40:14Z")
Oh… this is about _food_, not a medical question. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/54 "2005-08-08T01:37:06Z")
Funny, that’s why I thought, too. Whine! We never get muffins at work in Japan. Can someone box a couple up (or even just the stumps if you followed the **tdn** method). Something’s got to be better then dead fish in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/55 "2005-08-08T01:42:02Z")
Is there no such method of creating a stumpless muffin? I trust something like this can’t be long off from coming about. Or does the muffin top grow from within the stump? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/56 "2005-08-08T01:46:47Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Is there no such method of creating a stumpless muffin? I trust something like this can’t be long off from coming about. Or does the muffin top grow from within the stump? Are you suggesting genetically altered muffins? :eek: ---
**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 8, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/57 "2005-08-08T01:58:46Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Is there no such method of creating a stumpless muffin? I trust something like this can’t be long off from coming about. Or does the muffin top grow from within the stump? so, what am I, chopped liver? [The obvious compromise.](http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=178296) ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/58 "2005-08-08T03:22:20Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > This is my take too. It’s like scraping the frosting off the top of a cake, or picking out the chocolate chips from a cookie or the crabmeat from a pasta salad. If you take only part of a food item, at least take it in appropriate proportions. This is my take as well. I’d be very annoyed if I saw leftover stumps. “I’ll take the best part. You jerks can take my leavings.” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/59 "2005-08-08T15:35:50Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > You can have the top and I’ll be content to munch on your stump. (Heh heh heh.) Boy, if I ever had a nickel for every time someone said that to me… Eh, I got nothin’. Just minutes ago I went into the break room and saw several leftover tasty treats. Including muffins in their natural state. I also saw a cruller where both ends were picked off, leaving a cruller fragment. Sitting next to it was the stubby remains of a slice of lemon cake. I opted to take the cruller fragment (and boy was it tasty). I walked in minutes later to find that someone had cut the leman cake stub in half with the knife and taken half (about one bite). Someone else had cut a powdered sugar donut into what looked like a letter G, taking about 2 bites of donut arc away. So clearly people take parts, and others take leftover parts. What’s so very different if the part taken has vertical superiority over the remainder? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756/60 "2005-08-08T15:55:45Z")
I can see it both ways. I’m stumped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-immoral-to-leave-the-stump-behind/315756.md?page=4)