thursday february 13

today i came home from running a few errands and went to spit my piece of gum into the kitchen trash can. however, when the gum hit the pile of garbage in the rather full can, it bounced out and disappeared from my sight line. i'd felt it hit my foot, so i knew roughly what trajectory it must have taken and where it must have landed. but i spent about two minutes looking for it on the kitchen floor, inspecting various spots it may have gotten stuck and even lifting up the garbage can to look at the underside. no dice. frustrated, i concluded that if i couldn't find it, there was no chance of anyone stepping in it, so maybe i'd just give up. but the mystery kept nagging at me, and i returned two minutes later determined to find it.

finally, success: the gum had somehow managed to sneak into a crevice near the bottom of the trash can that can only be seen when you step on the foot pedal to open the lid. it had wedged itself so far into this crevice (and stuck there) that it ultimately made more sense to leave it there rather than trying to dig it out, since there was no risk of it ever escaping or being noticed.