*sigh*
Get your minds out of the gutter, people. This is not going to be another story about playing games at a family get-together. That one didn’t go over particularly well – maybe it was the shock (Cordelia’s Mom wrote about WHAT?!), or maybe no one was reading much of anything on a mid-October weekend.
In any event, what happened is this: I was pretty much out of ideas for posts. After showering, I happened to notice the very nice glass container full of cotton balls in our bathroom.
Humph, I thought. Cotton balls. There must be something I can write about using that, and I don’t recall seeing any other blog posts talking about cotton balls. Unique is good, right?
So, what can you do with cotton balls? Well, obviously, you can soak them in alcohol or sudsy water or whatever to clean things. You can use them with nail polish remover to return your nails to their natural condition or to prepare them for that neon blue polish you’ve always wanted to try.
You can use cotton balls to plug up ears and bloody noses. (Gross is good in blog posts, right?)
Lots of craft projects use cotton balls, but the only one I can think of off the top of my head is: SNOWMEN (you know, 3 cotton balls, glue, a couple of toothpicks, and a black magic marker).
Of course, the word “cotton” makes me think of other things, too. Do they still make that body wash with the “fresh cotton” scent? What’s that supposed to mean, anyway? Isn’t all cotton “fresh” (well, at least until worn, or used for bloody noses) (Double gross is even better, right?)
And then, there is – cotton CANDY. Who doesn’t like cotton candy? It comes in all those pretty colors, which make you think it might also be different flavors, but of course, all cotton candy just tastes like PURE SUGAR! Yummm!
Let’s see, what else has the word cotton in it? Well, we know what Google’s for, don’t we?
There are a bunch of actors with the last name Cotton. The only one I ever recall seeing in a movie was Joseph Cotton, because as a kid I loved watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents on TV.
Wasn’t there once a racehouse whose name included the word Cotton? Let’s search that – whoopee, I just won 3 Swagbucks for that search! But no results for a horse named Cotton.
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Of course, for those of you who haven’t figured it out yet – the foregoing is meant to demonstrate how ideas can come from anywhere and anything.
(Well, I must blushingly admit that the foregoing actually did start off as absolute panic from not having a single thought as to what I could write about. Funny how things get turned around sometimes, isn’t it?)
If this post gleans any interest, I may start taking some serious looks at other ordinary household items. The comedian,Tim Conway, once did a hilarious skit about SaranWrap. It was one of the funniest comedy acts I think I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a link to that skit to post here.
But it just goes to show that pretty much any ordinary household item or product can be turned into a very funny story.
Anyone want to hear my views on ………. (nuts, my mind just went blank! Time to start touring my house again.)
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As always, I love to hear from my readers. You may either comment on this post, or email me at: cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by: Bisayan lady, and Megumie, and Celestine Chua, respectively
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
For some reason, this is one my favorite posts of yours to date. I think we can all relate to the stream of consciousness that occurs when you’re scrambling for an idea. It’s fun to watch someone else’s play out.
As an aside, my personal all-time favorite use of Saran Wrap as literary muse has always been this: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-open-letter-to-saran-wrap. Taking an ordinary household object can actually be quite inspiring! 🙂
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That SaranWrap post is hilarious- wish I would’ve found it first! Maybe next time I want to write about a household item, I should check with Rob to be sure he hasn’t already done a post on it. Thanks for sharing the link.
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You are too funny! Love your humor and art! http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
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Thank you. God knows I try! As I write this response, I’m sitting at my desk staring at paper clips …. nah, cotton balls are funnier.
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you didn’t look up balls!
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You’re right, I didn’t. Can you imagine what the results might have been? I can just picture one of those fake FBI warnings popping up, telling me to go to the nearest convenience store and get a cash card to pay the fine or else go to jail.
PS: I also didn’t look up cotton ball phobias. According to a coworker, there is such a thing, and it’s call “sidonglobophobia.”
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Laughing here!
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HahHah! and Hmmmm…
The words they come up with for particular phobias sure tickle, don’t they? – Unless it’s *your* phobia, that is!
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hmm, I think you just gave me an “idea”!
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Happy to be of service, CM! 😉
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The fact that you could take something as seemingly mundane as cotton balls and turn them into this post…AMAZING. I feel like throwing (respectfully throwing) random objects at you just to see what you could do.
Although you should know that I am deeply uncomfortable with the texture of cotton balls. I don’t know either.
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I wish someone would throw random objects at me – I’m having some serious problems coming up with ideas lately! Thanks for the comment.
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RaNNNdoM ObET d’Art
RanDom iNcominG ObjeCTs
Duck, dear! (and then get out the ole’ thinking cap) 🙂
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Random Art-Inducing Objects – I like that idea! Thanks, Karen.
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I don’t mind a little gross 😛
When we’re out in stores, my youngest has to squeeze bags of cotton balls. I don’t buy them anymore, because she loved them too much when she was small. And by love, I mean they were all over the house, inside strange places, batted about by the cats, attaching to dust bunnies and building like snowballs and that was gross, fersure. I buy cotton pads and cotton swabs. Perhaps in her own home, everything will be made of cotton balls.
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A child’s plaything – that’s one use I didn’t think of. Thank heavens she didn’t also try to eat them!
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Right? Thanks.
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