What's your weirdest habit?

[Psychstache]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

[Metalcat]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Not weird.

I'm honestly starting to worry about what people here consider to be "weird".

Talking to oneself, not letting hair go down the drain, having a clenching habit, humming, putting on socks and shoes on one foot before the other, and sitting improperly in chairs.

God you people are normal.

Seriously, if it weren't for Steve's murderous contemplations and JohnGI's use of napkins as a food condom, this thread would be killing me.

Here are a few of my odd habits, just to add some flavour:

-I compulsively change my hair. That's not the odd part, the odd part is that when the urge strikes me for a change, I *must* do it immediately. Like, I will be driven to distraction until my hair is what I've suddenly decided if *must* be. This has led to some interesting consequences, as I am neither a stylist nor a colourist.

-I can't tolerate wearing mixed colours. I will pretty much only wear monochromatic outfits. With black being the most convenient, this means I wear only black 99% of the time.

-My house is also monochromatic

-I wore only very high heels for 20 years. Even though I never wear them now, I still often walk on my toes when I'm barefoot.

-I hold my breath whenever someone on tv is under water. I don't actually think this is weird, I'm just wondering if other people do it.

-I never correct people who mispronounce my name, and people do it *a lot*. I'm always curious how long they will maintain the mispronunciation. My research supervisor called me by almost a completely wrong name for 6 years.

-On the flip side, my name is a very famous song, and I'll quite literally growl at anyone who sings it at me. My brother has an equally singable name. Neither occured to my oblivious parents.

-I mentally rearrange the furniture in everyone's house until I feel like I would be more comfortable there, and from then on, I remember their place with the arrangement I prefer, and then I'm always slightly perturbed when the furniture is in the "wrong" place when I visit, as if they moved it back. 

-Another hair one: I picture everyone I see with a shaved head.

-I cannot listen to a radio or podcast person who speaks with too many mouth sounds.

-I plan the sequence of everything I do for maximum efficiency. If I can sequence things to cut out just a few seconds of redundant movement, I'll do it. This is an artifact from a profession where cutting seconds mattered.

-I cultivated a twangy rural accent to seem more down to earth for my patients, and it stuck.

-I wear swimming goggles when I chop onions. This isn't weird so much as just looks silly.

-My clothes are organized so that I only have to open one drawer a day. It's that efficiency thing. I know, it's a little excessive.

-IMDB saved my sanity, because I used to be unable to enjoy a movie or TV show until I could place any and all actors that I recognized.

-If I have an earworm, I translate it, badly, into French and that becomes the new earworm. This creates an abomination and I feel like my brain needs to be cleansed with fire.

-DH and I both discuss workplaces as if they are TV shows and work days are episodes, and we discuss workplace drama as though it's a critical element of the writing. We also come up with funny lines for our characters to work into scenes and then report back as to how it played in the episode.

-Whenever we cheers, we say "to the mighty ibex!", which is an obscure television reference, and actually an inside joke about our dead dog.

-I've answered the phone with "yellow" instead of "hello" for 20 years. Only one person has commented. I have no idea how many have noticed.

[Morning Glory]

I talk to myself too, and then we laugh and laugh. I have scared a few people passing on the bike and talking ( or singing), I feel these days I have the possible cover of being on the phone.

I lived in a city where I knew schizophrenic people would often hold conversations with themselves (my bus routes throughout my time there had regulars who I knew on sight. Sometimes it was fascinating to listen in to their one sided conversations with whatever object they had in hand).

Imagine my surprise when Bluetooth one ear headsets came out and suddenly the schizophrenic population grew by a factor of 10. It took me a little bit to figure out who was on the phone and who was having a conversation with their imaginary friend (I am confident that the ones conversing with broom handles for extended periods of time were not Bluetooth ear pieces).

To this day my default assumption is imaginary friend when I  can't see a phone or person who they could be talking to which is usually wrong since I am no longer in an area with a high concentration of street people (mental illness is unfortunately extremely common in this group).

I was working at a cafe the first time I saw one of those. It was in the guys ear that was facing away from me. I totally thought he was talking to himself.

The first time I saw barefoot running shoes I was walking home from working at a hospital and there were these footprints in the snow, I thought a patient had escaped. Luckily the person with the shoes was coming back the other way and I saw her before I got worried enough to call the police.

[Psychstache]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Not weird

A recent poll of everyone I know found the opposite.

[FIRE Artist]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Not weird

I would never double dip a condiment jar, no exceptions.  For me a common one is needing to use three spoons whenever I make quesadillas, one for the sour cream, one for the salsa and one for the guacamole.

[Travis]

If you hang around well I am cooking, chances are you will hear me humming/singing Phantom of the Opera......

DW is a choir singer, and will randomly burst into song - but just one or two lines and then stop singing and move on to something else.


For me, I will never play poker. If an embarrassing thought from my past suddenly pops into my head I'll start humming and mumbling to myself.

[Metalcat]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Not weird

A recent poll of everyone I know found the opposite.

Yeah, still not weird. I don't know what kind of freaks you hang out with.

[Caoineag]

...

Yeah, still not weird. I don't know what kind of freaks you hang out with.

If it's any consolation, many of the habits you listed seem normal to me. Especially the yellow one. I know many people who do that. I think everyone is just listing the habits they have received weird looks for. Maybe all your acquaintances are more tolerant?

I order roast beef as roast beast. Usually people don't notice. Some do and smile.

[Ladychips]

I talk to myself too, and then we laugh and laugh.

The phrasing of this creeped me out for some reason. But I do it too.

You say 'creeped out."  I say "totally identify with."  hahahahahahaha

[Adventine]

I talk to myself too, and then we laugh and laugh.

The phrasing of this creeped me out for some reason. But I do it too.

You say 'creeped out."  I say "totally identify with."  hahahahahahaha

We agree.

[Aelias]

I pace while listening to music. Don't understand how anyone holds still while listening to music; it seems unnatural.

I pace back and forth while talking on the phone. It's impossible for me to just stand there.

Very much this.  But instead of pacing back and forth, it's walking all over my house.  With a few ballet moves tossed in for good measure.  I imagine this must be very entertaining for my family to watch.

Also, when I open a bag of M&Ms, I sort them into a bar graph, and start eating from the most common to the least, imagining that the least common in that bag was more special and valuable?

When I have a conflict with someone, I often play it out in my head, sometimes many different ways.  Often, the play fight in my head is so thorough, I find the conflict resolved and don't actually engage with the other person on it.

I routinely get distracted in the middle of a task, resulting in things left in strange places.  Phone in the bathroom sort of thing. 

[Morning Glory]

I click my teeth in complex rhythms to the ear worms in my head. I have to be careful to do it very softly when I notice it so that I don't completely wear down my teeth.

I do this too. I'm not sure if I'm a clencher, the dentist thinks I might do it in my sleep.

[GuitarStv]

Also, when I open a bag of M&Ms, I sort them into a bar graph, and start eating from the most common to the least, imagining that the least common in that bag was more special and valuable?

Is there another way to eat them?

[Luke Warm]

Also, when I open a bag of M&Ms, I sort them into a bar graph, and start eating from the most common to the least, imagining that the least common in that bag was more special and valuable?

Is there another way to eat them?

http://thefoxisblack.com/2007/10/12/mms-survival-of-the-fittest/

[wenchsenior]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Not weird.

I'm honestly starting to worry about what people here consider to be "weird".

Talking to oneself, not letting hair go down the drain, having a clenching habit, humming, putting on socks and shoes on one foot before the other, and sitting improperly in chairs.

God you people are normal.

Seriously, if it weren't for Steve's murderous contemplations and JohnGI's use of napkins as a food condom, this thread would be killing me.

Here are a few of my odd habits, just to add some flavour:

-I compulsively change my hair. That's not the odd part, the odd part is that when the urge strikes me for a change, I *must* do it immediately. Like, I will be driven to distraction until my hair is what I've suddenly decided if *must* be. This has led to some interesting consequences, as I am neither a stylist nor a colourist.

-I can't tolerate wearing mixed colours. I will pretty much only wear monochromatic outfits. With black being the most convenient, this means I wear only black 99% of the time.

-My house is also monochromatic

-I wore only very high heels for 20 years. Even though I never wear them now, I still often walk on my toes when I'm barefoot.

-I hold my breath whenever someone on tv is under water. I don't actually think this is weird, I'm just wondering if other people do it.

-I never correct people who mispronounce my name, and people do it *a lot*. I'm always curious how long they will maintain the mispronunciation. My research supervisor called me by almost a completely wrong name for 6 years.

-On the flip side, my name is a very famous song, and I'll quite literally growl at anyone who sings it at me. My brother has an equally singable name. Neither occured to my oblivious parents.

-I mentally rearrange the furniture in everyone's house until I feel like I would be more comfortable there, and from then on, I remember their place with the arrangement I prefer, and then I'm always slightly perturbed when the furniture is in the "wrong" place when I visit, as if they moved it back. 

-Another hair one: I picture everyone I see with a shaved head.

-I cannot listen to a radio or podcast person who speaks with too many mouth sounds.

-I plan the sequence of everything I do for maximum efficiency. If I can sequence things to cut out just a few seconds of redundant movement, I'll do it. This is an artifact from a profession where cutting seconds mattered.

-I cultivated a twangy rural accent to seem more down to earth for my patients, and it stuck.

-I wear swimming goggles when I chop onions. This isn't weird so much as just looks silly.

-My clothes are organized so that I only have to open one drawer a day. It's that efficiency thing. I know, it's a little excessive.

-IMDB saved my sanity, because I used to be unable to enjoy a movie or TV show until I could place any and all actors that I recognized.

-If I have an earworm, I translate it, badly, into French and that becomes the new earworm. This creates an abomination and I feel like my brain needs to be cleansed with fire.

-DH and I both discuss workplaces as if they are TV shows and work days are episodes, and we discuss workplace drama as though it's a critical element of the writing. We also come up with funny lines for our characters to work into scenes and then report back as to how it played in the episode.

-Whenever we cheers, we say "to the mighty ibex!", which is an obscure television reference, and actually an inside joke about our dead dog.

-I've answered the phone with "yellow" instead of "hello" for 20 years. Only one person has commented. I have no idea how many have noticed.

I agree that the vast majority of these reported weird habits are either clearly not weird, or else a sign of very mild OCD (still not very weird). 

Some of yours (thankfully) ARE slightly weird, but not weird enough that my husband and I don't still share variants of several of them:

I also answer the phone pretty regularly with "yellow".  Just did it yesterday.

When we are surprised by something, we say "Roof pig, most unexpected!" (obscure television reference) and when a plan goes awry, we say (sarcastically) "Good plan, Spike!" (less obscure television reference).

IMDB...sanity...the same. Otherwise, I tend to wake up at odd hours several days later having FINALLY placed where I saw that damn actor before. And it niggles at me until then.

Whole outfits per drawer is not something I currently do,but it sounds like genius rather than weird.

Swimming goggles, also genius...Why did I never think of this when I have plenty of extra goggles lying around? A pair is going in the kitchen as of today! Thanks!

I keep planning to shave my head but currently autoimmune cysts have developed on my scalp, so it's off the menu for the next few months at least.  But go ahead and picture it...minus the cysts, of course.  Yea or nay?

Speaking of needing to change hairstyles THIS INSTANT...that exact thing happened to me the other day. The result was that I cut my own hair at lightning speed (<10 minutes from decision to finish for a short, near-pixie style) DESPITE the fact that when the urge struck I was in the grips of a migraine so severe that I felt like puking, and I was hopped up on so much pseudo-ephedrine on an empty stomach (only thing that will beat back my migraines) that my hands shook violently, AND I couldn't see properly (b/c of the migraine).  Apart from stabbing myself in the cheekbone with my shears (shaking hands) and despite not being able to clearly see what I was doing, it turned out surprisingly cute.

I definitely mentally re-arrange and re-decorate everyone's house (including mine b/c I'm too lazy to actually redecorate). However, the thing about remembering only your own preferred decor and being unpleasantly surprised when you go back...I salute you...that IS creatively weird. Good one!

My husband will mirror, in a subdued way, nearly everything actors are doing during intense close ups. He will lean forward a bit when they do, mirror their expressions, etc.  Certainly he holds his breath when they are underwater.  I mean, OF COURSE.  If you aren't emotionally invested in what you are watching, what's the point, right?

Dammit, I'm starting to think we are actually all cliches, and not interestingly eccentric at all. 

Except your earworm one. That is magnificently weird, and definitely would make earworms even worse.

[wenchsenior]

...

Yeah, still not weird. I don't know what kind of freaks you hang out with.

If it's any consolation, many of the habits you listed seem normal to me. Especially the yellow one. I know many people who do that. I think everyone is just listing the habits they have received weird looks for. Maybe all your acquaintances are more tolerant?

I order roast beef as roast beast. Usually people don't notice. Some do and smile.

I know several people who do this.  Just indicates proper exposure to Dr. Seuss. ETA: Can't fix the quotes....

[Aelias]

Also, when I open a bag of M&Ms, I sort them into a bar graph, and start eating from the most common to the least, imagining that the least common in that bag was more special and valuable?

Is there another way to eat them?

http://thefoxisblack.com/2007/10/12/mms-survival-of-the-fittest/

Well, I have my weekend activity.  Off to find a 1/2 lb of M&Ms!

[Travis]

I pace while listening to music. Don't understand how anyone holds still while listening to music; it seems unnatural.

I pace back and forth while talking on the phone. It's impossible for me to just stand there.

Very much this.  But instead of pacing back and forth, it's walking all over my house.  With a few ballet moves tossed in for good measure.  I imagine this must be very entertaining for my family to watch.

When I have a conflict with someone, I often play it out in my head, sometimes many different ways.  Often, the play fight in my head is so thorough, I find the conflict resolved and don't actually engage with the other person on it.

I have had some epic arguments with people in my head in anticipation of how the problem might play out. Usually it turns out a lot less dramatic than I envisaged, bit I will lose hours of sleep pondering the possibilities to include it turning violent.

[Adventine]

Dammit, I'm starting to think we are actually all cliches, and not interestingly eccentric at all. 

My fragile little ego can't take it. What do you mean I'm ordinary and normal???

[Metalcat]

I always use 2 knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Not weird.

I'm honestly starting to worry about what people here consider to be "weird".

Talking to oneself, not letting hair go down the drain, having a clenching habit, humming, putting on socks and shoes on one foot before the other, and sitting improperly in chairs.

God you people are normal.

Seriously, if it weren't for Steve's murderous contemplations and JohnGI's use of napkins as a food condom, this thread would be killing me.

Here are a few of my odd habits, just to add some flavour:

-I compulsively change my hair. That's not the odd part, the odd part is that when the urge strikes me for a change, I *must* do it immediately. Like, I will be driven to distraction until my hair is what I've suddenly decided if *must* be. This has led to some interesting consequences, as I am neither a stylist nor a colourist.

-I can't tolerate wearing mixed colours. I will pretty much only wear monochromatic outfits. With black being the most convenient, this means I wear only black 99% of the time.

-My house is also monochromatic

-I wore only very high heels for 20 years. Even though I never wear them now, I still often walk on my toes when I'm barefoot.

-I hold my breath whenever someone on tv is under water. I don't actually think this is weird, I'm just wondering if other people do it.

-I never correct people who mispronounce my name, and people do it *a lot*. I'm always curious how long they will maintain the mispronunciation. My research supervisor called me by almost a completely wrong name for 6 years.

-On the flip side, my name is a very famous song, and I'll quite literally growl at anyone who sings it at me. My brother has an equally singable name. Neither occured to my oblivious parents.

-I mentally rearrange the furniture in everyone's house until I feel like I would be more comfortable there, and from then on, I remember their place with the arrangement I prefer, and then I'm always slightly perturbed when the furniture is in the "wrong" place when I visit, as if they moved it back. 

-Another hair one: I picture everyone I see with a shaved head.

-I cannot listen to a radio or podcast person who speaks with too many mouth sounds.

-I plan the sequence of everything I do for maximum efficiency. If I can sequence things to cut out just a few seconds of redundant movement, I'll do it. This is an artifact from a profession where cutting seconds mattered.

-I cultivated a twangy rural accent to seem more down to earth for my patients, and it stuck.

-I wear swimming goggles when I chop onions. This isn't weird so much as just looks silly.

-My clothes are organized so that I only have to open one drawer a day. It's that efficiency thing. I know, it's a little excessive.

-IMDB saved my sanity, because I used to be unable to enjoy a movie or TV show until I could place any and all actors that I recognized.

-If I have an earworm, I translate it, badly, into French and that becomes the new earworm. This creates an abomination and I feel like my brain needs to be cleansed with fire.

-DH and I both discuss workplaces as if they are TV shows and work days are episodes, and we discuss workplace drama as though it's a critical element of the writing. We also come up with funny lines for our characters to work into scenes and then report back as to how it played in the episode.

-Whenever we cheers, we say "to the mighty ibex!", which is an obscure television reference, and actually an inside joke about our dead dog.

-I've answered the phone with "yellow" instead of "hello" for 20 years. Only one person has commented. I have no idea how many have noticed.

I agree that the vast majority of these reported weird habits are either clearly not weird, or else a sign of very mild OCD (still not very weird). 

Some of yours (thankfully) ARE slightly weird, but not weird enough that my husband and I don't still share variants of several of them:

I also answer the phone pretty regularly with "yellow".  Just did it yesterday.

When we are surprised by something, we say "Roof pig, most unexpected!" (obscure television reference) and when a plan goes awry, we say (sarcastically) "Good plan, Spike!" (less obscure television reference).

IMDB...sanity...the same. Otherwise, I tend to wake up at odd hours several days later having FINALLY placed where I saw that damn actor before. And it niggles at me until then.

Whole outfits per drawer is not something I currently do,but it sounds like genius rather than weird.

Swimming goggles, also genius...Why did I never think of this when I have plenty of extra goggles lying around? A pair is going in the kitchen as of today! Thanks!

I keep planning to shave my head but currently autoimmune cysts have developed on my scalp, so it's off the menu for the next few months at least.  But go ahead and picture it...minus the cysts, of course.  Yea or nay?

Speaking of needing to change hairstyles THIS INSTANT...that exact thing happened to me the other day. The result was that I cut my own hair at lightning speed (<10 minutes from decision to finish for a short, near-pixie style) DESPITE the fact that when the urge struck I was in the grips of a migraine so severe that I felt like puking, and I was hopped up on so much pseudo-ephedrine on an empty stomach (only thing that will beat back my migraines) that my hands shook violently, AND I couldn't see properly (b/c of the migraine).  Apart from stabbing myself in the cheekbone with my shears (shaking hands) and despite not being able to clearly see what I was doing, it turned out surprisingly cute.

I definitely mentally re-arrange and re-decorate everyone's house (including mine b/c I'm too lazy to actually redecorate). However, the thing about remembering only your own preferred decor and being unpleasantly surprised when you go back...I salute you...that IS creatively weird. Good one!

My husband will mirror, in a subdued way, nearly everything actors are doing during intense close ups. He will lean forward a bit when they do, mirror their expressions, etc.  Certainly he holds his breath when they are underwater.  I mean, OF COURSE.  If you aren't emotionally invested in what you are watching, what's the point, right?

Dammit, I'm starting to think we are actually all cliches, and not interestingly eccentric at all. 

Except your earworm one. That is magnificently weird, and definitely would make earworms even worse.

Yeah, pretty much everyone is fucking weird.

People think they themselves are particularly weird, but that's only because others hide their own strangeness. But really, everyone is out there walking around like total fucking weirdos and thinking they're the only ones.

I have yet to scratch anyone's surface and not find a total freak underneath.

[calimom]

I read a fair amount, and for some inexplicable reason I must note  to myself when I reach page 100 of the book. If I'm extra-engrossed and skip past it, it's unsettling somehow and I try to make up for it at page 200 or 300.

[Adventine]

I just remembered another set of weird habits I share with my family.

I, my father and my sisters visit my mother's grave quite often: once or twice a month, ever since she died in 2019.

After laying down flowers and saying a few prayers, we spread out a mat on the fluffy grass covering my mom's grave, have picnics, play music, and generally enjoy the graveyard as if it was a park. Well, it actually is. The only difference are the tombstones. We've spent many happy afternoons there as a family.

Is it strange that I only remembered this now because the behavior has become so normal to us?

[sui generis]

I just remembered another set of weird habits I share with my family.

I, my father and my sisters visit my mother's grave quite often: once or twice a month, ever since she died in 2019.

After laying down flowers and saying a few prayers, we spread out a mat on the fluffy grass covering my mom's grave, have picnics, play music, and generally enjoy the graveyard as if it was a park. Well, it actually is. The only difference are the tombstones. We've spent many happy afternoons there as a family.

Is it strange that I only remembered this now because the behavior has become so normal to us?

I think it's quite nice.  And my community uses our giant cemetery as basically a park.  Lots of walkers, lots of hangers-out, picnickers, pot smokers, casual lovers (never seen anything gross, but just sweet).  It's technically private property and they've closed during COVID which is a huge bummer.  I'm not actually even sure that they let people in to visit the graves of family.  It's only for active funeral attendees.

[BussoV6]

I've always had quite vivid dreams. Recently (last 2-3 years), Amelia Earhart appears in my dreams a couple times a week. It seems she is just part of the social circle in my dreams. She never says/does anything profound, just appears for random dinner gatherings or social occasions in my dream.

[jeninco]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

[GuitarStv]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

[nessness]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

Spread peanut butter, then wipe the knife on the edge of the peanut butter jar. You might still get a tiny bit of peanut butter in the jam, but not enough to notice.

[Davnasty]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

[Metalcat]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Okay....but you realize that touching the knife blade with your fingertips and putting it back in the jar is almost as bad as licking it and putting it back in the jar.

[GuitarStv]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

[jeninco]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

[Luke Warm]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

i have my own jar of peanut butter and my own jar of jelly. cross contamination is not an issue.

[OzzieandHarriet]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

i have my own jar of peanut butter and my own jar of jelly. cross contamination is not an issue.

I don’t use jelly. Problem averted.

[shuffler]

I don’t use jelly. Problem averted.

Vasaline?

[Metalcat]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

i have my own jar of peanut butter and my own jar of jelly. cross contamination is not an issue.

I don’t use jelly. Problem averted.

Is that you're weirdest habit that you're sharing? That you don't put jelly on your peanut butter sandwich?

[Metalcat]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

i have my own jar of peanut butter and my own jar of jelly. cross contamination is not an issue.

Cross contamination isn't the issue, contamination is the issue.

[GuitarStv]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

i have my own jar of peanut butter and my own jar of jelly. cross contamination is not an issue.

Cross contamination isn't the issue, contamination is the issue.

I don't want to freak people out here . . . but there are at least some folks out there who seem to be into that.  Like enough to pay for their peanut butter pre-contaminated:

[Adventine]

GOOBER!

My sisters and I used to eat this with spoons, straight out of the jar, contamination be damned.

[Luke Warm]

I don’t use jelly. Problem averted.

Vasaline?

ha!

[Metalcat]

I was inspired by this tangent to run some experiments.

Peanut butter first, scrape on the edge of the jar = doesn't clean the knife completely and potentially gets bread crumbs in the peanut butter
Jelly first, scrape on the edge of the jar = still not very clean but crumbs were less of an issue
Peanut butter first, wipe on bread = I used the still clean slice to wipe on several times and this worked well but I couldn't get the knife completely clean
Jelly first, wipe on bread = this was almost perfect but there was the slightest residue of jelly left. Applying more pressure might have taken care of it but I didn't want to smoosh the bread.

My verdict was that wiping on the bread almost worked but squeezing the knife between my fingers and pulling it through got the last bit of residue. This worked with both peanut butter and jelly. Then I can lick my fingers which unlike licking the knife won't transfer mouth bacteria and enzymes into the second jar which would encourage spoilage. Or you could just leave the small amount of residue and it probably won't contaminate the second jar noticeably anyway.

Push harder into the bread - it works perfectly.

Then you squish the bread. And at this point in the pandemic (i.e. we've been making our own bread) I take things like that personally! (Also, our bread is pretty crusty, so you'd have to ... I dunno, squash the knife into the middle? which would risk ripping the slice, this making the sandwich structurally unsound, because it will then leak into the container?).

Thank you all for this short break from the outer world!

i have my own jar of peanut butter and my own jar of jelly. cross contamination is not an issue.

Cross contamination isn't the issue, contamination is the issue.

I don't want to freak people out here . . . but there are at least some folks out there who seem to be into that.  Like enough to pay for their peanut butter pre-contaminated:

Contaminated with mouth bacteria.

[scottish]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

[GuitarStv]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

[scottish]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

[GuitarStv]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

No, when.

My parents were both teachers.  Peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches were very normal in schools 25 years ago.  Peanuts being banned in schools due to allergies is a pretty new phenomenon . . . but virtually every school now has at least one person so allergic that it's a life and death matter.  Back in the day did they all the peanut allergy people just die of anaphylactic shock, or has there been an explosion of super allergic/sensitive people in the past twenty odd years?

[Metalcat]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

No, when.

My parents were both teachers.  Peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches were very normal in schools 25 years ago.  Peanuts being banned in schools due to allergies is a pretty new phenomenon . . . but virtually every school now has at least one person so allergic that it's a life and death matter.  Back in the day did they all the peanut allergy people just die of anaphylactic shock, or has there been an explosion of super allergic/sensitive people in the past twenty odd years?

Peanut allergies are up, but every school I went to as a kid more than 25 years ago had at least one kid with a severe peanut allergy. And yes, they often did just cower at the other end of the room when all the kids ate their PB+J.

They also never partook in any food activities at the school, so no cakes, cupcakes, cookies, anything.

The policies came in not just because more kids have allergies, but because excluding kids became a lot less acceptable.

[Luke Warm]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

No, when.

My parents were both teachers.  Peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches were very normal in schools 25 years ago.  Peanuts being banned in schools due to allergies is a pretty new phenomenon . . . but virtually every school now has at least one person so allergic that it's a life and death matter.  Back in the day did they all the peanut allergy people just die of anaphylactic shock, or has there been an explosion of super allergic/sensitive people in the past twenty odd years?

Peanut allergies are up, but every school I went to as a kid more than 25 years ago had at least one kid with a severe peanut allergy. And yes, they often did just cower at the other end of the room when all the kids ate their PB+J.

They also never partook in any food activities at the school, so no cakes, cupcakes, cookies, anything.

The policies came in not just because more kids have allergies, but because excluding kids became a lot less acceptable.

i also don't remember kids having nut allergies when i was in school. i had allergies so there were several things i couldn't eat and i think i would've been clued in, or maybe not because i was a dumb kid.

[GuitarStv]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

No, when.

My parents were both teachers.  Peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches were very normal in schools 25 years ago.  Peanuts being banned in schools due to allergies is a pretty new phenomenon . . . but virtually every school now has at least one person so allergic that it's a life and death matter.  Back in the day did they all the peanut allergy people just die of anaphylactic shock, or has there been an explosion of super allergic/sensitive people in the past twenty odd years?

Peanut allergies are up, but every school I went to as a kid more than 25 years ago had at least one kid with a severe peanut allergy. And yes, they often did just cower at the other end of the room when all the kids ate their PB+J.

They also never partook in any food activities at the school, so no cakes, cupcakes, cookies, anything.

The policies came in not just because more kids have allergies, but because excluding kids became a lot less acceptable.

i also don't remember kids having nut allergies when i was in school. i had allergies so there were several things i couldn't eat and i think i would've been clued in, or maybe not because i was a dumb kid.

I was interested (or rather, wanted to prove that I wasn't crazy) so started digging up articles about peanut allergies.

There's this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617537/
"Since 1990 there has been a remarkable increase in food allergy which has now reached epidemic numbers."

This article:
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/9798-severe-food-allergies-rise-dramatically-over-past-decade
"The incidence of severe allergic reactions to food has increased at a dramatic rate, rising 377% from 2007 to 2016"

This artcile from the AJMC:
https://www.ajmc.com/view/the-economic-impact-of-peanut-allergies
"The prevalence of peanut allergies, the most common food allergy in children, has tripled in the past 2 decades."

This statement from the Mayo Clinic:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-number-of-children-with-peanut-allergies-has-increased-significantly/
"the number of children with peanut allergies has increased significantly over the last several decades"

And this study indicating that peanut allergies have increased by 21% just since 2010!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171027085541.htm#:~:text=New%20late%2Dbreaking%20research%20being,have%20an%20allergy%20to%20peanuts.
"New late-breaking research being presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting suggests that peanut allergy in children has increased 21 percent since 2010, and that nearly 2.5 percent of U.S. children may have an allergy to peanuts."


Seems like everyone is aware that these peanut allergies are a new thing, but nobody's really sure why they're happening.  Something weird is definitely happening, and you newish peanut allergy folks are the symptoms of the problem.

(  Except you scottish, you're likely just an outlier.  :P  )

[Metalcat]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

No, when.

My parents were both teachers.  Peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches were very normal in schools 25 years ago.  Peanuts being banned in schools due to allergies is a pretty new phenomenon . . . but virtually every school now has at least one person so allergic that it's a life and death matter.  Back in the day did they all the peanut allergy people just die of anaphylactic shock, or has there been an explosion of super allergic/sensitive people in the past twenty odd years?

Peanut allergies are up, but every school I went to as a kid more than 25 years ago had at least one kid with a severe peanut allergy. And yes, they often did just cower at the other end of the room when all the kids ate their PB+J.

They also never partook in any food activities at the school, so no cakes, cupcakes, cookies, anything.

The policies came in not just because more kids have allergies, but because excluding kids became a lot less acceptable.

i also don't remember kids having nut allergies when i was in school. i had allergies so there were several things i couldn't eat and i think i would've been clued in, or maybe not because i was a dumb kid.

I was interested (or rather, wanted to prove that I wasn't crazy) so started digging up articles about peanut allergies.

There's this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617537/
"Since 1990 there has been a remarkable increase in food allergy which has now reached epidemic numbers."

This article:
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/9798-severe-food-allergies-rise-dramatically-over-past-decade
"The incidence of severe allergic reactions to food has increased at a dramatic rate, rising 377% from 2007 to 2016"

This artcile from the AJMC:
https://www.ajmc.com/view/the-economic-impact-of-peanut-allergies
"The prevalence of peanut allergies, the most common food allergy in children, has tripled in the past 2 decades."

This statement from the Mayo Clinic:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-number-of-children-with-peanut-allergies-has-increased-significantly/
"the number of children with peanut allergies has increased significantly over the last several decades"

And this study indicating that peanut allergies have increased by 21% just since 2010!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171027085541.htm#:~:text=New%20late%2Dbreaking%20research%20being,have%20an%20allergy%20to%20peanuts.
"New late-breaking research being presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting suggests that peanut allergy in children has increased 21 percent since 2010, and that nearly 2.5 percent of U.S. children may have an allergy to peanuts."


Seems like everyone is aware that these peanut allergies are a new thing, but nobody's really sure why they're happening.  Something weird is definitely happening, and you newish peanut allergy folks are the symptoms of the problem.

(  Except you scottish, you're likely just an outlier.  :P  )

Yeah, that's why I said that peanut allergies are up. I was taught that they've about tripled. There are so, so many peanut allergy kids now, but a third of the current number would still be a lot of kids back in the day. Not something exceedingly rare.

[GuitarStv]

I just made PB&J sandwiches for my kid, and I'm curious -- how is that supposed to work if you don't use two knives (or wash the knife in between, which is what I did)?

You stick the PB-covered knife in the jelly? now the jelly has PB in it -- gross.
You stick the jelly-covered knife in the PB? only slightly less gross, now the PB is contaminated.
You lick off the knife between spreading PB and J? Um, that seems more than a little bit unsanitary, if any other human ever is going to eat from either your PB or J jar...

(For the record, I spread J, licked off the knife (to reduce waste), washed the knife, spread PB (on the other slice of bread), licked off the knife, washed the knife, and assembled the sandwiches.)

At the tender age of 8 I figured out how to wipe the knife off on the bread until it's clean after putting the peanut butter on . . . so this has never been a problem or cause of much thought for me.  :P

I'm allergic to peanut butter.    Your kind of people made me sick numerous times as a kid by getting traces of PB in my jam.

When I grew up there were no folks with peanut allergies.  :P

I'm a bit older than you and I had peanut allergies.      I think you mean "where" you grew up, not "when" you grew up!

No, when.

My parents were both teachers.  Peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches were very normal in schools 25 years ago.  Peanuts being banned in schools due to allergies is a pretty new phenomenon . . . but virtually every school now has at least one person so allergic that it's a life and death matter.  Back in the day did they all the peanut allergy people just die of anaphylactic shock, or has there been an explosion of super allergic/sensitive people in the past twenty odd years?

Peanut allergies are up, but every school I went to as a kid more than 25 years ago had at least one kid with a severe peanut allergy. And yes, they often did just cower at the other end of the room when all the kids ate their PB+J.

They also never partook in any food activities at the school, so no cakes, cupcakes, cookies, anything.

The policies came in not just because more kids have allergies, but because excluding kids became a lot less acceptable.

i also don't remember kids having nut allergies when i was in school. i had allergies so there were several things i couldn't eat and i think i would've been clued in, or maybe not because i was a dumb kid.

I was interested (or rather, wanted to prove that I wasn't crazy) so started digging up articles about peanut allergies.

There's this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617537/
"Since 1990 there has been a remarkable increase in food allergy which has now reached epidemic numbers."

This article:
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/9798-severe-food-allergies-rise-dramatically-over-past-decade
"The incidence of severe allergic reactions to food has increased at a dramatic rate, rising 377% from 2007 to 2016"

This artcile from the AJMC:
https://www.ajmc.com/view/the-economic-impact-of-peanut-allergies
"The prevalence of peanut allergies, the most common food allergy in children, has tripled in the past 2 decades."

This statement from the Mayo Clinic:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-number-of-children-with-peanut-allergies-has-increased-significantly/
"the number of children with peanut allergies has increased significantly over the last several decades"

And this study indicating that peanut allergies have increased by 21% just since 2010!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171027085541.htm#:~:text=New%20late%2Dbreaking%20research%20being,have%20an%20allergy%20to%20peanuts.
"New late-breaking research being presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting suggests that peanut allergy in children has increased 21 percent since 2010, and that nearly 2.5 percent of U.S. children may have an allergy to peanuts."


Seems like everyone is aware that these peanut allergies are a new thing, but nobody's really sure why they're happening.  Something weird is definitely happening, and you newish peanut allergy folks are the symptoms of the problem.

(  Except you scottish, you're likely just an outlier.  :P  )

Yeah, that's why I said that peanut allergies are up. I was taught that they've about tripled. There are so, so many peanut allergy kids now, but a third of the current number would still be a lot of kids back in the day. Not something exceedingly rare.

Where are you getting that numbers have only tripled?  And from what time period?

[Metalcat]

Where are you getting that numbers have only tripled?  And from what time period?

A course on allergies a few years ago, can't remember the exact timeline, but it was either since the 80s or the 90s because I remember the timeline being from when I was in school.

Note I said that's what I was taught; I didn't cite it as a fact. I don't automatically trust medical facts taught to me, even if they're taught by doctors.