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Comic actor Harvey Korman died yesterday after a long and distinguished career in TV and movies. Here are some clips of his work.
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Seven Famous Sets of Conjoined Twins. Such twins would find it difficult to not be famous.
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50 Mostly Immature and Hurtful Ways to Leave Your Lover. What goes around, comes around, so choose wisely.
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Ten Clever Furniture Designs from Recycled Materials. Chic, environmentally-friendly, and no doubt very expensive.
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A new study says Stonehenge was a cemetery hundred of years before the stones were erected. 5,000 years later, it’s still the fanciest graveyard ever.
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How to dice an onion. If you have a big sharp knife and a nice cutting board.
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Updating the ‘Divine Comedy’. This vision of a skateboard punk Dante wandering through a Hell, Purgatory and Heaven is at once funny, fascinating and retains enough of the original story’s gravitas to work as literature, as well.
Comments (8)
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Never heard of lighting a match while chopping onions, sounds dangerous. I have heard of putting a bowl of water nearby though, it’s supposed to attract the stuff that makes you cry? Anyone have any other tips to make onion-chopping easier on the eyes?
posted by pc on 5-30-2008 at 3:40 am
I know this much: There are more tear-causing chemicals in the root than anywhere else. Some recommend cutting the root off and rinsing the cut end. Some recommend leaving the root on until the last part of cutting. I’ve tried both, but I don’t know what’s best because onions don’t bother my eyes much at all.
posted by Miss Cellania on 5-30-2008 at 7:09 am
I have a friend who wraps plastic wrap around her head to protect her eyes when she chops onions.
posted by Ira on 5-30-2008 at 8:51 am
My grandmother used to suggest putting a small piece of bread in your mouth when cutting onions, not sure of the logic behind that one…
posted by Dawn on 5-30-2008 at 9:08 am
Onions, when cut, release sulfurous compounds into the air. These mix with the water in your eyes to, in effect, produce sulfuric acid. Hence, the burning and crying.
Ways to avoid it:
Use a sharp knife; this will lessen the number of plant cells ruptured during the cutting process, which reduces the amount of chemicals released into the air.
Spritz a little vinegar on the cutting board. Of course, some people are sensitive to acetic acid, too.
Cut the onion near an open flame, such as a burner on a gas stove or a couple of candles. The match in the mouth sort of follows that rule but seems a wee bit dangerous.
Good old Alton Brown of “Good Eats” gives the whole low-down on onions in an episode. It’s an incredibly informative show.
posted by 8rustystaples on 5-30-2008 at 1:49 pm
I always dab my eyes and the inside of my wrists with cold water and leave a small stream of it running while I chop onions. The colder the better and I rarely cry when cutting them.
posted by Henna on 5-30-2008 at 7:34 pm
R.I.P. Harvey Korman. Thank you for making me laugh. I really appreciated it.
posted by Tdave on 5-31-2008 at 1:31 am
Submerge the onion in water while chopping – zero tears
posted by partiallyDeflected on 6-1-2008 at 7:33 pm