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On Having Enough Socks (2019)

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Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#141

Post by JohnFen »

yamtaddle wrote: post #130
JohnFen wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet there are large regional differences, too. I know that tea-drinking in the southern US, for instance, is much more common than in the northern. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to look this up. The US is the 35th most tea-drinking nation! And overall, there are slightly more male tea-drinkers than female. At least according to this site: https://teahow.com/is-tea-popular-in-america-what-tea-they-d... Al…

I bet those stats are tea tea, not counting herbal tea. And the vast majority of consumed tea leaves by weight, in the US, almost certainly go to iced tea, not hot tea as is common in other countries. (I guarantee "tea-drinking in the southern US" is more than 95% consumed-cold "sweet tea" or iced tea; even if you make that yourself—and it's very, very cheap to buy pre-made—it's about as easy to do it in a pot on the…

> I bet those stats are tea tea, not counting herbal tea.

I think you're right. There is a table showing the popularity breakdown of the different types of tea, including herbal, but I think that's the global breakdown, not US.

It didn't provide a stat for it, but the page does remark that the majority of black tea consumed in the US goes to making iced tea.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#142

Post by yamtaddle »

el_benhameen wrote: post #136
throw0101b wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Second, America is on 110 Kind of: 240V is fed into homes (along with a neutral), and gets split in half. Most receptacles are 120V for most appliances, because it gets the job done. There aren't many appliances that need more than that. The two main ones that do have 220V plugs are clothes dryers and kitchen ranges (hobs/ovens). If you want a kettle that boils faster change your NEMA 5 socket (and breaker) that do…

For what it’s worth, I make drip coffee with a 120V kettle, and it boils plenty fast for my needs. A several hundred to thousand dollar electrical project seems overkill to save what I assume would be a few seconds to a minute per cup of coffee.

My regarded-as-moderately-high-end US electric kettle isn't really any faster to boil water than my stovetop is—but, it can hold a temperature, and has several settable stop-and-hold-points at sub-boiling temps, which is great for various teas and coffees.

What's not relatable to me is European (I assume?) reports of boiling water in an electric kettle, then transferring to the stovetop. My kettle's not meaningfully faster than the stovetop, and is a lot slower for quantities past a liter or so—it's only worth having for the other features. I assume that's the voltage difference making itself known.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#143

Post by yamtaddle »

stephen_g wrote: post #100
ajkjk wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a kettle and it has never occurred to me to use it for cooking food.

Just to be clear, don’t put food in the kettle! It’s just a lot faster to get water boiling than starting from cold on the stove.

Very much not the case for me, with a (fairly good) US electric kettle and a natural gas range. They're comparable, speed-wise, for smaller quantities, and if I need to boil more than a liter or so, the stovetop is a lot faster.

Elsewhere in the thread voltage difference are brought up—that's probably what does it, typical US wall service is far lower-voltage than in Europe. That, and I've definitely had electric ranges in the US that were incredibly slow to boil water, so that might be a factor. Gas, though? At least as fast, depending on the quantity. (I hear induction electric is even faster, but have only used those a very little bit at a couple AirBnBs, so don't really know, first-hand)

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#144

Post by yamtaddle »

kbelder wrote: post #127
staringback wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> much faster than boiling on a gas stove. There is no way an electric stove is quicker than a gas stove. I did a quick google search and a standard gas stove on high is 12,000-18,000 BTU, which is 3.5-5.4kw.

I would accept your reasoning, except for the personal experience showing that it's very wrong. Don't know where the heat is being lost, but an electric kettle is significantly faster despite its lower energy.

> Don't know where the heat is being lost

On gas? Around the sides of the vessel, bound for the ceiling.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#145

Post by m463 »

Jedd wrote: post #18

There's a few comments - seemingly from our American friends - that seem to suggest that left / right socks are a thing. I'm hoping I'm parsing those comments poorly, but ever since the revelation that Americans don't have kettles , I'm prepared for the worst. I got fed up with poor socks a few years ago and embarked on a project to try to find the best, or at least consistently decent, work socks. That's work in the…

> embarked on a project to try to find the best ... socks

I've tried all kinds of socks.

long journey got me: Darn Tough socks style 1403

https://amazon.com/dp/B000XG34G8

Cushioned, no blisters, no bunching. You get warm, dry feet on hot and cold days. They last a long time.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#146

Post by singleshot_ »

Jedd wrote: post #18

There's a few comments - seemingly from our American friends - that seem to suggest that left / right socks are a thing. I'm hoping I'm parsing those comments poorly, but ever since the revelation that Americans don't have kettles , I'm prepared for the worst. I got fed up with poor socks a few years ago and embarked on a project to try to find the best, or at least consistently decent, work socks. That's work in the…

Sir,

I’ll leave the kettles alone because that ground has been well trod (hopefully, using the best socks).

However I am concerned that you did all this sock research and somehow did not end up with toe-socks, which of course have left and right socks (unless you are the kind of maniac who would wear a sock inside out, which I gather from your studies that you are not).

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#147

Post by JohnFen »

yamtaddle wrote: post #128
kbelder wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Odd, because my experience in the US is that about 10% of men I know drink tea, and about 90% of the women I know drink tea. It's strangely gender-based. Kind of like yogurt.

You'll see the inverse with (black or nearly-black) coffee, I bet. Men drink (black or lightly sweetened/dairied) coffee or "energy drinks", women drink espresso-based mostly-milk drinks that don't taste like coffee, or tea (often green or herbal, and also often mixed with a bunch of milk or sugar, unless herbal). Not that there isn't plenty of overlap, but that's how the landscape looks to me, to call out the two bi…

> espresso-based mostly-milk drinks

I call those "milkshakes".

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#148

Post by zvolsky »

To anyone looking for a pragmatic solution to a sock shortage, I can't recommend this1 24-pack enough. Unlike most socks that pretend to be 100% cotton, these actually are, which means they aren't as durable as plastic alternatives, and feature a seam that can get in the way, but they provide unparalleled comfort. Especially if you don't mind going through multiple pairs on busy days.

1 https://socksnob.co.uk/product/6-pairs-mens-thin-soft-100-co...

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#149

Post by [deleted] »

jerlam wrote: post #125
staringback wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> much faster than boiling on a gas stove. There is no way an electric stove is quicker than a gas stove. I did a quick google search and a standard gas stove on high is 12,000-18,000 BTU, which is 3.5-5.4kw.

Technology Connections on YouTube actually tested this and found electric to be slightly faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUywI8YGy0Y It's a one-hour-plus video of someone literally boiling water, so there may be issues with the testing setup that I skipped over.

[deleted]

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#150

Post by readthenotes1 »

solarmist wrote: post #52
amelius wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, with all the vendor lock in it's not possible to repair even your own socks these days ...

Sock darning was a think until the mid-20th century. It's a pretty interesting technique. You basically reweave the worn part of the dock with fresh thread/yarn.

I have darned socks this century.
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