Strange But True Dept

[Stephen Trapani]

A few months ago with a wire brush I brushed marine life off an old nibral prop that had just been pulled off the boat. It was one of those common wood handle brushes with hard steel wire bristles that were about an inch long, five inches by an inch wide pattern. I was about half done and got interrupted to do something else, leaving the brush and prop laying on the dock. About an hour later I came back and the wire bristles on the brush were gone! When I left them they were an inch long, when I got back they looked like they had been shaved down to within an 8th inch of the handle. What happened?????

 

[Mike B1026]

Somebody traded you their old, worn out brush?

Aliens?

 

[Ron20324]

Ah-ha! First the "Barefoot Bandit", and now, the "Bristle Bandit". That sounds like a welder's brush?

 

[Bill Roosa]

Clearly space aliens inadvertently caused an electromagnetic field with their anti gravity drive that induced galvanic corrosion the likes of which only God has seen.

OR

The men in black needed to sterilize the area as you inadvertently got a hold of some very small illegal aliens. I’ve heard some of their sterilizing equipment is very caustic.

 

[Maine Sail]

I vote for steel eating aliens...

 

[thinwater]

Nope, you're all wrong.

Time warp. For you information, it is now June. 2011.

 

[kenn]

Were you using an acidic cleaner?

 

[kloudie1]

Gone as in not even laying on the pier?? or vaporized??
Would have been fun to watch as the little wires popped off from stress corrosion cracking, the stress of attachment at the handle relieving itself and popping the wire into the water??

 

[Stephen Trapani]

Gone as in, without a trace but for the stubs remaining on the brush. And I was using no cleaner at all. My first theory was some scoundrel on the dock had an exact stubby replica. I did show it around and tell what happened to everyone in the vicinity, keeping an eye out for guilty looks. Didn't see any I recognized. My second theory was some sort of super galvanic corrosion after coming in contact with the obviously galvanic corroded prop. But that couldn't happen could it?

 

[Ross]

I vote for the wire brush exchange.. I have never worn the bristles off but I have had them fall out.

 

[kloudie1]

Yup.. The scoundrel thory sounds the most plausible !
We should brush up on our corrosion analysis..?? Don't get too bristled up at the scroundrel?? Maybe try Rogaine?
Can we get a microphotograph of the broken off ends left in the brush.. (I used to work for ExxMob..our motto was "There is no problem too small for us to overwork!".)

 

[Stephen Trapani]

While I favor the scoundrel theory, it's still not a very good one and here's why: My brush had relatively little use though it had been stored on the boat for years. These brushes have untreated wood handles that will show signs of usage by darkening in a pattern where it is gripped by hands. Mine had relatively little of this darkening. One that had been worn down to the nubs by usage would have shown far more darkening and obviously been different than mine so I would have noticed immediately that it was a different brush, it seems.

I had, as usual in these conditions, had a few beers. This would have been the first time a few beers transferred me to a different universe...

 

[Igetit]

I will ask the obvious question then: How many is "a few" ?

 

[zeehag]

was the brush made in china????
i vote for magic chinese gremlins.....

 

[gpd955]

Solar flares. Melted them right away. First your brush, next your GPS.

 

[kpgraci]

Next bursh, put your name on the handle.

 

[All U Get]

Was there a hot yellow sponge hanging out at the Sand Bar, that would have something to do with the bristles getting cut.
All U Get

 

[Steve L22188]

Quantity or quality?

The question may not be how many beers...but what brand of beer?

Maybe certain brands of beers have some sort of effect on the basic dimensions of time and space?

I hate it when you can't explain these oddities of life: like where in space and time did that little plastic bag of cotter keys go?

 

[Ross]

Re: Quantity or quality?

My brother in law said that there was a space warp that snatched up the things that he laid down. That explained the loss of the pencil that he had just sharpened and marked a line for a saw cut. When he wanted to mark the next line the pencil was gone.

 

[RAD]

My brother in law said that there was a space warp that snatched up the things that he laid down. That explained the loss of the pencil that he had just sharpened and marked a line for a saw cut. When he wanted to mark the next line the pencil was gone.

That happens to me all the time with tools and I never leave the work area and then look high and low for what ever disapeared.....now that makes sense