TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
"Don't listen to Google and mill your rice for vinegar."
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In today's episode of "innocent AI usage goes wrong," a Stardew Valley player wastes a bunch of time and resources because a Google AI summary lied to their face.
"Don't listen to Google and mill your rice for vinegar," warned user WonderfulScholar6171 on the Stardew subreddit this week. "If you want to avoid a mass amount of rice juice that is."
Scholar shared a screenshot of their Google query "how to make vinegar stardew" and its generated answer: "In Stardew Valley update 1.6+, you can make vinegar by placing 1 unit or Rice (or Unmilled Rice) into a Keg."
The error lies in the parenthetical. You do, in fact, have to mill your rice before throwing it into a keg if you want vinegar. Skip that step (or be misdirected by a machine that only pretends to produce reason) and, well, "now I'm left with 136 Unmilled Rice Juice."
The second screenshot is simply tragic: rows upon rows of neatly arranged kegs destined for vinegar production, but instead packing hundreds of gallons of rice juice. What the heck is rice juice? You can drink it for a little stamina and health, or sell it for around 90 gold. Not exactly a money-printing operation.
As many in the comments were quick to point out, Google summaries are best ignored when truth is relevant. A search engine listing that is routinely wrong is by default the worst result, much like how a fridge that only chills your food for part of each day is the worst refrigerator.
To be fair to our accidental juice mogul, they're hardly the first to shove unmilled rice into a keg expecting vinegar. Someone else came to the Starfew subreddit three years ago to share the same PSA.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Ironically, that post is one of several PSAs that appear when you duplicate this original search and scroll past Google's made-up, incorrect guess. Scroll past Reddit results and you eventually reach the human-made wiki entry for vinegar that the AI poorly stole from:
"Vinegar can also be made by putting Rice into a Keg," it reads.
Good to know.
Stardew Valley mods: Custom farmingStardew Valley cheats: Farm fasterStardew Valley multiplayer: Co-op farmingGames like Stardew Valley: More life simsBest indie games: Independent excellence
Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer sin...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
In today's episode of "innocent AI usage goes wrong," a Stardew Valley player wastes a bunch of time and resources because a Google AI summary lied to their face.
"Don't listen to Google and mill your rice for vinegar," warned user WonderfulScholar6171 on the Stardew subreddit this week. "If you want to avoid a mass amount of rice juice that is."
Scholar shared a screenshot of their Google query "how to make vinegar stardew" and its generated answer: "In Stardew Valley update 1.6+, you can make vinegar by placing 1 unit or Rice (or Unmilled Rice) into a Keg."
The error lies in the parenthetical. You do, in fact, have to mill your rice before throwing it into a keg if you want vinegar. Skip that step (or be misdirected by a machine that only pretends to produce reason) and, well, "now I'm left with 136 Unmilled Rice Juice."
The second screenshot is simply tragic: rows upon rows of neatly arranged kegs destined for vinegar production, but instead packing hundreds of gallons of rice juice. What the heck is rice juice? You can drink it for a little stamina and health, or sell it for around 90 gold. Not exactly a money-printing operation.
As many in the comments were quick to point out, Google summaries are best ignored when truth is relevant. A search engine listing that is routinely wrong is by default the worst result, much like how a fridge that only chills your food for part of each day is the worst refrigerator.
To be fair to our accidental juice mogul, they're hardly the first to shove unmilled rice into a keg expecting vinegar. Someone else came to the Starfew subreddit three years ago to share the same PSA.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Ironically, that post is one of several PSAs that appear when you duplicate this original search and scroll past Google's made-up, incorrect guess. Scroll past Reddit results and you eventually reach the human-made wiki entry for vinegar that the AI poorly stole from:
"Vinegar can also be made by putting Rice into a Keg," it reads.
Good to know.
Stardew Valley mods: Custom farmingStardew Valley cheats: Farm fasterStardew Valley multiplayer: Co-op farmingGames like Stardew Valley: More life simsBest indie games: Independent excellence
Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer sin...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?