Sometimes the pop culture we love just teens hits differently in retrospect.

Maybe it's a tabloid story we couldn't get enough of or an illicit student-teacher relationship

on our favorite show. We're Suzy Banna-Karim and Jessica Bennett,

posts of the new podcast in retrospect, where each week we'll revisit a cultural moment from

the past that shaped us and probably you to try to understand what it taught us about the world

and our place in it. You're the first person that I've talked to about this for years and years.

Listen to in retrospect on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favorite shows.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast Podcast.

Today's tip is to find a formula. A good rule of thumb can make seemingly

complex decisions, a lot less challenging. I was thinking of this topic recently after

reading Kendra Adachi's new book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen. Kendra talks about strategies for

having the right gear, meal planning, and so forth. One of her tips is about how to never run

out of food at a party. Just follow this formula. Six bytes per hour per person and three choices

pretend people. That means if you have 20 people over for a three-hour reception, you need 20 times

three times six bytes. That is 360 bytes. Since you have 20 people and need three choices per

10 people, this means you need six kinds of food. Six kinds of food at 360 bytes means 60 bytes

of each option. Now if you are getting this party catered, the caterer will do that math for you.

But if you are doing it on your own, you can be fairly confident that you will neither run out of

food or be dumping perfectly good food afterwards because your fridge and freezer are already

overstuffed with leftovers. Formulas like this make complex decisions less challenging.

It's not perfect because nothing ever is. You could have several guests who eat like birds.

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