Monday, March 02, 2009

I need a big strong man

Last Friday I was volunteering in the community cafe when an order came into the kitchen for a hummus platter (bowl of hummus, toasted pitta bread, salad, apple, carrot sticks and black olives). The jar of olives was empty so I had to get a new one out. I tried to open it. Eeeeuah. No joy.

I tried again, complete with compulsory screwed-up face and accompanying noise. Uwreuueah. Still no success. I called Sue who was on duty with me and asked her to try.

When she'd failed, I tried again - 'In case you've loosened it.' Uueeeeaaaarrrh. I was doing a good impression of a constipated elephant but having no luck in opening the jar. Sue pointed out that Kristina was upstairs in the office. Kristina is a triathlete; she is very fit. I took the jar up to her and explained.

Kristina couldn't open it either.

Now everyone in the cafe, apart from the customers who were all young mums and babies, had tried and failed to open the jar. 'I'll go next door,' Kristina said. 'See if there's anyone there.'

Next door to the cafe is a Turkish restaurant where Kristina found three strong men - but only one of them was strong enough to open our olive jar!

Ah well, it probably made his day.

8 comments:

Mojo said...

And what prize did he win for this feat of great strength?

Here's a couple of tips for you. If it's possible, try wedging something strong under the lip of the lid and twist or pry until you hear the seal break. If that's not possible because of the shape of the jar, you can usually rap it on a tangent with a metal object and budge it just enough to break the seal. This method almost always puts a dent in the lid though, and often a sharp barb along with it so be careful you dress the barb if you're going to keep the jar around and don't empty it into a friendlier container.

One other method that sometimes works is to run hot water over the lid. If the water is hot enough and the lid is thin enough the thermal expansion can loosen the seal. And if nothing else the lid is now good and clean giving you a better grip.

Hope you don't have to go through it again, but if you do I hope one of these helps you out!

Katney said...

Well, I was going to give suggestions, but Mojo seems to ahve covered all the bases.

Suburbia said...

I guess they have their uses!!

Anonymous said...

this was my Christmas present
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0015S2BBW/300002546-21/?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Anonymous said...

I bet I could open it. I have extremely strong wrists so Jenny often asks me to open lids she can't open. But don't ask me to do any manly DIY, I'm a complete failure at anything like that.

Rose said...

Well, this is one thing men are good for...

Furtheron said...

Surely the triathlete should have tried with her feet as it's surely leg strength for that event... hmm I suppose the swimming but...

Like you say though I bet he is feeling a few inches taller as a result of this demonstration of his strength... :-)

Anonymous said...

Haha! I love the 'noises'! They sound much like me trying to open things! Or even get out of bed, some mornings.

We have a simple but effective thingy for lids. It's just a thin, daisy-shaped sheet of silicone. You lay it over the lid you want opened, twist using it to grip with, et voila! An opened jar (and sometimes olive juice all over the floor, as a side effect).