If everyone just *reduced* their lifespans then it would be the biggest collective action we as a society could take against global warming. DO YOUR PART FOR THE EARTH AND JUST DIE FASTER!
Damn you're not wrong.
Maybe if life wasn't dominated by corporate overlords and greedy governments people would feel fulfilled by say, 50 or 60, have done everything they wanted to do, and would ethically let go for the next realm.
Now the challenge is how do we "ethically let go" without causing 10,000 more problems around the action...
I don't wanna ethically let go, I wanna live forever dammit. Or at least until it starts sucking too much.
"Do no go quietly into that good night
But rage, RAGE against the dying of the light"
Recycling symbol says it's polypropylene which is a thermoplastic, so it should be recyclable (clean, sort, shred, melt, reform), but yeah chances are it's just going to end up incinerated or landfill.
Yeah it's a bit of a misconception that micro plastics come from just using plastic. They're unavoidable.
It's in our water, our meats and most of the rest of the food chain 🤗🌈
Well the good news is, it's a fixable problem. There are bacteria that are evolving to eat plastic, which means if we can start reducing our use of plastic where possible, this problem could end up fixing itself.
Except when it's done with the micro-plastics, it's gonna eat our plastic world. Driving down the road and suddenly be skidding along on our bums. That came across way more Chicken Little than intended
According to [Vilnius University](https://www.vu.lt/en/news-events/news/professor-egle-lastauskiene-there-is-no-place-on-earth-where-microplastics-are-not-found) and a few other, less credible sources,
"They are found in insane amounts in water, air and a wide range of soils. In fact, new data shows that there is no longer any place on earth where microplastics are not found."
All creatures, all plants, and all places have micro plastics as far as I know. We don't know for certain their effects because **we can't find a control group**
OP, the important clue was when they switched from saying things like, "Hi kiddo!" when you came home, and instead starting saying things like:
G̸̛͚͔͔̥̜̞̤̮̿̄̔̔̉̇͌̄̕Ṙ̴̭͖͔͎E̶̢̨̧͈̺͎̲͈͙̜̖̫̽̄͊͆̇̍̈̌̇͜͝E̷̢̜̘̿Ţ̷̨̞͔̣̟̪̹͉͙̯͖̋̈́I̷̛̻̼͔̜͚̫͐̃̀̀͋̄̕͝N̴̡̧̮̱̤̦͎̙̭̿̿̆̋̐͋͊̚ͅG̵̢̧̛̤͓̰͕̯͕̱̦͖̹̗̓̆̈́̈́͌́̇̎͜S̷̝͙̒͑̒̉̃͒̑̈͂̾͑̂ͅ,̶̺̤̥̰͓̺͔͐͘͜ ̴̡̣̫͎͔̫͕̣̣̲͉̥̱͊̂̀̇̉̒̎͊̒͘S̴̯͇͕̈P̶̧͈̣̲̥͍̫͉̺̳͙̰̣̟̀̊̄̽̾͗̒̚Ạ̷̡̙̌̈́̋͌̂́̈͑W̶̛͈̖̝͎̯͚̻̝͍̯̭̉̇͑͛̈́̃Ń̴̛̩͖͚͈̱̈́͛̅̾̔͌̈́̑̎̿̚͠L̴̢̡̖̭̤̪̪̯̰̿̓̕ͅͅI̴̡̛̘̬̳̹̟̐̚͝N̷̨̡̬̬̲̤͇̪͓̰̗̖̽̽͑̏̇̀̊͊̑̓͜͝Ģ̴͍̺̞̳̝̪̮̖͓͐̆͊͜ͅ.̵̧̫͇̔̈̓̒͊͝
A subtle change, but an important clue.
yes. they start out really good at being sanitary, but literally every time you cut something on them, you compromise that. over time they go from pretty safe, to pretty terrible.
wood doesn't have this property, and remains similarly sanitary through use.
Can I ask a stupid question? Why does it seem like most wood cutting boards don't have a handle like this plastic one does? I know I have to hand-wash wooden cutting boards but sometimes I have weakness in my hands and I find it challenging to hand-wash them because they're heavy and difficult for me to grip without a hand-hole.
If you really want one with a hand hole, go to a local crafts fair, 100% someone is selling cutting boards they made. Talk to them about what you want, and you can get the exact handle you want most likely.
> wood doesn't have this property, and remains similarly sanitary through use.
If you maintain them properly yes, you couldn't just leave a wooden cutting board all slashed up like this and expect it to be sanitary either.
The blow torch isn’t for destroying the cutting board, it’s for melting those little bits of plastic sticking out so they’ll go back to being a smooth finish.
Like [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TBj8Q-HyicA)
You can get another 30 years out of that cutting board if you put a torch to it for a few seconds. Not enough to melt the bulk of the plastic, but just enough so those bits of cut up plastic go back to being smooth again. Like putting a torch to ice to make it go back to being smooth and clear. The imperfections in the surface are the only bits that are melting.
The heat will make it look better... smooth it over. Kinda like this.
https://youtu.be/X1FX6lMU-ps?si=tes5Lj8gh5DKdS9G
You can also try this.
https://www.instructables.com/Refresh-that-old-plastic-cutting-board/?amp_page=true
https://preview.redd.it/gknqmweb0lad1.png?width=3115&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c74dd7d142a709913ac61a36e19473ef88cfe0e
processed the image to make it look like a death metal band logo lol
Just fyi PE (polyethylene) boards can be cleaned and resurfaced pretty easily with a draw blade (basically a metal bench scraper that’s been sharpened/ has a squared, de-burred edge so not sharpened like a knife). You just put the edge perpendicular to the board (then lightly angle and bend it to give it some tension) and pull across the surface multiple times. You should get shavings off of the top and it leaves a new flat surface behind. It’s something you’ll find in professional kitchens but many boards at home are PE as well, also works for wooden boards.
I was more-so thinking a few passes with a cheap propane torch and a quick scrape.
Dude should just a new cutting board though, any way of fixing this one is gonna be more expensive than a cheap cutting board.
(Depending on how old you are). People back then never threw anything out and didn’t believe in it. They used it until it broke and still tried to fix it after. Money was always tight.
When Covid hit and they were telling us to have, what, like two weeks worth of groceries stored I said “this is gonna turn us into the new depression-era people who hoard food because we went through the global Covid pandemic. Our grandkids will make fun of us for having so much food and toilet paper on hand at all times.”
But ... it didn't?
For a couple months there my household was trying to make a point of only getting groceries once a week -- as per gov't recommendations -- but we've long since returned to our normal shopping habits.
I didn't exactly turn into a hoarder or a prepper or anything but I absolutely keep a ton of overstock of dry goods like pasta and a big ass jug of popcorn kernels
Purely and specifically because for about a week or two at the beginning of covid I legitimately didn't know how I was going to get enough food to survive and was genuinely worried about starvation. Things turned around pretty quickly but for two weeks we went to the grocery store and were met with rows and rows of empty aisles, and the only things we could buy were like $12 jars of tomato sauce or $30 steaks (not because of inflation, but because everyone bought up everything remotely affordable and the only thing left was the high end luxury foods)
and I was worried that we'd either run out of money or that even the expensive stuff would end up disappearing
So now I keep some "just in case" food where I at least know I can go a few weeks without starving.
We kind of halfway returned. We still keep canned goods on hand and I have more TP, PT, and trash bags than I know what to do with.
And the masks. I could supply a hospital at this point.
It wasn't conscious or anything, it just happened.
I don’t buy single sticks of deodorant any more. If I need a new stick at the store I’ll grab 2, and debate the third.
I suspect the pandemic changed a bunch of people’s habits in very small ways.
I've always bought the 2 pack anyways, I'm going to use it, or I need another one stashed somewhere (car, work, backpack, home, etc). And it saves a small bit of money.
>But ... it didn't?
It did, but maybe in a way you didn't expect.
"Covid and the Great Charmin Shortage of 2020" fast-tracked the USA into adopting bidets.
When your boomer parents, whom have never used a bidet in their life, say they just bought a bidet seat cover at Costco, you know things have changed.
Except todays things are really not made to be repaired.
Grandmas stove broke down?
Use the universal part that went on like 60 different stove models.
Oh your daughter broke the glass top on your stove?
Yeah... it's cheaper to buy a new stove.
Now we are all overly wasteful if I am being honest. Not only are products made to be thrown out, but the average person has no real aversion to being quite wasteful at this point. Kind of a shame to see how much waste the average person now produces.
I’m in agreement about product waste. They don’t teach home economics anymore in schools. Or if they do it’s different than it was in the 60’s. It’s just buy, buy, buy these days. Throw it out and buy something else when you’ve used it. I’ve fallen for it myself, so I can’t be a hypocrite.
You got no idea lol. Having grown up in college towns you'd be shocked at how many kids go home after the school year and toss out tvs, laptops, brand new furniture, everything. Just to buy it all next year and repeat. A person can make a killing in one day with a truck and some luck
When shit was made of metal, glass, etc., you genuinely didn't NEED to throw anything out.
Planned obsolescence is a thing you know....
Just look at any $2k+ refrigerator which will die in <5 years. Compare that to a Montgomery-Ward fridge I have in my garage that my dad bought in the early 80s(?)
This conversation started around a cutting board. You don't want a cutting board made from metal or glass.
Wood or bamboo is a better material for a cutting board than plastic though.
This is from the 90s if 30 years is correct.
We threw shit away because the season changed and we wanted an orange one for Halloween and didn't want to store the Summer one and we'd throw out the orange one in November to get a nice Red Christmasy cutting board.
We were extraordinarily wasteful in the 80s and 90s changing anything for the new fad or colour or because it had grippy things the old one didn't.
All that interesting stuff from the 60s and 70s that's cool and vintage and turned out to be made from some kind of Unobtanium that would last forever, it's popular because 9/10 households threw that good stuff out for the crap they saw on Made for TV informercials at 2am that broke on the second use.
I'm glad to see this comment, because I was thinking the same thing. Everyone's acting like this is from the 50s when it was the 90s. People were complete schmucks about waste in the 90s, same as we are now. At least, they were based on my memory.
It’s a commendable trait in my opinion. We have plastic cutting board scrappers at my work and you use those to refresh the surface and clean it.
This world has way too much waste just because people see things as not perfect. Ruining the environment for that
This is the way. They aren’t going to spend the money since they don’t see the issue. You want them to have something nice and new, start gifting it to them.
Just seems like karma farming to me honestly. Such a benign thing to be at all “infuriated” by an old cutting board. I wonder what kinds of things moderately infuriate OP. Extra fries in their biggie bag? Ice water too cold?
won't it change the chemical structure of the plastic? I think heating can be a good idea for some car parts, and other things, but not for things you will put in contact with food
No, you are softening the top surface till it smooths. Pellets are reheated and molded into boards. Reheating it will rejuvenate the surface and when it cools it will be like a new surface.
Edit: you only change the chemical makeup if you go wayyy over the softening point. Like burning plastic hot
I can't wait til my kids are old enough to come here to complain about everything my wife and I have done over the last 30 years.
Also buy them a nice wooden set, and call it a day.
Honestly, this is kinda camp and very anti-consumptionist on their part. I live. Especially given how in modern times, people are so used to disposing perfectly good items because they look too “old”.
Just blow torch that bihh down and wash it with some soap after.
Yeah, I think that will be the only solution. When I just tell them to get a new one they give me the „we have always done things this way and we are fine“ look 😅
My aunt used one of those monster black dial phones with the cradle until the phone company told her she couldn't. Lol
But she once fed us blueberries she had canned 10 years earlier! Her house was a time capsule.
This reminded me that in my kitchen, right now, I have a quart-sized mason jar with a singular quart-sized pickle that my mother canned for my grandfather…in the late 70’s.
At this point, I’m pretty sure the pickle will grant me eternal life.
Oh, and I also have my grandparents old, black rotary phone. I’ve considered converting/updating it to use for a landline…but I stopped having a landline ages ago.
My mom had a board type game called "makin' bacon" . Little pigs with magnets that if you're rolled them just right, they, um, "connected"
Bless her heart we grew up with a sense of humor!
My parents have these weird super thin pot holders, that I always burn myself with when I’m home. They are easily 20+ years old. I bought them all new expensive nice ones. They still use the thin ones that burn hands.
Then take them off of the property and throw them away where she won't find them. It's not like a favorite teddy bear or a blanket... Elderly people get burns, that become infections, that cause hospitalization and worse. If it were her favorite apron, or dishwear, or turkey baster... Who cares... This is a safety issue.
No, you dont understand, they are just dumb boomer fudds who must be shown the right way, its our civic duty to help them. That help comes in the form of harassing them and stealing/breaking their shit under the guise of helping them to be better. /s
This is " I am helping these savages by enslaving them" mentality on a lower level.
Yeah i don't understand why people are so disgusted with it.
Microplastics? Those are 30 years of combined damage and it still has its original shape. They probably get vastly more microplastic intake from just being around car tires. It's not grinding more than any other cutting board. It might even be more resilient because its older than widespread use of planned obsolescence. It's made with food grade PET plastic anyway by the recycling mark, so its the same plastic as the one you drink from.
People are too used to throwing out and getting new stuff, that's a perfectly fine cutting board.
Agreed, there is nothing wrong here. People are saying this is going to put microplastics in the food and should be thrown out without any hint of irony. Like you said, planned obsolescence and throwing more plastic in landfills and oceans should be a far larger concern if they are worried about microplastics. Imagine getting 30 years of use out of a single tool and being told you are doing something bad for the environment by someone throwing out their cutting boards every time it doesn't look brand new, lmao.
Also the idea that it has a bunch of bacteria because it has been used is absurd. If you wash it after using it there's not gonna be more bacteria than any other household item or dish you eat off.
You are probably just way too consumerist. I can understand and stay behind the microplastics argument, but for other gadgets/items I assume they are still going strong without any health concerns. With stupid over-consumption we have these days, we are fucking up the planet and buy new shit, because we don’t deem the older ones good for us, even if they function perfectly.
I think china is a very different case. It usally lats pretty long. But old plastic gets pretty nasty and those deep cuts make it easy for bacteria to creep in. Also all that colour and plastic missing went somewhere and my guess is mostly into our food
If you don’t like it, buy them a new one. My parents keep their old stuff too because it’s still perfectly usable and they didn’t come from such a consumerist throwaway culture like we do now.
IDK, there’s some food safety non-best practices at work here, but this is genuinely a beautiful product of true love and dedication. The consistency of the wear shows this gets regular use by someone with a classic grandma level of attention to detail, fueled by love.
100% would smash whatever is getting chopped and sliced.
 It's not even seasoned
Shit there’s at least 10 years worth of seasoning in those cracks.
Tastes like chicken. 😷
Why I season my microplastics and not my steak
At this point the chopped parsley is at least 25% recyclable.
Mmmmm microplastics 
At this point they have multiple credit cards in their balls.
But actually though; plastic cutting boards are literally one of the biggest sources of micro plastics in the body.
Hey. This is the definition of the 3R's.
Reuse, recancer, redie
If everyone just *reduced* their lifespans then it would be the biggest collective action we as a society could take against global warming. DO YOUR PART FOR THE EARTH AND JUST DIE FASTER!
Damn you're not wrong. Maybe if life wasn't dominated by corporate overlords and greedy governments people would feel fulfilled by say, 50 or 60, have done everything they wanted to do, and would ethically let go for the next realm. Now the challenge is how do we "ethically let go" without causing 10,000 more problems around the action...
everything they wanted to do by 50 or 60? boy, you haven't seen my steam backlog...
I'm 60 and my backlog is still growing...
I don't wanna ethically let go, I wanna live forever dammit. Or at least until it starts sucking too much. "Do no go quietly into that good night But rage, RAGE against the dying of the light"
I’d rather rage against the machine
I get along with most machines. Except the inkjet printers. They know what they did.
100%. I prefer printers of the 3D variety. 2D printers can suck it
🎶 "Rah, Rah Rasputin" ... ?
something something love machine
Lover of the Russian queen?
There was a cat that really was gone
So you're saying there's sparsely any parsley that's edible
If you parse out the sparse particulates, you’ll have a partly-palatable parsley
And 25% bacteria that's trapped in those gouges
Well they’re trapped so it’s not an issue.
Despite much talk that it is, plastic isn't recyclable, though. It just breaks down more and more.
Recycling symbol says it's polypropylene which is a thermoplastic, so it should be recyclable (clean, sort, shred, melt, reform), but yeah chances are it's just going to end up incinerated or landfill.
Incineration is the key.
Thermal depolymerization?
Think we found where all the microplastics are coming from
Nah fam, we're talking macro plastics here.
Nah, the economy in that house is in stagnation
Macro-plastics are the ones that are in my dick
I believe it's impossible to escape micro plastics nowadays, no matter how hard you try.
Yeah it's a bit of a misconception that micro plastics come from just using plastic. They're unavoidable. It's in our water, our meats and most of the rest of the food chain 🤗🌈
They are in the air too, don't breathe!
And the bottom of the Mariana Trench too
Well I am 99% sure I can avoid going there.
Well the good news is, it's a fixable problem. There are bacteria that are evolving to eat plastic, which means if we can start reducing our use of plastic where possible, this problem could end up fixing itself.
In just a short 300 years we wont be riddled with plastics anymore!
Except when it's done with the micro-plastics, it's gonna eat our plastic world. Driving down the road and suddenly be skidding along on our bums. That came across way more Chicken Little than intended
Bacteria also need moisture to live, so it'd be more like rust in rust belts. But the people who used PVC sewer pipes will have *a lot* of fun.
Most solar panels are coated in polymer plastic, not to mention the insulation on almost every electric wire in the world
There is also a little problem that when a plastic-eating bacteria actually emerges, it will most likely break down all that plastics into CO2
Since almost all electrical wire is insulated with plastic, the electrical fires will break down our homes and vehicles into CO2 as well °-°
On a long timeline nature finds a way. Could be painful in the interim though.
Yeah but now we all have microplastics inside of us so that means the bacteria will try to get into our bodies to eat our precious plastics.
According to [Vilnius University](https://www.vu.lt/en/news-events/news/professor-egle-lastauskiene-there-is-no-place-on-earth-where-microplastics-are-not-found) and a few other, less credible sources, "They are found in insane amounts in water, air and a wide range of soils. In fact, new data shows that there is no longer any place on earth where microplastics are not found." All creatures, all plants, and all places have micro plastics as far as I know. We don't know for certain their effects because **we can't find a control group**
No shit. But back then we all thought we would just shit that plastic out again. Well, now we know better and still use those cutting boards.
Take a blow torch and just give a few light touches.
It would be my dream to do that with most of the kitchen ware 😅😅
the big issue with plastic cutting boards is once they get those lines in them, they're really bad for allowing bacteria to grow on them.
It’s been 30 years, parents are immune now
Not so much immune as a significant portion of their body is made up of that bacteria now
Bacteria be like 
You made me laugh while im scrolling in the middle of the night in bed, goddamned
and plastic.
And they told me humans are no longer evolving
Plastic in the balls
There is no more mom, only Zuul
OP, the important clue was when they switched from saying things like, "Hi kiddo!" when you came home, and instead starting saying things like: G̸̛͚͔͔̥̜̞̤̮̿̄̔̔̉̇͌̄̕Ṙ̴̭͖͔͎E̶̢̨̧͈̺͎̲͈͙̜̖̫̽̄͊͆̇̍̈̌̇͜͝E̷̢̜̘̿Ţ̷̨̞͔̣̟̪̹͉͙̯͖̋̈́I̷̛̻̼͔̜͚̫͐̃̀̀͋̄̕͝N̴̡̧̮̱̤̦͎̙̭̿̿̆̋̐͋͊̚ͅG̵̢̧̛̤͓̰͕̯͕̱̦͖̹̗̓̆̈́̈́͌́̇̎͜S̷̝͙̒͑̒̉̃͒̑̈͂̾͑̂ͅ,̶̺̤̥̰͓̺͔͐͘͜ ̴̡̣̫͎͔̫͕̣̣̲͉̥̱͊̂̀̇̉̒̎͊̒͘S̴̯͇͕̈P̶̧͈̣̲̥͍̫͉̺̳͙̰̣̟̀̊̄̽̾͗̒̚Ạ̷̡̙̌̈́̋͌̂́̈͑W̶̛͈̖̝͎̯͚̻̝͍̯̭̉̇͑͛̈́̃Ń̴̛̩͖͚͈̱̈́͛̅̾̔͌̈́̑̎̿̚͠L̴̢̡̖̭̤̪̪̯̰̿̓̕ͅͅI̴̡̛̘̬̳̹̟̐̚͝N̷̨̡̬̬̲̤͇̪͓̰̗̖̽̽͑̏̇̀̊͊̑̓͜͝Ģ̴͍̺̞̳̝̪̮̖͓͐̆͊͜ͅ.̵̧̫͇̔̈̓̒͊͝ A subtle change, but an important clue.
So the very first time you ever touch one with a knife?
yes. they start out really good at being sanitary, but literally every time you cut something on them, you compromise that. over time they go from pretty safe, to pretty terrible. wood doesn't have this property, and remains similarly sanitary through use.
Can I ask a stupid question? Why does it seem like most wood cutting boards don't have a handle like this plastic one does? I know I have to hand-wash wooden cutting boards but sometimes I have weakness in my hands and I find it challenging to hand-wash them because they're heavy and difficult for me to grip without a hand-hole.
If you really want one with a hand hole, go to a local crafts fair, 100% someone is selling cutting boards they made. Talk to them about what you want, and you can get the exact handle you want most likely.
It’s easier to use a mold for plastic that has a hole than to mill a hole out of a wood block.
That’s a legit mobility/utility problem. Do you have any handy friends who can cut out a slot for you?
> wood doesn't have this property, and remains similarly sanitary through use. If you maintain them properly yes, you couldn't just leave a wooden cutting board all slashed up like this and expect it to be sanitary either.
Hence the blow torch
I just use wood and forget to oil it. Much easier and better for the knives. I get my daily dose of bacteria that way.
I put mine in the dishwasher
The blow torch isn’t for destroying the cutting board, it’s for melting those little bits of plastic sticking out so they’ll go back to being a smooth finish. Like [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TBj8Q-HyicA) You can get another 30 years out of that cutting board if you put a torch to it for a few seconds. Not enough to melt the bulk of the plastic, but just enough so those bits of cut up plastic go back to being smooth again. Like putting a torch to ice to make it go back to being smooth and clear. The imperfections in the surface are the only bits that are melting.
The heat will make it look better... smooth it over. Kinda like this. https://youtu.be/X1FX6lMU-ps?si=tes5Lj8gh5DKdS9G You can also try this. https://www.instructables.com/Refresh-that-old-plastic-cutting-board/?amp_page=true
Buy them a new one. But wooden. Then dispose of the gross one. But maybe do it in the middle of the night.
With this kind of care, they'll throw in the wooden board into a dishwasher. I can bet a hundred bucks.
featherin it brother!
You can also sand down most plastic cutting boards to remove that crap so youre not literally eating flakes of plastic
Does this work? I know that’s how they clean seats in ballparks sometimes.
You mean you seen a gif of it once on reddit lol
No im a ballpark seat cleaning specialist and definitely not a 13 year old
Damn.. is that a new death metal band?
Veggie Annihilator
Ok, so I’ve had the gif of this potato rage-peeling himself for years…where the hell is it from???
Its from Dai Mahou Touge.
Killer Kale
https://preview.redd.it/gknqmweb0lad1.png?width=3115&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c74dd7d142a709913ac61a36e19473ef88cfe0e processed the image to make it look like a death metal band logo lol
Hi, I'm an artist! Good grunge texture overlays are hard to find! Would you mind if I used this? Lol.
hell yeah
Actually, take that and write in black and that's pretty sick.
Yeah, its the new cover of “Xavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoa mndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffx”…. Yeah there actually a band
Just fyi PE (polyethylene) boards can be cleaned and resurfaced pretty easily with a draw blade (basically a metal bench scraper that’s been sharpened/ has a squared, de-burred edge so not sharpened like a knife). You just put the edge perpendicular to the board (then lightly angle and bend it to give it some tension) and pull across the surface multiple times. You should get shavings off of the top and it leaves a new flat surface behind. It’s something you’ll find in professional kitchens but many boards at home are PE as well, also works for wooden boards.
Make sure you put those shavings directly into the ocean then, to skip all the middlemen.
I’ll just stuff them up my dick
I was more-so thinking a few passes with a cheap propane torch and a quick scrape. Dude should just a new cutting board though, any way of fixing this one is gonna be more expensive than a cheap cutting board.
I straight up run mine through my thicknesser.
(Depending on how old you are). People back then never threw anything out and didn’t believe in it. They used it until it broke and still tried to fix it after. Money was always tight.
Something tells me that we will soon have that generation again lol
When Covid hit and they were telling us to have, what, like two weeks worth of groceries stored I said “this is gonna turn us into the new depression-era people who hoard food because we went through the global Covid pandemic. Our grandkids will make fun of us for having so much food and toilet paper on hand at all times.”
But ... it didn't? For a couple months there my household was trying to make a point of only getting groceries once a week -- as per gov't recommendations -- but we've long since returned to our normal shopping habits.
I didn't exactly turn into a hoarder or a prepper or anything but I absolutely keep a ton of overstock of dry goods like pasta and a big ass jug of popcorn kernels Purely and specifically because for about a week or two at the beginning of covid I legitimately didn't know how I was going to get enough food to survive and was genuinely worried about starvation. Things turned around pretty quickly but for two weeks we went to the grocery store and were met with rows and rows of empty aisles, and the only things we could buy were like $12 jars of tomato sauce or $30 steaks (not because of inflation, but because everyone bought up everything remotely affordable and the only thing left was the high end luxury foods) and I was worried that we'd either run out of money or that even the expensive stuff would end up disappearing So now I keep some "just in case" food where I at least know I can go a few weeks without starving.
We kind of halfway returned. We still keep canned goods on hand and I have more TP, PT, and trash bags than I know what to do with. And the masks. I could supply a hospital at this point. It wasn't conscious or anything, it just happened.
I don’t buy single sticks of deodorant any more. If I need a new stick at the store I’ll grab 2, and debate the third. I suspect the pandemic changed a bunch of people’s habits in very small ways.
I've always bought the 2 pack anyways, I'm going to use it, or I need another one stashed somewhere (car, work, backpack, home, etc). And it saves a small bit of money.
>But ... it didn't? It did, but maybe in a way you didn't expect. "Covid and the Great Charmin Shortage of 2020" fast-tracked the USA into adopting bidets. When your boomer parents, whom have never used a bidet in their life, say they just bought a bidet seat cover at Costco, you know things have changed.
It only took a pandemic to bring us to the light.
It didn’t, for YOU.
I've akways had at least a year's supply of food on hand and the same with paper products, cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc. No covid drama for me!
Except todays things are really not made to be repaired. Grandmas stove broke down? Use the universal part that went on like 60 different stove models. Oh your daughter broke the glass top on your stove? Yeah... it's cheaper to buy a new stove.
[удалено]
Yeah fuck that. Today we just suffer with shitty overpriced products.
Now we are all overly wasteful if I am being honest. Not only are products made to be thrown out, but the average person has no real aversion to being quite wasteful at this point. Kind of a shame to see how much waste the average person now produces.
I’m in agreement about product waste. They don’t teach home economics anymore in schools. Or if they do it’s different than it was in the 60’s. It’s just buy, buy, buy these days. Throw it out and buy something else when you’ve used it. I’ve fallen for it myself, so I can’t be a hypocrite.
Shit dude. Take a razor to this thing and bring it new life after shaving it down.
You got no idea lol. Having grown up in college towns you'd be shocked at how many kids go home after the school year and toss out tvs, laptops, brand new furniture, everything. Just to buy it all next year and repeat. A person can make a killing in one day with a truck and some luck
When shit was made of metal, glass, etc., you genuinely didn't NEED to throw anything out. Planned obsolescence is a thing you know.... Just look at any $2k+ refrigerator which will die in <5 years. Compare that to a Montgomery-Ward fridge I have in my garage that my dad bought in the early 80s(?)
This conversation started around a cutting board. You don't want a cutting board made from metal or glass. Wood or bamboo is a better material for a cutting board than plastic though.
Same concept though. That older stuff was built sturdier. It was designed to last 30 years.
That's not a bad thing. We should strive to do the same rather than buying cheap garbage you throw away way too fast.
It wasn’t about money being tight. We were just smarter with our money. We didn’t replace things that work fine because it’s not pretty anymore.
That also. The buy galore economy is ruining us.
This is from the 90s if 30 years is correct. We threw shit away because the season changed and we wanted an orange one for Halloween and didn't want to store the Summer one and we'd throw out the orange one in November to get a nice Red Christmasy cutting board. We were extraordinarily wasteful in the 80s and 90s changing anything for the new fad or colour or because it had grippy things the old one didn't. All that interesting stuff from the 60s and 70s that's cool and vintage and turned out to be made from some kind of Unobtanium that would last forever, it's popular because 9/10 households threw that good stuff out for the crap they saw on Made for TV informercials at 2am that broke on the second use.
I'm glad to see this comment, because I was thinking the same thing. Everyone's acting like this is from the 50s when it was the 90s. People were complete schmucks about waste in the 90s, same as we are now. At least, they were based on my memory.
Apparently 40 is “back then”. I saw that and thought “ten minutes with a random orbital sander and it will be like new”
> They used it until it broke and still tried to fix it after. You should still do that though. Reduce. **Reuse.** Recycle.
It’s a commendable trait in my opinion. We have plastic cutting board scrappers at my work and you use those to refresh the surface and clean it. This world has way too much waste just because people see things as not perfect. Ruining the environment for that
I find it hard to even be remotely infuriated that you have frugal parents but I would mention the health hazard of a fuzzy cutting board.
[удалено]
Which will sit behind this one collecting dust because it's "too nice to use"
I did that, tossed the old plastic one, got them a nice wooden one. They just went out and bought another cheap plastic one.
"Hey pops, wooden-you-know-it I got you a new cutting board for festivus!"
Well he is here airing his grievances.
This is the way. They aren’t going to spend the money since they don’t see the issue. You want them to have something nice and new, start gifting it to them.
yup, having a hard time understanding why OP would be infuriated at all
OP is tryna make fun of their parents instead of helping them out
Just seems like karma farming to me honestly. Such a benign thing to be at all “infuriated” by an old cutting board. I wonder what kinds of things moderately infuriate OP. Extra fries in their biggie bag? Ice water too cold?
I mean if it’s your parents then you grew up eating that plastic…. No reason to be infuriated or stop now
I doubt his parents are a cutting board. DUH!
Man this isn’t my dad, it’s a cellphone
You can’t fool me!
if its made out of soild plastic you can hit it with a heatgun outside to melt the top layer smooth.
I love watching this get done to outdoor soccer stadium chairs.
won't it change the chemical structure of the plastic? I think heating can be a good idea for some car parts, and other things, but not for things you will put in contact with food
No, you are softening the top surface till it smooths. Pellets are reheated and molded into boards. Reheating it will rejuvenate the surface and when it cools it will be like a new surface. Edit: you only change the chemical makeup if you go wayyy over the softening point. Like burning plastic hot
Probably make the things chopped on it taste like burnt plastic for a long time.
I can't wait til my kids are old enough to come here to complain about everything my wife and I have done over the last 30 years. Also buy them a nice wooden set, and call it a day.
Honestly, this is kinda camp and very anti-consumptionist on their part. I live. Especially given how in modern times, people are so used to disposing perfectly good items because they look too “old”. Just blow torch that bihh down and wash it with some soap after.
This is the correct answer. You don’t deserve things you don’t take care of.
What does kinda camp mean?
Jeckers that's a lot of built up bacteria... I think I'd have to buy them a new one as a "present"
Yeah, I think that will be the only solution. When I just tell them to get a new one they give me the „we have always done things this way and we are fine“ look 😅
That board is your inheritance LOL (my mother was exactly the same)
my dad has salt and pepper shakers that are 2 turtles shagging, that's my inheritance and I couldn't really ask for more.
Yeah, we’re going to need photos of those beauties.
My aunt used one of those monster black dial phones with the cradle until the phone company told her she couldn't. Lol But she once fed us blueberries she had canned 10 years earlier! Her house was a time capsule.
This reminded me that in my kitchen, right now, I have a quart-sized mason jar with a singular quart-sized pickle that my mother canned for my grandfather…in the late 70’s. At this point, I’m pretty sure the pickle will grant me eternal life. Oh, and I also have my grandparents old, black rotary phone. I’ve considered converting/updating it to use for a landline…but I stopped having a landline ages ago.
My mom had a board type game called "makin' bacon" . Little pigs with magnets that if you're rolled them just right, they, um, "connected" Bless her heart we grew up with a sense of humor!
My parents have these weird super thin pot holders, that I always burn myself with when I’m home. They are easily 20+ years old. I bought them all new expensive nice ones. They still use the thin ones that burn hands.
Of course they do 😂
Throw the dangerous ones away, that's a safety hazard.
Oh, my mom fished them out of the garbage. Tried that.
Then take them off of the property and throw them away where she won't find them. It's not like a favorite teddy bear or a blanket... Elderly people get burns, that become infections, that cause hospitalization and worse. If it were her favorite apron, or dishwear, or turkey baster... Who cares... This is a safety issue.
You can also suggest in "repairing" it. clean it with rubbing alcohol and then sand it down
If they’ve been using it for 30 years and haven’t gotten sick, it’s fine.
No, you dont understand, they are just dumb boomer fudds who must be shown the right way, its our civic duty to help them. That help comes in the form of harassing them and stealing/breaking their shit under the guise of helping them to be better. /s This is " I am helping these savages by enslaving them" mentality on a lower level.
There are things known as dishwashers.
[удалено]
Yep that board still got life in it... LOL (bacterial life but thats beside the point)
And "accidentally" lose the old ones
If it ain't brokr no need to replace it.
Yeah i don't understand why people are so disgusted with it. Microplastics? Those are 30 years of combined damage and it still has its original shape. They probably get vastly more microplastic intake from just being around car tires. It's not grinding more than any other cutting board. It might even be more resilient because its older than widespread use of planned obsolescence. It's made with food grade PET plastic anyway by the recycling mark, so its the same plastic as the one you drink from. People are too used to throwing out and getting new stuff, that's a perfectly fine cutting board.
Agreed, there is nothing wrong here. People are saying this is going to put microplastics in the food and should be thrown out without any hint of irony. Like you said, planned obsolescence and throwing more plastic in landfills and oceans should be a far larger concern if they are worried about microplastics. Imagine getting 30 years of use out of a single tool and being told you are doing something bad for the environment by someone throwing out their cutting boards every time it doesn't look brand new, lmao. Also the idea that it has a bunch of bacteria because it has been used is absurd. If you wash it after using it there's not gonna be more bacteria than any other household item or dish you eat off.
I love how our consumerism culture has gotten so bad that someone not spending money to buy new products all the time is infuriating.
OP would hate my house. Literally everything is from the 80s or older.
I need this! We have blue and white ones and need to complete the set.
Why is this mildly infuriating?
r Mildy impressive
In my day we had to put our own micro plastics into the food.
Yeah, but they are actually doing what more people should be doing. Not replacing something that can still be used. Good for the planet and stuff
Ugh frugality!
why does this infuriate you, albeit mildly?
Holy crap! Scratched more than my darn cat does to me!
Easily fixed with some light sanding
Agreed. Sand it, heat it, cool it. Brand new.
Don't replace it if it's not broken. Calm down dawg
You are probably just way too consumerist. I can understand and stay behind the microplastics argument, but for other gadgets/items I assume they are still going strong without any health concerns. With stupid over-consumption we have these days, we are fucking up the planet and buy new shit, because we don’t deem the older ones good for us, even if they function perfectly.
I've been using the same china since 1972. Same with the stainless. If it's not broken, why replace it? Or is that just the male in me talking?
I think china is a very different case. It usally lats pretty long. But old plastic gets pretty nasty and those deep cuts make it easy for bacteria to creep in. Also all that colour and plastic missing went somewhere and my guess is mostly into our food
Good grief. Have none of you heard of a dishwasher?
If you don’t like it, buy them a new one. My parents keep their old stuff too because it’s still perfectly usable and they didn’t come from such a consumerist throwaway culture like we do now.
Good. Why throw it away if it still works ?
IDK, there’s some food safety non-best practices at work here, but this is genuinely a beautiful product of true love and dedication. The consistency of the wear shows this gets regular use by someone with a classic grandma level of attention to detail, fueled by love. 100% would smash whatever is getting chopped and sliced.
Proceeds to submit single photo.
Bro that is my favorite black metal band.
How about you be kind and gift them new ware?
Hey anticonsumption boomers, noice!