Serious question, why did it take me 45 minutes to fix a broken zipper on my duffel bag?

I was packing for a weekend trip to Portland and my duffel bag zipper got stuck halfway. I spent a full 45 minutes wrestling with it, thinking I'd need to buy a new bag. Then I remembered reading about rubbing a candle stub along the teeth, and it worked in like 10 seconds after that. Has anyone else found a quick fix for something that took way too long to figure out?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.nancy20d agoMost Upvoted

45 minutes is basically a master's degree in zipper frustration.

michael_green4420d ago

Oh come on, 45 minutes is barely a warmup. I've spent an hour just trying to find the right sized screwdriver in my junk drawer. The whole candle thing is smart, I'll give you that. But I bet half that time was just you standing there staring at the zipper and hoping it would fix itself. That's how these things always go. You gotta break out the butter knife or some WD-40 way sooner instead of just pulling on it over and over like a caveman. So yeah, it's a good tip but let's not act like this is some life-changing revelation.

roberts.leo19d ago

Wait, you've never had a friend who tried to fix a zipper with a pair of pliers and just made it worse? My buddy Dave spent a whole afternoon on his favorite winter jacket, and by the end of it the zipper was so mangled he had to cut himself out of it like a hostage situation. He ended up soaking the whole thing in WD-40 (which, surprise, ruined the lining) and then just wore it open all winter like a maniac. So yeah, maybe 45 minutes is a warmup for some people, but at least you didn't end up smelling like a garage.