caffienekitty: (ponder)
caffienekitty ([personal profile] caffienekitty) wrote2010-12-19 09:05 am
Entry tags:

Sherlock Meta: Lactose Issues of 221B

I noticed this a long while back and keep meaning to mention it. I might not be the first to point this out, but I haven't seen it mentioned before.

I think I've solved a very serious and epically perplexing mystery on the BBC series Sherlock. I do believe I have indeed. I think I have solved... THE MYSTERY OF THE MILK!

Dun dun dunnnnn! *gasp!*



I've seen all kinds of crazy theories and questions floated in fic and discussions about why 221b seems to always be out of milk. Reasons including milk baths, any experiment you can think of, stand-in for large quantities of blood in experiments involving the behaviour of proteins, and so on. (Really, it's just a running gag put in by the writers, but pft! Real world logic. *handwave*) However I think I have the real reason there's never any milk.

Everyone keeps wondering what Sherlock does with all the milk? Nothing. Sherlock has nothing to do with the reason they keep running out of milk.


To demonstrate, these caps are from the early scenes of A Study in Pink.

John awake in the middle of the night after a nightmare.




John in the morning with his tea-and-apple breakfast.




Do you see it?

Here, I'll brighten them and circle it.




The milk is out on the counter in the same position in both shots. There's no sign of John having a tea or a glass of milk in the post-nightmare shot, which would indicate that the milk has been left out since sometime before he went to sleep. It's still there in the morning after he's fixed his tea and gone to faff around for who knows how long with his laptop during breakfast, so it'll still be out a while yet.

THEREFORE, I believe the milk at 221b Baker Street is forever in short supply because Dr. John Watson tends to leave it on the counter overnight and it goes off faster.

I repeat: Dun dun dunnnnn! *gasp!*

AND! I even have an in-character theory for why he might do this! In field mess halls when milk is made available during a meal, the jugs are often put out on the mess tables by mess staff at the start of the meal and put away at the end. (Admittedly I'm basing that assumption on very limited experience.) John would be out of the habit of putting away the milk because of this and tend to just unconsciously leave it where it sits.

In short, John has a combat-zone-related dairy dysfunction. Post Traumatic Milk Disorder? Anyway, I think this calls for an "Aw, John." Poor guy.

[identity profile] livia-carica.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
No wonder he looks sad! He can't have milk in his tea!

Poor John and his PTMD :(
embroiderama: (Sherlock)

[personal profile] embroiderama 2010-12-19 05:12 pm (UTC)(link)
combat-zone-related dairy dysfunction

Heee, poor John.

[identity profile] wallhaditcoming.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
My god. It all makes sense now! Poor Sherlock, for taking the brunt of the fandom's blame.

[identity profile] lucdarling.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:15 pm (UTC)(link)
A++ for deductive reasoning!
It makes perfect sense!
oxfordtweed: (OMGWTFBBQ!!!1!eleventy - Rusty)

[personal profile] oxfordtweed 2010-12-19 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
ahaha, that's hilarious. Everyone's always so quick to blame Sherlock for everything, and here this one's John's doing.

My husband does the SAME thing, and I drives me mad. I'll wake up in the morning, and will be able to tell exactly what he had before going to bed. Because it's all still out on the counter. D:

[identity profile] eleanorb.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You could leave milk out on the worktop for a day at least without it going off - especially if it's skim - unless of course the room is heated so much John and Sherlock can go around naked.

There's a thought.
errantcomment: (Default)

[personal profile] errantcomment 2010-12-19 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Well done!
Now perhaps Sherlock will stop pouting and let me write him properly.
...
Nope. Since your deduction is just amazing and I am pretty impressed with your eagle eye action, I assume it's something to do with me.
*goes away to glee about new head-canon*

[identity profile] travels-in-time.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Ha, Post-Traumatic Milk Disorder. :D

[identity profile] flawedamythyst.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
But of course! How elementary!
oxfordtweed: (Shouty - Evan)

[personal profile] oxfordtweed 2010-12-19 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
It IS. When he gets up, I'll ask him how his sandwich/stir fry/whatever was, just to piss him off.

[identity profile] livia-carica.livejournal.com 2010-12-19 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
And calcium so he will grow up big and strong!!

Oh, wait...
ladygray99: (Default)

[personal profile] ladygray99 2010-12-19 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Fucking brilliant! I had a flat mate that would always leave the milk on the counter. It drove me fucking batty. There's also a kind of hipper processed milk that you can leave out for a long time and it wont go off. They sell it to campers and islanders down here but I would not be surprised if various military organizations use it. He's obviously just forgotten that milk goes off.
aescu: (oomilk)

[personal profile] aescu 2010-12-19 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
O_o
you are right!

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