Hi mates, today I code a Yahoo! Answers scraper, I was tired of searching tons of questions for an answer, and yahoo rss havn’t the answer in it! So here comes in help Scrubyt :D

It extracts all links in results page and crawls they question/answers, it didn’t go after the first result page and I cannot get working next_page. Remember to change the user_agent, big websites like yahoo ebay and others ban Mechanize strings and so, take a look at my howto: http://agora.scrubyt.org/forums/4/topics/292

./answers.rb                                                                                                                              
Errors found:
Missing Flags:
   -country
   -search

#!/usr/bin/env ruby

require 'rubygems'
require 'optiflag'
require 'scrubyt'

class Server
   attr_accessor :country, :search
end
class Connection < Server
end

#Countries: ar au br ca ks.cn fr de in id it malaysia mx nz ph qc sg es th uk vn

flag = Connection.new
OptiFlag.using_object(flag)

Scrubyt.logger = Scrubyt::Logger.new
XMLFILE = "answers.xml" 
answers = Scrubyt::Extractor.define do

   fetch "http://"+flag.country+".answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result?p="+flag.search
   # little hack < there are two textfields with name='p' and scrubyt can't handle it #

   questions_main "//ol/li/a" do #Give me links
      questions_detail :resolve => :host do #Follow them with / instead of /search/, that fails
         main_content "//div[@id='yan-content']" do #All answers content

            main_q1 "//div[@id='yan-main']" do #Main section

               main_q2 "//div[@id='yan-question']" do #Main question
                  main_question "//div[@class='content']" #Content of question
               end
               best_a1 "//div[@class='answer best']" do #Best answer
                  best_answer "//div[@class='content']" #Content of answer
               end

            end #End main section

            main_answers "//div[@id='yan-answers']" do #Main answers
               other_answer "//div[@class='content']" #Content of answers
            end

         end #End main content
      end
   end

end

#flag.to_flat_xml.write($stdout, 1) #Write to console
answers.to_xml.write(open(XMLFILE,'w'),1) #Write to file
#system("firefox "+XMLFILE) #Run firefox and read better formatted XML

Output:

./answers.rb -country uk -search scraping
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>Hi all,

  I have noticed that in my car when I push the gear stick into either 1st, 2nd or 5th, a lot of the time (but not always) as I push the gear stick into position it seems to scrape against something underneath.  Its as if something is catching the gear stick is it moves past.  It does not happen at all in 3rd or 4th gear (as these are in the middle and not the edge of the gear stick).

  What is likely to be causing this scraping motion against the gear stick?

  Thanks

  Mark.</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>Synchros are going bad</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>either somethng is fouling the gear linkage, the cable could have frayed (they have either two cables or a solid coneecting rods ) 

  so im afraid yo have to get under it and have a look...</other_answer>
          <other_answer>it could be that the bush at the bottom of the gear stick is worn or it is out of adjustment look at the simple things first</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>why when i click internet explorer i get a sound coming from the area of my floppy and hard drive,its like a scraping sound,it happens only when i try to use internet explorer and not firefox
               it also only happens in xp and not vista(my pc is dual booted)
              cheers</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>how much room do u have left on your hard drive?</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>I see that Sheffield Utd are going to courts claiming that there relegation form the premiership last season is against their human rights.  Because the players will and staff will have to take a pay cut. 

  Does this smell of "barrell scraping" to anyone?  Surely they were partly to blame for their own relegation because they didnt win enough games?

  What is everyone elses opinion?  Funny that the likes of Wigan and Fulham have all gone quiet on the issue now that they are safe.</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>I think they are just being sore losers and must except the fact that it was their fault and after being 10 points safe at a time its a disgrace. They are just trying to escape humiliation by blaming West Ham. They could easily have survived on the last day but it shouldn&#039;t even have come to that.</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>Sheffield Utd&#039;s fate was in their own hands. I think that they are just pissing in the wind. The decision was made so Sheffield Utd should get on with life in the championship and stop bloody crying.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>whoever went down this year was going to do this, and in my opinion WHU should still be deducted points, but yes it does stink of desparation, doesn&#039;t it biscuits.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Absolutely, they only had to avoid defeat in the last game against Wigan to be safe..they failed.It&#039;s just sour grapes. As for human rights and pay cuts, their pay will go down from around £50,000 a WEEK to around £15,000  a WEEK ........
  hardly grounds for poverty.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Its the poorest/saddest/lowest thing ive ever seen in English football.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>You need to get your facts right

  Sheffield United are not &#039;going to court&#039;.

  The arbitration panel, to determine whether the process and sentence regarding West Ham&#039;s behaviour (they admited lying and cheating) is valid, sits next week. This is not a court.

  On Friday this week representation is being made to the EU Trade Commissioner, to see get his opinion and views about taking action regarding compensation if the arbitration panel finds against United. This is sensible &#039;Plan B&#039; planning, and does not involve a court. Should have a good case, at least against WH; as &#039;lying and cheating&#039; surely breeches WH&#039;s obligation, as a member of the Premier League, to act in good faith with regard to fellow members.

  Today Hollywood Film Star (as I am contractually obliged to describe him) Sean Bean, led  a selected delegation of 100 Blades to the Houses of Parliament, to set out United&#039;s case to interested MPs. In the end they were joined by over 100 more London & SE based Blades; Sheffield based Blades demonstrated in the centre of Sheffield, in support. None of these actions involves a court.

  What exactly are you on about?

  There&#039;s no shame in fighting for what you believe to be right.
  Keep it Fair, Stupid!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Sheffield&#039;s kinda turning into an orginisation of Jose Mourinho&#039;s uh?It their own fault they were relegated in the first place.They can&#039;t push the blame on to the FA.Sounds like barrel scraping AND double standards.I have a feeling they wouldn&#039;t be complaining if they didn&#039;t go down,or if they did the whole Tevez thing.
  Oh yeah,and what human rights?The players would be paid more than most of the UK,might as well shut up and gain promotion next season.</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>i got a vauxhall corsa and when you lift the clutch to get the car going, the car makes a grazing noise(like plates inside the car are scraping each other?), its really annoying expecially in red lights when im about to turn left/right.
  does anyone know the problem and is it fixable, and how much? thx.</main_question>
          </main_q2>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>As others have said, the noise is likely to be a worn release bearing. If the clutch is slipping (engine revs increase with no increase in road speed) then the clutch itself is either worn out or may simply need adjusting. Less commonly, but not unusually, the fault might actually be with the release fork.

  If you can put up with the noise there&#039;s no immediate need to panic, but it&#039;s definitely going to need to be replaced so start shopping around for a deal. When this is done, it&#039;s normal to renew the entire clutch assembly unless it&#039;s obviously near brand-new as the parts are relatively cheap compared to the labour so you don&#039;t want to pay to replace just the bearing and then later have to pay all over again for the clutch replacement. 

  At 70k miles, your car may be on it&#039;s original clutch, but depending on previous drivers could also be on it&#039;s second or even third one. If it&#039;s on the original it would not be unusual for the release bearing to start to fail. Definitely get the clutch cable (if cable-operated) replaced at the same time as after 70k it&#039;s seen better days and isn&#039;t normally expensive. 

  Many clutch-replacement specialists offer free diagnosis and free clutch adjustments. Don&#039;t forget to ask at a few Vauxhall dealerships as well as sometimes they can be competitive with the fast-fit chains and will use genuine parts. Don&#039;t be scared to haggle with them to get a better deal though!

  As long as the clutch works, your MOT tester has no interest in the assembly and so would not be required to comment on it.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>It happens when you let the pedal out? Not when peal is held down? It could be clutch plate or input shaft bearing.Thrust bearing would be noisy when pedal down.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Make sure the quote includes labor costs.  The clutch itself and the bearing, or sometimes bushing, are fairly inexpensive.  But it could take up to 10 hours to replace them.  That adds up at 50 pounds an hour.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>as bomber 19 says, clutch plates worn down to the metal or thrust bearing colapsing</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Maybe you need to change your clutch disk.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>clutch job anywhere from 3hrs to 6hrs in most cases. Not 10. If it&#039;s 10 they are taking you for a ride and I would go somewhere else. If you bought the clutch yourself from a parts store or on eBay you can find one for around $100-$150. Shop will usually charge anywhere from $250-$350 ridiculous prices for parts. By the parts and take them in to get install will save you money right off the bat. Make sure the shop will do this as not all shop will install customer purchased parts so call ahead.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>it sounds like the clutch plate or the thrust bearing is worn out get a qoute</other_answer>
          <other_answer>it sounds like your thrust bearing/clutch friction plate is worn. get it to a garage to change the complete assembly,around 300 quid or so, maybe less if you know a good garage.other possibility could be drive shaft knackered,in which case again go to a garage,far easier than doing it yourself, especially if you do not have the correct tools and good safe jack and axle stands.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>sounds like the clutch plate is worn down to the rivets.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>get new clutch plates and thrust bearings fitted cost about £130-160 i recon</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Renew the whole clutch.</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>Car is only 5 years old gave it to my daughter, but during a three point turn a scraping noise occurs when reversing and on full lock, sounds like a dry steering rack but cannot find where the power steering filler is, been told the power steering is electric, can anyone give some advice please.</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>The Punto power steering doesn&#039;t take any fluid because it has an electric motor in order to be lighter. I would suggest you take it to a Fiat dealer and inspects your car thoroughly. The car must be seen in order to make conclusions.</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>it could be a dear.
  advice:- cook on gas mark 6 for about 3 half hours to be on the safe side</other_answer>
          <other_answer>i fear you aint gonna get too many serious answers tonight</other_answer>
          <other_answer>it could be the back plate cover scraping on the disk
  or CV joint broken or latterly anything like this you really need to take to fiat to get it checked out!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>have you seen your cat lately</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I think its the tyres fouling the wheel arch or hitting a mup flap.

  Get yourself to a deserted car park and one of you stand outside while the other one very slowly manouvers until you can find out whats happening.

  If its a mud flap, then simply remove them!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>FIAT= FIX IT AGAIN TONY</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Hi mate, yes you could have run out of Power steering fluid. Its normally at the front in the bonnet and marked Power steering fluid. Hope this helps

  <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_108_check-power-..">http://www.ehow.com/how_108_check-power-..</a>.

  Alternatively it could be a CV boot joint problem or even Shockers best if you ask at your local garage.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>It&#039;s actually a Robin Reliant, and someone has nicked one of the back wheels.........</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>I have tried scraping and propriety cleaners such as Hob Bright, Mr Muscle etc, but nothing seems to shift it. It looks almost as if it has fused on the surface. Does anyone have any ideas?</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>I know this may sound too easy but just place a wet cloth on the spot and leave overnight, in the morning gently rub it with "bartenders friend" a gentle scouring powder or something similar and I&#039;m sure this will remove it.</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>The only thing I can think of is to simply allow it to soak for a LONG period of time.  It sounds as though the sugar in the jam has caramelized, and chances are good that it will simply take a long period of soaking, preferably in HOT water, to get it off.  If it&#039;s boilable, you might try that as well.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Have you tried heating it to try and melt it again then wiping it off whilst its runny?</other_answer>
          <other_answer>The thing is that the sugar turns to glass and sticks to the ceramic hob.  You need to try and melt the jam away from the hob (but it probably will leave a mark)  One of those steam cleaners with the tiny nozzle is about the hottest water you could use.  If you haven&#039;t go one try boiling water.  You need a sustained head to melt the sugar.  I made marmalade yesterday and I use the steam cleaner for the splashes.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Washing powder. Sprinkle some on leave for an hour or so, then wipe off using hot water. Try it. It works.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>hi i know exactly what you are going through.you say its ceramic glass i have tried it a couple f times but i don&#039;t know exactly how badly it has been burnt.soak the hob in a container with loads of lemon juice mixed with sea salt and water.see to it that the water is nice and hot.hot water along with the citric acid and sea salt will help break the hardness leaving the burn loose and easy to wash off.let it soak for about 20 minutes app/ and then wash it off with liquid detergent like easy bam or something.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Boiling water.
  Boil up the kettle and just pour it all over the place. Don&#039;t be stingy with the water. If it doesn&#039;t melt it it will lift it right off.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Sugar is the main enemy of ceramic hobs.  
  Nothing you can buy will shift it.  It will have fused itself to the ceramic surface.  Scouring or scraping it will just make things worse.
  My only suggestion would be to call in one of those cooker cleaning companies who might be able to help.  You can find them in Yellow Pages.  The only one I can think of is Cookerburra which is a franchise but I have used them once and found them to be fine.
  Good luck.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Simple, boiling water. it dissolves the sugar as it does when you make a cuppa. i know this coz when i was a kid me n my 2 brothers tried making somthing similar n we dropped it onto our kitchen floor which was ceramic. we covered it with paint n hoped mum wouldnt know. she did n she just used boiling water then cleaned as normal.</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>wont be picking up til tomorrow & have enough to scrape from grinder but past experience proves it wont be nice. 

  and i thought my "butt rollies" days were over! 

  anyone else stooped this low?....or lower?....Do tell</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>a lot of my friends do that. theyve made massive resin balls, bizarre makeshift bongs out of anything you can imagine, picked up the tiny bits that fell into the carpet--effectively causing them to smoke carpet fibers in the process, joints out of bible paper....lots of crazy stuff, none of which i can say i have personally done, just laughed at them and their desperation. unless youre snoop dogg youre bound to get low now and then. hehe no worries</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>Well, growing your own medication would mean there&#039;s always some on hand.

  But then, the man would always be fixing to arrest you...

  Whether your jollies are natural, chemical, or herbal, you&#039;ll always be low in between...</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Eh?

  Should this question be in Alternative medicine or would it be better placed in the surealist section?</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Don&#039;t scrape too hard, the plastic does come off. I haven&#039;t stooped that low, no, but that&#039;s not to say I wouldn&#039;t.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>A guy I knew used to drink his bongwater, its quite disgusting but he said it worked.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>What exactly is your question?</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>The sound on my Wii used to be fine but now it is poor quality and makes scrape like sounds. I have checked and cleaned the audio connections and tried restarting the console. Nothing works and I&#039;ve only had it a month! What should I do?</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>I would get in contact with Nintendo&#039;s customer service. Perhaps they will be able to send you a new Wii, or at least something that will fix it.</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>Have you changed the batteries?  Its worth taking it back to the shop.  make sure its not because you are making a wrong movement which can have some irritating sound effects that mostly come through the hand controller</other_answer>
          <other_answer>maybe theres a squirrel trapped inside it</other_answer>
          <other_answer>GET A NEW WII OR SEE IF NINTENDO CAN FIX IT FOR YOU BY GOING ONTO THEIR WEBSITE.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Best bet would be to call the Nintendo helpline. First you might want to try some other game disks though.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>You get what you pay for.
  My PS3 has never gone wrong and it still takes my breath away with its picture quality and the fact it has a mini-orchestra playing inside it.

  C&#039;mon sony!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>It could be your television, also, try checking your game.</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>I read in the paper yesterday that the government was debating whether to stop Christmas, as it would upset  all the other religions practising in this country i.e muslims.  I think this is outrageous!  We have gone too far in this country, we have to apolgise to be white christians here!  The irony is if you visit a far eastern country you have to abide by their rules and religions.  Why are we so afraid to enforce that here?!  We are becoming the minority and are slowly getting pushed out.</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>No, it was only the recommendation of a think tank.  I suspect that the think tank is out of touch with society, as the foreigners in our midst accept our right to our own culture and practices and have no respect for us when we simply abandon them in this cringing manner.  I have never come across anyone who objected to Christmas as such and this is yet another pre-emptive cringe when there is in fact nobody to take offence at our celebrations.  The idea is to promote the festivities of other religions at the expense of Christmas. We are making ourselves a laughing stock by simply abandoning our culture in this way.  Nobody thinks any the better of us for doing so, and we lose our own self-respect.</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>You are so right, well done for voicing this...
  No doubt you&#039;ll get the thumbs down from some.. I probably will too.  Heyho.......... :)</other_answer>
          <other_answer>hi this is OUR country its time we took it back , we need to stand up for ourselves and tell them if they dont like off to p i s s off back,xx</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Presume you mean scrapping. No it is not a proposal  at all... It is a think tank.  that thinks the impossible, and chucks out  daft ideas to get a discussion going.... There is no proposal to do anything.   and pretty sure there wont be....  All races and religions celebrate Christmas   not only Christians,...Mainly for the fun and parties and so on... After all how many so called Christians celebrate the  religious side of the festival... If you were to ask Muslims, Hindus ,Jews/ Buddhists or any other denomination their views,  virtually none would want to see Christmas abandoned or lessened in any way.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I have to agree with you.  I live in Australia and already here some schools do not allow children to make Christmas related arts and crafts for their parents as it offends some of the other kids.  I think that is sad for both children and the parents.  Also, everybody knows that the UK, Australia and America are Christian countries, so obviously when other people from different religions come here they should already be prepared for our Christmas celebrations.  I am not saying they have to participate but let us celebrate it!  Also, if it was better in their country they should have stayed there.  And that is right, if you enter their country you need to participate by their rules so it should be the same when they enter other countries.  I bet they don&#039;t complain about the paid public holiday though!  I wouldn&#039;t worry about it just yet, but who knows in the future!  

  Also  when I was at school when the muslims were fasting (no eating or drinking from sunup to sundown) they expected to be excused from sports as they couldn&#039;t drink.  Also, they attend Catholic schools and then expect to be excused from going to church.  Why attend a atholic school?  There are public and private schools!  Also we have Muslim schools but I bet they wouldn&#039;t allow Christians to attend.  They are not fair people if you ask me.  They want the world to be muslim.  Anyway, the can&#039;t stop individual families from celebrating Christmas.  You can still decorate the inside of your house, can still give presents and churches have masses everyday so you can still attend church.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Well if you think about it, it was the men in parliament in this not the ethnic groups who decided to do it. The guys in parliament think they know what to do but does any ethnic group really gets  upset by christmas? I don&#039;t think so.....</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Here in Sydney a couple of years ago the Lord Mayor decided not put the standard Christmas decorations up around the city  so as not to offend others - there was a huge backlash about it.  

  I have non-Christian friends, who actually love Christmas.  One Muslim friend makes sure he goes to Carols by candlelight, his family always have a get together on Christmas Day and he even wears Christmas ties at work.  My father used to work with a Jew who would go shopping on Christmas Eve and buy his kids several "just because presents".  My daughter has a Jewish girlfriend who loves making decorations and putting up a tree because "they are so pretty".  
  Decorations really have no basis in Christmas, they started out as Pagan rites and Christians adopted them to make Christianity more appealing.  Some Christians get more offended with it than other religions do.  One year my husband made the mistake of politely wishing one of my friends a Merry Christmas, she was actually quite rude to him.  She could have said "Thank you but I don&#039;t celebrate Christmas.  He had no idea she was a Jehovah Witness and quite intolerant of anyone else&#039;s beliefs.
  My non Christian friends say Merry Christmas to me, just as I wish them well on their religious holidays.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Scraping....surely you mean scrapping.
  Christmas shouldn&#039;t be stopped (it won&#039;t in any case, we wouldn&#039;t let it)..to cater for other religions. Do you think they would scrap Ramadan in an Islamic country or Diwali in Hindu countries just for us?? No chance...we pander too much to please others who would not even think of doing the same for us.
  Before anyone calls me a bigot...answer me this...would eg Saudi Arabia start celebrating Christmas and/or Easter to please Christians?? Would Christmas be given the same prominence as Diwali in India?? I think not.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>omg how can you get rid of christmas x</other_answer>
          <other_answer>stopping christmas because it might offend other religons (muslims) is insane other religons would not cancel their festivals so why should we but were expected to bend over backwards for them and what thanx do we get fcuk all</other_answer>
          <other_answer>It will never happen!! - I worry about the way every other religion in the UK gets its own priority bar our own!!!!

  Good question.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>What about upsetting us? or does that not matter, i would not dream of downgrading anyones festival, nor would the Government, so why ours?</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Didn&#039;t the American Revolution teach them anything?  Do they really think they can stop Christians from celebrating one of their most important holy days?  LOL</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I have yet to hear a Muslim say they are offended by Christmas the only people i have heard talk about it are white middle class liberals who have appointed themselves as our moral guardians</other_answer>
          <other_answer>THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! I canot believe that was even considered! This is our country! not Iraqs or whatever. When we go over there its like we have to do everything they say or we would get suicide bombed. Immigrants already raised our tax, now they want to tell us what to do in our own country. We should not have to change for them, they should change for us!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I think what they were actually saying, before everyone goes on an anti-Islamic rant, is that other religious festivals weren&#039;t celebrated in the same way. They weren&#039;t suggesting stopping Christmas but celebrating other religious festivals as well. 
  It&#039;s a good question to bring out the biggots though, well done!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I think they were trying to point out that other religious festivals should be given the same prominence as Christmas - like the Festival of Divali etc.

  I think it is important to respect other people&#039;s beliefs and religious convictions but I think this is going too far - The UK has been a Christian society for many hundreds of years.  It&#039;s time we stopped this nanny state of all inclusivity - brought about by the labour government.  People should be respected for different religious beliefs within our society but I think it is important to say that they chose to live in a christian country then they should respect that country&#039;s traditions and culture.

  My Muslim friends send and receive Christmas cards and I think they see it as a bonus holiday.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I agree with you. They can soooooo NOT get raid of christmas as it is for little children to open presents and they find this fun. I get a dutch christmas and the uk Christmas as parents are from Holland but moved to Scotland.

  chutney and Ol Whit I gave both of you a thumb up as they are good answers.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>This is absolutely insane!! It&#039;s 2007. Yeah, we have different cultures and different celebrations going on, but surely there is enough room for all of them? I dont buy the "it would upset other religions" thing, as other religious festivals dont upset us, so let&#039;s just be rational about it, and make room for everyone&#039;s beliefs. After all, this is 2007, not the middle ages!!! And nobody is scrapping MY christmas..lol</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Oh get over it. I read the same thing and if you believe everything you read, then you&#039;re in for a seriously hard time.

  It was an article reported in the Mirror of all places - it&#039;s hardly the world&#039;s greatest paper - more of a muck rag interested in churning out anything that will get a response.</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
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    </questions_main>
    <questions_main>
      <main_content>
        <main_q1>
          <main_q2>
            <main_question>My flatmate does it and its always full of breadcrumbs or marmite or something equaly disturbing.  If he didn&#039;t want that much why take that much?  Or just use the tiny bit of excess?  He says its cos his parents were brought up in the &#039;crape on, scrape off&#039; generation (ie - mid war rationing) so that&#039;s how he was brought up, but its really irritating.  How do i stop him?</main_question>
          </main_q2>
          <best_a1>
            <best_answer>Seriously, I&#039;ve had this problem. I&#039;ve tried everything, and the one thing I can suggest that will cause the least amount of headache, heartache and one reported case of stitches is you purchasing your own butter. Label it. Explain to your flatmate that you adore him, but his unsanitary butter habits make you want to stab him in the eye with a large carrot. Laugh about it later. Allow him his weird butter scraping habits, and you enjoy your smooth, creamy, crumb-free, buttery goodness.</best_answer>
          </best_a1>
        </main_q1>
        <main_answers>
          <other_answer>its how they were raised--i do it too but only if theres nothing in it</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Buy two tubs!!! One for you and one for your flatmate !!!lol</other_answer>
          <other_answer>this annoys the hell out of me too (glad I am not the only person).
  My husband did it without realising he did it, I told him it was gross and probably full of growing bacteria. He now no longer does it!
  Make a few "comments" whenever he is around and you find it, he may not realise it is a bad habit (he may think everyone does it). If he continues. Make sure he is around when you get a teaspoon, scrape out the "scrape off" and put it in the bin (don&#039;t need to make a comment if you don&#039;t like confrontation). 
  OR, if you don&#039;t want ANY confrontation, always use his "scrape off" to make a slice of toast for him. He can keep his bacteria!
  Good Luck</other_answer>
          <other_answer>my mum did it and even as child I hated it so he cant use the parents did it excuse. If he has too much throw it away, get some tissue or kitchen roll and clean it off, or run it under hot water and melt it away down the sink. Id hate living with someone who did it.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>ERRRRRRR, I KNOW THAT BLOOODY DISCUSTIN, BEING ASAIN MY PARENTS ALWAYS DO THAT ASAINS ARE SO CHEAP I THINK THEY ARE THE ONES WHO INVENTED THAT, EVEN IF U DO SCRAPE TO MUCH TROW IT AWAY!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Ewwwww I know, its awful.  My son does it too despite me nagging him not to.  Buy him portion size tubs or pats...;</other_answer>
          <other_answer>i do it too.. im not ashamed.. its not like i licked the knife or anything...</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I hate it when that happens. Will it kill you take take a little and add a little more if you need more?</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Use a stick of butter on a butter dish, that way it&#039;s harder to put the excess back, and even if he does, it&#039;s easier to remove yourself.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>What are you? Are you a germaphobe? Personally I do not fret over such things but since you asked for a resolution to your problem I will attempt to find you an answer and not simply state that I find your complaint bogus and unwarranted.  You can buy your own butter and label it MY BUTTER - DON&#039;T TOUCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL.  If he touches your butter after that you cave his head in with a lump of pig iron.  Personally I would be grateful that he scrapes the butter back in.  It saves you money.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>i like it like that</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Buy your own butter and don&#039;t let anyone else use it.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>buy your own tub of butter then he doesnt need to use yours he has one you have one solves the problem... i mean really is this  your biggest problem in life??? if so must be nice</other_answer>
          <other_answer>They are utterly butterly</other_answer>
          <other_answer>OMG I hate that. It&#039;s gross. My kids do it and I&#039;m trying so hard to teach them to only take a bit, if you need a bit more then you can get it after. And if you have to much, oh well get rid of it, Yuck, not in the tub. Who wants bread crumbs on their mashed potatoes?</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Always use a separate knife for the butter and get him into the habit of taking a little butter with it and scraping that onto his plate.
  He then puts the clean knife back in the butter dish.
  He uses his own knife to spread the butter.
  If he needs more he goes through the process again.

  Use long-handled teaspoons (available from Ikea - the Dragon set) for the jams/marmites etc.

  It&#039;s called manners.  There&#039;s nothing wrong with that.  Sounds like it would be a compromise for the both of you.

  It works with our grungy teenagers - we have a very clean butter dish!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I really hate that, my nephew does that when hes made a jam sandwich, he either leaves the knife with jam and butter on top of an opened tub of butter or worse he leaves the knife in the jam jar, no matter how many times you ask him not to do that, he still does it, its gross.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>That&#039;s as bad as "double dipping" your potato chip in the onion dip.My sister always did that.Dip,bite then dip again.Sorry Sis,only one dip per chip,make it a big one,we don&#039;t need your slobber in the sour cream!Make your Pal,get his own spread just for him.Ever have a friend eating chips ask for a sip of your soda? then you look and see the "Backwash" they left of grease and little chunks? GROSS!!!!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I think your flatmate has a horrendous habit which he wrongly blamed his parents for.  I don&#039;t think his parents would have taken more butter than necessary if they were bought up during the food rationing years.  I think if you find it too disgusting, you have to be frank with him (you could tell him in a good humoured way) and let him know that it was upsetting you.  Suggest that you are not sharing butter with him anymore.  A small tub of spread or an extra block of butter won&#039;t take up much room in the fridge but it will avoid a lot of conflicts between the two of you.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Stick a post it note on the tub....take what you need...returns not accepted...or I hate marmite!!!!!!!!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>Yes i do it, scrap the unwanted butter back in the tub.  I do have a habit of overloading the knife.  Its such a waste just to chuck it.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>frugal</other_answer>
          <other_answer>it would get wasted if you never put it back.I don&#039;t see why it&#039;s got to be wasted when some one can use it</other_answer>
          <other_answer>I don&#039;t eat butter unless it&#039;s in something. As for my parents they will do it and I don&#039;t really care. I just find eating butter in itself disgusting.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>get squeezeable bottles of butter and it should solve the problem, thats what i started doing....i agree its gross</other_answer>
          <other_answer>my hubby dose it too I hate it gotta admit I very often open the next tub and leave him the messy one maby you could have a tub of butter each</other_answer>
          <other_answer>If adults still behave like this they are best ostracised to live their disgusting lives with like minded Neanderthals. Many years ago I had an acquaintance from the North who used to heat his knife in a cup of tea to ease extraction of butter. I suggested that next time he travelled South, he leave his dirty habits in Manchester. I have not seen him since.</other_answer>
          <other_answer>he may never change his ways....and you are right, it IS rude and disgusting.....if i were you i would keep my own supply of butter and not have to look at the nasy mess he makes of his own butter</other_answer>
          <other_answer>keep your butter in a box in the fridge with a padlock on it, that should stop him!!!!!!</other_answer>
          <other_answer>oh my gosh you an obsesive person. why does that bother you? everybody does or has done that before. and if its  habbit he&#039;s likely to never stop.  so just chill out about it, live with it. cause he proberly thinks your just being up tight. X</other_answer>
        </main_answers>
      </main_content>
    </questions_main>