Twiddling my thumbs!

Twiddling my thumbs!
Just twiddling my thumbs!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Expiriments

One of my pet peeves is the way chapstick is packaged. It is sold by weight, but the design is such that you can't get at the last bit of it. There is a small cup that is threaded so that it moves up and down when you twist the bottom. If the cup were turned open side down, all of the product would be accessible. For me, that little cup full is several weeks worth of lip balm. So I've been saving them in hopes of some inspiration in extraction. 
I own a heat lamp, so I figured that applying a little heat might do the trick. I can remove the little pink cup from "empty" tubes, so I position one on top of another tube and put it under the heat lamp. Then several people and many distractions arrive. Finally, an hour and a half later, this is what I find. The pink stuff at the top is what's left of the two pink cups, the lip balm was a puddle on the bench.
Note to self; set a timer next time.
Curiously enough, my smart phone has such a function, if only I would remember.
Second attempt of five minutes worked like a charm. I made a heat shield out of some gold mylar, but I don't think it mattered.