As a child, one can see the world in a very different way, since we have only limited knowledge and understanding of how things work around us. That is likely the case for most kids when it comes to... plumbing!
The toilet
I might have been 5 or 6 when i remember experiencing the first time, a toilet not flushing. I was intrigued, but scared at the same time. From what i knew, when you pulled the level, the water (and the rest of the content of the toilet bowl) was disappearing. That was all. But one day, i noticed that flushing the toilet was not flushing anything; on the contrary, the bowl was filling up, and up, and up. Up to the brim. It didn't overflow, but i thought it would.
Mom to the rescue
I remember my mom coming and also trying to flush the toilet with the same result i had seen. She didn't seem THAT concerned about it, unlike me. She knelt down, in front of the toilet and put her hand in the clear water. Ewww i thought. I guess i just assumed that everything passed the point i could not see, was full of yucky stuff.
She found what?
I remember my mom working her hand in that toilet bowl, on and on for a while. I could not imagine what she was doing in there. But after a while, she pulled out... a potato. What in the world would a potato do in the toilet bowl? I have no idea, but i was quite shocked to see someone pull something like that out of a toilet bowl.
Plumbing knowledge
I guess it was my first lesson in plumbing, or at least, the first one i remember. But it was not a wasted lesson, since something similar happened again to me, about 40 years later (but it was not a potato). Maybe that will be another post?
How about you? Did you ever learn something about plumbing when you were young, through a funny or odd experience? Share it in the comments below.
2 thoughts on “Remember when…? – Potato”
Does anyone remember ‘Drain Power’? I don’t know if it is still on the market, but the concept was simple, highly compressed air that you could direct down a plugged drain to ‘blast away’ the clog. I was visiting one of my relatives and the kitchen sink became plugged. My aunt decided now is the time to see if this new-fangled gadget was worth the money. She carefully placed it into the drain of the sink and applied downward pressure to activate the charge. I was probably 5 or 6 years old and I was fascinated! Now, perhaps, someone with a better understanding of plumbing would have realized that the pipes under a 2 bowl kitchen sink basically form a ‘Y’ and that air and water always take the path of least resistance. You’ve probably guessed what happened…The clog ‘resisted’ and all that pressure and whatever was in the top part of the ‘Y’ came blasting out of the other bowl of the sink. The strainer that was in the other bowl actually hit the ceiling. What a mess! My aunt was NOT amused. After the cleanup I asked my uncle to show me what happened…I guess that was my first lesson in plumbing. 🙂
Amazing how we discover the world of plumbing!!!