Braingle: 'Nahco Cheese' Riddle

Nahco Cheese

Riddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.

Puzzle ID:	#32488
Fun:	(2.99)
Difficulty:	(1.71)
Category:	Riddle
Submitted By:	bigSWAFF_69_

I'm powerful enough to clean most anything,
Yet gentle enough to eat.

I'm used to make an explosion of sorts,
Yet can be found at millions of stores worldwide.

I can kill grass,
And even tenderize your meat.

I can clean up even the smelliest stench,
and soften your fabrics.

What am I?

Answer

Baking Soda.

It is used for a variety of cleaning.
It is a common ingredient in many baked foods.
It can react with vinegar to form an "explosion". (Typically used in a "Baking Soda Volcano").
It can be purchased at many stores around the world.

Baking soda can be used to kill crab grass.
It can speed up the tenderizing process of meat in stew.
It is used to remove odor in fabrics.
It is also used as a fabric softener.

The typo in the title is on purpose. "NaHCO3" is the chemical name for Baking Soda. Looks similar to "nacho", doesn't it?
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Comments

DevilBunny Aug 18, 2006	Oh yeah.
boodler Aug 18, 2006	I'm nacho what you mean
kimberlykay Aug 18, 2006	Good one Swaffy!
Winner4600 Aug 18, 2006	Hey, I'm the first NONsubscriber to post a comment!!! Anyway, I really liked this one, so Great Job!!!
vbguy101 Aug 18, 2006	I have a nonsubcribed membership and recently joined Braingle. I sent a comment on August 14. Check my profile and you will see I have less than enough pts. to send a teaser. Hey, if I didn't see the ans., I would have put, "You spelled nacho wrong, idiot!"
GebbieRose Aug 19, 2006	vbguy101, baking soda is NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate)... hence, nahco.
Unstumpable Aug 23, 2006	I get the NaHCO part, but why did you put cheese after it? I thought it was gunna' be about cheese until i read it Its wat i was looking forward to,
bigSWAFF_69_ Aug 23, 2006	To make you think Nacho Cheese. Just saying "Nahco" wouldn't make it that hard to tell it wasn't "Nacho". Hope that makes sence.
markita1 Sep 02, 2006	he spelled nacho wrong
bigSWAFF_69_ Sep 02, 2006	... not. going. to. say. anything.
JessicaG Sep 04, 2006	Love it - I thought the answer was Coke actually. and I thought you made a typo in the heading too great teaser
tintiniscool Sep 23, 2006	Awesome one, swaff. I really liked it
tintiniscool Sep 23, 2006	O.O I just realized it was spelled nahco Great one, once again!!!!
MissLadyBug Sep 24, 2006	I really liked this one. Great teaser and a wonderful play on words.
bluehawk Sep 24, 2006	I FIGURED THIS ONE OUT RIGHT OFF. GOOD ONE SWAFF!!!!
Scitchr Sep 24, 2006	Tho its a riddle its science, too.
marschie Sep 24, 2006	Oooo, I didn't like this one!
coachpisco Sep 24, 2006	Very sneaky, but very good.
utnative Sep 24, 2006	i was way off i tried to get something that went with nahcos. a great teaser and a good eye opener cry:
beefdog33 Sep 24, 2006	wow that was really somtine i got it rite at the end thou good jod that was kinda hard!!
Pizzazz2u Sep 24, 2006	Fantastic science teaser! A teaser to get you to thinking on several topics. Very good! By adding that little bit of spice to a teaser, adds to the zesto and zing of the answer. Keep up the awesome work.
bradon182001 Sep 24, 2006	My very first reaction was "salt", then I read it again and couldn't find a way for salt to make an explosion. Baking soda, ofcourse!!!Really good thought provoking teaser.
FeaerFactorY666 Sep 24, 2006	nice!
vlerma Sep 24, 2006	I was torn between vinegar and baking soda as I didn't even realize the NAHCO bit. But decided that baking soda fit the bill better. Nice one Swaffy
jabdr Sep 24, 2006	Laughing....for once forgetting to read the title was probably a help! I wasn't distracted by spelling or jalepenos and went straight to bleach..then corn starch.
jabdr Sep 24, 2006	And thennnnnnn baking soda
saleprice Sep 24, 2006	oooh, I picked vinegar, is my face red??? LOL
cincigirl4ever Sep 24, 2006	i know you have already explained why you put the cheese bit in after nahco, but i personally thought(after reading the answer) that it was there because it sounded like three...cheese/three...i'm not even sure why i thought that, but i did. its a GREAT teaser, tho, and i loved it, altho i didnt know the answer. good job!
phyllisa Sep 24, 2006	Very good, I thought it was salt. The Nahco part fooled me.
Moon_Girl_ Sep 24, 2006	I thought it was club soda! oh well I was close! nice 1!!!!!!!
jenny_lee Sep 24, 2006	Great teaser! I didn't even notice the title was spelled Nahco instedad of nacho!
jcann Sep 24, 2006	I, like Vierma, didn't really pay that much attention to the NAHCO part. (But when I first read it, I did think it said "nacho".) I guessed it as soon as I read the part about cleaning up the smelliest stench, because I always keep an open box in the fridge and also have sprinkled it on my carpet to make it fresher. Then I went back and realized is fit all the other clues also. I didn't think I was good at science , but lately I've been getting these--keep "em coming!
RRAMMOHAN Sep 24, 2006	Bradon's comments reflect mine too! Like this teaser.
kman613 Sep 24, 2006	For some reason SALT came to mind - you got me on this one! Nice job.
FatHead Sep 25, 2006	Not bad! However, perhaps you could've put that as a hint?
Qrystal Sep 25, 2006	Ahh, I let this one get me. I decided to just give up after a half-arsed guess of "salt", figuring that I probably just don't know enough chemistry to know if it reacts explosively with anything. Meh. It was fun to learn these facts though, and I like the title (though I didn't even pay attention to it until it was mentioned in the answer!) Kudos.
tdbrsun Sep 26, 2006	Very good! I did not know this one.,
temisho Sep 26, 2006	this one i really didn't like! no offense!!
luvdoritos706 Sep 27, 2006	well...i liked it....i was close
jr_whiz Sep 30, 2006	Wow, very well thought out. Loved it!
flamehead Oct 15, 2006	Very nice, and very clever. I was thinking cheese at first (before I read it) but after the first clue I was like there is no way it's cheese.
mosca Jul 28, 2007	Vinegar also fits the conditions. I use it in washing and spray it on crab grass and poison ivy to kill them. With baking soda it can make little explosions, and I put it in salads and eat it, whereas I wouldn't eat baking soda!
cryptoson Feb 09, 2008	The title gave it away
elentir Sep 24, 2009	I agree with mosca. Vinegar works just as well for an answer. Although it doesn't fit with the title.
doehead Sep 24, 2009	I figured out baking soda from nahco, but I have no idea why you put cheese in the title.
patiencewithaP Sep 24, 2009	Never liked chemistry so the nahco didn't ring any bells...but I got it anyway!
torgortega Sep 24, 2009	I almost went with salt until I realized the misspelling of "nahco" had to be a clue.
auntiesis Sep 24, 2009	Came up with baking soda after the first 2 lines because I have used it for years around the house. Love the stuff. Great teaser, well written. A+
leroyleroy Sep 24, 2009	I THOUGHT THE ANSWER WAS VINEGAR.THIS IS A GREAT BRAINGLE. ID LIKE TO SEE MORE.
akmozart Sep 24, 2009	Cool!
Provlear Sep 30, 2009	Somebody doesn't know how to make a riddle! Seriously.
bigSWAFF_69_ Oct 01, 2009	Seriously.
Babe Sep 24, 2012	I do not know how I got it but I did. At first I said Alka Seltzer and then changed it to baking soda. YAAAY me !
JQPublic Sep 24, 2012	I didn't know uses 5-8. Naturally, I didn't get the answer. Good teaser, but I think it's better to present this as a paragraph instead of a poem because it isn't really a poem.
HABS2933 Sep 24, 2012	As soon as I read the first couple lines I thought of either baking soda or white vinegar as I know though white vinegar is eaten quite frequently here, everyone knows how well it cleans as well. The explosion line didn't help as vinegar is the second "ingredient" in the Papier-mâché volcano explosion. As I read a bit further it was obvious which was the answer. Good teaser.
cutebug Sep 24, 2012	Nahco gave it away thanks to my chemistry background.
Jmoney95 Sep 24, 2012	that was a good one
iggy39 Sep 24, 2012	Good one I thought you had me but I came through. Yeah Yeah, really enjoyed it. I would like more of these.