I didn't actually read the Secret Life of Bees. Well, I read about half of it before deciding that if I were going to get all depressed about someone's miserable life, I may as well be feeling for real people. It's a GREAT book though! Or at least the first half is really great. Anyway, I never found out about what bees do in their secret lives, but I've recently discovered the secret life of toothpaste.
Some time ago my friend Dan mentioned having CDs regrooved. I was astonished. CDs can be regrooved?!?!?! Dan is, among other things, a DJ. So I felt like he was a fairly credible source for the dirt on CDs.
I was ready to set the world on fire with this new knowledge! Who it was I was planning to enlighten I can't really say, since as I've mentioned none of my friends are into that kind of stuff. I planned on interrogating him relentlessly when I suddenly realized that I had burned the CD in question from itunes. Why go through all the hassle of regrooving when I could just burn another twelve cent CD?
I've since gotten a lot lazier about putting new CDs into itunes and have had opportunity to rethink the whole regrooving thing. No point in suggesting I download directly from the internet - I still use a cast iron pan for cryin' out loud! I'm not exactly what marketers call an "early adopter."
More recently another friend (also named Daniel) and I were talking about CDs. I briefly wondered if men named Daniel might have an inordinate knowledge of the workings of CDs. But then I remembered that about 1/3 of the men I know are named Dan or Daniel and that it stands to reason that a couple of them would have an area of expertise in common. In any case, this particular Daniel knows a lot about a lot of things, so he seems like a credible source for information on...well...any number of subjects.
For whatever reason, Daniel was telling me that CDs have a thin layer of plastic over the music which led to him telling me the meaning of life for toothpaste. I have used windex, hot water, cotton, and breath among other things, but nothing works like toothpaste for breathing new life into a skipping CD!
My favorite CD is now scratch-free! Forget Jesus is Magic (although it's a really funny movie, if you like demented humor). Toothpaste is magic! Also, I'm changing careers to become a guidance councilor for common household products.
17 comments:
So how the heck do you do that? Just rub the paste over the CD and wipe dry?
I'm assuming those pastes with the little breath strips embedded in them wouldn't be a great choice...
;)
Gotta love toothpaste!! It also takes scratches out of watch glass!!!
I always love finding out that I can make use of common things (like household items) for other purposes. Usually they lead to some time or monetary savings, and that's never a bad thing!
One of the items that I've read that has many many more than just common uses is vinegar. What other kinds of little tidbits have you gathered?
That last line made me laugh so much!
How does it work? I thought you just brushed your teeth and everything got regrooved ... no?
Right on! I use toothpaste as well. I find the best results come from those pasty toothpastes instead of the gelly toothpastes. I like Tom's of Maine, myself. Preferably gingermint flavor, because nothing goes with Miles Davis like fresh ginger!
Do you think you could convince my children that it can also be used to freshen breath and shine teeth?
I have to remind them every morning and I'd like the lesson to stick.
Maureen - I had to kind of dampen it first & then I just scrubbed it with my fingers. This is what I get for not watching enough TV - I didn't even know there WAS toothpaste with embedded strips.
Rachael - So good to know!
Derek - I have NO MEMORY what so ever for most stuff, but I gather tidbits like crazy. I had no idea what to choose for a category for this post so "tidbits" it is! Thanks for the word - now I'll have to have a category for that. Actually my last "tidbit" wasn't terribly practical - I've been told that the reason lion tamers use chairs is because the evenly matched feet are unlike scattering animals found in the wild & confuse the lions (ie, they're looking for the weak, sickly chair leg & there isn't one). :-) :-) :-)
Thanks Deidre & you made me laugh too!!!!
Frogger - And I'm really glad to know Tom's works too. I used a sample of crest 'cause I figured Daniel wasn't likely to have used Tom's. Miles & ginger: you are SO RIGHT!!!! I'm more into folk/acoustic though so I go for the cinnamint...I accidentally bought cinnamon clove instead this time though. :-( :-(
Delmer - I can barely convince my OWN kids... :-0 :-0 :-0
See we learn something new everyday! I thought I would just use my toothpaste for my teeth and my diamonds! But nooooo there are things that it can be used on. Thanks for the awesome tip. My dh always get MY cd's soooo dirty and they skip all the time. Now hoping they won't.
lol, and you keep commenting on my blog that your not geeky. You are! I honestly didn't know about this!
Hey dose it have to be minty fresh or tarter control? :D
I read "The Secret Life Of Bees" and I don't recall it being depressing. I also read S.M. Kidd's other book, "The Mermaid Chair" Totally off-topic but that's a great book, too.
I don't even use iTunes nor have I downloaded music. If you're not an early adopter, I'm a very late or "wait until the prices drop down" type of buyer. I also have a tendency to think, "How much longer can I live without this newish thing?"
Cast Iron pan?? I heard those are great! A cooking "must have" I don't have one. I usually think of them in conjunction with bopping a burglar in the head. Too much "Three Stooges" or maybe "I Love Lucy" or something.
Thanks for the toothpaste trick! I'll have to google that for instructions (unless you give them here) when I need to regroove a CD. I currently don't have any to regroove. I am guessing that you have to use the regular paste type toothpaste and not the gel type? I have used toothpaste to clean jewelry now I have another use!
Derek mentioned using vinegar (distilled white vinegar is what I use) as a cleaner. That's a good all-purpose household cleaner! You can mix it with baking soda (cool bubbling action) to clear drains and put some in the washing machine rinse cycle as a fabric softener. "The Queen of Clean" has a book with all sorts of cleaning tips that use white vinegar and baking soda.
Speaking about regrooving, too bad you can't use toothpaste to "get your groove back" ! Well, maybe that's a good thing. Stella's method was certainly more fun (from the movie "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" for those who don't know) than toothpaste.
Glad I could give you the idea for the category to put this into!
I like that little bit about the lion tamers and why they use chairs. That's not exactly something as useful as this toothpaste trick, but it sure is interesting! (Even more so if it's true.)
Here's hoping that you post more of these fun tidbits!
Hey thanks! we have a ton of gamecube games that won't work right because they were never stored properly and got really scratched. Going to try this out really soon. Here's hoping it works, I am sick of hearing how I have to buy all new games (like that will happen!).
Lynn & Beth - GOOD LUCK!!!!! I've only tried it on one CD myself, but it worked like a charm.
JohnC - I am a TOTAL and COMPLETE geek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (but charmingly so)...it's just that my geek tendencies don't run toward the math/science areas. My brain hurts just trying to think about how a fax works. I totally and completely understand "a thin layer of plastic". I can't figure out the whole music underneath thing...it's just that as I explained in my notice to burglars post, I'm very attached to my CDs...oh wait, that might be another indicator of geekiness.
Roger - Well, y'know, it seems to depend on the type of music on said CD.
Ms.Q - I just put a little water & spread it around with my finger. I never saw that groove movie!!!!
I never had much luck with the vinegar & baking soda down the drain thing. I mean, it was fun & all, but it didn't actually clear my drain very well.
That book was so totally depressing!!!!! Or, maybe I was just depressed anyway. But seriously, I asked around the lunch room if it got any better or if I was just going to be depressed the entire time I read it & people said no, I could pretty much expect to cry the entire time. So I gave up.
Derek (& JOHNC)- Yeah, I don't know how credible a source the guy that told me the lion taming is. He also warned me away from bald guys (and himself in the process), which in my somewhat limited experience has turned out to be TOTALLY TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) :-) :-) KIDDING JohnC!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, not really kidding - I think I'm beginning to gather that bald guys are pretty much guaranteed trouble. I mean, not to make any sweeping generalizations about people or anything, but that's been my experience so far.
Toothpaste! Toothpaste? Okaaaaay.... yep I am so gonna try it.
I'm not BALD!
My hair just goes where my body wants to be...thin. Very thin. So thin you can see right through it, like me! :)
DJ - Hope it worked!
John - As I think I've pointed out, you might be the epitome of bald!!!
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