I'm looking for THE plate of beans thread.

March 5, 2010 11:49 AM

Bean Superhero?

IIRC, it was the beginning of an era. Something about an old guy in a superhero costume and loved beans? I think he filled a tub with em and sat in it? In any case it's my belief that thusly a plate of beans was born.

posted by bam to MetaFilter-Related at 11:49 AM (58 comments total)

I'm pretty sure it has more to do with Alanis' humps than some old guy's bean bath.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:52 AM on March 5, 2010

Yes?
posted by Pants! at 11:53 AM on March 5, 2010

Mefi wiki for 'plate of beans':

"MetaFilter users like to think about things. Sometimes a little too much. During an intense discussion of the arguably trivial Alanis Morrisette cover of "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas, user solistrato pointed this out when he said HI I'M ON METAFILTER AND I COULD OVERTHINK A PLATE OF BEANS."
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:53 AM on March 5, 2010

This doesn't help with the Superhero question—search me, there—but if you're talking about the origin of "plate of beans" as a Metafilter concept, it started with this comment, in a thread in which folks were overthinking a Alanis Morrisette's cover of My Humps.

It sort of went from there.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:53 AM on March 5, 2010

Others have nailed already, I sometimes wonder if that lead to this AskMe, which occurred fairly close after.
posted by edgeways at 12:00 PM on March 5, 2010

Captain Beany.
posted by cashman at 12:01 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

ok. I thought for sure that's where it started but the my humps thing refreshed my memory. Now i'm just confused about the elderly superhero beanbath....
posted by bam at 12:03 PM on March 5, 2010

Well, when it comes to the image of "sitting in a tub of beans," this album cover always springs to mind. No superheroes, but they are the fucking Who.
posted by Skot at 12:04 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

YES! tytyty
posted by bam at 12:04 PM on March 5, 2010

Wow, that cover was almost 3 years ago? Granted, the phrase seems like its been on MeFi forever, but that thread really feels far more recent than that.

Time flies when you're getting old.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:05 PM on March 5, 2010

The Alanis cover of the song, not the Who album cover (because preview is for non-superheroes)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:06 PM on March 5, 2010

?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:10 PM on March 5, 2010

Don't give me that look, TPS. Just get in the tub already.
posted by Skot at 12:12 PM on March 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

It's not what you are looking for, but it should be.

Killer Bean.
posted by quin at 12:21 PM on March 5, 2010

I am confused. Yes I am.
posted by OmieWise at 12:23 PM on March 5, 2010

Wait.

We're overanalyzing the origin of something that is itself about the nature of and tendency toward overanalyzing something.

We must be careful. Because if at this point someone links to Alanis' song about irony that really isn't ironic (don't you think?), the universe will split asunder.

Don't do it. DON'T.

ahhhhh!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:23 PM on March 5, 2010

MeTa.
posted by iamkimiam at 12:26 PM on March 5, 2010 [6 favorites]

I just noticed the "of" tag and cracked up.
posted by Skot at 12:31 PM on March 5, 2010

It was worth rereading that thread just for the link to the NIN vs. Ace of Base mash-up. Huh.
posted by Nattie at 12:34 PM on March 5, 2010

Okay, so what was the MetaFilter Parody? The hosting site now seems to be a click collector harvesting people looking for collectible spoons.
posted by Shepherd at 12:34 PM on March 5, 2010

So now we're overthinking overthinking plates of beans. Wait, now that I realize that I'm typing a comment about said overthinking, that means that I'm overthinking overthinking overthinking (buffalo?) plates of beans.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:48 PM on March 5, 2010

Administrator!
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 12:54 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

My head hurts now.
posted by TooFewShoes at 1:08 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

cortex: "... folks were overthinking a Alanis Morrisette's cover of My Humps."

People used to overthink Carly Simon too.
posted by Joe Beese at 1:09 PM on March 5, 2010

Overthink, yes. Underestimate? Well, you only need to do that once and then she devours you.
posted by quin at 1:13 PM on March 5, 2010

is this the thread where we get to point out that the plate of beans joke is no longer funny?
posted by shmegegge at 1:15 PM on March 5, 2010

The.
posted by BeerFilter at 1:24 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

is this the thread where we get to point out that the plate of beans joke is no longer funny?

Your mom's not funny
posted by pupdog at 1:26 PM on March 5, 2010 [6 favorites]

I think Carly is cute in a vulpine way.
posted by Mister_A at 1:29 PM on March 5, 2010

This thread is useless without bacon.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:51 PM on March 5, 2010

Ann Margret is a super hero. She overthinks beans and then bathes in them.
posted by xod at 1:51 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

I had bacon and eggs for my tea, I considered having baked beans but decided against it. It was delicious.
posted by Elmore at 2:12 PM on March 5, 2010

When 'plate of beans' get old (like that will ever happen) let's switch to pasta fagioli. It's funny because it's eye-tie.
posted by fixedgear at 2:40 PM on March 5, 2010

Yay! We're beanplating a plate of beans!

I can't wait for the next update of the Infodump so I can beanplate this discussion!
posted by Pronoiac at 2:46 PM on March 5, 2010

xod, I was just coming to post that, since it is clearly a direct descendant of skot's answer. Definitely a plate of beans worth thinking about.
posted by TedW at 2:49 PM on March 5, 2010

When 'plate of beans' get old (like that will ever happen) let's switch to pasta fagioli. It's funny because it's eye-tie.

One cannot overthink a plate of pasta fagioli [sic].

We're not talking about some tin of Heinz palid pablum on a plate here; properly done, very simple ingredients combine to form a plate of sublime perfection. Everyone does it slightly differently and small details are jealously hoarded, yet vaguely alluded to in shows of kitchen one-upsmanship.

Overthinking a plate of pasta e fagioli is like (dis)proving the existence of God - can't be done.

So no, not funny. And no, you can't have my recipe.
posted by romakimmy at 3:08 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

THE BEANS ON THE
PLATE YOUR WERE SAVING
I OVERTHOUGHT THEM
THEY WERE DELICIOUS.



BURMA-SHAVE!
posted by blue_beetle at 3:21 PM on March 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

I thought about going with BEAN's, but opted for YOUR instead.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:21 PM on March 5, 2010

The beans on the plate go toot toot toot,
toot toot toot, toot toot toot.
The beans on the plate go toot toot toot,
All through the colon!
posted by qvantamon at 3:41 PM on March 5, 2010

hooray beans
posted by beandip at 3:59 PM on March 5, 2010

HI I'M ON METAFILTER
posted by team lowkey at 4:02 PM on March 5, 2010

I often think about the state of bream, sometimes about the fate of Creem, and, infrequently, Jesus's storied hate of seams.
posted by everichon at 4:04 PM on March 5, 2010

oh cortex already linked it sry okthxby
posted by team lowkey at 4:05 PM on March 5, 2010

Darn, I was hoping this thread was about Mr. Bean.
posted by IndigoRain at 4:54 PM on March 5, 2010

Is this the thread where I get to point out that I use "bean plating" in regular conversation?

Because I do. I'm trying to frindle it off of metafilter.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 4:56 PM on March 5, 2010

Is it already Bean Day again?
posted by mds35 at 5:16 PM on March 5, 2010

I always thought it was just a subconscious play off of the expression "hill of beans."
posted by jabberjaw at 5:23 PM on March 5, 2010

ALL THESE PLATES ARE YOURS
EXCEPT THE BEANS.
ATTEMPT NO THINKING THERE.
posted by slogger at 7:14 PM on March 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

"Darn, I was hoping this thread was about Mr. Bean."

Yes. You are correct.
posted by vapidave at 7:42 PM on March 5, 2010

Damn this thread stinks.
posted by special-k at 7:59 PM on March 5, 2010

Proposal: An annual Bean Superhero award.
posted by Miko at 8:28 PM on March 5, 2010

So vapidave, one time, you see, there was an innocent-ish seeming question about the chord changes to the song My Vagina is 8 miles Wide on AskMe. It was answered, you see, and then I happened to note that one of its related videos on youtube was, in fact, Mr. Bean goes to the Swimming Pool, just as you've linked above there. This hilarious congruity was deleted, you see, so I'll just go ahead and resurrect it here.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 8:48 PM on March 5, 2010

The only good thing about pasta e fagioli is that it's pronounced pasta fazool.

Pasta fa-ZOOL! PASTA FAZOOL!!!
posted by yhbc at 9:56 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Did somebody mention beans? Not much thinking going on there though.
posted by h00py at 10:20 PM on March 5, 2010

,.. so I'll just go ahead and resurrect it here.

Cold Lurkey: All this time I thought I was looking for an ideal nation and now I find that it was merely an anthem I sought.
Bravo.
posted by vapidave at 12:14 AM on March 6, 2010

This thread needs more Ann Margaret.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:20 AM on March 6, 2010

One of the more surreal moments of my life was at the 10th and I was asked to move because I had inadvertently sat in the Bean Plating Chair. Because there was one. And I was in it. It's a weird thing to hear out loud: "Can you get out of the bean plating chair, please?"
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:45 AM on March 6, 2010

This thread needs a match lit.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:24 PM on March 6, 2010