Skylerp31 is right about the weight being the key part. A crock just makes it easier to get that weight right without extra gear. Good gear removes a variable, but it's still just about keeping things under the brine.

My old foreman in Toledo used to say we all have blind spots the size of a dinner plate... I spent a whole year grinding down welds on structural steel because I thought more filler meant stronger. Turns out I was just making a huge, ugly mess for the grinder to fix. Sometimes you need someone to just point at the obvious thing you're doing and call it stupid.

Sounds a bit dramatic tbh.

Portland coffee shop owner's 15% sales drop gamble actually paid off later.

My buddy did that with "bet" lol, he thought it was just agreeing until @samjohnson explained it meant like a sure thing.