Throwing spaghetti at the wall

(but make it Asian—I threw instant phở) An essay on the phrase

Jenn Chen

06 Feb 2025 — 9 min read

The instant phở I used

Throwing spaghetti at the wall

(but make it Asian—I threw instant phở)

One of the best homework assignments that I was given in grade school was to memorize a list of 20 idioms and their definitions. Phrases like “kick the bucket,” “piece of cake,” and “make a mountain out of a molehill” were literally foreign to me.

I spent the first two months of my life in the US city I was born in and then went to live with my maternal grandma and her parents in Taiwan for the next two years while my parents settled in the US. I am obviously fluent in English but it’s not my first language. Idioms, slang, and any general English were not learned through my parents, but through books, TV shows, school, a dictionary, and a speech therapist. In middle school, I took home-ec classes for my electives, with one of them being cooking. And this is where I had lasagna for the first time (it is so much work—like why do you want to cook everything first and then cook it again? WHY).

When I came across the phrase “throwing spaghetti at the wall,” I was extremely confused. Do people actually take hot pasta and throw it? Is that how people tell it’s done? Why not just eat a strand and not waste food/make a mess?? (Tangent: it has a history of checking for pasta doneness but the stickiness of it does not actually indicate how well cooked it is.) Also, in case you didn’t know, the phrase of “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” means to try or brainstorm many different things (like solutions to a problem) and see what works out. Why can’t people just say brainstorm?

I am happy to report that, as of today, I have now thrown noodles at my cabinet door. The Grocery Outlet (actual name, not a random store) by me was out of spaghetti but had plenty of instant noodle options, which is honestly par for the neighborhood. I threw rice noodles at the door for photos. I had what I imagine is the same feeling as throwing paint balls at a wall: surprise (it sticks! to everything, including your finger!) and satisfaction (landing it). I’ll be honest, I don’t think noodles sticking to a wall is really that photogenic.

Rice noodles stuck to a cabinet door are not that photogenic.

The US political news of the last two weeks has been a lot of spaghetti throwing. It’s part of the strategy: throw lots of overwhelm, expect people get frozen in that overwhelm, and then continue on to fuck with everyone with whatever spaghetti has stayed stuck. I know this, you probably know this, it all makes sense, but knowing does not get you out of the shocked state (yet another phrase here: “knowing is half the battle”). I think it is valid to be like, yes, everything is terrible. And sit with that.

I’ve had to do a lot of spaghetti throwing myself, because I’ve been finding it hard and trivial to be writing and working but I have to make money to survive. I brainstormed for writing ideas for 45 minutes and highlighted the good ones. It felt like throwing spaghetti, which led me to wonder what it would be like and could that be a photo?, and now here I am, writing about it. The lesson here: anything can be turned into an essay.

I do recommend throwing noodles at your wall, if you want to get in touch with your inner kid and release some tension. The figurative version of brain dumping may also be helpful. Know that you're not alone in the overwhelm.

Originally sent to paid subscribers, I've unlocked a letter I wrote in 2023 to my brain. It was one of my first attempts at infusing humor into every part of the writing and also seems appropriate for anytime your brain craps out on you. You will need to log in to read it.

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article links, personal updates, and a plant feature

In light of the dismantling of USAID, Daily Coffee News wrote a list of some of the projects USAID has recently done in coffee.

Robertson says the theme has earned him more than the rest of Barenaked Ladies’ music combined, which includes six gold and platinum albums (one of those being the four-time platinum album Stunt) as well as the number one hit single “One Week.” “The Big Bang Theory,” Robertson says, “dwarfed ‘One Week’ and made it look like an insignificant thing.”

For me, after realising I’d been masking, I had to ask myself: are my friends actually friends with me, or with this weird version of me that’s calcified after years of masking? Will they like the ‘actual me’, whatever that is? Or will they think I’m a faker because I’ve been ‘performing’?

An excellent list of things you can do, for every level of energy and time

We can outlast them, with everyone’s help. It may be a while until we have clear answers, and a while longer until we have better answers, but we can keep each other safe. We are the only thing that ever has.

Every trend is a reaction masquerading as a new idea. And we have had so many reactions over the past 15 or so years. Essentially, mass food trends ping between two different tracks — the comfort and the craft.

Across the U.K., gleaning has become a critical tool in the fight against food waste and poverty. Groups like the Sussex Gleaning Network organize teams to collect everything from carrots to cauliflowers, redistributing the rescued food to food banks and community projects like FareShare Sussex, which takes good-quality surplus food and provides it to people in need.

❓Source request: A few of them (from my spaghetti throwing)! If any of the three spark some "YES" in your head, or you know someone, please reply and let me know!

Are you really into keyboards, keys, and custom keycaps?
Are you passionate about koozies?
In your workplace, do you feel safe to speak up, or have you worked in a space that is the opposite, to the detriment of your mental health?

📜 Published: In my time researching roadside architecture and then neon signs, I came across sign painting. Which I finally got to write about for its own article!

📲 Interesting tech thing: Do you have a name that people mangle in pronunciation? NameDrop allows you to record your name and share the link anywhere (like in your email signature!).

💜 Something joyful: this baby tapir video from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, posted on Bluesky

Exciting news! We’re thrilled to announce that tapir Yuna gave birth to a rare and endangered Malayan tapir calf Sunday night. The newborn, covered in distinctive white spots and stripes resembling a fuzzy walking watermelon, is only the second tapir born in our 120-year history.
— Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (@ptdefiancezoo.bsky.social) 2025-02-04T19:00:12.379Z

🔏 Last week, paid subscribers received a written and photo essay on slowing down (including making dumplings).