Modern aluminum" still freaks me out tbh.

Honestly I've had the total opposite experience. My linen thread kept fraying and breaking, but the nylon has been solid for me. Maybe you just got a bad spool or something?

Yeah my buddy always skips those recap intros on shows and then texts me five times an episode asking what's going on lol. Used to do the same thing with meeting summaries at work, just jumped right in. Got totally lost that one time they changed the project deadline and I missed the memo. Now I skim that stuff every single time, saves a ton of confusion.

Sift your flour really well before you mix it with anything else. I had the same issue until I started using a whisk to combine dry ingredients first. Another trick is to add your milk or eggs slowly while mixing on low speed. Let your butter sit out so it's soft, that helps a ton. After a few tries, you'll get smooth batter even if you're keeping the lumpy vibe.

I mean sugar actually does work as a retarder, it's just that modern additives are way more precise. Kinda wild that the old trick still has some real science behind it though.