weird science

Clogging up the Works

We'd been having toilet troubles for a few months, one just didn't flush with enough vigor.  I tried snakes, a toilet auger, fancy plungers, all to no avail.  None of the other drains or the other toilet had any problems, so it probably wasn't the sewer system.  So I finally called the pros out, a plumber from Roto Rooter. He tried everything, and felt it was probably one of the "ports" that push water towards the drain wasn't developing enough pressure, probably due to calcium deposits. We worked on for a while with some wire, but couldn't get it working any better.  We discussed replacement toilets, and I was about to go out and get a replacement Kohler. Remembering how difficult it can be getting the rusty mounting bolts off, I asked him to pull the toilet, since I hadn't used up my hour minimum.

A few minutes later, I heard him say, "holy cow! There's nothing wrong with your toilet." Read more »

The Florence Henderson Fallacy

Talk about somethin' for nothin' - imagine cooking a notoriously greasy comfort food favorite, and have it practically make fat work in reverse.  Using some twisted logic, Wesson oil sonds too good to be true.

I got to thinking of those old Wesson Oil commercials from my youth, the ones with Florence Henderson doing her Bradyesque kitchen magic.  She'd start off with a cup of oil, fry some chicken, and then measure the oil that was left in the pan.  Seems she'd be just two tablespoons short of her original cup.  Goodness, that chicken must be virtually fat free! Read more »

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