Difference between revisions of "Talk:357: Flies"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Actually, the saying was originally “A watched pot never boils ''over''.” This means that you should watch a pot to make sure the water doesn't spill out.[[Special:Contributions/68.195.76.173|68.195.76.173]] 17:57, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
 
Actually, the saying was originally “A watched pot never boils ''over''.” This means that you should watch a pot to make sure the water doesn't spill out.[[Special:Contributions/68.195.76.173|68.195.76.173]] 17:57, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
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:Nope. The phrase did not originate with the word "over", which makes less sense anyway, defeating the purpose.<ref>[https://knowyourphrase.com/a-watched-pot-never-boils The Origin Of ‘A Watched Pot Never Boils’]</ref> — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 05:27, 10 November 2019 (UTC)
  
 
Pretty sure that '''A watched pot never boils''' is an expression unto its own. If you sat and watched a pot long enough it would still boil over, on the macro scale there is no effect on observing something. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 09:10, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
 
Pretty sure that '''A watched pot never boils''' is an expression unto its own. If you sat and watched a pot long enough it would still boil over, on the macro scale there is no effect on observing something. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 09:10, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
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--- Is an ''unwatched'' pot in a superposition of boiling and not boiling? --- [[User:Ruffy314|Ruffy314]] ([[User talk:Ruffy314|talk]]) 01:56, 20 November 2015 (UTC)
 
--- Is an ''unwatched'' pot in a superposition of boiling and not boiling? --- [[User:Ruffy314|Ruffy314]] ([[User talk:Ruffy314|talk]]) 01:56, 20 November 2015 (UTC)
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In English, the acid in vinegar is called "acetic acid".  IIRC, "ethanoic acid" makes sense from the IUPAC rules for forming chemical names, so perhaps the writer speaks a language that uses that term.
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[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.123|108.162.241.123]] 20:27, 3 October 2016 (UTC)
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Just a note - white vinegar doesn't work well. Apple cider vinegar is much more effective. Add a little dish soap, put it in a narrow-mouth bottle (like 20oz soda bottle), and it'll catch a LOT of gnats or fruit flies. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.80|108.162.219.80]] 14:59, 12 August 2020 (UTC)
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wait, do people actually refer to their mom as "mother???" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.191|172.70.34.191]] 12:55, 3 October 2021 (UTC)Bumpf
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==References==

Revision as of 12:55, 3 October 2021

Actually, the saying was originally “A watched pot never boils over.” This means that you should watch a pot to make sure the water doesn't spill out.68.195.76.173 17:57, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

Nope. The phrase did not originate with the word "over", which makes less sense anyway, defeating the purpose.[1]Kazvorpal (talk) 05:27, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

Pretty sure that A watched pot never boils is an expression unto its own. If you sat and watched a pot long enough it would still boil over, on the macro scale there is no effect on observing something. 108.162.246.117 09:10, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

I thought that this expression meant that the water boiling process have a Murphy law like property in it: that the pot tends to boil over when you turn away from it. 108.162.212.196 21:59, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

CLEARLY the idea is that you are waiting for the pot to boil so that you can add something to it. You are not waiting for it to boil over; you are waiting for it to boil. The point is that many things that you want in life take longer to eventuate than you think, and sitting there fixating on them doesn't actually help and is a waste of time. Do something else useful in the meantime; the pot will boil when it's ready. 108.162.219.58 19:48, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Honey has a much higher sugar content than Balsamic vinegar. My hypothesis for this is that the real draw fro the flies is related to fragrance 108.162.219.52 19:18, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

I agree on this and updated the explanation. Mumiemonstret (talk) 14:10, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Could this be a metaphor for trolling? Richmond tudor (talk) 00:24, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

I was actually waiting for the day I'd be able to use the knowledge this strip has bestowed onto me. Unfortunately I'm such a slob that there are just WAY too many. But it *certainly* seems to be working so far! I also did some research and found out the flies I'm having are called vinegar flies. What's funny is that when I searched for Florida [insert insect name here], it turns out my college (UF) has pretty much the entire field of Florida entomology covered, and I doubt it's because I'm using the school network.

But I've been living in a dumpster-quality environment for weeks and haven't gotten remotely sick. My immune system is *crazy* good, haha! But there comes a point where it's just plain disgusting and the flies get annoying, so I am in the process of cleaning up, not so much because of the health hazard as much as it is just the smell and how I'm tired of getting hundreds of flies in my face. Also a few of them bite, and they're starting to spread throughout the rest of the dorms so... yeah. If UF's Lakeside building 3 dorm ends up getting fumigated... it's my fault entirely.

STILL I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW CRAZY MY IMMUNE SYSTEM IS.

Also I don't want to wake up to find my bed crawling with maggots. IDK where they laid eggs and the RA is forbidding me to use Raid. IDK why they'd sell it in the PODs (UF's convenience store) if we're not allowed to use them. International Space Station (talk) 07:04, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

--- Is an unwatched pot in a superposition of boiling and not boiling? --- Ruffy314 (talk) 01:56, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

In English, the acid in vinegar is called "acetic acid". IIRC, "ethanoic acid" makes sense from the IUPAC rules for forming chemical names, so perhaps the writer speaks a language that uses that term. 108.162.241.123 20:27, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

Just a note - white vinegar doesn't work well. Apple cider vinegar is much more effective. Add a little dish soap, put it in a narrow-mouth bottle (like 20oz soda bottle), and it'll catch a LOT of gnats or fruit flies. 108.162.219.80 14:59, 12 August 2020 (UTC)

wait, do people actually refer to their mom as "mother???" 172.70.34.191 12:55, 3 October 2021 (UTC)Bumpf

References