# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/21 "2024-08-03T20:24:37Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > my murals were sought out and still around Pictures or it didn’t happen! [I believe you - would just like to see them…] ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/22 "2024-08-03T20:26:59Z")
Red, white or clear chowder. ---
**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, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/23 "2024-08-03T20:29:28Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > 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. To make this meta, there’s an additional aspect that some of those who complain about food not being authentic are IMHO mistaken about. I often see reviews where some people complain of a restaurants food not tasting good, and therefore not being authentic. Just because something doesn’t taste good doesn’t make it not authentic. It’s quite possible to make food that is both authentic and tastes bad. ---
**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, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/24 "2024-08-03T20:29:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, _I’m_ from Texas/California/Arizona/wherever and I know authentic Mexican food.” I am and I do know. Mind you, by “authentic Mexican food” we mean border mexican food, Not mexico city or Yucatan or others. There are _many_ authentic Mexican foods. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/25 "2024-08-03T20:57:37Z")
Old joke: A guy is planning a trip to the Amazon rain forest. A friend advises him to take some gin and vermouth. The guy asks why, and the friend replies, “If you get lost and everything looks hopeless, just take out the gin and vermouth and start mixing them together. Someone is sure to step out of the jungle and say, 'That’s not how to make a martini!”, and you’re saved." Pineapple on pizza Licorice is either the food of the gods or a deadly poison used to torture people. Ketchup on hot dogs Mayonnaise is either essential or disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/26 "2024-08-03T21:03:25Z")
[Red vs. green.](https://www.visitarizona.com/like-a-local/red-salsa-vs-green-salsa/) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/27 "2024-08-03T21:09:55Z")
Chili for sure. And of course cheese. I can wave anyone away about either, because I know I’m correct. ---
**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, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/28 "2024-08-03T21:20:21Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > 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. > > To make this meta, there’s an additional aspect that some of those who complain about food not being authentic are IMHO mistaken about. I often see reviews where some people complain of a restaurants food not tasting good, and therefore not being authentic. Just because something doesn’t taste good doesn’t make it not authentic. It’s quite possible to make food that is both authentic and tastes bad. I think I’ve previously mentioned Calvin Trillin’s account of having sampled gazpacho prepared at a neighborhood block party. While he was telling someone at the party about how it differed from authentic gazpacho, he realized that a key difference was that the block party gazpacho tasted better. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/29 "2024-08-03T23:09:03Z")
Chili … with beans. I don’t know where those people get their ideas regarding this. When I was a kid, there was chili and there was chili con carne. Both had beans and only the later had, well, carne: meat. A lot of folk get weird about terminology that is quite recent and has nothing to do with, you know, actual history. E.g. BBQ. Which is just cooking meat on a grill over coals. Nothing to do with sauces, smokers, etc. But they go absolutely ballistic when faced with facts. It’s like arguing with someone who says their Uncle Earl “knew for a fact” that the expression “the whole nine yards” had to do with WWII ammo belts despite the term being in use well before WII, etc. They just “know” what they know and that’s that. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/30 "2024-08-03T23:27:51Z")
Anchovies. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/31 "2024-08-04T00:31:08Z")
In my line of work: hand soldering for electronics. Also, Cooking a steak. Making a campfire. Caring for a newborn or toddler. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/32 "2024-08-04T00:42:44Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Licorice is either the food of the gods or a deadly poison used to torture people. Licorice is indeed a poison, but iirc you would have to eat like a pound a day. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/33 "2024-08-04T02:55:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Licorice is indeed a poison, but iirc you would have to eat like a pound a day. Good thing it is so vile tasting to prevent that. ---
**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 4, 2024, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/34 "2024-08-04T03:58:36Z")
I had a licorice candle that was foisted upon me. Now, burning licorice is more than vile. I promise . ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/35 "2024-08-04T04:58:15Z")
A Fence? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/36 "2024-08-04T05:26:04Z")
When I was considering moving to NC the woman who was one of the reasons I was doing so once asked me how I ate my grits, and pretty much outright said that the future of our relationship depended on my answer. Fortunate;y I choose…wisely (cream and sugar). ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/37 "2024-08-04T05:38:42Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > 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_ ? Have you _seen_ the flame wars over what builds are best in any sort of game? TT-RPG, C-RPG, MMO, Battle Royal, dear god, it’s endless. Plus, since often the information on you build / gear / etc are public and/or online information, countless internet strangers can see and rag on you. And that leaves out builds in a social gaming setting, like a WoW guild, where you’ll get the “you need THIS build for the good of the guild for fight X” which may or may not cripple your preferences for the other 95% of the game. WoW Vanilla and/or Vanilla Classic was notorious, because changing builds was expensive. 🙂 Other options, that include both physical separation and being told how wrong you were (correctly) include custom made personal vehicles, like this [guy.](https://www.mapquest.com/travel/outdoor-activities/water-sports/reza-baluchi-walk-across-ocean-hydropod-coast-guard.htm) But overall, I’d have to agree that it’s cooking. Art is _close_ but since it’s almost always expected to be subjective to a degree (don’t get my wife, whose first degree was in art before throwing up her hands at that subjectivity and inability to get work got her PhD in Physics), when it comes to cooking, there are many experts (self-proclaimed and otherwise) drawing on what they claim is factual, historical and scientific (sometimes) evidence of their “correctness”. And that’s leaving out the earlier mentioned regional, state, national, and international preferences for what is functionally nearly identical but unique foods. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/38 "2024-08-04T06:13:10Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > Licorice is indeed a poison, but iirc you would have to eat like a pound a day. > > Good thing it is so vile tasting to prevent that. Growing up with nine siblings, I cultivated a taste for licorice (to the point that I object to the practice of assigning the word to fruit-flavored candies). It was a strategy for not having to share my Good ‘n’ Plenties. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/39 "2024-08-04T06:29:35Z")
What the fuck does “pizza” even _mean_ now? A crust of some kind with toppings, baked in an oven? Does it have to be baked? Does the crust have to be flour-based? ---
**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 4, 2024, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200/40 "2024-08-04T07:15:50Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A lot of folk get weird about terminology that is quite recent and has nothing to do with, you know, actual history. An interesting example of the opposite of that phenomenon: a lot of people assert that a shepherd’s pie must be made from lamb and that if its made from anything else, its _cottage pie_ - this is a relatively modern notion borne out of some foolish grasp at consistency and has nothing to do with the origins and naming of the dish. (Shepherds are not people who _eat_ sheep, indeed, in the time when shepherd’s pie was first recorded, the sheep were not even the property of the shepherd) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-divisive-physical-thing-that-individuals-can-make/1005200.md?page=3)