Tag Archive for: waterbottle

Halloween Costumes for the Water Obsessed

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Halloween is this Saturday! You haven’t gotten your costume together yet, you say? Thinking you’re “too serious” to dress up at all? Here are some costume ideas that will show the world you’re thinking about water all the time, all day every day, holidays included. (It goes without saying that many of these hunks of polyester and foam do not come in “green” and are quite unsustainable.)

Just consider this an investment in Halloween for the next several decades. This Raindrop costume from animalmascots.com is pricey at $1,279. (Don’t forget to include in your budget add-on expenses for the carrying case ($199) and “cooling vest” ($119).

Also from animal mascots.com; the $1,195 water bottle costume. Expensive, but pure…just like real bottled water! You’ll likely need the same budget-busting accessories as above.

The “Caught in the Rain” costume from spicylegs.com is only $17.91, but remember…it includes: Wig, Tie, and Umbrella but does not include shirt, pants, shoes or newspaper!

This fanciful Water Fairy creation from Kyotosong on Etsy is multiple shades of blue and white shimmery tulle that gives the appearance of water. Lillies with “water drops” accent the front of the dress as well as the wings. The wings are painted to match, with glitter accents and “water drops”. A reasonable $45 for this handcrafted item.

This blue fish mascot costume from milanoo.com “makes you vivid.” The head is shaped by special foam all covered with plush. The soles of the feet are water-proof, which is funny if you think about it. $125.99 and it’s yours.

This Toilet costume from costumecraze.com apparently does not come in dual flush. It’s $64.99, and not surprisingly, is in stock.

For this Toilet Paper costume you can do it the old-fashioned way and make it yourself for about $35, directions on instructables.com.

THE WORKS Toilet Cleaner Blows!

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In an incident sure to go on their permanent records, four South Carolina college students were arrested after detonating several “Works Bombs” in an around their dorm. A “Works Bomb” is a new one by me, but is apparently a well-known prank among our idle youth, with many how-to’s and videos abounding across the internet. And no wonder, because with just an empty plastic bottle, “The Works” toilet bowl cleaner and some aluminum foil, any idiot can become a frathouse legend for years to come. From wistv.com,

via wistiv.com: State Law Enforcement Division on the scene.

via wistiv.com: A State Law Enforcement Division van on the scene.

Four Newberry College students were arrested and charged Thursday, accused of causing multiple explosions in a dormitory which led to an evacuation and police search of the building…[snip]..college Vice President Chuck Wendt told students a water bottle filled with toilet bowl disinfectant was set off in the parking lot of Brokaw Hall at around 11:30pm Tuesday….[snip]..Wendt said another device was set off in the dorm’s first floor lobby at 12:50am. Sheriff Foster said officers in the area mistook the sound for a gunshot and investigated, but could not find the source of the blast. At around noon Wednesday, a third device went off. The dorm was evacuated as agents from the State Law Enforcement Division searched the building with police dogs and a robot.

It’s actually a “pressure bomb” caused by gas buildup from the reaction of the hydrochloric acid in “The Works” and the aluminum foil.

How’s it work? Thanks to thechemistrytwig.com, here’s the science in a nutshell:

The chemistry explanation:  The aluminum foil in your kitchen is coated with a type of wax.  This is to prevent you from being burned by the aluminum since it is a strong skin irritant.  The Works toilet bowl cleaner (and some others) contains hydrochloric acid.  The acid strips the coating away, exposing the aluminum.  Hydrochloric acid reacts rapidly with aluminum to produce Aluminum Chloride (soluble) and Hydrogen gas.  Here’s the reaction:
3HCl(aq) + Al(s) –> AlCl3(aq) + 3H(g)

Like many fun and irresponsible acts, this can be dangerous! Hydrochloric acid can burn your skin and your eyes and kill green living things!  You should observe all safety procedures when handling it. (Who knew toilet bowl cleaner could be this toxic?)  The remnants of the explosion may well contain acid. So understand, careless people: this is very dangerous!  Naturally, we are not responsible for any injuries or legal consequences caused by some numbskull reading this and attempting it. This information is for educational purposes. Now go away and put the knowledge to use and study for your chemistry test.

WTF: New Water Trivial Features Update

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MOM ARMED WITH A WATER BOTTLE SAVES SON FROM ATTACKING COUGAR

A 5 year old British Columbia boy is recovering after a cougar attacked him on a family hike at Colville National Forest. As his father Mark Impey recounted, he heard his wife and son’s screams, ran to check and

…he saw that a big cat had his son, Simon, by the head and his wife, Dawn, was trying furiously to fend the animal off with a metal water bottle.

“I really think it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Impey said in an interview.

Dawn’s repeated blows with the water bottle finally forced the cougar to retreat into the bush.

WTF footnote: Just try that with some flimsy, disposable bottle. You couldn’t fight off a house cat with your Dasani.

Read the full story at www.chandlerswatch.com

PEE MINUS 5 SECONDS AND COUNTING

On Wednesday evening, Sept. 10th, sky watchers across North America watched in curious awe as the space shuttle Discovery glided silently overhead, sprouting a flamboyant comet-like tail.

In Madison, Wisconsin, photographer Abe Megahed witnessed a similar display: “The shuttle was sporting a massive curved plume. What could it be? Something venting? Reaction Control System thrusters? A massive, record-breaking urine dump?”

It was in fact, his last guess. The shuttle, while docked with the International Space Station, sprayed about 150 pounds of waste water and pee-pee out into space on September 10. Shuttle pilot Kevin Ford was scheduled to carry out a number of “waste water” dumps around the time these observations were noted. Pristine water supplies and condensates were also dumped overboard in preparation for landing on Thursday, Sept. 10th.

WTF footnote: Do the astronauts eat tomatos? If so, someone should research whether this could cause tomatos to grow on the moon.

Read more and see photos of the zero-gravity sewage here at www.jimonlight.com.

SWEET AUSSIE TEENS HOOK DIRTY BAG OF CASH

Australian police said two teenage brothers reeled in a plastic bag stuffed with $86,000 while fishing for catfish in Tuntable Creek, near the town of Lismore.

The boys spent three weeks deciding on a plan of action before telling their mother and obtaining legal advice on how best to turn over the cash, The Times of London reported.  Mama knows best! From UPI.com,

The mother of the boys, who requested anonymity, said the family did not want to keep the money because it might be “dirty.”

“We just don’t want any trouble,” one of the brothers said. “We were sweet before the money and we’ll be sweet afterwards.”

WTF footnote: An estimated two-thirds of media comments by teen boys include the phrase  “We don’t want any trouble.”

The New DIY: Dumps Inspire You

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For this D.I.Y. project, don’t trek into Home Depot for your supplies, stay outside the store and look in their dumpster! (the “new” DIY = Dumps Inspire You!)

Katie Jackson (whatkatiedid.typepad.com) took photos of this excellent greenhouse constructed from recycled plastic bottles at the Eco Centre near Newcastle on Tyne in the UK.

Do you think this looks like child’s play? It is! Here’s an example built by and for the green-minded students of Bowmore Primary School, Isle of Islay, UK. (Photo by Ewan Macintosh on Flickr)

It wouldn’t surprise us if the Bowmore gang partnered with Scotland’s Sustainable Community Initiatives. They offer an interesting educational program to help schools and community groups build shelters, walls and greenhouses from recycled plastic bottles and tyres (that’s “tires,” Americans.)

Best of all, they have documented their expertise in a book you can purchase on their website. Plastics are Fantastic features full instructions, diagrams and photos on how to construct a your very own plastic bottle greenhouse or shelter wall. Or, try this 6-page pdf freebie from REAP, a North East Scotland sustainable development charity. D.I.Y.? D.I.M.!