Your brand new tube of Chapstick falls into a freshly flushed toilet. Do you:

[Dangerously Amused]

Retrieve it and use it as is. What's the big deal? I mean, the dog drinks from the toilet and you kiss him, right?

Retrieve it, wash it off with sink water, and then use it. Don't be wasteful, thousands of kinds in India would kill for that Chapstick.

Retrieve it but throw it out; don't want to take a chance on clogging the pipes.

Flush it; it is not your place to interfere with the Chapstick's chosen path.

[AlCzervik]

1. since it's chapstick i let it go, if it were carmex i might attempt to retrieve it if

it was my own toilet that it fell into.

[Dangerously Amused]

15. Yeah,

Well let's say (hypothetically of course) that it was Burt's Bees Lip Balm, which I love, and which costs a coupla bucks a tube. x(

[Shell Beau]

2. Let it go. Everytime you put it to your lips, you might think of poo!

x(

[Dangerously Amused]

10. Yeah, that would be my concern as well.

Coupled with the fact that unless I could keep tabs on WHICH EXACT CHAPSTICK it was that fell in, I would begin to suspect every other Chapstick I had of being The Toilet Balm. And then I would think of that every time I kissed someone while wearing Chapstick. I mean the potential for longstanding psychological damage is pretty significant here.

[old mark]

3. Give it to a friend. nt

[Dangerously Amused]

12. Hey Mark.

You lips are lookin' a little dry there. Wanna Chapstick? Here, it's even brand new. No really, it's yours to keep; a small token of my appreciation for your friendship. :7

[old mark]

33. Gosh, thanks guy...

What would I do without good friends?

Is this cherry flavor?
mark

[Dangerously Amused]

37. It's not even that good.

It's Burt's Bees, which is like... I don't know... a pepperminty-medicine flavor.

Sorry.

:/

[old mark]

59. Well, thanks anyway - I could tell it was new -

it was so clean....

mark

[MrScorpio]

4. Retrieve and toss

The Chapstick company will appreciate my patronage

[Dangerously Amused]

17. I like how you gave that minimal thought,

...made a confident decision, and got on with your day.

I think too much. x(

[Redstone]

5. No to flushing if you have a septic tank. Gotta be careful with those. Otherwise, I don't know,

because I've never used Chapstick and therefore do not comprehend its value, toilet-rescue-wise.

Redstone

[Dangerously Amused]

19. It was actually Burt's Bees Lip Balm,

...which runs anywhere between $3 and $4.50 per tube depending on where you get it.

[Kali]

6. this question could be asked of Ani DiFranco and her mascara, in Tucson a few years ago.

:o

she may have selected your last option

[Dangerously Amused]

21. I hadn't heard that story.

But I imagine that all sorts of interesting objects get flushed down toilets, intentionally or otherwise.

[Kali]

53. I think it was a freak accident

like a drop WHILE flushing, but it did cause a minor disaster for the little radio station (her concert that night was a benefit for them! oops)

[suninvited]

7. Was the lid on

or off?

[Dangerously Amused]

8. You mean the lid on the toilet?

Or the cap on the Chapstick?

For the purpose of the hypothetical, the Chapstick fell into the toilet water.

Would your answer change if the cap was on the Chapstick as opposed to off? :)

[marzipanni]

40. I looked at my Burt's Bees lip balm "case" as well as another brand-

if the cap is on access for water seems nil, so I'd wipe the outside with rubbing alcohol.
If cap was off- I'd toss it.

[lizziegrace]

9. Flush it or retrieve it if you must then throw it out

:)

[Dangerously Amused]

26. Yeah, that was my initial inclination.

[Midlodemocrat]

11. Flush, wash hands, repeat.

Buy new chapstick.

[Dangerously Amused]

28. Because of the thought of it,

...or because you think it might actually be unsafe?

[Midlodemocrat]

42. Because, yuck, just yuck.

[backscatter712]

13. I know, I'm a wasteful bastard.

I'd toss it. BLECH! :puke:

[Dangerously Amused]

29. You are clearly in the majority here. :)

[Reverend_Smitty]

14. Chapstick is only a buck

finances aren't so bad for me (yet) that force me to use toilet chapstick so I would just fish it out and throw it away if I'm at home and would flush it and run at a public toilet or just run and let the next person decide.

[Dangerously Amused]

30. It was actually Burt's Bees Lip Balm,

...which is like four bucks. But still...

[Javaman]

16. Our toilets are flushed with drinkable potable water. wipe it off and use it.

it's a complete disgrace in our society how we waste water in this manner.

[rcrush]

18. But I poop in that!

POOOOOP

[Shell Beau]

25. But some people do not clean their toilets well

and the water is not drinkable. Some people have poo germs all over their toilet. Blech! :puke:

[Dangerously Amused]

32. True.

I hope someone comes up with a better solution to the wastefulness inherent in our plumbing systems.

[DS1]

20. Says

This is the DU member formerly known as Dangerously Shitlipped


:hide:

[Dangerously Amused]

23. lol!

C'mere Sonny, give us a big wet kiss!

[SacredCow]

22. I wouldn't flush it- With my luck, it'd get lodged somewhere....

and I'd have a big plumbers bill.

But I wouldn't use it again. I keep my toilets very clean, but..... No. I couldn't do it.

[Dangerously Amused]

34. I don't know if I could use it again

...at least, without thinking of the toilet aspect every time I used it, AND the entire time I was wearing it. Somehow that seems too big a price to pay for the satisfaction of knowing that I wasn't wasteful.

[soleiri]

24. I’d give it to my son

I’d fish it out with tongs and wash it off.
Seriously, I’d tell him what happened and he wouldn’t care less.

If by chance he DOES care, I’ll remind him of all the damn chapsticks that he leaves in his pants pocket and thus gets laundered even though I constantly tell him to clean out his pockets. ~sigh~ chapstick battles are never easy.

[Dangerously Amused]

36. "Chapstick Battles," lol.

Another thing they don't tell you about before you have kids, eh?

[soleiri]

41. Three in a pack

one for me, one for him. He puts it in his pants pocket, it gets washed. He gets the last chapstick with a warning not to leave it in his pants pocket. He leaves it in his pants pocket, it gets washed. He “borrows” mine, he puts it in his pants pocket. It gets washed. ~sigh~

[friedgreentomatoes]

27. retrieve it..

..with gloved hands, toss it and toss the gloves too.

[Dangerously Amused]

43. Okay, but what would be your motivation to toss it?

Because the thought of it is too gross? Or because you think it actually is or might be unhealthy?

[friedgreentomatoes]

60. To be honest.....

...the "gross/ewww" factor might be just too much, enough to overshadow everything else.

[JVS]

31. Give it to a frienemy

[Dangerously Amused]

39. Heh.

Let me check the list, who has sumpthin' comin?

[ismnotwasm]

35. Was the cap on?

No actually, I'd toss it, but I'm a nurse and we used to have a saying. "E coli from the waist down".

It replaced the "three second rule"


On the other hand, toilets are sometimes cleaner than doorknobs, microscopically speaking.

[Dangerously Amused]

45. Wow, you just gave me a lot to think about in that reply!

Thanks! :hi:

[dawgmom]

38. Is the cap on? Public toilet? If private toilet, how recently cleaned?

Lots of questions. Basically, though, if the cap is on, and it's a very clean toilet, I think I'd use the five second rule.

[Dangerously Amused]

47. Good points, thanks!

:hi:

[crimsonblue]

72. I didn't think about public vs private

If it was a public toilet, then the porcelain gods have earned themselves a treasure, because there ain't no way I'm putting my hand in a public toilet.

[Fire Walk With Me]

44. That's almost as bad as when a bee flies into the last bottle of Nesbitt's Lime Soda.

[Dangerously Amused]

49. Well... honey is technically bee excrement, right?

[Fire Walk With Me]

52. They carry pollen on their legs, not in their butts!

:)

This is what I'm quoting, btw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHRz8kDkNLk

[ipfilter]

46. You know what you have done to that toilet.

Just throw it away. Oh, and don't forget to wash your hands.

[Dangerously Amused]

50. I am kind of

...OCD about the handwashing aspect, so that would happen anyway.

[azmouse]

48. Retrieve it, wash it off, and give it to my husband to use.

What?

[Dangerously Amused]

51. :D

Will he see your post? :7

[azmouse]

56. Nah... I'm safe.

:)

[seemunkee]

54. Home toilet retrieve and toss, work flush

I wouldn't risk my pipes but a commercial building should be able to handle it.

[Dangerously Amused]

55. Would you toss it because

... you think using it would probably be safe but just too gross, or because you have real concerns about a health risk?

[seemunkee]

57. The mental image

I'm sure rinsing it off in clean warm water would be fine, but I couldn't get it out of my head that it was in the toilet and I was then going to rub it on my lips.

[CreekDog]

58. This is why you shouldn't share Chapstick

you can't be sure they have the same standards. :o

[Dangerously Amused]

64. Good point.

And exactly the same reason why you should never tutch the but.

:hi:

[Ptah]

61. If I'm at my grandparents homestead, it stays in the outhouse.

[Dangerously Amused]

65. What? You're not diving in after it?

You'll be sorry you didn't the next time your lips get chapped, young man. :wagging finger:

[Ptah]

74. I'm not diving in there ever again.

There's spiders in there.

:scared:

[tigereye]

62. pitch it - I don't want stuff from the toilet near my lips...

yuk. Even if it was sealed....

[Dangerously Amused]

66. Yeah, it would give a whole new meaning to the term "potty mouth," eh?

[av8rdave]

63. Flush it! Your toilet's wax ring could probably use a new layer of gasket

[Dangerously Amused]

67. Ewww. Those wax rings are gross in their own right.

[LynneSin]

68. It depends on which toilet it fell into......

I try to keep my toilet relatively clean. If it fell in with the lid on I'd retrieve it, wipe it off with some rubbing alcohol (including removing the lid and wiping it) and perhaps use it again. If it feel in without the lid on I'd probably throw the thing away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XrvpEIiC1w
If it fell into THAT toilet well I'm not desperate like Mark Renton

[Dangerously Amused]

69. It's interesting that whether the cap is on or off makes the decision for a lot of people.

Thanks!

:hi:

[LynneSin]

70. Even still my toilets are clean and even then rubbing alcohol can fix those problems

I'm not about to fuck up my plumbing by flushing it down.

HOWEVER

In my house I keep the toilet lid down - my cat Abbott prefers drinking out of the toilet over his water bowl.

[crimsonblue]

71. Retrieve it, wash it off.

If the cap is still on it, then it is still good to go. Plus, I just cleaned my toilet bowl. :P

[Dangerously Amused]

73. Yeah, the toilet bowl was clean.

If it was gross at all I wouldn't even be asking the question. x(

[crimsonblue]

78. Oh, this wasn't a rhetorical question?

that's funny.

[Dangerously Amused]

79. Sadly, it was not rhetorical.

FWIW, when I ask questions that, were they true, would potentially involve my own humiliation, odds are 99% that they aren't rhetorical.

Just think of me as a modern day Lucy.

[MajorChode]

75. There are more germs in an ice machine than in your toilet

Just something to think about the next time you get a soda at Burger King.

[Dangerously Amused]

80. Yep. I always, always ALWAYS order my drinks without ice.

:thumbsup:

[Drunken Girlfriend]

76. Chapstick

This actually happened to me yesterday,I swear! lol

I accidently dropped my new chapstick in the toilet(lid was on).

Anyways,I just rinsed it off,and used it.

[Dangerously Amused]

81. You are among the bravest people here.

We need to get you on Survivor: Suburbia.

[PVnRT]

77. Stick a freshman in head first to retrieve it with their teeth

AFTER taking a massive shit.

[Dangerously Amused]

82. Wow. You have a mean streak, dontcha?