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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1580 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 23, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I don't think "gymbro" is anti-woke, it's a pretty common archetype in the culture now. "Gymbros" are harmless. They're even a little cute. They're not quite on the level of "goofy TV sitcom Dad" or "that whiteboi can dance," but they're largely a safe idea. Guardian-Vox hitpieces on "The alt-right lifts weights and eats meat" mostly failed and didn't permeate neutral corporate space.

Unrelatedly, I hate the new cultural obsession with "protein". What the hell is protein? Chicken, I know what that is, beef, pork, shrimp, but everything is "protein" now. We've idealized this raw macromolecule into being a good in and of itself, it can do no wrong, it's healthy! Slather it up in sunflower oil, bread it and fry it, shove the cow in a pigpen and bathe it in its own shit, feed the salmon corn and lock it in a cage, whatever, it doesn't matter what quality it is, it's protein, and protein is good for you. I'm not making a moral objection here -- aesthetically, I think the whole "category" of protein is gross. I don't care how high chicken measures in protein per calorie, diced burrito chicken is gross, I don't want it. I don't need to protein-load my quesadilla or milkshake, I will take however much is pleasing to eat. I don't condition my enjoyment of a steak knowing that it's protein, it fits the right ontological category, it's one of the five basic elemental categories, it's the good one. No, I enjoy steak because it's delicious. And if it's not delicious I'd rather just eat some mashed potatoes or pineapple juice or chocolate cake or pasta, quelle surprise, even without meat.

I was thinking about exactly your comment an hour ago for some reason.

Totally agree.

I just hate marketing more the older I get I think.

I get my ‘protein’ from meat and eggs and dairy and sometimes a (gay) powder - and frankly that’s how 98% of successful gym people do it too.

"What kind of protein would you like?"

"I'll take some kelp with a slice of microbial mat."

What the hell is protein?

British supermarkets could be found selling 'protein pots' at one point.

(It's two boiled eggs and a bit of spinach)

Unrelatedly, I hate the new cultural obsession with "protein".

It’s an overreaction to the food pyramid having been screwed up for the last 60 years. An entire generation of boomers lived under the delusion that saturated fat and animal meat was evil, and refined processed carbohydrates were the cornerstone of a healthy diet. In the 70s you literally had magazine advertisements shilling pure sugar as just the thing you need to kick those food cravings and give you energy to kick those cravings and give you the energy you need to get through your day. The FDA fed an entire generation through the diabetes meat grinder.

I remember reading a post about the American diet in the... early 1900s or something? Might have been a rundown of the past 100 or 200 years? Either way, I remember it mentioning how obsessed people were with fiber. I feel the same way about society and protein right now.

I'm not making a moral objection here -- aesthetically, I think the whole "category" of protein is gross.

Agreed, although for an aesthetically gross slop bowl from Chipotle, "protein" is probably the correct term.

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