# Who'da thunk... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510 "2006-04-13T13:03:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/1 "2006-04-13T13:03:53Z")
…that you could leave a gallon of milk sitting in a grocery bag on your kitchen floor for two days, find it, (:smack: yourself silly), stick it in the fridge,and actually find it to be drinkable the next morning? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/2 "2006-04-13T13:38:06Z")
Really, who’da thunk that you wouldn’t notice the bacteria in the taste, but would get really sick the next day? Well, maybe not, but I’m hyper-cautious about dairy, I throw milk out all the time. Of course, I leave butter out on the counter so it’s soft and spreadable, so maybe I oughta just shut it, huh? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/3 "2006-04-13T13:40:21Z")
Not to change the subject (ha!), but how’s the new job, **twick**? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/4 "2006-04-13T13:51:05Z")
> [@Oy!](#): > > Not to change the subject (ha!), but how’s the new job, **twick**? Excellent, thanks – but I’m so punchy right now that I’m doing shit like leaving milk out of the fridge for two days. (Thank god I’ve declared heating season to be over, so at least it was a very cool “room temperature.”) I’m looking forward to having my new routine feel routine, though! I hope things will settle down a bit over the next few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/5 "2006-04-13T13:56:03Z")
MMMMMMMMM… chunky milk! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/6 "2006-04-13T13:56:40Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > Of course, I leave butter out on the counter so it’s soft and spreadable, so maybe I oughta just shut it, huh? 😛 Butter, being chock full of nice, stable saturated fat, stays quite well at room temperature. Having only a bit of water and no sugars, bacteria think it’s dullsville and won’t touch it. Milk, on the other hand, has lots of sugars and lots of water, and is heaven for bacterial growth. IOW: Eeeeeew! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/7 "2006-04-13T13:57:43Z")
Well, cool. In a very literal way, even. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/8 "2006-04-13T13:58:26Z")
All right, here’s a moronic question: you buy a gallon of milk? How long does it take you to go through it? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/9 "2006-04-13T13:58:56Z")
Oh, and **Mr. Bus Guy** – I’ll probably dump the rest of the gallon, just in case, but it was the only milk in the house this morning, so I decided to live dangerously. And, sweetheart that I am, I let my sister – who stayed over last night – live dangerously. Without, um, mentioning the incident to her – she could tell the extent of my mental disarray by the state of physical disarray chez twicks, so I decided that it was an extraneous detail. The replacement plan, of course, will only happen if I remember to swing by the grocery store on the way home, _and_ remember to buy milk, _and_ remember to take the milk out of the car, _and_ remember to take the milk out of the bag and put it in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/10 "2006-04-13T13:59:58Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > All right, here’s a moronic question: you buy a gallon of milk? How long does it take you to go through it? About a week, more or less – I have a tall, frosty glass of Instant Breakfast each morning. No osteoporosis for me! ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/11 "2006-04-13T14:47:59Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > The replacement plan, of course, will only happen if I remember to swing by the grocery store on the way home, _and_ remember to buy milk, _and_ remember to take the milk out of the car, _and_ remember to take the milk out of the bag and put it in the fridge. See, right there is where all _my_ plans go right to hell. Good luck. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/12 "2006-04-13T15:14:50Z")
Give it a quick stir, put it in small tupperwares, and call it _cottage cheese._ ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/13 "2006-04-13T15:20:19Z")
Real life conversation from last night: \ _Her: Hi honey…what’cha having for dinner._ Me: Oh, just one of those flavored noodle meals. _Her: Taste good?_ Me: Meh…not as good as usual. \ _Her: Ummm…this might be why – it expired in 2004._ Still finished it tho…it wasn’t _that_ bad. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/14 "2006-04-13T19:01:10Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > …that you could leave a gallon of milk sitting in a grocery bag on your kitchen floor for two days, find it, (:smack: yourself silly), stick it in the fridge,and actually find it to be drinkable the next morning? I don’t know why not. It sometimes stays in the cow for days at a time at pretty much womb temperature. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/15 "2006-04-13T19:12:33Z")
> [@Doctor Jackson](#): > > I don’t know why not. It sometimes stays in the cow for days at a time at pretty much womb temperature. **long groan of mixed pain and pleasure** ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/16 "2006-04-13T19:38:29Z")
I buy two half-gallons at a time. I go through a lot of milk, so it’s nice to have a fresh half-gallon to crack open rather than half of a gallon jug that’s been opened for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/17 "2006-04-13T21:39:34Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > bacteria think it’s dullsville and won’t touch it. Now cats are a different matter altogether. If you have cats and leave the butter out, make sure you check for tongue marks before you use it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/18 "2006-04-13T21:48:30Z")
Cats will eat butter? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/19 "2006-04-13T21:49:22Z")
Not just cats! One time last summer, my mom and I were getting ready to have sweet corn on TV trays in the living room, so I was setting up and put the butter out, a stick with wrapper still on. Two minutes later it had disappeared, and a few days after that, it appeared to have exited one end or the other of my Great Dane (can’t remember which)! It didn’t just happen because she was a Dane. Dogs who are highly food motivated can come up with amazing solutions to the “reaching the counter” issue! ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510/20 "2006-04-13T21:51:36Z")
Actually, if the milk is unopened, and it’s properly pasteurized, it shouldn’t have any bacteria to speak of, so I’m not that surprised it was still drinkable. Leave an opened jug out for two days, and you’ll probably smell it before you find it any other way. Even this jug will probably now spoil extra-fast, so I doubt \*\*twickster \*\* will get to finish it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoda-thunk/352510.md?page=2)