Recreational OCD
December 10, 2005
You might ask, is there that much variation in Poland Spring bottle caps to merit collecting them? No. There isn't. But then, I wasn't collecting different kinds of Poland Spring bottle caps -- just one kind, the white plastic caps from the 0.5 liter bottles (which we get for free at work).
It started as a project to create an 8 by 8 grid of caps on top of my work PC. Other programmers collect empty soda cans. College kids collect empty beer cans. A collection of caps, I reasoned, would be at least as fun and much more sanitary. Plus it would encourage me to drink my RDA of water -- 12 liters, I think it is.
The project was a complete success. Within a month or two, the grid was done. Now what? I didn't know, but on the off chance that my next project might require more caps, I kept collecting them. Although, off the top of my head, I couldn't think of any more mathematically pleasing squares or cubes of 2 or 8 that would be easily attainable. The thought of a 16 by 16 cap cube, for example, did nothing for me. An 8 by 8 by 8 cube of caps might be nice, but that's over 500 caps! Plus how to arrange them? I've always considered glue guns tacky. <rimshot⁄>
So I just kept collecting them. Eventually, I disassembled the grid and moved it into my desk drawer with the spares. By the way, I never counted them. I can only estimate that the collection is between 120 and 200 caps strong. Then something happened that put a stop to my little habit.
Poland Spring changed the cap. It's now colorless and translucent, with obnoxious little fins between the cap and the sealed-for-your-protection collar. These break away into the bottle if you're not careful. It also seems that they're filling the bottle almost all the way up now, a real dribble hazard. Anyway, I can't say I panicked, broke into a cold sweat, or had an accelerated heart rate (like I said, I'm not one of those cool kids who actually has OCD). I just thought, darn, there goes that.
That was a few weeks ago. Since then, we have gotten a case or two of the white capped bottles, which I've dutifully kept. My guess is it's old inventory making its way through the channel, like when our High School used to get Christmas themed Coca-Cola in May*. Still, with the caps, it's not like before. I've lost my innocence. I know that like almost any thing, any day it can all get taken away.
*Ok, so I made up the bit about old Cokes.
Next in news:R and RIt started as a project to create an 8 by 8 grid of caps on top of my work PC. Other programmers collect empty soda cans. College kids collect empty beer cans. A collection of caps, I reasoned, would be at least as fun and much more sanitary. Plus it would encourage me to drink my RDA of water -- 12 liters, I think it is.
The project was a complete success. Within a month or two, the grid was done. Now what? I didn't know, but on the off chance that my next project might require more caps, I kept collecting them. Although, off the top of my head, I couldn't think of any more mathematically pleasing squares or cubes of 2 or 8 that would be easily attainable. The thought of a 16 by 16 cap cube, for example, did nothing for me. An 8 by 8 by 8 cube of caps might be nice, but that's over 500 caps! Plus how to arrange them? I've always considered glue guns tacky. <rimshot⁄>
So I just kept collecting them. Eventually, I disassembled the grid and moved it into my desk drawer with the spares. By the way, I never counted them. I can only estimate that the collection is between 120 and 200 caps strong. Then something happened that put a stop to my little habit.
Poland Spring changed the cap. It's now colorless and translucent, with obnoxious little fins between the cap and the sealed-for-your-protection collar. These break away into the bottle if you're not careful. It also seems that they're filling the bottle almost all the way up now, a real dribble hazard. Anyway, I can't say I panicked, broke into a cold sweat, or had an accelerated heart rate (like I said, I'm not one of those cool kids who actually has OCD). I just thought, darn, there goes that.
That was a few weeks ago. Since then, we have gotten a case or two of the white capped bottles, which I've dutifully kept. My guess is it's old inventory making its way through the channel, like when our High School used to get Christmas themed Coca-Cola in May*. Still, with the caps, it's not like before. I've lost my innocence. I know that like almost any thing, any day it can all get taken away.
*Ok, so I made up the bit about old Cokes.
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