Infodump: Favorite 500 Short Comments

February 17, 2011 12:56 AM

Hello everyone! I got bored today and wanted to read some witty, short comments, so I used the infodump to sort every short comment on MeFi by its favorites.

Here's the top 500, with comments capped at a 600 characters.

I also tried sorting the comments by their length:favorites ratio, with some slight wrangling of the length. My reasoning is that oftentimes even the best short comments don't get as many favorites as longer ones, so it might be worth looking at their "value per character" instead.

No idea if this approach is worthwhile, but I'll keep tinkering with it. Here's the corresponding top 500. (Warning: list prone to change.)

My apologies if this has been done already!

posted by archagon to MetaFilter-Related at 12:56 AM (120 comments total)

!
posted by crossoverman at 1:03 AM on February 17, 2011 [4 favorites]

I'm kind of shocked that the beanplating origination doesn't have more favorites.

I'm thinking about favoriting it, but there are a lot of angles to consider first.
posted by flaterik at 1:19 AM on February 17, 2011 [9 favorites]

Damn, I'll be keeping the neighbours awake all night as I cackle with glee. O LOL U hurt good so much.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 1:19 AM on February 17, 2011

I would like to confess that I feel guilty about the number of favorites I received for this drive-by comment.

Ahhh, that's better.
posted by clearly at 1:19 AM on February 17, 2011

Christ, now we're being judged on length?
posted by Eideteker at 1:26 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Christ, now we're being judged on length?

Whatever algorithm he's using, I like it.
posted by MattMangels at 1:33 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Here's AskMeFi and MetaTalk, plus I put them all under one crappy homepage.
posted by archagon at 1:34 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

woohoo! metatalk #5!
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:44 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks, archagon! Can you add a "visited links" style thingy? I'm losing track of which ones I've clicked.
posted by taz at 2:00 AM on February 17, 2011

I bet if you did this for Music, the largest number of favorites on a comment wouldn't pass 7.

Now I'm curious.
posted by Corduroy at 2:02 AM on February 17, 2011

Here's AskMeFi and MetaTalk,

It's actually depressing me how many of those metatalk ones I'm saying "Oh,yeah, I remember that."
posted by dersins at 2:24 AM on February 17, 2011

Corduroy, here's Music, just for laughs.
posted by archagon at 2:30 AM on February 17, 2011

Oh this is great, thanks!

Sometimes I randomly get short comments that I've loved and laughed over stuck in my head (or they just randomly drive-by). They're usually there, stripped of all their context. Things like, "With humility and charity, you jackass." or "He smells like BO." It's great because even if I can't remember the original context, I remember the laughing, and so I do it again. And then laugh even more because I'm laughing out loud in public about something I read on the internet and I don't even know why.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:51 AM on February 17, 2011 [10 favorites]

clearly: I would like to confess that I feel guilty about the number of favorites I received for this drive-by comment.

Good to know I'm not the only person to have drive-by comment regret.
posted by Kattullus at 4:27 AM on February 17, 2011

If this comment gets 500 favorites, I'll have a heart attack.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:29 AM on February 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

Christ, now we're being judged on length?

Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm into that. cortex, is there a way to use the infodump to sort by girth instead?
posted by Greg Nog at 4:51 AM on February 17, 2011 [11 favorites]

This is great, and I like reading them, but most of the MeFi one's I've clicked haven't been funny at all.
posted by OmieWise at 5:08 AM on February 17, 2011

Hermitosis is at 504. GOODBYE HERMITOSIS
posted by Think_Long at 5:37 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

If this comment gets 500 favourites, it'll be a fucking miracle.
posted by bwg at 5:41 AM on February 17, 2011 [3 favorites]

This is a clear demonstration that favorites are not linked to quality, just a mob mentality.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:53 AM on February 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

I still feel like an asshole when I see this.

Regrets? I've had a few.
posted by ColdChef at 6:01 AM on February 17, 2011

Please add usernames to the list. I don't want to have to read all of them to find out if I'm wise and funny.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 6:04 AM on February 17, 2011 [8 favorites]

I would like to confess that I feel guilty about the number of favorites I received for this drive-by comment.

But it was on the nose. Sleep easy man :)
posted by londonmark at 6:48 AM on February 17, 2011

Dammit, I don't think I've ever gotten onto a list for any here. Can someone make a list of people with more comments on MeTa that MeFi? I'll surely make that list (though dersins may top it).
posted by slogger at 7:02 AM on February 17, 2011

Is it pulling data correctly? I was curious about my Haddock's Law comment (106 characters, 115 favorites) but it's not on there. I demand recognition for my valuable contributions to this site. Demand, I say!

Fun analysis though.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:06 AM on February 17, 2011

I see that my most favorited site contribution of any kind required only 1.3 characters per favorite.

Succinct!
posted by Joe Beese at 7:15 AM on February 17, 2011

I see that my most favorited site contribution of any kind required only 1.3 characters per favorite.

I raise you 0.08 characters per favourite.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 7:22 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I like to believe that my comments aren't meant to be judged on the quantity of the favorites, but he quality.

Because I choose to think that all my favorites are made out of things like rubies, emeralds, chocolate and kittens.

So nyah.
posted by quin at 7:35 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm kind of surprised there were no "DTMFA" answers on the AskMe list.
posted by bondcliff at 7:43 AM on February 17, 2011

I too would like to see this list re-done to show favorites/character.
posted by Mister_A at 7:58 AM on February 17, 2011

I'm kind of surprised there were no "DTMFA" answers on the AskMe list.

When did the first DTMFA appear? Was that invented here?
posted by Miko at 8:00 AM on February 17, 2011

No, it's a Dan Savage thing.
posted by quin at 8:04 AM on February 17, 2011

When did the first DTMFA appear? Was that invented here?

No, but it's a common answer for AskMe relationship questions, and occasionally for "where should I dispose of my mom's boyfriend's body" questions.
posted by bondcliff at 8:10 AM on February 17, 2011

I too would like to see this list re-done to show favorites/character.

Unfortunately the Infodump's users table doesn't contain information about how much character a user has. Maybe cortex can add this in the next update?
posted by FishBike at 8:13 AM on February 17, 2011 [3 favorites]

Pound out a glib reaction, get a pile of favorites.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:16 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, you want pith.

Why didn't you thay tho?
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:19 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I still feel like an asshole when I see this.

Don't. I mean, seriously... I have my hands full with one wife and one job.
posted by owtytrof at 8:21 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm loving seeing how many of them have even more favorites now... *click click click*
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 8:36 AM on February 17, 2011

Is it pulling data correctly? I was curious about my Haddock's Law comment (106 characters, 115 favorites) but it's not on there. I demand recognition for my valuable contributions to this site. Demand, I say!

I believe this list is only Mefi; comments from askme (and other subsites) aren't in the mix.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:37 AM on February 17, 2011

Christ, now we're being judged on length?

tl,dr
posted by y2karl at 8:38 AM on February 17, 2011

Bah humbug for my poor reading comprehension and general stupidity! I demand help with reading posts adequately! Demand I say! Sigh.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:40 AM on February 17, 2011

Hermitosis is at 504. GOODBYE HERMITOSIS

Have you not heard the gospel of hermitosis? I did in fact disable, and then was entombed within a different username for several months, and was gloriously resurrected, surpassing even my own former splendor. Hallelujah!

But it was all worth it to be able to WIN at something like this! No seriously, it's been a rough few months, I really needed to win something. Just let me have it.
posted by hermitosis at 8:47 AM on February 17, 2011 [7 favorites]

I was wondering where new favorites on old comments were coming from. Now I know! Thanks for the data-crunching!
posted by rtha at 8:51 AM on February 17, 2011

Are people more likely to favorite one-liners than longer comments? That's what it seems like from the most popular comments I've made, but that might just be because I'm better at the shorter form.
posted by madcaptenor at 8:52 AM on February 17, 2011

Also: 18 characters, 32 favorites. (Although it's actually my second-most-favorited comment.)
posted by madcaptenor at 8:55 AM on February 17, 2011

Regrets? I've had a few.

My only regret is having no regrets.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:14 AM on February 17, 2011

madcaptenor: "Are people more likely to favorite one-liners than longer comments? That's what it seems like from the most popular comments I've made, but that might just be because I'm better at the shorter form."

I can't find the cite at the moment, but somebody did some number crunching awhile back showing that longer comments were statistically more likely to be heavy favorites (which makes sense, as lengthy comments are usually quite thoughtful and informative, or at least well-argued).

As for these one-liners, they seem to attract the attention they do not only because they're witty, but because they show up quite early in what ends up being an extremely contentious or high-traffic thread. If these lines had showed up 50 or 100 comments in, they'd only have a fraction of the numbers they do -- whereas multi-paragraph comments routinely get a lot even when they show up late in a thread.
posted by Rhaomi at 9:22 AM on February 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

I humbly request a ranking of comments by their favourites:characters ratio.
posted by auto-correct at 9:44 AM on February 17, 2011

ts;dr
posted by googly at 10:00 AM on February 17, 2011

I read these two together and achieved enlightenment.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 10:00 AM on February 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

I thought that being favorited a lot was something I was too cool to care about.

But then I saw that two of my own made it in and I was all proud and stuff.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:03 AM on February 17, 2011

Some of these stand on their own, but most of them need some kind of context. Also, I'm disappointed how many are just pithy political statements that got a lot of foodpellets because they loudly stated the majority opinion.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:24 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I just came up with this when I was making lunch today. Pico de guac?

Cube up one avocado, put the pieces in a bowl.

Dice up one whole onion. The onion should be around the size of the avocado, the dicing should be street taco fine. Put this in the bowl on top of the avocado.

Roll one whole lemon on the counter, hard, to break up the juices. Cut it open, scoop out the seeds, and then use your knife to scoop all the pulp and juice into the bowl.

Chop up a few sprigs of parsley. Don't worry about getting it too fine, but you don't want whole leaves in there either. Toss this on top. (NB- if I had some coriander leaves I would have used those, but I don't. If you do, it might be tasty.)

Grab a bunch of jalapeno slices out of the jar. I know the fresh ones are usually better, but pickled this time please. I used around 10 medium to smallish slices, and the end result was not especially spicy. Feel free to use more, but I wouldn't use fewer than a half dozen. Chop these up fairly small and sprinkle them on top.

Use a fork and gently agitate the whole thing until the components are thoroughly mixed. The avocado will mush up a bit, which is good, but you will also have some cubes left, which is also fine. The end result should be more like pico de gallo then like food processor guacamole.
posted by paisley henosis at 10:28 AM on February 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

*pointy head whips around* Foodpellet?
posted by adipocere at 10:28 AM on February 17, 2011

I still feel like an asshole when I see this.

Well, I guess it's a bit assholish because it seems to be all LOLNERDS about something that a bunch of people probably care a lot about, but I thought it was a perfect response to a FPP that - to an outsider - was nothing but gibberish.

I mean, you'd have to already be involved in EVE (some kind of mass game from what I can tell) to understand or care about what was being described the way the thing was framed, but then by definition you'd surely already be aware of it.

So, the framing of the FPP was preaching to a choir who had already heard the sermon enough to know it by heart, but in Latin so that the rest of the congregation still didn't have a clue what was being said.

The comment said that & more in far fewer words, which is why I thought it was funny, in the sense of the "shortcut" aspect of Freud's theory of jokes. It was less LOLNERDS than it was "Uh, you've obviously been inhabiting your chosen niche so long that you no longer recognise that you're speaking entirely in the jargon particular to your tiny specialised clique"
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:31 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

paisley henosis: The end result should be more like pico de gallo then like food processor guacamole.

pic related
posted by paisley henosis at 10:38 AM on February 17, 2011

Why do you care about people's bookmarks.... errr.... nevermind.
posted by terrapin at 11:15 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

if 500 people favorite this, I'll let The Bizzaro Whelk run things for a while.
posted by The Whelk at 11:18 AM on February 17, 2011 [8 favorites]

No, Bizarro Whelk lets things walk him. Backwards.
posted by adipocere at 11:24 AM on February 17, 2011

Bizzaro Whelk posts at Bizzaro Metafilter, where you downvote things.
posted by The Whelk at 11:27 AM on February 17, 2011

I still feel like an asshole when I see this.

You made a snarky "FRIST post!" style comment to a thread [tagged, among other things, somethingawful and goonswarm] on an internet website at 9 pm on a Friday night poking at the nerdliness of the person making the post? And it makes you feel assholish? Well bless your heart.

You're fine. Everyone's fine.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:44 AM on February 17, 2011 [5 favorites]

Paisley:

I don't know how to break it to you, but that's still pretty much just guacamole. (Which is any "sauce" made with avacado, but really any Mexican sauce with avacado as its primary ingredient).

"Mole" means sauce.
posted by klangklangston at 11:51 AM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I thought that being favorited a lot was something I was too cool to care about.

EmpressCallipygos' profile:

Favorited by others: 10307

No you didn't.... :)
posted by Chuckles at 12:01 PM on February 17, 2011

What things would Bizarro Whelk run, anyway? Can Bizarro Whelk grant wishes, like a djinni? Is Bizarro Whelk wicked like an ifrit? How much can Bizarro Whelk bench?
posted by Mister_A at 12:04 PM on February 17, 2011

*pointy head whips around* Foodpellet?

Heh, yeah, inside my head I always think of favorites as foodpellets. The whole favorites system basically turned this site into a skinner box. That's why I have them turned off. I wish I could opt out of the system entirely : have my favorite count zeroed out and remove anybody's ability to favorite my comments.
posted by Afroblanco at 12:08 PM on February 17, 2011 [4 favorites]

I agree with the bit about the Skinner box.

I'd be in two minds whether to fave the comment or not, because while that's a good observation & the foodpellet thing is great, I don't agree with the rest of your comment, and nor do I want to opt out of the system altogether.

Actually, on balance, no favourite for you.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:13 PM on February 17, 2011

I'm such a douche.
posted by Mister_A at 12:13 PM on February 17, 2011

Hey I'm on this list! Hurray for brevity, the "Kim" of Kardashian sisters.
posted by 2bucksplus at 12:26 PM on February 17, 2011

It seems like a good way to make it on this list is to use some variation on "Christ, what an asshole."
posted by brundlefly at 12:31 PM on February 17, 2011

Have you not heard the gospel of hermitosis? I did in fact disable, and then was entombed within a different username for several months, and was gloriously resurrected, surpassing even my own former splendor. Hallelujah!

Christ, what an asshole.
Take it, hermitosis, it's yours!
posted by carsonb at 12:34 PM on February 17, 2011

klangklangston: I don't know how to break it to you, but that's still pretty much just guacamole. (Which is any "sauce" made with avacado, but really any Mexican sauce with avacado as its primary ingredient).

"Mole" means sauce.

Huh. I did not know that, but I guess it makes sense. Either way, the nomenclature is incidental to the yummyness.
posted by paisley henosis at 12:35 PM on February 17, 2011

Have you not heard the gospel of hermitosis? I did in fact disable, and then was entombed within a different username for several months, and was gloriously resurrected, surpassing even my own former splendor. Hallelujah!

But it was all worth it to be able to WIN at something like this! No seriously, it's been a rough few months, I really needed to win something.

You win, dear! And I win for being the one who killed you. I will always be glad I have that screenshot.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:36 PM on February 17, 2011

Oh great. Now I've got Hale Hula going round and round in my head and I don't know if I should blame Cortex, Archagon or myself.
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 12:36 PM on February 17, 2011

I make guac based on what I have on hand, but generally what I consider necessary is pretty much pico de gallo plus an avacado. I'd make some changes to your recipe just to bring it back in line with a better salsa — use a red onion rather than a regular one (though you can use both, especially if you use 2:1 red to white or yellow), use lime juice over lemon (it's tarter), definitely use cilantro over parsley (this is similar to the crazypants NYT falafel recipe where they pretend that parsley and cilantro are interchangeable because they look the same, when really they taste significantly different). I like to use both a jalapeño and a poblano or some other green, moderately spicy pepper. I go back and forth on using tomatoes, but if you're making pico de gallo, you pretty much have to. Small romas work fine. Add a little touch of salt to the whole thing.

Then crush it together roughly with a fork. Kapow!

But really, lime-cilantro-salt-avacado combo is pretty badass, and really works best (as a vegetarian) with spicy black beans (onions, cumin, black beans, two New Mexico chiles, one chipotle pepper, cilantro, sometimes a little cinnamon or coriander), which are then sprinkled with a little cotija cheese and eaten on a soft corn tortilla. They're, like, 15 minutes to make and delicious.
posted by klangklangston at 1:34 PM on February 17, 2011

Haddock, your comment is safe and sound on the AskMeFi list.

And yeah, there's a lot of context-sensitive quips, so I might rerun the data at some point with a lower limit on the character count.
posted by archagon at 1:45 PM on February 17, 2011

And what are these adjusted lengths?
posted by madcaptenor at 2:24 PM on February 17, 2011

Holy shit I'm in the top ten. And I got to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor last night. I haven't had a week this good since I lost my virginity.
posted by twirlip at 2:25 PM on February 17, 2011 [3 favorites]

Ouch, my sides hurt, must stop reading.

And this on a site where even a pony with a PhD normally doesn't get more than five faves.

Darn

Favas.
posted by Namlit at 2:37 PM on February 17, 2011

I wish I could opt out of the system entirely : have my favorite count zeroed out and remove anybody's ability to favorite my comments.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have invented... the spite favorite.
posted by Joe Beese at 2:54 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I have a wife, 3 kids, 2 jobs, and play a regular game of hardcore MtG, among many other things. I also had sex this morning. With a real woman. Who's the nerd now?!
posted by Brocktoon at 2:54 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I made the list through some drive-by bitching. But lord, at the time it was a comment that needed saying.
posted by Bookhouse at 2:55 PM on February 17, 2011

> Ladies and gentlemen, I have invented... the spite favorite.

No, no. There are a few who favorite things out of spite. It's subtle, but it's also very predictable.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:56 PM on February 17, 2011

I wish I could opt out of the system entirely : have my favorite count zeroed out and remove anybody's ability to favorite my comments.

Yeah, I wish I could favorite this a thousand times!!
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:57 PM on February 17, 2011

It's subtle, but it's also very predictable.

Yeah, wasn't there some pigfucker who had a sockpuppet named "your comment sucks and you are stupid," who would go around favoriting stuff he disagreed with?
posted by Afroblanco at 3:23 PM on February 17, 2011

There are a few who favorite things out of spite. It's subtle, but it's also very predictable.

Just look out for the telltale 'tehloki'.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:26 PM on February 17, 2011

I wish I could opt out of the system entirely : have my favorite count zeroed out and remove anybody's ability to favorite my comments.

I participate on a question-and-answer site with a "reputation" system (not the one you think), as does at least one other mefite. We strive to be a place for serious, professional discussion, and every so often someone says that they can't take things seriously as long as we're upvoting and downvoting people's contributions.
posted by madcaptenor at 3:48 PM on February 17, 2011

Yeah, it's weird. I mean, as much as I try not to see approval a website, it's human nature, especially when you have a foodpellet system that reinforces this tendency. I'd really like to just opt out from the whole damn thing. I've thought about suggesting this as a pony request, but I hate posting threads to Metatalk, because it always becomes a game of Assault the OP.
posted by Afroblanco at 3:53 PM on February 17, 2011

(see approval a website = seek approval from a website)

i should proofread
posted by Afroblanco at 3:54 PM on February 17, 2011

klangklangston: "Mole" means sauce.

What's salsa mean then?
posted by philip-random at 3:56 PM on February 17, 2011

Salsa also means sauce.
posted by jamaro at 4:02 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Took me a while to find one of mine. Apparently, I should really shut the fuck up more often.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:04 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I suspect I'm nowhere on that list. It's a game I could never win.

Why, just the other day.... (continues rambling on for a dozen meandering paragraphs)
posted by loquacious at 4:05 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, and this was really great, thanks. Lots of gems I will shamelessly steal and present as my own.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:05 PM on February 17, 2011

To be more precise, the word molé comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) language while salsa comes from European Spanish by way of, iirc, French by way of Latin. Or something like that. I'm more certain about the Aztec part.
posted by jamaro at 4:09 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Why you gotta be hatin' on pigfuckers?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:12 PM on February 17, 2011

Regrets? I've had a few.

But then again, too few to mention.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:13 PM on February 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

Well then that leaves the rest of us.
posted by Sailormom at 5:27 PM on February 17, 2011

except Frank
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:30 PM on February 17, 2011

I raise you 0.08 characters per favourite.

Do we only count original content? If so, here's 0.07.

If not, I'm kinda sorry I went all in. I'm down to just my boxers, are you sure you want to win this hand?
posted by maxwelton at 5:38 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

The OED says that "salsa" comes directly from Spanish, from "popular Latin salsa, feminine of salsus salted"; in turn this comes from the same "pre-Germanic" root as the English "salt".

The OED also defines "salsa" as "A variety of sauce served with meat", which is a definition that leaves something to be desired.
posted by madcaptenor at 5:39 PM on February 17, 2011

The OED says that "salsa" comes directly from Spanish,


Ladies and gentlemen, the ultimate MeTa thread.
posted by The Whelk at 5:40 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

*gets chips*
posted by jonmc at 5:49 PM on February 17, 2011

ENGLISH OR AMERICAN?!
posted by The Whelk at 5:51 PM on February 17, 2011

The OED also defines "salsa" as "A variety of sauce served with meat", which is a definition that leaves something to be desired.

Oh totally. It tastes much better over bean ...dip.
posted by jamaro at 5:53 PM on February 17, 2011

I'm down to just my boxers, are you sure you want to win this hand?

I suppose that depends on the original content.
posted by clearly at 6:03 PM on February 17, 2011

My boxers are lavender.

For luck.
posted by The Whelk at 6:05 PM on February 17, 2011

Salsa and salad come from the same root. The next time you put salsa on your taco salad, feel free to explain that to the server, then say, "I learned it on MetaFilter!"

Their blank look is admiration.
posted by klangklangston at 6:19 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

paisley henosis: You have just rediscovered the secret behind Chile de Uña, "Fingernail Chile", one of the 3 greatest contributions to civilization made by my ancestors in Zapotlan el Grande.

As witnessed by myself hundreds of times growing up: When you have access to a fancy molcajete^*, you make the smooth salsas that most people know. When there is only one molcajete in the house, and it is already being used to crush species for the mole, you gather all the women around a work bench, and you pass around tomatoes, chiles, onions, cilantro and limes.

Using their fingernails, the women tear the vegetables into small chunks and mix them in a bowl. Guacamole can be made the same way.

Unlike a normal salsa, where all the flavors are mixed smoothly, with chile de uña you get unexpected explosions of juice and flavor and you chew. It is hot and refreshing in a way that is hard to explain.

* WTF is up with the plastic molcajetes they use in every taco place in California? The whole idea of the molcajete use to use the super sharp microscopic edges of the volcanic rock to obliterate ingredients at the cellular level, and to let generations of carbonized¹ salsa accumulate in the mirad pores, contributing flavor for generations of cooks. Like a fine clay teapot that is never washed

1- You clean a molcajete with fire
posted by Dr. Curare at 6:20 PM on February 17, 2011

AFAIK, Salsa come from latin salsus, participle of the verb sallere, to salt (or to put in salt?).

Most English people think of Mexican style sauces when they hear salsa. In spanish salsa can refer to any sauce, like Salsa Inglesa (Worcestershire sauce), Salsa Bechamel o Salsa Catsup (ketchup).

In Nahuatl, molli or mulli referred to dishes accompanied with a lot of sauce, and could also refer to the sauce itself. Auakamoli is a sauce made of avocados , chilmoli is a sauce made of chiles, etc...

Nahuatl for avocado is auakatli and auiayotl is orgasm. Their proximity in the dictionary has nothing to do with auakatli coming from auakatl, testicle (like you have never noticed how much an avocado resembles a scrotum, specially the traditional varieties).
posted by Dr. Curare at 6:35 PM on February 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

The OED also defines "salsa" as "A variety of sauce served with meat", which is a definition that leaves something to be desired.

Well, I guess I could replace tortilla chips with beef jerky or pork rinds. I'd be ok with that.
posted by loquacious at 8:06 PM on February 17, 2011

They're not foodpellets, they're skee ball tickets.
posted by jtron at 9:25 PM on February 17, 2011

Christ, now we're being judged on length?
Sadly, this is not new.
posted by dg at 10:19 PM on February 17, 2011

Yah I made it in with the 'No-fly zone around the President' comment.
posted by therubettes at 1:26 AM on February 18, 2011

Actually would it be possible to get the actual comments in a single page. I think it would make for good reading as a list but probably does not merit 500 clicks!

Thanks
posted by therubettes at 1:30 AM on February 18, 2011

klangklangston: I make guac based on what I have on hand, but generally what I consider necessary is pretty much pico de gallo plus an avacado.

This is exactly what I did. I'm definitely going to buy some limes and coriander and red onions (and a bunch more avocados) and next time it will be even more awesome! But it was still pretty great all gringo'd up yesterday.

Another thing I love to do with avocados is avocado-egg salad. I use around 2 eggs coarsely chopped to one half avocado cubed, and I just mix it with a couple tablespoons mayo and about half as much dijon mustard. Oh damn so good.
posted by paisley henosis at 3:04 AM on February 18, 2011

They're not foodpellets, they're skee ball tickets.

If that were true, I could trade them in for spider rings and Chinese finger traps and Garfield phones ... which would be AWESOME.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:41 AM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

I maintain that a USB-powered desktop skeeball ticket dispenser with a friendly API would make ThinkGeek approximately three billion dollars.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:42 AM on February 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

Avocados for everyone!
posted by Lexica at 10:47 AM on February 18, 2011

Unfortunately I'm sure we're missing some real gems on this list that quote another comment, pushing their character count up.
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:49 AM on February 18, 2011

Yes. If I knew how to pull the actual comments from the website, I could try to compensate for that.
posted by archagon at 5:54 PM on February 18, 2011