Twitter has a way of bringing people together over some of the strangest things (I mean, it can also divide the internet entirely , but that’s a different kettle of fish).
There are times, though, when even the collective brainpower of the Twitter hivemind is hopelessly stumped , with no chance of solving things.
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One user recently posted a pic of a bowl wedged inside a bigger bowl, and it just about broke Twitter.
What do you do when something is stuck?
The internet is a vast source of information, and there are tutorials on how to get stuff unstuck: cars unstuck from mud , cats unstuck from trees , you name it.
Perhaps surprisingly, there isn’t much info out there for those times when you need to get a bowl unstuck from a larger bowl.
This was Chi’s conundrum.
Chi Nguyễn, an artist from New York, shared this photo on Twitter, along with a plea for help. She was stacking her dishes as usual when she inadvertently stacked two dishes that were evidently never meant to be stacked.
At this point, her efforts to solve the problem became just as stuck as the bowls themselves.
It isn’t like she didn’t try.
Honestly, she tried everything I would have thought of and then some. She even used WD-40, which famously can fix or unstick just about anything . Nothing worked. At this point, I would have just smashed the bowls in frustration, but Chi wasn’t ready to admit defeat.
No dice, no dice, no dice.
At this point, you can sense that Chi is getting desperate. She tried different liquids in the first step and has now moved on to passive-aggressive communication with the troublesome bowls.
Believe it or not, we’ve just taken a few of Chi’s tweets on the topic. She really did try everything and then some.
Sticking together is what good bowls do.
Chi may not have been able to get those bowls unstuck, but she did have the good sense to put a pin in the problem and go to bed. Those bowls would still be stuck together in the morning, ready for her latest efforts at getting them unstuck.
It made for captivating drama.
If you thought that Chi’s problem was solely a Chi problem, think again. Her plight attracted thousands of comments and likes, along with plenty of suggestions. Clearly, something about seeing someone publicly discuss their struggles with stuck bowls struck a chord in the Twitterverse.
The bowls were still stuck.
As thousands of Twitter users waited with bated breath to see if Chi’s nightmare was over, Chi came through with an update.
Regrettably, the bowls were still stuck, despite the intervention of an electric toothbrush (whatever that’s supposed to do). Unfortunately, the drama claimed its first casualty: a small chip from the edge of the inner bowl.
Then, out of the blue, it finally happened.
There must be something magical about the combination of a toddler’s intervention, a suction cup and an apparent plea from one of the bowls, because Chi could finally — FINALLY — report that the stuck-together bowls were stuck together no more.
Twitter rejoiced.
It was touch and go for awhile there. I think we were all afraid that this saga would end in two broken bowls and one unhappy Chi. But with some perseverance, she was finally able to do it. The support of Twitter probably helped at least a little bit.
On to the next one…
The dust had barely settled when the nerds at the Royal Institution in London chimed in with a similar problem — one that they describe as “stuck bowls, but make it science-y.”
Honestly, I’d love to help them out, but I think we all need to catch our breaths after the drama with Chi and her bowls. Let us know if you’d like us to cover the Royal Institution’s dilemma in the comments!
