The WTF? Thread

[hobbes]

The idea that there are people dim enough to keep Nutella in the fridge has just made my head explode. WTF

Quite. Everyone knows that you stick it in the freezer and then eat it like ice cream.

[HORN]

I thought “WTF?” the other day when I read that 20% of all UK mortgages are interest only.

Presumably landlords make up a sizeable portion of them, but nevertheless, eh..?

[Ginger Yellow]

Brits seem to love going for the lowest initial payment, no matter what the long term issues are going to be. Teaser rates that revert to very high SVRs after a couple of years, interest only mortgages with no repayment plans (now illegal, thankfully). The UK has tightened up its rules on interest only quite a lot, so there's almost no new interest only lending outside of buy-to-let, but there's still a large stock of old loans. Looking at the FSR, the average between 1987 and 2006 was just over 50% interest only for owner occupied mortgages.

[hobbes]

If anyone who was on an interest only hasn't converted to repayment and ploughed the fuck out of it over the last few years of nonexistent interest rates, then they are idiots.

P and I took 25% off our mortgage earlier this year (we had a shitty opening rate as it was a 5% deposit) so we've kept paying the same as we were before.
In 2 years our mortgage will be 5 years shorter.

[Gerontophile]

Someone has just cooked a Philly Cheesesteak, on TV, and used Velveeta, as if it was a) actual cheese, and b) quite natural.

[San Bernardhinault]

Shelf-stable "cheese" definitely belongs in the WTF thread. The first time I encountered it, I was basically terrified. In fact, I basically still am. And am even more terrified that I sometimes enjoy things made with it.

[Sean of the Shed]

Not exactly the link you were going for, I presume.

No, not quite. Fixed now.

[Janik]

Someone has just cooked a Philly Cheesesteak, on TV, and used Velveeta, as if it was a) actual cheese, and b) quite natural.

Given that the classic recipe purportedly includes Cheese Whizz, is that so shocking?

[WOM]

I thought “WTF?” the other day when I read that 20% of all UK mortgages are interest only.

Presumably landlords make up a sizeable portion of them, but nevertheless, eh..?

The article I read said 'older homeowners', so presumably just treating the interest as rent and living in the home as it appreciates. Theoretically, they'll downsize eventually, pay back the loan and see a tidy profit. Theoretically.

[Wouter D]

No, not quite. Fixed now.

Thanks, cheers. It has quite a bit more information than other reports I had read about that.

Looking forward to the moment I am seated on a plane right next to someone's emotional support rhinoceros.

[Gerontophile]

Given that the classic recipe purportedly includes Cheese Whizz, is that so shocking?

Really? That is shocking.

It was actually quite funny, because they were doing a 'food-off' between Philly and New England, and when the guy was cooking the steak, IN A CAST IRON PAN, he asked the host (Ryan Seacrest) to give the onions a toss. Which he did... without a cloth around the handle.

Now I believe that Mr Seacrest is a very Christian man, but you could tell by his face at that moment, that he occasionally lapses.

Which reminds me: we had a pot luck at work just before Christmas, and I made macaroni cheese. Which was barely touched, because a) it had cheese in it, and b) it wasn't from a packet, so I suspect no-one had ever tasted anything like it.

[Pérou Flaquettes]

I suppose you could say that their customers took Intermarché’s swashbuckling slogan ("Les Mousquetaires de la distribution") a little too literally possibly.

Their support center, i deal with them at work, is called Les Mousquetaires....They belong to Casino mind.

Yes, they’ve had that D’Artagnanesque trademark slogan since their creation in 1969.

Reminds me of an extraordinary WTF episode of French politics in 1967 between the Gaullist MP René Ribière and the socialist firebrand & mayor of Marseille Gaston Defferre (he who infamously recorded 5 % in the 1969 presidential election under the SFIO banner – the forerunner of the PS –, the Socialists’ lowest ever score in a Presidential. Mitterrand took over at that nadir point and the rest is history).

Gaullist Ribière challenged Socialist Deferre to a sword duel after the latter slighted him in parliament, not for the first time ("Taisez-vous, abruti !" – Shut up you twat). These two hated each other with a passion and after Defferre refused to apologise in the lobby of the Assemblée Nationale where they traded more insults after the parliamentary session, they decided to settle the matter the old-fashioned way and within 24 hrs. Ribière was due to get married the following day, Defferre knew it of course and joked that "he’d do his damnedest to hobble Ribière by aiming at his goolies so as to spoil his wedding night"…

De Gaulle was incensed by it all and had the two men summoned before the president of the Assemblée Nationale but they refused to back down. De Gaulle insisted that they drop the matter, warned them of the possible consequences etc. but to no avail, although he eventually managed to make them agree to fight on a "first blood duel" basis ("duel au premier sang", hence the relative genteelness of the fight (this is the only existing footage of the duel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e68nuAcSuWQ

De Gaulle also wanted these two to fight with swords with blunted tips but they refused, Defferre was having none of it, he commented to friends that he "wanted to see proper blood on Ribière’s body".

Duels in France have been illegal since the 17th century so the two protagonists (who, being MPs, didn’t risk much as they’re immune from prosecution) kept the place secret from the press and desperately tried to shake off their pursuers and the police on the day of the fight. They lost the flics but a few journalists managed to track them down to the place of the duel, a private residence in an upmarket suburb of Paris. Since they were there and had a video camera to boot, they were let in (cocky Defferre wasn’t too displeased at being filmed either IMO).

Ribière was no match for Defferre (an ex leader of the resistance, who had duelled 20 years before with another politician, Paul Bastid, a gun duel this time – no-one was injured, the 2 bullets went astray) but he fought valiantly for 4 minutes before the duel was stopped after he was wounded twice.

The surreal YT commentary states that Ribière, who was touchéd first, insisted to continue the duel but not "jusqu’à la mort" (to death) as he was getting married the following day… Defferre accepted Ribière's request to continue and hit him with a fine riposte (again, drawing blood), at which point the referee stopped the duel.

Being the braggart that he was, Defferre milked his victory for all he could and reiterated his insults the following days in the press ("Ribière is still an utter twat, he can’t help it, it’s congenital in him"). It remains the last known duel in France.

Those were the days eh… A noble way of sorting things out I say, another fine French tradition ruined by rampant PCness.

[Etienne]

That is an amazing story.

[Various Artist]

Wow, it is too. I think that's vying with the below for my amazed attention:

Quite. Everyone knows that you stick it [Nutella] in the freezer and then eat it like ice cream.

That one though made me go, "Ooh! Ooh!" and make a mental note to try this genius idea, which had never before crossed my mental threshold, as soon as possible.

Edit: Er, I mean try 'ice cream' Nutella. Not duelling batshit French MPs with a sword.

[Wouter D]

Wow, it is too. I think that's vying with the below for my amazed attention:That one though made me go, "Ooh! Ooh!" and make a mental note to try this genius idea, which had never before crossed my mental threshold, as soon as possible.

Edit: Er, I mean try 'ice cream' Nutella. Not duelling batshit French MPs with a sword.

I'd like to see a combination of methods. Duelling batshit French MPs with an ice cream Nutella sword sounds like it belongs at the Olympics.

[hobbes]

I just completely made that up, you know? It might be a terrible waste of Nutella.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Haven't got time to research the latest on this, but Nutella, palm oil usage, deforestation, ecological destruction, anyone? I wouldn't have it in the house on ethical grounds unless someone can point me to anything that alters my understanding of that issue.

[hobbes]

From my extensive research, it's really tasty.

[Gangster Octopus]

From my extensive research, I'd only ever heard of it on here until recently...

[Etienne]

I think their palm oil is sustainable from some cursory research.

[WOM]

It's still like eating a Kit Kat bar for breakfast...

[hobbes]

Au contraire. It's like eating a kitkat sandwich for breakfast.

[Sean of the Shed]

Lady crisps...for delicate ladies whose mouths are too delicate for real crisps.

[Sam]

Something like 20% or 25% of all the hazelnuts harvested globally each year are bought by the company which manufactures Nutella, fact fans.

[ursus arctos]