Reader Appreciation Week: Day Five

3 Comments / misc
  • What’s the fastest mammal? – Nancy, CA
    On land, cheetahs have been clocked doing speeds up to speeds of 60 miles per hour for short periods.
    In the ocean, the killer whale has been recorded swimming at 34 miles per hour. In the air, the big brown bat has been measured flying at just under 16 miles per hour.

    Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception
    of bad news, which obeys its own special laws. — Douglas Adams
  • I’m so confused… What’s the difference between angel hair, cappelini, spaghetti, vermicelli, linguini and fettucini? – Jane, NV
    Angel Hair Vermicelli Spaghetti Linguini Not pasta

    Angel hair, cappelini, vermicelli and spaghetti are, in order of size,
    round pastas. These thin pastas are generally used with broth or tomato-based sauces and finely
    chopped vegetables. Think delicate.

    Linguini and fettucini are flat pastas, fettucini being larger. These are preferred for heartier (cream) sauces because there’s more surface
    area for stuff to stick. Thus you’ve heard of “fettucini alfredo,” but
    not “angel hair alfredo.” When in doubt, use linguini. 🙂

    1. Always cook pasta in lots of water. This helps wash out the starch. (There is no need to add oil; oil and water don’t mix.)
    2. Cook pasta al dente. If you overcook, you’ll end up with a starchy goo.
    3. Salt may added to the water for flavor.
  • Q. What’s the weirdest stuff you’ve seen for sale online at your favorite one-stop-shop? — anonymous, WA
    As of late, there are a lot of strange things:

    • Owl Puke — Mark my words, it’s only a matter of time until Hollywood latches onto this for a movie idea.
    • Ladybugs and Nematodes — Yeah, I know it’s for organic gardening, but it seems very My Bloody Valentine to send these to someone.
    • Red Hot Swamp Goo® – And if cute bugs don’t work, you can always send these for Valentine’s day. Or not. (I hate marshmallows.)
    • Ten Pound Lobster — I suppose if you can ‘rassle it to the ground, you can eat it. (eventually when enough people buy this, you’ll see the “People who bought Ten Pound Lobsters also bought
      Songs for a Future Generation. (Dum dum dum dumdum dum dum dum Rock Lobster)
    • wt8p.com — well, technically my web site is only for sale on blogshares, but you can write reviews. Or you could just email me 🙂

    These are a bit funnier because there are real companies selling this stuff, no random eBay pranks.

  • Q. Is the press coverage of Ronald Reagan’s funeral a little much? – Beth, CA
    Reagan led our country through some very tense times during the cold war and during his tenure, was a very popular president. The press coverage may be a bit extreme, though it’s actually less than that of Lady Diana a few years ago.

3 thoughts on “Reader Appreciation Week: Day Five”

  1. marty

    how long do you cook rubber bands? i can never get them tender enough.

  2. John

    I’ve been trying to convince my girlfriend about the futility of adding oil to pasta water. Hell, even Alton Brown can’t seem to convince her otherwise.

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