(no subject)

[labellementeuse]

OH ALSO. I was at a quiz night last night and a couple of girls from the USA were on my team. One of the questions was "what's 100 deg Centigrade in Fahrenheit?" We immediately asked them "So, what temperature does water boil at in Fahrenheit?"

They didn't know.

... right.

Is this common? Do YOU know what the boiling point of water is in your local unit? They said they didn't know because they only used boiling point in science classes, where Celsius was used. Is that true? I'm sure I knew what temperature water boiled at before I took a science class, but... is this just something that you guys generally don't know? ???

Comments

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

Uh... I certainly thought the freezing and boiling points of water were common knowledge.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

I would have assumed so - but then again, I suppose I really don't use my knowledge about boiling and freezing temps outside of the classroom (and, er, not that anymore, since, you know: English major). I have to say, everyone who has responded in the affirmative is definitely a Science Type.

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

In all fairness, I suppose that for kitchen purposes, there's rarely occasion to take the temperature of water undergoing a phase change.

Though, hm -- I wonder if they'd have had an easier time with the freezing point? That at least comes up in weather.

[megaffe.livejournal.com]

Just to quibble - in any any serious preserve or sweet making boiling temperature etc may be essential. Also, growing up I'm pretty sure we had kitchen conversations about various additives (eg salt, milk) raising or lowering boiling points. Then again, science-geeky family.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

I think if you don't know that milk has a lower bp than water, well, you haven't cooked enough, but it's also not really necessary to know the exact temperature either. (And isn't salt lowering bp a myth?)

Agreed in re: preserves and sweet making, but a majority of people don't include those (especially preserves, where it's really really necessary - sweet making you can usually guesstimate with soft crack, balling, etc) in their regular cooking schedule.

[megaffe.livejournal.com]

Yes, salt lowering bp would be a myth, as it actually raises it, slightly. Not really enough to make much of difference - just takes slightly longer to come to the boil, and is slightly hotter. Guess you're right not really needing to know the temperature for that though - I did say we were geeky!

Oh no, my view of the world is destroyed, I thought everyone made preserves :(