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Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

Anal lube might do it.
Wrong website mate (LOL) ..

edit update: The freezer trick didn't work, the Mrs took them to customers who couldn't solve the riddle, the owner of the entire place is now in possession as his Sister couldn't solve it either. I already tried the pressure hose between the cups thing but not one of those machines you'd wash your car with kind of pressure.

I badly want them to remain locked together.
 
Have you tried tapping either one or both? Sympathetic resonance will sometimes do it, if you tap the outside one and pull the inside at the same time...
 
Minor strangeness ..

.. our person who does the washing up at work has been unable to separate a round espresso cup that's become brilliantly lodged inside another larger round coffee mug ..

Being an ex barman, I've dealt with these before so submerged the base of the larger mug in scalding hot water and placed ice cubes inside the espresso mug confident that expansion and contraction would do the trick again .. nope .. someone suggested using washing up liquid and then oil to lube it up .. nope .. someone used a machine that vibrates and also a butter knife as a gentle lever to work the cups free .. nope ..

At this stage I was becoming seriously fond of these cups that refused to be released from each other, jokes were made about just throwing them at the wall which would solve the problem quickly .. nope, because I wouldn't let them. I want the riddle of separating these cups to piss people off for decades.

The Mrs has got involved now, googled it and has put them in the freezer for 2 hours because apparently that works. I seriously hope it doesn't in the purest Fortean sense.

I once acquired a hiking pole that'd been over-shortened and become jammed. Tried all the oiling/WD40/hot and cold treatments but nothing worked.

As I then worked in a gym I took it in with me and challenged the bodybuilders to sort it. They all tried over a couple of weeks to no avail.

I eventually took it home and left it in the kitchen and forgot about it for ages.
Then I noticed it and picked it up and gave it a twist, and it worked right away.

So summat did the trick, dunno what though!
 
I once acquired a hiking pole that'd been over-shortened and become jammed. Tried all the oiling/WD40/hot and cold treatments but nothing worked.

As I then worked in a gym I took it in with me and challenged the bodybuilders to sort it. They all tried over a couple of weeks to no avail.

I eventually took it home and left it in the kitchen and forgot about it for ages.
Then I noticed it and picked it up and gave it a twist, and it worked right away.

So summat did the trick, dunno what though!
One of your kids must have done it. Or one of the cats.
 
I once acquired a hiking pole that'd been over-shortened and become jammed. Tried all the oiling/WD40/hot and cold treatments but nothing worked.

As I then worked in a gym I took it in with me and challenged the bodybuilders to sort it. They all tried over a couple of weeks to no avail.

I eventually took it home and left it in the kitchen and forgot about it for ages.
Then I noticed it and picked it up and gave it a twist, and it worked right away.

So summat did the trick, dunno what though!
Cool, maybe the same thing will happen to me because I've brought it/them home with me because I'm off for a few days now, I was just walking home with it/them in a plastic bag on top of some sandwiches I forgot to eat, I thought I heard a 'chinking' sound, I checked it/them again and they're still locked tight.

I might have to hide it/them from the Mrs though because once she gets a compulsion she gets an obsession to solve something.
 
Cool, maybe the same thing will happen to me because I've brought it/them home with me because I'm off for a few days now, I was just walking home with it/them in a plastic bag on top of some sandwiches I forgot to eat, I thought I heard a 'chinking' sound, I checked it/them again and they're still locked tight.

I might have to hide it/them from the Mrs though because once she gets a compulsion she gets an obsession to solve something.

The hiking pole might've come loose when it was left alone long enough for the oil to work. With the cups there's a vacuum to help keep them stuck. Maybe you could put a layer of oil between the cups and stand them somewhere warm and out of the way, and gravity might do the trick.
 
I wonder if you could drizzle some dishwashing liquid in if there's any space, leave for awhile, then grasp as if to pull them apart and twist each in the opposite way?
 
I've been getting little electric shocks off all the metal appliances in my kitchen, all day today (including the stainless steel sink).
I can only assume it is static electricity somehow related to the brand new acrylic jumper I'm wearing?

Hi Recycled1,

Pardon me for butting in, on an old message.
First off...has your condition been remedied? If so, what do you think was the cause?

Otherwise, may I ask of your environment? Home or an apartment? If apartment, multi-story? In a long hallway of other apartments? If not, a single flat in a neighborhood of flats? Are the floors covered with rugs or resin shellacqed hardwood, or perhaps ceramic tile, etc? Have the 'shocks' only recently begun happening or is this a recurring event? Do you feel that the 'shocks' are electric in nature or possibly neurological? Do you suffer from tinninitus (sounds a bit like a high pitched hissing sound inside the head around the area of the ears, eg., pink-noise with 12db roll-off...'white noise')?

plutronus
 
Hi Recycled1,

Pardon me for butting in, on an old message.
First off...has your condition been remedied? If so, what do you think was the cause?

Otherwise, may I ask of your environment? Home or an apartment? If apartment, multi-story? In a long hallway of other apartments? If not, a single flat in a neighborhood of flats? Are the floors covered with rugs or resin shellacqed hardwood, or perhaps ceramic tile, etc? Have the 'shocks' only recently begun happening or is this a recurring event? Do you feel that the 'shocks' are electric in nature or possibly neurological? Do you suffer from tinninitus (sounds a bit like a high pitched hissing sound inside the head around the area of the ears, eg., pink-noise with 12db roll-off...'white noise')?

plutronus
Hello Plutronus.
I still believe it to be caused by wearing brand new acrylic jumper(s).
After the first few hours of wearing the first jumper, the little shocks stopped happening.
But I bought a batch of 5 of these plain short sleeved jumpers (reduced to £6 each -excellent value from Bon Marche -different colours, obviously:D) , and yesterday when I put on a different one, the shocks happened again.
I only notice it in the kitchen where I'm in a little modern terraced house with ceramic tiles on the floor, and some sort of footwear with synthetic material soles on my feet.
No tinnitus, no weird neurological problems. It's static, I'm sure, and has something to do with brand new previously unworn bargain jumpers!
 
I wonder if you could drizzle some dishwashing liquid in if there's any space, leave for awhile, then grasp as if to pull them apart and twist each in the opposite way?
We've all tried that one, it has not worked. A group of 19 golfers couldn't solve this one either last night.
 
The hiking pole might've come loose when it was left alone long enough for the oil to work. With the cups there's a vacuum to help keep them stuck. Maybe you could put a layer of oil between the cups and stand them somewhere warm and out of the way, and gravity might do the trick.
Funny you should say that because a co worker told the Mrs he was going to leave them sitting in the window for a while before having a go himself .. we've tried oil but not tried the 'let them do it in their own time' approach yet. I'll try and take a pic of them and post it today, it's not a vacuum situation because the espresso cup is vertically lodged in with loads of air around it.
 
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We've all tried that one, it has not worked. A group of 19 golfers couldn't solve this one either last night.
Ah but have you tried filling the gaps to overflowing with Fairy liquid and then leaving it to dry off and then twisting. It was the only way I was able to separate 2 glasses which were stuck in the same fashion.( They were 99p glasses but I hate being flummoxed by inanimate objects)
 
Ah but have you tried filling the gaps to overflowing with Fairy liquid and then leaving it to dry off and then twisting. It was the only way I was able to separate 2 glasses which were stuck in the same fashion.( They were 99p glasses but I hate being flummoxed by inanimate objects)
I haven't tried that Pete but will have to now. To tell the truth, I'm going to be a bit heartbroken if they do separate, I'd much prefer them to become the stuff of legend with nobody ever being able to separate them.

I've told the waiters (just for a laugh obviously) that they're a bit like King Arthur drawing the sword from the stone, whoever can manage it will take the throne. They're sat on my mantelpiece at the moment.
 
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I haven't tried that Pete but will have to now. To tell the truth, I'm going to be a bit heartbroken if they do separate, I'd much prefer them to become the stuff of legend with nobody being able to separate them.

I've told the waiters (just for a laugh obviously) that they're a bit like King Arthur drawing the sword from the stone, whoever can manage it will take the throne. They're sat on my mantelpiece at the moment.
In that case I'd leave them on the mantelpiece and brag to visitors that you have fooled everyone with this trick. As a slight aside a friend messes about with mechanical stuff a lot. He often needs to remove bearings from blind seats (ie where you can't get to the other side). Guess what he uses if all else fails? Bread. Yep he forces it into the bearing hole and hammers it in. Seems to force the bearing out.
 
In that case I'd leave them on the mantelpiece and brag to visitors that you have fooled everyone with this trick. As a slight aside a friend messes about with mechanical stuff a lot. He often needs to remove bearings from blind seats (ie where you can't get to the other side). Guess what he uses if all else fails? Bread. Yep he forces it into the bearing hole and hammers it in. Seems to force the bearing out.
This is no trick Pete so I will not be and have not been fooling anyone .. we've tried oil, light detergent, leverage, hot water and ice and leaving them in a freezer for two hours, I could put them in the work decarbonizer machine we use for metal covered in carbon .. one of the waiters joked about asking one of the cleaning ladies if they have a vibrator we can borrow .. the business owner has given up so has given me permission to bring them home .. like Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, the bastards just refuse to separate :badge:
 
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Hello Plutronus.
I still believe it to be caused by wearing brand new acrylic jumper(s).
After the first few hours of wearing the first jumper, the little shocks stopped happening.
But I bought a batch of 5 of these plain short sleeved jumpers (reduced to £6 each -excellent value from Bon Marche -different colours, obviously:D) , and yesterday when I put on a different one, the shocks happened again.
I only notice it in the kitchen where I'm in a little modern terraced house with ceramic tiles on the floor, and some sort of footwear with synthetic material soles on my feet.
No tinnitus, no weird neurological problems. It's static, I'm sure, and has something to do with brand new previously unworn bargain jumpers!


Hi, Perhaps you have resolved the matter in your mind sufficiently. Should you desire to prove it, and if it is truely static electricity, a Tri-Field Meter will indicate that condition immediately, if you happen to know any serious ghost-hunters, perhaps you might ask to borrow an instrument or to have them measure you. Of course if you have any old appliances about, you could snake an old neon-bulb indicator (typically ionization breakdown Voltage is 67 Volts, unless biased with an isotope for lower Voltage ionization as used in old neon-bulb spinning disc boating depth-finders)...just hold it by one of the wire leads between your fingers. The static field will light it up. In fact Bill Beaty (on his old 'Beaty's Wierd Science' website) described a simple ghost-presence simple detector employing a neon bulb and another one employed a MOSFET transistor that switched an LED. He just hung the bare gate lead out into space. Both were so simple and both worked great!

Acrylic on ceramic sounds like good parts for a Van de Graph generator!! You could be correct.

: ))

plutronus
 
We've all tried that one, it has not worked. A group of 19 golfers couldn't solve this one either last night.
Behold! .. the mildly interesting until something more interesting happens cups ..

acup01.jpg


acup02.jpg


.. out of focus pic so the writing reads 'ATHENA Hotelware BS3034 (egg cup shaped logo) PRC'
acup03.jpg
 
This is no trick Pete so I will not be and have not been fooling anyone .. we've tried oil, light detergent, leverage, hot water and ice and leaving them in a freezer for two hours, I could put them in the work decarbonizer machine we use for metal covered in carbon .. one of the waiters joked about asking one of the cleaning ladies if they have a vibrator we can borrow .. the business owner has given up so has given me permission to bring them home .. like Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, the bastards just refuse to separate :badge:
Realise it wasn't a trick- just meant it could be a jokey thing for visitors. Seeing the piccies the Fairy liquid approach won't work. Wonder if filling with water then putting in the freezer followed by plunging in hot water would free them. Or putting them in a centrifuge. Personally I would leave them as they are. It's a great puzzle.
 
Realise it wasn't a trick- just meant it could be a jokey thing for visitors. Seeing the piccies the Fairy liquid approach won't work. Wonder if filling with water then putting in the freezer followed by plunging in hot water would free them. Or putting them in a centrifuge. Personally I would leave them as they are. It's a great puzzle.
I'd prefer to leave them as they are, the Mrs has put them in our freezer though (not with water in them) .. we'll wait and see ..
 
Be great if you could find a bowl that the larger cup fits in and manage to get it stuck. I think you should get onto that reporter you contacted when you found the Cromer Jesus Stone.
That would be something else if I could get a triple unsolvable .. no idea why FT hasn't included the Cromer Jesus Stone yet, perhaps because it's 'a bit 90's' with Jesus faces being found on stuff ? .. we've still got it anyway for any sceptic if they wanted to examine it for signs of physical tampering or photoshop or something. It's the tits. (sorry Jesus)

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/face-o...-on-cromer-beach-or-is-it-karl-marx-1-4594649
 
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