magnets can save you
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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What's up with this title?? Dropping something small and not finding it again is probably as close to a universal experience as possible
Only few will understand what's up with this title...
skill issue
if it drops anywhere within 20ft of a low platform with as little as an inch gap beneath it, thats where it went. and you have to use a broom stick or similar to reach it
skill issue
Never seen again... Until you step on it barefoot.
I had never seen a comment that is as painful as your comment😢.
spoiler
This is why I always kept my cat around when I was working on stuff. He'd track the dropped screws for me. Of course he'd also occasionally jump onto the table and fuck up whatever I was working on but there's pros and cons to anything.
Newton's fourth law of motion states: "A small screw in an observed state will never dissappear." So, just keep your eye on it when you drop it and you'll be fine.
If you watch it then it will always continue to roll or bounce until it lands somewhere inaccessible.
then its like 'eh....3 screws is good enough'
Who needs all of the screws for their brake calipers anyways?
Pro tip: When you drop a small thing quickly look down. Takes practice because you have to do it so fast, has to be a reflex.
You'll often catch it on the bounce, and in any case, your ears are also pointed the right way.
I use a yoga mat as silly as it sounds. I place it under my feet. When things drop on the yoga mat, which is neon green colored, three things:
- Yoga mats have no bounce in them.
- Tiny ridges on it prevent screws from rolling around into oblivion.
- High contrast with the screw - I instantly see the screw.
Alternate option, get on the floor and look across where it probably is.
That’s how I usually find it.
Apparently if you are smart or clean regularly, you can just like… go buy some pantyhose for a dollar, and put a leg over the vacuum tube and just suck all the shit into it, typically including any screws. If you don’t clean regularly, you’ll be disgusted, but you’ll probably find the dumb screw.
As a bonus if you really wanna be lazy, you can put the hoes in the tube somewhere upstream of the main intake, so you can vacuum as normal and still catch the thing you lost.
Quickly look down, but don't look around, keep your vision still. Then the bouncing crew's movement will be easier to catch and you'll at least be able to get a sense of direction. It's been working really well for me and makes me feel like a super hero when I can find the dropped screw
As an ex computer tech, this is the way.
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lay a flashlight on the ground aimed to where the thing fell, look for a shadow
“Holy shit I really need to vacuum this room.”
one of my buddies dropped his sauren vape (is that how its spelled?) and it quite literally got grabbed by the nicotine elves and was never seen again. even after moving therefore nothing that could be blocking its sight he still didnt find it
sauren vape (is that how its spelled?)
Sauron, the Dark Lord?
The Saruman Vape
I made the mistake of having those color chips on my epoxy garage floor. Looks nice. Can't see anything. Perfect camouflage for small dropped parts.
I dropped a fry 2 months ago and I still can't find the damn thing. People joke about alternate dimensions but I'm starting to think it's real.
My cat keeps playing with a cable tie. I see him playing with it, then 30 seconds later it's gone and I don't see it again for about 3 weeks and then suddenly he's playing with it again.
He appears to be able to extract things from the alternate dimension.
Dropped a fry, as in the potato based food?
That's the one
i don't even bother looking for those anymore. If i drop something tiny i just assume it slipped through the cracks in reality and will re-emerge at a random point in time, past or future
I got one of those powerful rare earth magnets, so my lost screw percentage is way down, from 99% lost to only about 95% lost now!
I have two, one on a telescoping stick and one on a chain
They are never on me when I need them
And once you get up to fetch it, the screw makes a run for it.
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*until it returns at ð exact moment your shoe is about to land on ð spot it vanished from specifically to attempt to assassinate you þrough ð soul of your foot.
- If you have a magnet, use that to find the screw
- If you don't have a magnet, buy one immediately for the future, and then proceed to step 3
- Look for it with your peripheral vision, which is better at spotting deviations to terrain and shapes than your primary vision. I don't remember the exact reason, but it has something to do with being able to spot predators out of the corner of our eyes.
- Use a flashlight pointed parallel to the floor. The shadow cast by the screw will look bigger than the screw itself.
That's a good idea on a flat floor.
Or put pantyhose over the end of a vacuum wand, then vacuum the area you dropped it on. The vacuum will find the screw and the pantyhose will prevent the vacuum from ingesting it.
Drop another in the same spot and watch where it goes.
Great, now I've lost two screws. Any more ideas?
Do you happen to have 3 screws?
Not anymore!
the one remaining screw, a long zip-tie, some electrical tape, and two new cuss words later...
"all done. good as new!"
Our feet evolved to provide the perfect angle for dropped objects to bounce in a quasi 90° angle and go hide themselves under whatever table/desk we were working in front of.
I dropped the SCREW in the TUNA
Me and my friends call it the dice dimension.
I wonder if that's also where my socks end up, or if that's a parallel dimension.
I recently dropped a bearing and it rolled under my oven. Yeah that thing is fuckin gone.
I always wondered how they optimized the simulation. Turns out, it was screws all along.
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