Since I am prone to bring in my lunch to work most days (for cost and calorie control), I usually include a yogurt with my daily selection. Obviously these industrial packets are vacuum sealed but for some reason there is one design flaw in almost all yogurt containers. Unless you’re holding your hand over where you open the top, the semi-pressurized contents will splatter on your hands and clothes, making it look like you’re a President-pleasing intern with an aversion to swallowing.
It got me to thinking about other products where you cringe in anticipation of the moment when the pressurized container’s seal is broken. The first thing that comes to mind is those canisters that hold dough for baking loaves or rolls of bread. As you’re peeling the foil container, you get to the cardboard area where you’re supposed to press down with both thumbs until it opens. I’m always paranoid that the dough is going to burst out in a violent explosion one time and the kitchen is going to look like a set piece from Ghostbusters.
The same thing goes for balloons. Whether you’re trying to end an old balloon’s life or are popping a fully inflated one, there’s that moment right before it actually pops where maybe you have your head to the side and your face makes a slight grimace before the rubber gives way. An added bonus is if it’s an old helium balloon and you get that stench of expired helium as you pop the balloon’s skin.
On a somewhat related note, am I the only one who gets slightly nervous when I’m next to a pressurized gas truck while on the freeway? It’s not the greatest feeling to be side to side with a propane truck or anything else that has the “Contents Under Pressure” or “Corrosive Materials” or “Flammable Materials” sign while you’re sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. My mind starts to wander and thinks “So, did they engineer that tank to not burst if it tipped over or got into a crash? What if a traffic copter fell out of the sky and plowed right into it? Would it rival the explosions in Terminator 2?”
Dammit, I’ve gotta stop watching action movies.