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Putting the Brain Trust Here to Good Use

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  • #1

    Putting the Brain Trust Here to Good Use

    Alright, this place has some serious brain power. I'm out of ideas for how to solve a minor problem, so have at it. I will try any reasonable idea to get this little glass bowl unstuck from this coffee mug.

    My son dropped one of these little glass bowls into the sink and it lodged, perfectly, into the bottom of this coffee mug. Try as I might, I cannot get it unstuck. I have attempted the following:

    • putting pressure on one side only
    • slamming it down upside down against something soft
    • putting cooking oil into it and trying the above steps
    • letting it sit until water seeped under it, and then freezing it hoping that the expanding water would force it up from underneath
    • asked the mug if it'd lost weight and told it that it looked nice


    None of those things worked. Any ideas?



    "Wuap's "problem" is that he is smart & principled & committed to a moral course of action. His actions are supposed to reflect his ethical code.
    The rest of us rarely bother to think about our actions." --Solon
    Tags: the brain trust
  • #2
    Run it through the dishwasher on heated dry and remove it when at its hottest. Then try the oil/force method at that point? Or you could just boil it and try that. Seems like heat needs to be involved somehow.
    Prepare to put mustard on those words, for you will soon be consuming them, along with this slice of humble pie that comes direct from the oven of shame set at gas mark “egg on your face”! -- Moss

    There's three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who's got the same first name as a city; and never go near a lady's got a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, everything else is cream cheese. --Coach Finstock

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Donuthole View Post
      Run it through the dishwasher on heated dry and remove it when at its hottest. Then try the oil/force method at that point? Or you could just boil it and try that. Seems like heat needs to be involved somehow.
      I'll try that tomorrow. We just tried microwaving it with water in it. It was hot as hell, but nothing changed.
      "Wuap's "problem" is that he is smart & principled & committed to a moral course of action. His actions are supposed to reflect his ethical code.
      The rest of us rarely bother to think about our actions." --Solon

      Comment

      • #4
        Heat will only make it worse. Heat will cause the materials to expand. Thus, both the ID of the mug bore and the OD of the bowl will increase making the fit tighter. My guess is that you need to make them cold. But not freezing and not with water in contact with the surfaces, which will likely just make it bind.

        But Im no engineer and I did not stay at a holiday inn, so who knows?
        PLesa excuse the tpyos.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by creekster View Post
          Heat will only make it worse. Heat will cause the materials to expand. Thus, both the ID of the mug bore and the OD of the bowl will increase making the fit tighter. My guess is that you need to make them cold. But not freezing and not with water in contact with the surfaces, which will likely just make it bind.

          But Im no engineer and I did not stay at a holiday inn, so who knows?
          Stick a ice cube with some salty water in the small one, then float the entire mess in some hot water.
          Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by creekster View Post
            Heat will only make it worse. Heat will cause the materials to expand. Thus, both the ID of the mug bore and the OD of the bowl will increase making the fit tighter. My guess is that you need to make them cold. But not freezing and not with water in contact with the surfaces, which will likely just make it bind.

            But Im no engineer and I did not stay at a holiday inn, so who knows?
            Unless the chemical makeup of the mug allows it to expand more than the bowl expands.
            Prepare to put mustard on those words, for you will soon be consuming them, along with this slice of humble pie that comes direct from the oven of shame set at gas mark “egg on your face”! -- Moss

            There's three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who's got the same first name as a city; and never go near a lady's got a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, everything else is cream cheese. --Coach Finstock

            Comment

            • #7
              Originally posted by Donuthole View Post
              Unless the chemical makeup of the mug allows it to expand more than the bowl expands.
              Huh? The mug wall gets thicker. It expands in both directions. To the inside (ID) and outside (OD).
              PLesa excuse the tpyos.

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by Pheidippides View Post
                Stick a ice cube with some salty water in the small one, then float the entire mess in some hot water.
                Ice cube is a good idea. Hot water? Not so sure. As I said, the wall of the mug gets thicker in both directions.
                PLesa excuse the tpyos.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Do you have anything that has a suction cup? like a shaving mirror?
                  If we disagree on something, it's because you're wrong.

                  "Somebody needs to kill my trial attorney." — Last words of George Harris, executed in Missouri on Sept. 13, 2000.

                  "Nothing is too good to be true, nothing is too good to last, nothing is too wonderful to happen." - Florence Scoville Shinn

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Pheidippides View Post
                    Stick a ice cube with some salty water in the small one, then float the entire mess in some hot water.
                    Hmmm, the salt water idea might be good. Do you think that salt water would freeze in a deep freeze? I wonder if I filled the whole mug, froze it solid, and then tried running it under hot water if the binding of the ice with the glass might make it all come out together.......

                    Originally posted by SoCalCoug View Post
                    Do you have anything that has a suction cup? like a shaving mirror?
                    Thought of that, but I didn't have anything strong enough that was the right size to create a seal.
                    "Wuap's "problem" is that he is smart & principled & committed to a moral course of action. His actions are supposed to reflect his ethical code.
                    The rest of us rarely bother to think about our actions." --Solon

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Three questions that need to be answered before I can help:

                      1. Is it imperative that the bowl be removed from the mug?
                      2. What is the sentimental value of the mug for you and/or your family?
                      3. What is the sentimental value of the bowl for you and/or your family?

                      If the answer to #1 is yes and the answer to #2 is a lot and the answer to #3 is a lot I have no idea what to tell you.

                      If the answer to #1 is yes and the answer to #2 is little to none and the answer to # 3 is a lot, smash the mug with a hammer.

                      If the answer to #1 is yes and the answer to #2 is a lot and the answer to #3 is little to none, I have no idea what to tell you.

                      If the answer to #1 is yes and the answer to #2 is a lot and the answer to #3 is little to none, I have no idea what to tell you.

                      If the answer to #1 is no and the answer to #2 is a lot and the answer to #3 is a lot, just leave the bowl in the mug and put the mug in a safe place so nothing more will happen to either.

                      If the answer to #1 is no and the answer to #2 is a lot and the answer to #3 is little to none, just leave the bowl in the mug.

                      If the answer to #1 is no and the answer to #2 is very little and the answer to #3 is a lot, put the mug on a shelf so nothing will happen to the bowl and you can save yourself the cost of a safety deposit box.

                      If the answer to # 1 is no and the answer to #2 is little to none and the answer to #3 is little to none, just throw the freakin' mug in the garbage can outside. Or smash 'em both with a hammer.
                      "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill


                      "I only know what I hear on the news." - Dear Leader

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        I like the mug, but we can get another one. I'm more curious with solving a puzzle than I am not breaking anything. I just want to see if we can come up with a way to separate the two without breaking either of them.
                        "Wuap's "problem" is that he is smart & principled & committed to a moral course of action. His actions are supposed to reflect his ethical code.
                        The rest of us rarely bother to think about our actions." --Solon

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          What about corn starch? Isn't that very slippery? Maybe put corn starch around the edge of the bowl and see if that will get it to move?
                          If we disagree on something, it's because you're wrong.

                          "Somebody needs to kill my trial attorney." — Last words of George Harris, executed in Missouri on Sept. 13, 2000.

                          "Nothing is too good to be true, nothing is too good to last, nothing is too wonderful to happen." - Florence Scoville Shinn

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Originally posted by wuapinmon View Post
                            I like the mug, but we can get another one. I'm more curious with solving a puzzle than I am not breaking anything. I just want to see if we can come up with a way to separate the two without breaking either of them.
                            So you're not really serious?

                            "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill


                            "I only know what I hear on the news." - Dear Leader

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Originally posted by il Padrino Ute View Post
                              So you're not really serious?

                              I'm serious about getting the two things apart intact. I don't want to break either of them, but they aren't so valuable to me that I HAVE to HAVE them. If they break in the process, oh well. This is just a fun puzzle to solve, rather than a situation requiring we 'save' the mug.
                              "Wuap's "problem" is that he is smart & principled & committed to a moral course of action. His actions are supposed to reflect his ethical code.
                              The rest of us rarely bother to think about our actions." --Solon

                              Comment

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