Originally Posted by CaliLivChick

My boyfriend broke the spaghetti once, and only once, before putting it in the pot. After I "spoke" with him about it, he never has since. Of course, he also put oil in the water, thinking that it would help the spaghetti not stick together. Alton Brown of Food Network will tell you that simply isn't true. My boyfriend has since reformed his evil ways. And that's my position on breaking the spaghetti before cooking.

Now, as far as cutting spaghetti while it is on the plate, I only feel that should happen with children and people with a gap between their front teeth. Before I had braces, whenever we'd eat spaghetti, my parents would get on my case about the spaghetti hanging out of my mouth (wasn't the best spaghetti twirler when I was younger). I would tell them that I was trying to bite it, but it would go between my two front teeth, and avoid being bitten. I finally had to cut my spaghetti. After my braces, no problem, and my spaghetti hasn't seen a knife since.