Page 14 - Demo

14 | November 2024
Slippery Rock Gazette
Celebrating 30 Years of Continuous American Sales and Service
IN STOCK
LCV-ST
The ONLY Machine in the Industry that does Flat Polish AND
Threshold Processing!
711M The Original
Flat Polish Machine
LCV
-
* PLC CONTROL PANEL OPTION FOR START/STOP AVAILABLE
IN STOCK
Marmo Meccanica • 1590 E. Highwood, Pontiac MI 48340 • 248-853-9000 [email protected] • www.marmo-na.com
A Warm Round of Applause for ‘Exothermic Oxidation’
© MARK ANDERSON. www.andertoons.com
Sam Venable
Department of Irony
Ihave no idea how “exothermic oxida- tion” works. I wouldn’t know what to say — other than “ouch, %$&*!-it” and then drop like a load of bricks — if “exo- thermic oxidation” ran up and whacked me over the head with a tire tool.
I couldn’t pick “exothermic oxidation” out of a police lineup.
But, boy-howdy, am I glad “exothermic oxidation” exists. It sure does keep my hands and fingers toasty.
“Exothermic oxidation” is what occurs when iron powder is mixed with water, salt, activated charcoal and vermiculite and then exposed air. The result is heat — with- out flames, fumes or smoke. Happily, you don’t have to stock up on all those ingredi- ents. Or mix them. Someone will do it for you, and even wrap everything in a tidy, flat little package. All you gotta do is sup- ply the air.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m talking about cheap, disposable hand warm- ers that sell by the mega-bazillion this time of year. They’re available at supermarkets, hardware stores, outdoor shops, conve- nience stores and anywhere else commerce is conducted. Usually they come in packs of three, although I’ve seen, and purchased, many of them in batches of 10. You can never buy too many.
Nor can you buy ’em too large. None of those itty-bitty, palm-sized models for me, thank you just the same. I prefer the “body super warmers” which are advertised to stay hot for 18 hours.
OK, so technically, “body” is mislead- ing unless we’re talking chihuahuas; they’re only about 21⁄2 times larger than the regular ones. And 18 hours stretches the truth like a cheap rubber band; eight to 10 hours max has been my experience. Nonetheless, one in each coat pocket will turn misery into comfort all day long.
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an
adventure wrongly considered.”
– G.K. Chesterton
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