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Re: Oh my...
I don't blame you, Mia. Like I wrote to LostInLife, one might have to decide if they would rather read or hear of such things before, during, or after a meal! I can only assume that during would be the worst . . . 
posted by
JimmyA
on August 12, 2013 at 9:20 AM
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Oh my...
I don't think my breakfast has settled enough for me to be thinking about sewer obstructions...! 
posted by
Mia890
on August 12, 2013 at 7:54 AM
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Re: JimmyA
It would appear, Justi, that this particular article and scenario has a lot of people thinking along the same lines. However, as with any aspect of our diets, moderation is always the key! We probably shouldn't be consuming as much fatty foods as we do, but drastically cutting down on them is a good start. I know I would never want anyone to apply the term fatberg to me . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 12, 2013 at 5:38 AM
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Re:
See, mariss? I guess it's turned into a wonderful analogy about things becoming "clogged" because of grease and oils. People read this and think how terrible for that sewer system, when they probably should be thinking about the oil and grease they may be putting into their own bodies possibly doing the same thing to their arteries! This might actually become a type of wake-up call for certain people . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 12, 2013 at 5:34 AM
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Re:
It actually is, Against, just on a larger scale! Hopefully, after people stop chuckling over the ridiculousness of the size of the damned thing, they will see the parallel and think better about their diets . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 12, 2013 at 5:31 AM
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Re:
You're welcome, MsJudy, although I have a feeling that there may be more "substantial" things to be learning besides what the people in Britain are pouring down their drains! But I guess if, in the near future, you were to overhear someone talking about a fatberg, at least now you'll know what they're referring to . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 12, 2013 at 5:28 AM
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Re:
I have a feeling, Utah, that you're being just a tad hard on yourself! Twenty pounds does not a fatberg make. Now, if it was a hundred and twenty pounds, well, now we'll make sure to keep you out of the sewer systems . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 12, 2013 at 5:23 AM
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JimmyA
I heard this on RedEye the other night. Right then and there I though I will never eat fat even butter again. Yukkkkk
posted by
Justi
on August 11, 2013 at 12:20 PM
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you gave me the opportunity to be rather pleased with myself to have seen the illustration about the arteries being clogged before I got to that part in the article. Now I know what happens to that oil and grease that goes down the drain.
posted by
mariss9
on August 11, 2013 at 8:29 AM
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This news account is an excellent parallel illustration of what happenes with excessive cholesterol in our blood.
posted by
Against4WindsOn2Flam
on August 10, 2013 at 10:37 PM
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OMG I have never heard of a fatberg! That is an interesting article Jimmy Thanks for sharing I learned something new today!
posted by
MsJudy
on August 10, 2013 at 8:10 PM
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Well, I used to be a fatberg Jimmy, but I have lost 20 pounds this summer, so I am not such a fatberg after all.
posted by
UtahJay
on August 10, 2013 at 12:17 PM
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Re:
I was too, lustor! Given the amount of "sludge" and other debris that had formed, you would have thought that, over time, a constant flow of water would have prevented such a thing! But for it to have built up to be that large? Something else may have been going on in that sewer, and I don't think I want to know what it was . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 8:38 AM
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I had seen this on tv, it looked awful but I was surprised at how they are formed
posted by
Lanetay
on August 10, 2013 at 8:13 AM
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Re: :)
Sorry to hear that, Lost! I'm sure the story and imagery didn't help your digestion much! However, with this particular story, I'm not sure what would be worse: seeing it before, during, or after a meal! I suppose most people would vote for during . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 7:22 AM
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Re:
I suppose, adnohr, that a story like this can work as somewhat of an "appetite suppressant," although that wasn't my intention. I suppose sewer systems and septic tanks are just one more thing that some people take for granted! Now people have to learn the hard way: be careful what you flush!
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 7:05 AM
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Re:
No thank you, C C T! You can experiment all you'd like with your nearby sewer pipe, and report on anything you find. But please, keep your "samples" on the other side of the pond . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 7:01 AM
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Re: JimmyA
Oh no I'm not, Sir Wiley! At least, I'm not trying to! I'm only reporting on what I read! Now, we all know that sometimes certain newspapers may exaggerate on things a bit, but something tells me this one was a fact! No shittin' here . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:58 AM
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Re: eeeww!
I think weird, Jess, may be a bit of an understatement! You would think, in this day and age, that such things wouldn't be possible! And you're right! Who knows what may be happening right here in some of our own sewer systems . . . 
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:55 AM
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Re:
Well, lovelylady, you can't blame a whole city for the poor quality of one sewer system! But then again, where there's one, there may be others. Yeah, you may want to stay on this side of the pond for a while until they get it all cleaned up . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:53 AM
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Re:
Did you initially think, Kabu, that some foreign journalist was just having some fun with us? It does sound like something you might come across in some less-than-serious tabloid, like "Aliens are living in my cat's litter box" or "Giant, mutant hamsters found living in basement of White House." Stranger than fiction . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:51 AM
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Re:
She had to learn the hard way, eh, TAPS? However, I'm sure there are people out there who still do that. That's why I can't help but to wonder what may be going on in some of our own sewer systems . . . 
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:43 AM
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Re:
Well, Dr JPT, a "berg" is related to ice, and I'm sure that was the analogy they were generally going for. However, there is one huge difference . . . the ice will eventually melt!
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:36 AM
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Re: Jimmy
I hope, Naut, that you meant the possible "fatbergs" in your arteries! Because if you have anything even remotely like that in your arteries, well . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:33 AM
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Re:
It does seem somewhat surrealistic, doesn't it, Saif? Like something you may have read about the London sewer system 500 years ago, but not today! And where's there one, there may be others! Sounds like the plot for some bad science-fiction movie . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:31 AM
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Re:
See, FSI? Sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other side, and the sewer system isn't much better! I never heard of Baltimore being pegged for bad sewerage! I thought Jersey had it bad . . .
posted by
JimmyA
on August 10, 2013 at 6:27 AM
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:)
We were eating dinner when this came across the news with big pictures and all!! HaHa
posted by
SomeoneElse
on August 10, 2013 at 4:36 AM
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Living in the bush with a holding tank and spetic system, one is taught quite young what to flush and what not to flush down the drains. That's an original term for the obstuction - a new word for me, although I'm sorry I learned this one just before breakfast....
posted by
adnohr
on August 10, 2013 at 3:30 AM
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I was wondering if candles could be made out of this substance
or heating oil it might be better than fracking.
Of course the sanitary pads and bits and pieces
would be removed first. I think I shall open the sewer pipe nearest to me and experiment. If you require a sample no prob.
posted by
C_C_T
on August 10, 2013 at 12:39 AM
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JimmyA
You're shittin' us pard.
posted by
WileyJohn
on August 9, 2013 at 6:54 PM
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eeeww!
Wow, I've never heard of anything like this. I'm sure it happens here too. This is so weird.
posted by
versebyJess
on August 9, 2013 at 3:54 PM
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Kor blimey! I may ne're visit London again!...
posted by
lovelyladymonk
on August 9, 2013 at 2:08 PM
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I read this myself...and had to read it a couple of times...to believe it.
posted by
Kabu
on August 9, 2013 at 1:09 PM
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Reminds me of the time my newly married sister poured a cup of warm bacon grease down her kitchen drain. She never did that again.
posted by
TAPS.
on August 9, 2013 at 12:46 PM
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Since they have icebergs, they decided to make an easy comparison.
posted by
Dr_JPT
on August 9, 2013 at 11:28 AM
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Jimmy
Yeah, I read about that one! And it made me think of the fatberg(s) in my arteries...
posted by
Nautikos
on August 9, 2013 at 10:31 AM
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Oh... can't believe this..
posted by
Saif_AlKindi
on August 9, 2013 at 10:25 AM
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And I thought Baltimore had its bad with its sewage...
posted by
FormerStudentIntern
on August 9, 2013 at 9:49 AM
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