So a friend of mine was telling me about this one strange thing his wife does. Whenever they get a gift of *food* and ONLY food (eg like a basket of cheese and crackers) she immediately goes about dividing it EXACTLY in half. "this is my part of the cheddar, this is yours" he isn't bothered about it just a little confused.

She told him. "If you had siblings you'd understand."

I suggested he may eat all the cheese and not notice.

Can those with siblings speak on this? Are you traumatized?

@futurebird At our house it was my dad & his "only 1 kind of jelly can be open at a time" and since we weren't well-off he bought HUGE jars of jelly. Grape for months.

When my middle sister grew up, the very first thing she did when she got her own place was buy 2 jars of jelly and open them both.

@epicdemiologist

Yeah. My parents would only let me use like two of the scissors and hid the nice ones and wouldn't buy the scissors I wanted as a gift because "you have scissors" (even told other people not to get them for me since I had them already)

They came over one day and noticed that I have a big vase and it's full of every kind of scissor, every color and size...

"so, that really was a big deal I guess" my mom said ... I hadn't even really noticed the connection. But it WAS.

@futurebird @epicdemiologist
As far as I knew, there was only one pair of scissors ever in the house I grew up in. Finding them when they were needed a frequent source of drama, sturm, und drang.

It remains a thing of family legend how my sister, who was really into sewing, painstakingly saved up her babysitting money (allowances were not a thing in our household) until she could buy herself a pair of proper dressmaker's shears - and then my father, unable to locate the communal family scissors, took the dressmaker's shears out of my sister's sewing box and used them to cut fiberglass cloth.

I have a pair of scissors in every room of my house, two in the kitchen, three (each for a different purpose) in my own sewing box, and one more that lives in the box of gift wrap.

Shower your kids with scissors, folks.

@Gorfram @epicdemiologist

There were four pairs of scissors in our house and it always baffled me. There were more pens and pencils than you could count... there were many books and notebooks. But the idea of having more scissors just didn't compute for my parents.

I remember being at "SAM'S Club" as a tween and there was a set of like 8 cheap, but sharp scissors for 15 bucks, which was more in the 90s but not... "so much money"

IDK.

It was strange.

@futurebird @epicdemiologist
Until my sister bought the dressmaker's shears, it had never occurred to me (I'm a few years younger) that there could be more than 1 pair of scissors in a household.

@Gorfram @epicdemiologist

Decadence beyond our wildest dreams!

@futurebird @Gorfram @epicdemiologist

there was never any shortage of scissors in my family house, but my Dad (who always did a lot of DIY) would buy his own shears and cutting tools for any gnarly stuff (which in the 70s included aluminium mesh, used to patch up holes in the wing (fender) of his classic Mini van (these were prone to rust)

At work I get my own cutting tools rather than use the office scissors for unsuitable items (such as cable) but if I order them online whoever signs for the parcel gets carded (as its the law in my country). And you then need a pair of scissors, sidecutters or knife to open the packaging they are supplied in..

@vfrmedia @futurebird @epicdemiologist
Really - in (the UK?), I'd have to prove I'm old enough for tinsnips?

@Gorfram @futurebird @epicdemiologist

Anything with a point or blade - if its an in person purchase they take a look at you and if you look >18 and not like a wannabe gangster they don't bother to card you, but for mail order there's an electronic check on purchase (normally done via a credit reference agency as they can confirm you are >18) and another one when the package is delivered (as there was a problem with folk ordering large knives online they subsequently used in violent crimes)

@vfrmedia @futurebird @epicdemiologist
(joke follows)

See? That's just the kind of thing you get when you don't let everybody run loose with guns & assault rifles all over the place.

(joke precedes)

@vfrmedia Did I learn at some point that folding knives with lockblades are restricted in the UK because they could be used to cause harm?

Contrast to the US where pocket knives with lockblades are sold as a safety feature to prevent harm.

(Don't want the blade folding over on your fingers when you're getting all stabby, right?)

@DanielMReck they are not completely banned for sale, you just have to prove you are >18 when buying them and can't normally carry around larger knives in the street unless you have a good reason for doing so (such as for work). Only the knives listed below are banned outright.

If I'm carrying anything with points or blades in the car (and I do have valid reason to have them for work) they are in my kit bag or tool box (usually in the boot (trunk)) or the rear seat, this shows you aren't keeping them to use as a weapon during a road rage incident..

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Selling, buying and carrying knives and weapons

The laws on selling, buying and carrying a knife or weapon depend on the type of knife or weapon, your age and your circumstances.

GOV.UK

@vfrmedia @DanielMReck
"In Scotland, you’re allowed to sell 16 and 17 year olds cutlery and kitchen knives."

Those wild Scots!!!

@Gorfram
There were exactly two in our house—my mother’s good scissors for sewing, which we kids were absolutely forbidden to use except under supervision (and only on cloth, of course!) and the other scissors for every other purpose.
@futurebird @epicdemiologist
@futurebird @Gorfram @epicdemiologist it is important to buy decent scissors (as opposed to Good scissors for eg dressmaking) The 8 pack was probably rubbish and wouldnt have cut paper within 2 years, and wouldn’t have been sharpenable #experience

@leadegroot @futurebird @Gorfram @epicdemiologist
As a person who lives in a household of disappearing scissors, I have purchased at least four Costco 8 packs (or larger) of scissors and they've all been more than decent. Seems like it's a different brand each time, but good quality.

We have 3 of these left, and I quite like them. I'll be sad when they're gone.