The Sticky Stuff

We've all dealt with the "baby proof" medicine toppers that take a chain saw to remove. That's the "sticky stuff" of which I speak.  I have a dozen tales about dealing with drug store bottle lids. Some of them involve a tricky, painful process of removal along with much blue air when the top suddenly flies off and the expensive pills disappear down a drain or a toilet bowl. It's happened to me more than a few times. Who is to blame? Likely me. My medicine chest is on high  and anything that falls out of my hands, becomes airborne. The majority of pill takers are old and haven't had a baby around for decades but they have to deal with frustrating baby proof tops.  Those with babies  need to pay attention and ensure safety caps: granted. But to most elders they are a painful nuisance. During my last visit to a pharmacy, I noticed  something called "arthritis lids" and they are a boon. One twist and you're able to access the ingredients immediately! Another sticky situation is one I encountered today while making bread. It's not the first time it happened, but the encounter with my stand mixer was very frustrating. I don't have a muscular individual to call on for such minor emergencies. To get the bowl off the stand after a good mixing session is like trying to open Tut's tomb.  As the mixing goes on, it seems, the bowl gets more and more jammed into its shallow port. At the end of a good mix, if you forgot to oil the port a little, you will spend a half hour working that bowl out of its place. After twisting until I could twist no more, I resorted to, as per instructions, applying a warm wet cloth to the base. After more strain and effort, I found that that method didn't work. Out came the handy dandy WD40 and a spurt of it did not work. Finally, completely frustrated, I removed the dough into another bowl to rise. Again, I put in time trying to get the now empty bowl twisted out. Nothing seemed to make it budge. Suddenly my brain kicked into the Science department, and I began to apply science. I took ice cubes and put them inside the bowl, waited a short time and voila, I twisted, and the bowl came off. Of course, scientifically, the cold metal of the bowl bottom reduced its mass a little and  released from the warmer base. Applied Science seldom, if ever, fails. It does make one wonder, however, what kind of testing process is applied to the things we use every day. Why should the bowl stick as it does? Why does the front door stick and can't be unlocked  due to the expected natural settling of the building, how come the drawers jam and cupboard doors don't close properly? These things are the Sticky Stuff of life. After-purchase is studied lightly.  It's not just the initial using of a product, but also its future wear effects that should be tested and advertised. Fortunately, in a sticky situation, we can always "google it"!