Things you assumed were normal

[meredithgrey1]

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?

after calling my dad a dildo( i was 11)- rupturing the usual tension of a family round the table sunday lunch co,dad exploding..mum denying she knew why...off he stormed to the pub. returned at t time,pulled out an encyclopedia turned to page "human body"diagram. pointed at the mans wallet/penis and said "its a fake/duplicate one of those".....(poor soul,house full of girls\tortured really i spoze)....until i was bout 23...i thought\didnt think he meant like a prosethtic limb..for amputee patients......obviously

Word related ones here: I grew up thinking Sid James (the Carry On actor) was a saint because I assumed that was what everyone was referring to him as: Saint James. I’ve also recently been enlightened about the phrase ‘on tenterhooks’ - always thought it was ‘tender hooks’. I told my mum and she simply wouldn’t believe me and still says tender hooks!

Cold custard with hot puddings. It’s much nicer than hot custard because of the temperature contrast. Apparently I’m the only one who does this, though....

meredithgrey1

I see your weetabix and raise you, eaten like bread with butter and jam. Brazilian colleague could not be persuaded to add milk.

He also used to cut baby bell with a knife.

Salty McDonalds chips dipped in vanilla milkshake
Orange juice on cornflakes
Brown sauce and lettuce white bread sandwiches
DH always pours salt on cherry tomatoes

@notpastaagain

It is ‘tender hooks’.....isn’t it??

@AgeLikeWine no you're not!

Tinned tomatoes on toast was what I used to have for lunch in our student canteen when I was even more broke than usual. It cost 9d (old pence). About 3 1/2p. I enjoyed them though.

@AgeLikeWine

No, you're not. It's by far the best way to eat apple crumble, or a fruit pie.

The rest of family are just wrong.

We always ate our toast browned one side only, pre toaster days.

And we often had a homemade fruit tart for pudding, but rarely custard or cream. My mum would pour normal full fat milk over it. Hot apple tart and cold milk is very nice. DH and the kids will have none of it though.

A strange one that my MIL does. She makes a lovely golden syrup sponge, but you don’t get any custard to go with it. She just warms an extra small jug of golden syrup to put over it. Come to think of it, she never serves custard with anything. Apple crumble, bread and butter pudding etc....they are all served with double cream. That’s a bit weird to me. I like custard.

I didn’t see cutlery until I was about eight, I didn’t use it until I went to a friends house when I was in year 6, I still rarely use cutlery and when I do I eat like an animal.

@saraclara @nornironrock

We are Team Cold Custard !

When DC1 was small, I once arranged to meet another mum and her child in the local park to feed the ducks. She was horrified that I was throwing the bread on the edge of the lake (and allowing my child to do the same). Her mum had always told her that the idea was to throw it as far in to the water as possible to keep the birds at a distance.

Yes to cheese on toast. My Mum's side of our family are Welsh, and I couldnt believe that to some people, it consisted of just cheese put on toast then grilled. Nooo, that's not how you make it!

GoodnightJude1 It IS "tenterhooks" (google it), not tenderhooks. Sharp hooks used to attach cloth to a stretching frame, but as that word has gone out of common usage people think of something similar that sounds "right".

Not wearing underwear at night.
Having a window open at night - whatever the weather.
Reading music.
Putting your Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve.
Jam omelettes!!
Having medicine crushed onto a spoon with a dollop of jam.

Joining Team ColdCustard! It's such a treat, I'd happily just eat it alone with a spoon..

sticks of garden rhubarb

When I was very small, we grew rhubarb. My mum put the fear of god into me about the leaves (poisonous, but only if you sit and eat a barrowload on purpose), to the extent I would give them a physical wide berth as if they were acid-tipped stinging nettles. I still find myself looking askance at them...

Cold custard with hot puddings. It’s much nicer than hot custard because of the temperature contrast. Apparently I’m the only one who does this, though....

Er, far from alone. It's the actual law I believe.

Cold custard (or ice cream) with hot puddings; hot custard with cold puddings.

@MintyMabel that’s so funny about the salt on the lid!

@Allergictoironing

Wow! They say you learn something new every day! I don’t know why I’m so shocked/excited about this revelation....I never even say ‘tenterhooks’

Re. salt on fruit. My dad always puts salt on pineapple.

I tried it once and it was ok, but haven't bothered again.

Fleetheart - me too with the Bovril! Never realised it could be drunk until I saw the adverts! Then made the colossal mistake of trying it with milk - never again! Nice on toast with grated cheese on top though...

itsgoodtobehome - I always put crosses on the base of Brussels sprouts. We steam them for 10 mins, and if the crosses aren't done then they don't cook as well and the centre stays hard (DH forgot one Christmas)

GoodnightJude - no, it's tenterhooks:
"What does the expression on tenterhooks mean?
By the mid-18th century, the phrase on tenterhooks came to mean being in a state of tension, uneasiness, anxiety, or suspense, i.e. figuratively stretched like the cloth on the tenter."

I also hate hot mushy Weetabix, although I can't eat it now anyway because wheat intolerant - ice cold milk and eat it before it got mushy and disgusting.

I expect this one is pretty normal - we used to have various Ambrosia tinned milk puddings (rice, macaroni, semolina etc.) with a big dollop of jam in the middle - black or red jam only. And then stir it in.

I used to experiment with sandwiches at school - I loved jam and chocolate spread, also apple and cheese. My favourite was cheese and mincemeat though! (Mince pie mincemeat, not actual meat)

Yorkshire pudding with golden syrup or cooked with plums or rhubarb.