# What is the most divisive physical thing that individuals can make? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200 "2024-08-03T17:38:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/1 "2024-08-03T17:38:29Z")
I mean, like there are some recipes and foods that, no matter how you make them, you will get people saying ‘no No NO! That is not how you make that thing!’ West Country Cream Teas are a good example - Cornish people put the jam on before the cream. Folks from Devon put cream first, then jam. Both sides are absurdly invested in their choice. Doesn’t necessarily have to be food, it could be anything (although as I write this, I think lets exclude anything that is made or done in a religious or political context, because those things are pretty much guaranteed to be divisive for really boring reasons) What thing can a person make, fully in earnest, and with full satisfaction of their own goal, that will generate the most and strongest pushbacks about how _you’re doing it all wrong_ ? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/2 "2024-08-03T18:17:26Z")
There are two types of Southerners. Some treat grits like mashed potatoes, and eat them with butter and salt. Some treat grits like cereal, and eat them with cream and sugar. Each group believes that the others are a bunch of deviants, heretics, and closet Yankees, whose ancestors are no doubt responsible for losing the war. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/3 "2024-08-03T18:26:55Z")
Put anything other than mustard on a hot dog. I believe this one can lead to physical violence. Chilli. Meat, no meat, beans, no beans, chocolate(!). I like mine with beans and meat, no chocolate, thanks. But I’m not super invested in whether or not that is properly called “chilli.” Cornbread – sweet or not sweet. I’m originally from the South. Where I’m from, cornbread is not sweet. But I’m a heretic. I make it sweet, like a delicious cornbread cake. Mmmm ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/4 "2024-08-03T18:27:32Z")
Boiling hotdogs vs, grilling. Or, maybe even worse- Ketchup on hotdogs. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/5 "2024-08-03T18:28:00Z")
Pizza. With so many variations on type of crust, types of toppings, order in which toppings are placed on the crust, style of cutting, and style of eating, any particular style will have some people vehemently insisting, “that is _not_ real pizza!” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/6 "2024-08-03T18:29:31Z")
Any Art. I always found the way I did things concerned people. Art Professors, to lay person, to a person just being a casual observer. As it turned out, for awhile my murals were sought out and still around.(You would starve to death on what I was paid). But I always received unsolicited advice and admonition how I was _doing_ it all wrong. I assume because I was doing it publicly. Anytime someone is looking over your shoulder you’ll get _advice_. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/7 "2024-08-03T18:45:32Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Or, maybe even worse- Ketchup on hotdogs. Here in South Texas putting ketchup on tamales is even worse than that. Yet there are some people (and not just white people who have just been introduced to them, I’m talking about Hispanic people whose ancestors have been eating tamales for hundreds of years) who will look at other people strangely for not putting ketchup on their tamales. The rest of us think that those people are the strange ones. Making tamales with all kinds of stuff is ok in my book. Cream cheese, raisins, chicken, it’s all good. But put ketchup on them and you’re a heathen 😜. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/8 "2024-08-03T19:03:45Z")
[The World’s Most Evil Invention](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0NgUhEs1R4) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/9 "2024-08-03T19:09:32Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Any Art. That’s the answer. There are gazillions of pieces of art that some people consider to be the greatest ever made, while others will dismiss them as pure rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/10 "2024-08-03T19:18:26Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Or, maybe even worse- Ketchup on hotdogs. Here in the UK we have the division between folks who have a distinct sauce preference (ketchup vs brown sauce) with regard to bacon vs sausage sandwiches. One kind of sauce apparently goes with one kind of filling and the other goes with the other, and people regard their preference as some immutable law of nature. Except of course they disagree on which pairing is correct. Me, it depends what I fancy on the day, but whichever I choose, someone will tell me I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/11 "2024-08-03T19:24:19Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Here in the UK we have the division between folks who have a distinct sauce preference (ketchup vs brown sauce) with regard to bacon vs sausage sandwiches. In Germany, I think the biggest culinary division is ketchup or mayo on fries (chips). But there are also many perverts or moderates, respectively, who order Fritten rot-weiß (fries red-white, ketchup _and_ mayo). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/12 "2024-08-03T19:42:09Z")
A fist. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/13 "2024-08-03T19:42:35Z")
I’ll raise you a middle finger! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/14 "2024-08-03T19:46:34Z")
Well, literally: a wall. Not that ‘arguments about how it should be done’ predominate (though they certainly do exist–look at the US-Mexico border efforts). But for dividing people, there’s nothing as effective as a 50-foot-high wall between them. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/15 "2024-08-03T20:08:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Here in the UK we have the division between folks who have a distinct sauce preference (ketchup vs brown sauce) with regard to bacon vs sausage sandwiches I’m not from the UK but I have never heard of anything but brown sauce (Heinz?) on bacon sandwiches. Mustard is for sausages. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/16 "2024-08-03T20:10:29Z")
Heheh, in music, it may be fuzz on a bass guitar. I’ve been told by several people that fuzz has “no place” on a bass guitar. I usually just give them the finger and refer them to Larry Graham’s work. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/17 "2024-08-03T20:13:47Z")
no No NO NOOOO! Red sauce is for bacon, brown sauce is for sausages. - or that’s what you would hear if you chose otherwise) (and if you chose as above, you would hear, from someone else, ‘no No NO NOOOO! Brown sauce for bacon, red sauce for sausages, obviously!’) Why on earth humans think someone else’s application of sauce to their own food needs supervision or correction escapes me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/18 "2024-08-03T20:19:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Pizza. With so many variations on type of crust, types of toppings, order in which toppings are placed on the crust, style of cutting, and style of eating, any particular style will have some people vehemently insisting, “that is _not_ real pizza!” Pretty much I will eat nearly any pizza, with any standard topping, except Pineapple. Now, I said 'standard" which does include anchovies but does not include hatch peppers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/19 "2024-08-03T20:19:48Z")
Mexican food. Restaurant ratings sites are littered with reviews by self-styled experts who say things like “Well, _I’m_ from Texas/California/Arizona/wherever and I know authentic Mexican food.” No you don’t, you pretentious gits. Even Mexicans posting on such sites don’t consistently know what’s authentic or can be relied upon to vouch for the quality of the food. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/20 "2024-08-03T20:21:43Z")
In 50’s suburbia, it was potato salad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200.md?page=2)