Difference between revisions of "Talk:1766: Apple Spectrum"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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(McIntosh is the model apple)
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:That isn't entirely accurate either, though. The first line of that page says that "'''unlike most apple trees''', self-pollinating apple trees are naturally able to set fruit by themselves". Most apple trees can't self-pollinate, and because apples of the same variety are clones of each other, they register each other's pollen as their own. Self-pollinators are the exception, not the rule. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.98|108.162.219.98]] 18:16, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
 
:That isn't entirely accurate either, though. The first line of that page says that "'''unlike most apple trees''', self-pollinating apple trees are naturally able to set fruit by themselves". Most apple trees can't self-pollinate, and because apples of the same variety are clones of each other, they register each other's pollen as their own. Self-pollinators are the exception, not the rule. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.98|108.162.219.98]] 18:16, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
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::But that isn't what the paragraph I deleted stated. My comment was accurate to that paragraph. [[User:ChrisPwildcat|ChrisPwildcat]] ([[User talk:ChrisPwildcat|talk]]) 23:09, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
  
 
Odd that he would post a comic with such a glaringly obvious mistake. Red delicious apples are best apples. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar and you should not listen to that person. {{unsigned ip|172.68.79.72}}
 
Odd that he would post a comic with such a glaringly obvious mistake. Red delicious apples are best apples. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar and you should not listen to that person. {{unsigned ip|172.68.79.72}}

Revision as of 23:09, 1 December 2016

Well, I did my best on explaining this one... Not really sure I got the Granny Smith part right. --Andyd273 (talk) 14:32, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Surely a desert island covered only in apple trees is not beyond all probabilities? Minimal (talk) 15:01, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

I believe his confusion on a desert island with one type of apple is because apples exhibit extreme heterozygosity meaning that any daughter apple tree will produce fruit extremely different from its parent; it would be difficult to have several plants in one area that are all the same that produce no differing offspring (at least on a deserted island...humans can intervene on actively managed orchards). Genetically, the apple does fall very far from the tree. 162.158.59.197 15:10, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

This is AMAZING. I had no idea. Apples --Jeff (talk) 15:16, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
here Jacky720 (talk) 17:30, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
Thanks Jack, I'm a linking idiot. --Jeff (talk) 19:58, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

What exactly does "doing their own thing" mean in this context? Drewthedude64 (talk) 15:20, 30 November 2016 (UTC)Drewthedude64

I'm assuming it means it was so different, that it couldn't be categorized by a low-high line (those 1-10 scales you see everywhere) --108.162.216.82 15:30, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
Granny Smith apples are green while the other apples in this comic are red. Also, Granny Smith apples are more tart than sweet...these two characteristics distinguish it from many other apple breeds and is probably why he says they are doing their own thing. 162.158.59.197 15:32, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
Granny Smith apples are good all of the time (unless they're mealy). All other apples should be made into pie. Except for red delicious, which shall be cast into outer compost, where there are swine gnashing their teeth. - The Opinionated One. 162.158.69.142 16:40, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Has Randall ever explained why he doesn't like Red Delicious? Maybe not crisp enough? 162.158.69.100 15:59, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Seriously? Have you ever eaten one? Cardboard has more apple flavor! This has to be the most misleadingly named food item ever! mwburden (talk) 03:13, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

The explanation says that "Two (apple) trees of the same variety will not pollinate each other." I am no botanist, but I'm not sure this is correct. (The linked citation seems to blur the line between apple trees and fruit trees generally.) I think they will pollinate each other, and will even produce fruit, but the resulting fruit will be 'unpredictable.' No apple tree planted from seed will produce apples like its parent (except by chance), due to the heterozygosity mentioned above. BTW, because apples will not "breed true," this also means that every store-bought apple we've ever eaten came from a cloned or grafted tree. Apples are weird. Miamiclay (talk) 16:30, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

You're right that it isn't correct. Apple tree's may self pollinate. See [1] -- Induane (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I went ahead and deleted the offending paragraph. It was unquestionably wrong as it was, even according to it's own source. ChrisPwildcat (talk) 18:06, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

That isn't entirely accurate either, though. The first line of that page says that "unlike most apple trees, self-pollinating apple trees are naturally able to set fruit by themselves". Most apple trees can't self-pollinate, and because apples of the same variety are clones of each other, they register each other's pollen as their own. Self-pollinators are the exception, not the rule. --108.162.219.98 18:16, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
But that isn't what the paragraph I deleted stated. My comment was accurate to that paragraph. ChrisPwildcat (talk) 23:09, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

Odd that he would post a comic with such a glaringly obvious mistake. Red delicious apples are best apples. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar and you should not listen to that person. 172.68.79.72 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Red Delicious are the Devil... tasteless, meally... evil. Apples should be crisp and clean in flavor, that's why the misnamed 'Delicious' varieties are on the bad (evil) end and crisps and most other varieties are on the good end (edible). Maybe Granny Smiths 'do their own thing' because they are good with peanut butter.108.162.246.34 20:59, 30 November 2016 (UTC) >"Red Delicious are the Devil... tasteless, meally... evil." -Where are you buying your apples from?? Could be a mistake in picking properly ripe apples or when not in season.

Red Delicious--Honey Crisp--Regular Apples--Granny Smith--PINK LADY! Sorry! Had to put in a plug for the greatest unknown apple on the planet! They have every great characteristic an apple can have. They're juicy, crunchy, sweet, and sour. The perfect apple! ExternalMonolog (talk) 23:37, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Pink Lady has to be one of the worst apples around. Seriously. Apart from Golden Delicious. But it's a close call. Let's hear it for Egremont Russet and Worcester Pearmain and a whole lot of other impossible-or-hard-to-find proper varieties. Oooh apple wars, so much more fun than editor wars.162.158.2.43 13:12, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

Just chiming in to further dis Red Delicious ... In much of the US, for decades after WWII, only a very few apple cultivars were widely available - Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, & Granny Smith mostly. Red Delicious is nearly perfect for commercial, mechanized orchards and (like tomatoes), their flavor and texture were considered secondary to commercial/logistical issues (like longevity in storage and resistance to bruising). The problem is that they are often mealy, and are always, always bland - Red Delicious are to apples what boxed Kraft mac & cheese is to pasta. These days though, even US small town chain groceries will often carry a dozen varieties, and variety is the single greatest thing about apples. (The wondrous names are a bonus.) Nowadays, when we can always get Galas and Fujis, can very often find Braeburns, Arkansas Blacks, Jonagolds, and Winesaps, and occasionally SweeTangos, Nickajacks, Green Cheese and other varieties, I imagine that the Red Delicious lives on mostly by inertia. Miamiclay (talk) 18:31, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

As far as I am concerned the most model apple that all other apples must be compared against is the McIntosh. Sure the Pink Lady and the Honey Crisp are special but in my mind, when I think "apple", I am thinking of a McIntosh. I still would rather bite into a good McIntosh than any other. Their taste is perfectly balanced. Maybe this is because I grew up around Lake Erie which is prime McIntosh country. Their only drawback is they don't have a long season and they don't last as long in the refrigerator as others do. And yes, Red Delicious is only fit to feed to the swine. Rtanenbaum (talk) 21:22, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

Granny Smiths

I don't agree that Granny Smiths apples are mainly cooking apples. Bramley are what I would consider a cooking apple, but this may be a UK/USA thing (I'm from the UK) 141.101.98.218 10:13, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

I came here to say the same thing, I'm also from the UK. 141.101.98.130 11:28, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

+1 - in the UK at least Granny Smiths are generally eating apples, whilst a bramley is for cooking. Interestingly though a Bramley is almost exclusively British, and is grown because it has great commercial benefits - able to harvested early, late, stores for months, etc

" Adrian Barlow, CEO of the English Apple and Pear Association, says: “Today, we cannot export Bramleys as the variety is almost unknown outside the UK and will not fit processing machinery overseas. So, the Bramley is more or less exclusive to the UK; elsewhere eating apples are used for cooking. We are unique in having a single-purpose culinary apple. The Bramley will continue to dominate unless a variety with even better commercial qualities is developed.”

" (link :http://www.pressreader.com/uk/gardening/20121020/281556583068563/TextView

141.101.98.253 16:31, 1 December 2016 (UTC)