Reminds me of one of the urban stories that are told. Woman (wife/mother) would always cut the ends off the roast that she was going to cook. When asked about it she said that her mother had always done that. When quizzed more she decided to ask her mother. When asked her mother explained she had a small oven and/or a short pan to place the roast into and she had to cut the ends off to fit -- once she had a larger over/pan after the children moved out, she did not have to continue doing this.
Brian Norden