the only good potato is chopped and fried …
You are a French Fried Filistine. 
Agreed! I think it was a microwave malfunction and not the potato that was at fault.
It would be interesting to see the results of microwaving a nailed potato.
As a foreigner, I often see references to “biscuits and gravy” is this the same gravy?
Gravy for biscuits is usually a cream gravy made with sausage. Gravy is basically a sauce that can be white or brown. A white gravy is usually made from dairy, while a brown gravy is made from stock.
I used to poke potatoes but quit doing so about 20 years ago, and haven’t looked back. Never had a blow up. I guess I like living my life on the edge. Danger is my middle name.
Your icon just screams “Danger”! 
Many’s the day I’ve said to hell with buttoning up the top button of my sweater or tying my sneakers snugly. What is life without some risks?
I’ve had one explode in a convection oven, despite having poked holes in it.
Do restaurants that serve baked potatoes prick the potatoes before baking? I would think that they would only prick them if it was actually necessary. No sense in paying workers to poke holes in the potatoes if it doesn’t matter.
I was going to mention those. The lore was, a nail or spike will speed the cook time for a baking potato. I’m not in a hurry, “time is an ingredient” as well.
Ordinarily made with sausage gravy, fat and flour. Lots of Milk or half&half. In a pinch, or at a campsite canned or evaporated Milk works pretty well for the purpose. Very rich and filling, often served with eggs and the rest of it. A guilty pleasure if watching the waistline.
Just in case it’s not known to non-Americans (and, as far as I know, there is no half-and-half on the other side of the pond), it’s basically like a light cream that is made from half whole milk, half (heavy?) cream, with a final fat percentage of 10-18%, usually somewhere around 12%, I think. (ETA: Sorry, FDA minimum is 10.5%, but the upper end of the range was correct.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/comments/16btuk1/british_school_boys_try_american_biscuits_and/
I’m weird about noodles. I hate fettucine, chow fun, flat egg noodles. I adore spaghetti, chow mein, etc. I know they’re made with identical ingredients (essentially), so why do I have such a strong preference one way?
Texture would be my assumption. (Chow fun also stands out because it’s made with rice, not wheat.)
But they’re not glass noodles, which I also don’t care for.
I’m not sure I follow. They’re both non-flour noodles, and you don’t like both. Texture would be the major difference from the noodles you like.
My wife, similarly, likes spaghetti and dislikes fettucine. The difference there is also one of texture. (Although another difference could be the types of sauces those are traditionally served with; though I have made tomato sauce and served it with both fettucine and spaghetti at different times. She always asks me to make it with spaghetti, so I do. I prefer tomato sauces with spaghetti myself, but when I’m out, I’ll use fettucine, and I don’t really care that much either way. Buccatini is my favorite when I’m in the mood for that round, long shape.)
I utilize the microwave thusly:
Peel and dice russets, put them in a microwaveable bowl with a dribble of oil, and cover it with cling film. Toss the cubes around to coat them, then give them three minutes in the MW.
Now you can proceed to frying them and they’ll be done in no time. Add some diced onions a minute before the taters are cooked, and voila, home fries.