Still in the original box, of course. It’s unclear who the target market is or was for SpongeBob-branded golf balls, and yet here they are. Enjoy?
Golf Balls
Tag: just in case
Springs
Springs, of so many different sizes, spring rates, colors. Drawers upon drawers of them, some in good shape, others… not so much. Just because we don’t need them now doesn’t mean we should discard them, right?
Okay, it’s probably worthwhile to dig out the overextended ones and send them to the scrap heap.
Radio knobs
There’s a tendency in the shop to scrounge and save almost everything. You never know when something might come in handy, and experience has shown, over and over, that there’s value in all but the junkiest junk. And even that, if sufficiently large/heavy/whatever, can be an effective doorstop, or spray paint shield, or otherwise helpful bit of plain old physical mass. When a piece of equipment breaks and is just irreparable, you dig out the good bits and set ’em aside.
It’s important to keep track of which boxes contain the useful bits and which the junk. Sometimes the difference isn’t immediately obvious.
There’s a drawer in one of our storage rooms labeled “Radio Knobs.” Indeed, that’s what’s inside. Collected by our predecessors from an array of broken equipment, calmly waiting their turn to be useful once more.
And, yes, they have been useful.
Lead Bricks
Yes, they’re heavy. Quick estimate, based on their dimensions (20cm x 10cm x 5cm) and density (11.29 g/cm2), each one weighs approximately 11.3 kg (24.8 lbs). That wee stack of 15 bricks runs to nearly 170 kg (373 lbs). Pushing them down the hallway on a large cart gets exhausting, quickly.
Let’s all act surprised that they were left behind in a research lab post-retirement.
These are a prime example of something that we keep around, just in case. Plus, they’re expensive. A very similarly-sized bar of lead from McMaster-Carr – 2 in. x 4 in. x 8 in. – will run you $202.42 at this moment. Fair to say that doesn’t include shipping. It might be more cost-effective to drive to New Jersey for pickup.
To our next nuclear physicist, whomever you might be: we’re holding on to them for you. Come get them anytime.