Rinsing the rice

I bought a rice cooker in the January sales. The instructions told me to rinse the rice for the best results, so I did. And it was a bloody nightmare: clogged sieves, rice on the floor, and water everywhere. One brave day, I skipped the rinsing and cooked the rice straight from the packet. Guess what? There was no difference. At all. It made me think – where else am I metaphorically rinsing the…