Repost from RLSM & ROCEJ:

I seem to recall that A Tankard of Moose Urine, Gargle Blaster, and Bad to the Last Drop are on Keep Real Life Examples.

However, due to recent discussion in the ROCEJ thread, I would like to suggest that any examples should be restricted to reviewers, and if not specific reviewers, at the very least, they should have a slew of product reviews backing up their claims.

Accordingly, I have approved a notice for each trope:

%% Any Real Life examples must have been evaluated by a reviewer, or there must be several verified reviews backing up their claims.

The only question now, is what do we do about the examples we already have?

Edited by SkyCat32 on Nov 21st 2021 at 10:07:56 AM

Clean up anything that doesn't fit the criteria? Feels straightforward to me.

Are we keeping the RL section but requiring citations, or just moving these to in-universe examples within reviewers' works or something?

Edited by mightymewtron on Nov 21st 2021 at 10:11:57 AM

Depending on our findings: Yes.

In all seriousness, I don't see why we cannot implement both if applicable. Even if the reviewer does not have a tropeworthy work, you can use their review as a citation. If they do, move the example to the appropriate subsection.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Nov 21st 2021 at 10:17:55 AM

Gargle Blaster doesn't seem like it would need to be restricted due to being based around alcoholic strength rather than quality of product. I'm fine with the others being cited.

That's actually a fair point, although people using the trope to bash extremely potent alcohol is not unheard of.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Nov 22nd 2021 at 9:33:39 AM

There are a few Gargle Blaster examples that specifically list brand names, though not as many as in the other tropes.

There are also examples of cocktails which aren’t correctly listed, at least if made properly. The Aunt Roberta example (which has correcting natter incorrectly indented below the entry) and Long Island Iced Tea are two examples. For the latter, any responsible bar that serves these will pour a quarter shot of gin, vodka, rum, and tequila in the cocktail, along with lemon juice and cola — they normally don’t pour a full shot of each. I know because I worked as a bartender many years ago.

I'll go ahead and start looking at some of these examples. If I come across any brand name ones, I'll delete them with a note — they can be reinstated if an appropriate review citation is found. Am thinking they should be cut to be safe, though.

I'm also removing references that say or suggest a beverage truth "according to coffee aficionados" or "some tea connoisseurs" or the like as being lacking in documentation. Also removed references to coffee prepared under circumstances like in the armed forces or offices, as again, none have any documentation.

Am thinking that if someone wants to dig up good references to corroborate any of these, they can reinstate.

Wow. Excellent work, Bolt.

That said, I am aware that some people are probably gonna ignore these new notes to complain about beverages they don't like, so I am keeping this project around at least as long as it takes to accumulate properly cited and verified examples.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Nov 22nd 2021 at 1:16:53 PM

I've culled all the offending examples from the Real Life folders or pages of these three tropes. If there's anything I've cut in error, please let me know.

With regard to the Non-Fictional Radio example of A Tankard of Moose Urine, it would be great if we could recover it, or at the very least prove it exists, since it is an otherwise valid example.

As it happens, I found another link to the episode in question.

• Episode #396 "#1 Party School" of This American Life, focusing on #1 Party School Penn State found that the beer of choice for on-campus residents was hated by nearly everyone who drank it. Ira was naturally puzzled why they would drink it if they hated it so much. Answer? It was cheap, it got them drunk, and that's all that matters.

Although, I do wonder if we should make a new Radio section.

I rewrote the entry to focus on the one beer in particular without naming it.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Nov 22nd 2021 at 8:03:58 AM

A Radio section would be okay by me if we can justify it.

When I clicked on the link, it didn't have the list of beers visible. It must be somewhere in one of the links you have to click on further once you reach that website. I figured it would be safer to remove and figure out later, but if we can make the list of beers easier to find, that would be ideal. Regardless, if what's there passes the smell test, that's fine.

I suspect the list of beers may not be connected to that particular broadcast.

That said, I think the part of the example that is definitely referenced in the broadcast can be kept.

Rewrite:

• Episode #396 "#1 Party School" of This American Life, focusing on #1 Party School Penn State found that the beer of choice for on-campus residents was hated by nearly everyone who drank it. Ira was naturally puzzled why they would drink it if they hated it so much. Answer? It was cheap, it got them drunk, and that's all that matters.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Nov 22nd 2021 at 8:08:17 AM

Just added this in a new "Radio" folder. Thanks!

Here is one source supporting the entry on the US Navy tradition of not washing coffee cups. If this meets the requirements of documentation, request that entry be restored to Real Life examples. https://www.navytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2021/06/07/why-sailors-love-a-filthy-unwashed-coffee-mug/

Can you write an example explaining how it fits?

Edit: Found it:

• Somehow a tradition arose in the US Navy that neither coffee makers nor drinking mugs should ever be cleaned. This supposedly made the coffee more palatable (or rather, less unpalatable) than it would otherwise be. Possibly this was from a time when poor water quality and lowest-bidder coffee meant that the coffee would be bad no matter what you did. In any event, the result was a bad but consistent flavor that sailors grew used to.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Jan 12th 2022 at 9:08:58 AM

Can we restore the "Green Bird" example for A Tankard of Moose Urine, given reports of severe brain damage and death. I know the links are Spanish, given this is a South American thing.

https://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/judicial/gendarmeria/dos-reos-con-muerte-cerebral-fue-saldo-de-ingesta-de-pajaro-verde-en/2006-07-24/145817.html

https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/region-de-valparaiso/2018/01/10/preso-habria-muerto-tras-beber-pajaro-verde-en-carcel-portena-obtenia-libertad-este-mes.shtml

Edited by randomtroper89 on Feb 10th 2022 at 12:44:19 PM

If they can be verified, feel free to add them.

Does anyone else have any examples of beverages which have negative reviews which we can refer to?

Edited by SkyCat32 on Mar 17th 2022 at 11:02:37 AM

Come to think of it, I think the entry is covered by "prison wine".

By the way, Cultmoo has reviewed and panned enough alcoholic beverages that I am working on a sandbox for a subpage at Sandbox.Moose Urine Cultmoo. I suspect that if I end up having enough examples, we may have to move the page to MooseUrine.Cultmoo.

Throughout their various review shows, Herr Pink, Señor Guerro, Loafy Molassess, and their occasional guests have tasted various beverages, some of which are allegedly surprisingly good, while others are allegedly disgusting. The following beverages are notable alcoholic beverages they have tried which they have panned:

All Spoilers are Unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

• Boss Watermelon is a malt liquor which Herr Pink and Señor Guerro describe as "tasting like perm chemicals and nail polish remover". It has the lowest score of any malt liquor on the show, and supposedly chugs as poorly as it sips.
• Modelo Chelada is loathed by Pink and Loafy for its "tomato soup like consistency", and its flavor which "tastes exactly like vomit", while Guerro likes it.
• Joose Blue Lemonade is considered a mixture of cloying sweetness and malt liquor funk which goes from one extreme to another. Loafy describes a taste reminiscent of "multi-purpose cleaner".
• Busch 4 is described as "spoiled rice water" by Guerro, who further states that despite being a fan of cheap beer, he refuses to buy the product in question. Loafy describes it as "bad dishwater".
• Four Loko Red is described as having a taste which reminds Loafy of what it was like to "bite into a cherry Chapstick" with the smell being different from the "nail varnish" taste.

Liquor Show:

• Jian Nan Chun Chiew is a clear 52% alcohol from the PRC made from Sorghum, Rice, Glutinous Rice, Wheat and Corn. It is described as having an aroma (to paraphrase) similar to saké left out too long in the sun. Pink describes it as having a "burning" taste and "plasticky…glutinous aftertaste". The duo are only able to tolerate the beverage with copious amounts of prickly pear syrup.

Grubbin':

• Redbridge Gluten-free Sorghum Beer is described by Loafy as tasting like "tangy water…bland and subtle but all the flavours that are there are wrong", and when Guerro refers to it as a "carbonated alcoholic beverage," Loafy tells him that's giving "a bad name to everything that goes under that category".
• Boss Green Beer is described as smelling "skunky", and tasting like "pulled pork Kool-Aid".

I just moved it to the main page.