What West Coast accent? Can that be peeled away or washed off?
Is that a sanitized version of how to say the word? I mean, you know, does it feel the same on the tongue - clean or dirty - either way?
Avocado. The two a’s sound like short o (that is, they rhyme with the o in hot) rather than short a. What other way is there?
"Stealing? Have you seen the cost of fruit these days?
When the grapes are picked and packed not 30 miles from your home and the market wants you to shell out, say, $1.00 for 2 lemons, which drop from trees where you walk, tell me who’s stealing."
Oh, please! You live in a capitalistic and free society. The market dictates the price. If you don’t like the price, don’t buy them. Grow your fruit since you live in a climate that can grow them 30 miles away, or drive 30 miles and see if you can buy direct. You are paying for convenience.
Today I washed my blueberries individually with a dirty sponge, and then dried each one with a towel that I had used to dry off the dog. Then I ate them.
They were good.
Haha. And last night, at home, I ate 4 grapes from the WF salad bar without rinsing. On the last, I thought, “Oh, the thread…”
Paying for convenience. I am always amused by the fact that a small carton of tasteless blackberries costs a small fortune in our WA stores… in August! Blackberries are a major nuisance here, and I can pick a bucketful of very juicy, flavorful wild berries without going too far from my house. But it might involve a few scratches, an encounter with a spider or two, etc. 
I enjoy these threads where we compare and contrast and see how differently we all live; and appreciate you starting this one. It has been very entertaining.
The fact I wash my fruit doesn’t mean I necessarily consider this to be a good universal rule or that anyone else should do so, and it doesn’t disturb me if you don’t wash yours. This is one of those live and let live situations as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want to eat it unwashed. I don’t care a bit if you do… it never occurred to me to care. I don’t even wince. I prefer not to see someone lick a spoon and stick it back in a pot before they serve me, but can only assume that sort of thing happens behind the scenes at restaurants so I just try not to dwell on it all. I’ll wash my mushrooms, even though the restaurant doesn’t…and pronounce ‘avocado’ with a southern accent. And rinse and wipe the avocados before I cut them. I’m sure that doesn’t happen most places I order guacamole.
“Avocado. The two a’s sound like short o (that is, they rhyme with the o in hot) rather than short a. What other way is there?”
The ‘a’ is spoekn the way news reporters and commentators pronounce the ‘a’ Colorado- long, drawn out, like the ‘a’ in “flat”. I don’t pronounce Colorado that way, but with the ahh, or short o as you put it.
Cocoa or hot chocolate? For some reason, I hate the word cocoa. That’s random, eh?
Wis-consin or Wisc-onsin? A friend had a preference and the other grated her nerves.
Cocoa, and film (not movie).
Talk about the need to wash one’s hands, and maybe close one’s eyes, too, if one is going to eat the popcorn at the local Regal Cinema.
I know what you mean with the pronunciation of Colorado with the a as in flat or hat, but I’ve never heard avocado with that same a! I also say Colorado and Nevada with the a sounding like the short o of hot, not the short a of flat or hat.
I don’t know when I began pronouncing avocado with the first ‘a’ flat, but I presume it is a very recent thing, as my kids call me out on it only as of late, and we’ve always had them around.
I’ve always pronounced the first A the same as in the word “avarice” and the second A as a short o (rhymes with hot).
@alh I was just attempting to get off the topic of hot farting yoga. 
Just read this interesting article that made me think of this thread and the hand washing thread:
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/04/sonnenburg-family-stomach-bacteria.html
Some quotes:
“I’d recently started an experiment in living according to the precepts of the Sonnenburgs’ new book, The Good Gut, which attempts to correct this seemingly dire state of affairs by offering suggestions for how to nurture a thriving community of bacteria. Much of their advice comes down to two basic ideas: (1) Stop trying to sterilize your home as if it were a surgical theater, which kills off more good bacteria than bad, and (2) eat lots and lots and lots of fiber, which is digested in the lower intestine.”
Maybe whacking the dog with the soup spoon and sticking it back in the pot isn’t so bad after all. 
“I’d recently started an experiment in living according to the precepts of the Sonnenburgs’ new book, The Good Gut, which attempts to correct this seemingly dire state of affairs by offering suggestions for how to nurture a thriving community of bacteria. Much of their advice comes down to two basic ideas: (1) Stop trying to sterilize your home as if it were a surgical theater, which kills off more good bacteria than bad, and (2) eat lots and lots and lots of fiber, which is digested in the lower intestine.”
As a RN who works in an OR from time to time, I can state with a great deal of confidence that washing your fruit and vegetables before eating them is not even remotely close to “trying to sterilize your home as if it were a surgical theater.” The OP is about washing our produce. Perhaps it’s gone off topic to disinfecting counter tops and using antibacterial soaps and other agents, but the original premise has nothing to do with counterproductive attempts to eliminate all micro organisms from our home environment.
Clean and sterile are WORLDS apart.
I’m sure not averse to eating fiber and adding in some yogurt or other form of probiotics to enhance the proliferation of “good” bacteria and/or contribute to proper balance of our normal flora.
Here’s the dog reference I meant to quote instead of repeating the other quote twice"
“At Saturday dinner, the conversation turned to the family dog, a Havanese named Louis, a seemingly safe topic. Louis is named for Louis Pasteur, the father of germ theory, and while he’s a beloved member of the family, he also plays a role in their efforts to maintain maximal gut health. Dogs are apparently excellent vectors for microbes, spreading bacteria on their fur and tongues to their human co-habitants; dog owners have been shown to have greater microbial diversity than the dogless.”
@Nrdsb4 I’m sure the article didn’t mean an exact surgical sterilization and was exaggerating to make a point, the point being our society has become a little too germaphobic resulting in killing off some good bacteria. And, yes, in 12 pages this thread did move on from just washing veggies and fruit but I think you knew that already.
“Maybe whacking the dog with the soup spoon and sticking it back in the pot isn’t so bad after all.”
Yeah, no. I usually take no issue with hair of the dog, but…
Actually, though, there is a tone in this thread that simply insisting on washing one’s fruits and veggies is going into the realm of germaphobia. And that’s a big leap, imo.
I think every CC thread contains comments from people who disagree to one degree or another. I don’t think it’s any more than that.
The comment about kids licking fruit in the store, and replacing it on the shelf finally got me to rinse my berries today. I’m a convert.