Scary? They’re the dominant potato in North America. They’re what people think of as a baked potato. Idaho potatoes are russets.
I’ll let you keep the wiki entry, my source is my wife who does road work for a living.
Yes, the rollers are deliberately heated, it has to do with the “tack” (not tar) that holds the asphalt together, but that’s as far as my knowledge goes, other than not all asphalt is made the same. If you’re patching a big enough pot hole to need a roller, the composition of the asphalt is going to be different than if you are building an entire road, and will most likely be using a vibrating roller (which can rattle your eye-teeth out at half a block away)
Russets suck ass, taste reminiscent of dirt, take for ever to cook (btw they’re not actually brown, they’re kinda pale off-white, that brown is just really hard dirt you gotta have a stiff brush to remove). When I lived in GA, there were always potatoes from Maine, don’t know what the name of the variety was, but man were they delicious.
Wait a second, aren’t we supposed to be talking about paperclips?
I know that now. I was surprised to find out russet doesn’t mean red. Crayons taught me in kindergarten it was reddish orange. Go figure!
I’m pretty sure Maine Potatoes are white potatoes, similar to Irish potatoes (the vegetable, not whatever the dish is). A lot of people think they taste better than russets. I think they’re better for mashed but I prefer russets for baked and fried.
GAAH! Machine Elf I mis-read that Wikipedia entry :smack:, I meant steam heat, not propulsion.
You mean gem clips??
The clear cases for cds are called ‘jewel cases’. I thought that was so fancy sounding.
There are 3 broad categories of potatoes: starchy, waxy, and hybrid or all-purpose. Grocery stores usually have at least 3 varieties, that fit these categories, usually Russett, red, and Yukon Gold, respectively. Starchy potatoes are good for baking and mashing, but boiled can get gross and slimy. I almost always prefer Yukon or waxier.
I’ve heard both of those terms, grew up in Georgia, and am unimaginably old (50). So… yes. 
To me Irish potatoes sound like explosive devices IRA terrorists would throw at British armored vehicles. You know; like Molotov Cocktails.
South Carolina. Interestingly, I’m finding lots of Africa-based sites using the term, including this and this. But here is one from San Fran.
I had a tiny box of Gem brand paperclips we got from my mother-in-laws house. Green and gray box, not much bigger than an old fashioned match box.
I worked for years in a bilingual Canadian government office. My Francophone coworkers were always talking about “Bostitching” papers together, and I just assumed that this was French for staple. I eventually discovered that this was the very prominently printed brand name* on the boxes of staples that used to be supplied by the government’s central supply system back in the Dark Ages.
*(Bostitchinvented the modern stapler.)
We don’t confuse them with yams; we simply call them “yams” so that we don’t speak like southerners.
Besides, it’s difficult to find actual yams, so there’s very little confusion. Well, we do have Chinese yams available at times, but we always call them “Chinese yams.”
Although we disdain the use of “sweet potato” here, a pie made from yams is still always called “sweet potato pie.”
I’ll add that certain subcultures that have immigrated here from the south during the early 20th century prefer the word “sweet potato,” which is strange, because they’re the ones who started calling “sweet potatoes” “yams” in the first place, because of the confusion that you mentioned! :eek:
I call them all ‘taters’. But I am hick from South Arkansas.
And if the Troubles break out again (I’m looking at you, Brexit), I’m sure they will be.
Not the Shire?
I still don’t understand why someone would use a regionalism, even if people don’t understand it.
“Gem Clip” is a perfect example. Even the GEM brand say "Paper Clips’ right on the box. So if you ask someone for a Gem Clip and they look blankly at you, then swallow your pride and ask them for a paper clip!
Honestly, I’ve met people who stubbornly stick to an antiquated or regional name and get frustrated that everyone else isn’t doing things their way.
Dadburn these whippersnappers, cain’t even call things by their proper, God-given name, dadgummit!
ps, we just ignore my mother (90+) when she starts talking about nigger-toes… a kind of nut, apparently.
Brazil nut. Glad that’s the only name I knew for it until adulthood.
Because they don’t realize it’s a regional/brand name used generically in only some places. I’m pretty sure you would be surprised if someone looked at you blankly when you asked for a Band aid or a Kleenex. Or it could also be an age thing (although I don’t think it is with Gem Clip)- when I started working, it was common to call something a “xerox” copy or ask someone to “xerox” something. Haven’t heard that in years, and doubt my kids would have any idea what it meant - but there had to be some span of years where some people were still using it and others didn’t understand it.