Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Mumsnet classics

Relive the funniest, most unforgettable threads. For a daily dose of Mumsnet’s best bits, sign up for Mumsnet's daily newsletter.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Things you assumed were normal

685 replies

meredithgrey1 · 30/01/2020 22:44

DH bought some weetabix to have for breakfast a few days ago and I was amazed to see him preparing it by just pouring cold milk on and then eating it like that! I can't eat weetabix now but when I was little my mum would pour the milk on, then microwave it, then mash the biscuits in to create something similar to porridge. I assumed at the time that this was the only way to eat weetabix but my husband was appalled at the very idea and after a quick google it does seem like I'm very much in the minority. So it got me thinking, what are some things that you thought were normal, but then you realised that you/your family were the only one(s) doing it like that?

OP posts:
ArthurMorgan · 02/02/2020 08:34

I can't get past buttering weetabix..

misspiggy100 · 02/02/2020 08:42

My mum used to drink that coke and ice cream concoction growing up in South Africa. She called it a brown cow?! She tried to convert my sisters and I but it was horrible!

joffreyscoffees · 02/02/2020 08:49

That the seeds in peppers can be eaten, and most definitely will not kill you - which is what my dad told me growing up and I was worried everytime I cut up a pepper in case I killed someone with a stray seed.

joffreyscoffees · 02/02/2020 08:51

And also that hot cross buns aren't just toasted and buttered. DH and his family all eat them un-toasted, with butter and a slab of cheese Shock they do the same with Christmas cake.

It's barbaric if you ask me.

TheMotherofAllDilemmas · 02/02/2020 09:03

@karencantobe is that the rule? I remember a boyfriend of mine who stayed over on the eve of his birthday.

So he got out of bed just before 7, took a bunch of envelopes from his bag, sat back on the bed in the dark and proceeded to open them in the order they had arrived.

I just knew at that moment that was a life I didn’t want to live.

Standrewsschool · 02/02/2020 09:08

We’ve always saved birthday cards to open on your actual birthday. However, I wouldn’t open them in the order they arrived, and I wouldn’t take them away with me.

NCTDN · 02/02/2020 09:16

Fabulous things on here! I agree with so many but can't think of any of my own Blush

karencantobe · 02/02/2020 09:20

@TheMotherofAllDilemmas I think opening them in the order they come is a bit OTT. But I asked lots of people at the time, and they all save and open their cards on the day.

LemonRedwood · 02/02/2020 09:25

Very late to this thread but @GurlwiththeCurl and @Inherdefence I was born in the 80s and one bath a week, shared with my older sister (until she was 9 or 10), was totally the norm. Only started showering daily when my parents had the bathroom remodelled and an over-bath shower installed in 199something. Wish I could still get away with only washing my hair once a week!

TheMotherofAllDilemmas · 02/02/2020 09:25

Glad to see them I am not the only one who reads them as they arrive.

Namechangeforick · 02/02/2020 09:31

@user1333796 Just wanted to say that your post on page 1 is one of my favourite things I’ve read on here. So pure and it genuinely warmed my heart ❤️

Trumpton · 02/02/2020 09:34

Not a food one but was recently with grown up DD and she was addressing an envelope .
She put a kiss on the top right corner of the envelope and put the stamp on top .

“ What ? Why ? “ I asked
“You always did “
And I realised that when she was little she used to love putting the stamps on the envelopes and so I would mark the right place with a cross..
She thought you had to put a kiss under every stamp .

fantasmasgoria1 · 02/02/2020 09:38

I have had weetabix both ways but always put sugar on. I put sugar on most cereals and my teeth are perfectly fine! I hate the taste without sugar. The other things I have never had!

Gotthetshirt23 · 02/02/2020 09:45

All fruitcake/ fruit loaf / malt loaf is much better with really strong mature cheddar Grin

iklboo · 02/02/2020 09:51

Birthday cards are only opened on the day - ones from DH & DS first, then in any old order. They stay up for a week.

3unda3 · 02/02/2020 10:01

Toast cold. I always leave it to go cold and then butter it. Everyone I know thinks it's gross including my kids. Also putting butter on my toast before peanut butter. I always assumed this was the correct way to do it. Most people I know just put the peanut butter straight on the toast. I tried it that way and it just didn't taste right to me lol

Chocolatestain · 02/02/2020 10:40

We had real stockings as well - a pair of my mum’s old black fishnets!

We also had ‘Ribena milk’ and something called ‘vappy milk pudding’ which was jelly made with whisked-up evaporated milk as well as hot water. It sort of separated as it set so there was a layer of milky jelly at the bottom and a mousse-like layer on top. Never come across that anywhere else.

Gotthetshirt23 · 02/02/2020 10:45

@Chocolatestain
Carnation milk jelly was definitely a thing !
Home Economics classes Wink

VerbenaGirl · 02/02/2020 10:46

Frying some cornflakes up in the pan after the bacon. Turns out that was just us!

Aglet · 02/02/2020 11:10

I also eat toast cold and cannot eat peanut butter without butter first, as it is gloopy and I fear it will choke me. I also put salt in the water when doing soft boiled eggs, in the belief that should the eggs crack, the salt will stop the membrane around the egg breaking and prevent the egg leaking out.

Dawlish · 02/02/2020 11:24

To the poster who shared the ginger nut, philadelphia and lemon curd suggestion, THANK YOU!

My dad used to fry bacon then add a tin of baked beans and mix it in with all the bacon fat. We called it 'cowboy dinner' and it was divine Smile.

NecklessMumster · 02/02/2020 11:35

I'm a bit worried now about this apple pip thing, I've always eaten the core and bitten the pips to eat the inside, quite like the bitterness, hopefully there's not a cumulative effect 😁

happinessischocolate · 02/02/2020 11:39

I never thought it strange that my parents took all pets (cat, Guinea pigs- cage and run, hamster in cage) caravanning with us. As an adult looking back I am baffled at this behaviour.

I think that's brilliant and lovely, the pets were obviously loved

Ecci · 02/02/2020 11:42

I'm a cold toast lover too. My family think I'm weird and sometimes give me toast that hasn't cooled enough. I can only eat the bits where the butter hasn't melted.

When I was a child, my Dad taught me and my brothers that we should always lick our plates clean once we'd eaten all the food on it. I thought it was normal and everyone did it, until I was asked round to a friends house for tea. Licked my plate as usual and then realised everyone was staring at me. My friend was horrified and I was so embarrassed.

I remember being amazed finding out that my husband stands up to wipe his bum. I spent ages trying to work out how it could be done, but I've decided it's impossible.

HakunaMatataa · 02/02/2020 11:54

Hot cross buns cut in half and toasted with lots of butter and a slice of cheese on each half. Heaven. I think they're gross otherwise.