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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3368 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 21, 2023

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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Many weeks ago, I asked about content related to food science. I came across a New Yorker article that scratched my itch and kept the inevitable snark and superiority to an acceptable level:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/24/taco-bells-innovation-kitchen-the-front-line-in-the-stunt-food-wars

I'm an unabashed Taco Bell/general fast-food fan and love getting some glances under the hood.

Bourdieu said that food preference is the most stable indicator of one's social class of origin.

Thus I am completely unashamed to admit that I love Pizza Hut and McDonald's and all the rest of it. I am especially fond of the double Pizza Hut/Taco Bell combo locations. It always resonates with me as a deeply spiritual place.

There's a particular Taco Bell/KFC restaurant at the Alabama/GA border on I20. It has a massive kitchen, but Yum's breadth of offerings across those two brands + high traffic mean that getting decent food there within 20 minutes is virtually impossible.

The last time I was there was doubtless a dark day for the folks working in the back. 4 types of potatoes were on offer, and Taco Bell also had fried chicken. I can't imagine making $8.50 an hour and having to memorize all this crap, or make $16 an hour and managing inventory for it.

You might enjoy this food class test by researchers at UPenn.

"Your food choices could not be tied to any one social class."

My graph was pretty even among all five groups, with the highest scores in the Upper and Lower classes

As a vegetarian:

Your food choices resemble those of the lower class (28.57%).

I'm surprised at how the researchers sorted upper- and upper-middle-class food. Upper-class food just seems to be cheap food with weird extra shit in it (like gold on a soft-serve) or pairings of peasantry and luxury (grits + lobster), while shit like caviar is upper-middle class? Really?

In what world is a truffle burger upper-class but caviar is upper-middle?

Your food choices resemble those of the upper-middle class (92.86%)

This is untrue, I'm lower middle class, which is the category I scored lowest in. I eat all the things I scored somewhat low, because they're practical.

But my father is a foodie who spent much of my childhood working in fancy restaurants.

Your food choices resemble those of the lower-middle class (53.57%)

Unsurprising.

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