I laugh every time I see that in a recipe book. 
And think, "How many potatoes?"
Continued ongoing teaching of basic mathematical stuff to kids as part of the science curriculum did that to me. Kids think this is funny too when they first learn about to-the-power-of. Just like they think the absurdities in the English language are funny, because they're just learning them. Some retain the awareness of various amusing absurdities, many will begin to see them as "normal".
I actually think it's healthy to stay aware of absurdities and not to take things like that for granted. On the fun side, it creates a lot of humour, which is good for mood, immunity, etc. On the more serious side, it's not good, for example, when we all do stupid stuff as a society and that's "normalised" so that people accept it as standard-background, rather than being acutely aware that there are issues that need to be addressed.
Here's a favourite quote:
To summarize briefly: A white rabbit is pulled out of a top hat. Because it is an extremely large rabbit, the trick takes many billions of years. All mortals are born at the very tip of the rabbit’s fine hairs, where they are in a position to wonder at the impossibility of the trick. But as they grow older they work themselves ever deeper into the fur. And there they stay. They become so comfortable they never risk crawling back up the fragile hairs again. Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” they yell, “we are floating in space!” But none of the people down there care. “What a bunch of troublemakers!” they say. And they keep on chatting: Would you pass the butter, please? How much have our stocks risen today? What is the price of tomatoes? Have you heard that Princess Di is expecting again?
― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
And think, "How many potatoes?"
Continued ongoing teaching of basic mathematical stuff to kids as part of the science curriculum did that to me. Kids think this is funny too when they first learn about to-the-power-of. Just like they think the absurdities in the English language are funny, because they're just learning them. Some retain the awareness of various amusing absurdities, many will begin to see them as "normal".
I actually think it's healthy to stay aware of absurdities and not to take things like that for granted. On the fun side, it creates a lot of humour, which is good for mood, immunity, etc. On the more serious side, it's not good, for example, when we all do stupid stuff as a society and that's "normalised" so that people accept it as standard-background, rather than being acutely aware that there are issues that need to be addressed.
Here's a favourite quote:
To summarize briefly: A white rabbit is pulled out of a top hat. Because it is an extremely large rabbit, the trick takes many billions of years. All mortals are born at the very tip of the rabbit’s fine hairs, where they are in a position to wonder at the impossibility of the trick. But as they grow older they work themselves ever deeper into the fur. And there they stay. They become so comfortable they never risk crawling back up the fragile hairs again. Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” they yell, “we are floating in space!” But none of the people down there care. “What a bunch of troublemakers!” they say. And they keep on chatting: Would you pass the butter, please? How much have our stocks risen today? What is the price of tomatoes? Have you heard that Princess Di is expecting again?
― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
(I was 40 before I realized her nacississim was rooted in anxiety)
