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January 25, 2007
Hot Cross Sponge
While this story has nothing to do with music and recording, I found it so funny that I had to comment (snark?) on it. Apparently, you can’t underestimate the ability of some people to not think things through.
Apparently a team at the University of Florida (not the football team, but most likely a team of guys in white lab coats) found that “cooking” a sponge for two minutes in the microwave at full power could kill a range of bacteria, viruses and parasites.
They described how they soaked the sponges in wastewater and then zapped them.
It sounded like a good idea. Who doesn’t want to get rid of those nasty bacteria viruses and parasites? So many folks tried to do this at home, but they didn’t realize that the sponge had to be WET. Several experimenters left out this crucial step. They put a dry sponge in the microwave at high power. The result? A series of sponge fires that left kitchens across the nation smelling like burning tires.
One disgruntled experimenter wrote: “Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off.”
Aaron Hoover, a press officer at the University of Florida, said several other news organizations received similar complaints, although no one had complained directly to the university.
“We figured, 'Wow, we better let people know right away that the sponge should be wet,”’ Hoover said in a telephone interview.
Yeah, I guess so!
So the university issued the following advisory:
“To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot.”
Duh, duh, and duh.
There must be SOME way I can connect this to the music business. Any ideas?
Happy sponge cooking!
Posted by leon at January 25, 2007 02:42 PM