The mystery of the black bin

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Obsessive cook
Staff member
Joined
19 Apr 2015
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Location
Maidstone, Kent, UK
Hardly worth a thread but the strangest thing happened. We have a black plastic 'roll top' kitchen bin. I think we have had this for at least 10 years. Its cheap and not pretty but it serves the purpose. My partner (who has dementia) empties the bin as needed and puts a new bin liner in it - he likes to help and his motor skills are very good. The last time he did this I noticed he was struggling to get the top of the bin to click into place. I thought maybe it was because of his dementia - maybe he was beginning to lose those manual skills? So I stepped in and tried to do it. But no! The top no longer fits. It won't clip over the 'lip' of the bottom part. Its made of the same material as the bottom of the bin (plastic) and there is no visible damage to either part.

Obviously I need to get a new bin - but its so odd. What could have caused this? This is the sort of bin. Its actually quite a large bin 40L- ish

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Got one. Been there. Done that.
Both my son in London, and my brother in Maidstone have had to change their bins recently, for the same mysterious reasons.
The cause HAS to be:
(a) global warming
(b) cheap bins
(c) the current heatwave/drought in the UK
(d) Deficient manufacturing
(e) All (or none) of the above.
Seriously - we´ve wondered why as well. According to my mum : "They dont make things like they used to"
 
Yep, I’d blame it on the heat, or the thermal shock of going from a reasonable heat to that crazy stuff you had and back to normal temps.
 
Okay, I hate to be the one to break this to you MG, but inanimate objects CAN think and act. Think of how a garden hose (hose pipe) can tie itself into complex knots after you neatly coil it up on the patio. Same with electric extension cords. Think of how items in the freezer can arrange themselves to send the contents of a freezer shelf to the floor when you reach for one item. Think about how a slice of toast will fall butter/spread side down most of the time. A car is most likely to breakdown when the driver is on the way to the airport or a job interview. I suspect the spelling of words changes when you click "post."

I think your bin lid stopped fitting because it wanted to. It wanted to, because it would cause its owner/user frustration. Simple as that.

I can almost hear my extension cords laughing as I curse while undoing the fifteen knots in a 25-foot cord that I coiled and hung so neatly just a few weeks earlier.

That's my theory.

CD
 
caseydog said:
Okay, I hate to be the one to break this to you MG, but inanimate objects CAN think and act. Think of how a garden hose (hose pipe) can tie itself into complex knots after you neatly coil it up on the patio. Same with electric extension cords. Think of how items in the freezer can arrange themselves to send the contents of a freezer shelf to the floor when you reach for one item. Think about how a slice of toast will fall butter/spread side down most of the time. A car is most likely to breakdown when the driver is on the way to the airport or a job interview. I suspect the spelling of words changes when you click "post."

I think your bin lid stopped fitting because it wanted to. It wanted to, because it would cause its owner/user frustration. Simple as that.

I can almost hear my extension cords laughing as I curse while undoing the fifteen knots in a 25-foot cord that I coiled and hung so neatly just a few weeks earlier.

That's my theory.

CD
Click to expand...
I can relate to the toast one.

Russ
 
caseydog said:
Okay, I hate to be the one to break this to you MG, but inanimate objects CAN think and act. Think of how a garden hose (hose pipe) can tie itself into complex knots after you neatly coil it up on the patio. Same with electric extension cords. Think of how items in the freezer can arrange themselves to send the contents of a freezer shelf to the floor when you reach for one item. Think about how a slice of toast will fall butter/spread side down most of the time. A car is most likely to breakdown when the driver is on the way to the airport or a job interview. I suspect the spelling of words changes when you click "post."

I think your bin lid stopped fitting because it wanted to. It wanted to, because it would cause its owner/user frustration. Simple as that.

I can almost hear my extension cords laughing as I curse while undoing the fifteen knots in a 25-foot cord that I coiled and hung so neatly just a few weeks earlier.

That's my theory.

CD
Click to expand...
Simple answer to those with children, LOL. They do have opposable thumbs so can't blame it on the dog. Kids are an easy target. Teddy doesn't qualify, no matter how fantastic and smart he is!
 
Only a vague connection.

Many years ago our village Puyai Baan (head man) provided all householders with a plastic drum to act as a rubbish bin. They had fitted plastic lids and most folks kept them outside their gates to facilitate collection. Less than a month later all the lids disappeared over one night.

88788

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Well its most likely the heat I suppose. But that means that either the bottom half has expanded or the top half contracted. Why would that happen? I've had this bin for about ten years and the weather was really hot in 2020 with no ill effects.
 
karadekoolaid said:
Got one. Been there. Done that.
Both my son in London, and my brother in Maidstone have had to change their bins recently, for the same mysterious reasons.
The cause HAS to be:
(a) global warming
(b) cheap bins
(c) the current heatwave/drought in the UK
(d) Deficient manufacturing
(e) All (or none) of the above.
Seriously - we´ve wondered why as well. According to my mum : "They dont make things like they used to"
Click to expand...

Since I've had the bin for 10 years I'm discounting (b) and (d). Must be global warming/heat... but how?
 
... and if this was extreme heat related wouldn't it be a well known thing in hotter climates? I can't find any reference by searching.
 
Morning Glory said:
... and if this was extreme heat related wouldn't it be a well known thing in hotter climates? I can't find any reference by searching.
Click to expand...
Probably because most people aren’t bothering to post about it. :wink:

If it’s not the heat, maybe you have a specialized variant of gremlin, called “binlins,” who come in and with their specialized little binlin hammers and heat guns, they work one little bit of the edge ever so slightly out of whack, then disappear, only to wreak their havoc elsewhere.

You can tell you’ve had a binlin visit if you’ve woken in the night hearing the soft sound of the binlins humming and whistling “My Old Man’s a Dustman,” while going about their bin-bending work.
 
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