Yep, toilet paper. 2 dressed rolls to complete a Combination Doll.

Put on a different attire and they are ready to be wedding favors.

It’s allllll in the dressing…which also says: “(Thank you very much!) This is a very convenient doll. If you need it, you can use this. The doll will give you happiness.”

Have a happy weekend!

[Images from Tongari]

With all the attraction-seeking, I stumbled upon a topic concerning the testing of nickel in stainless steel (SS) cookware with a magnet. Nickel (and other toxic metal ions) can possibly leach into food.

Quick jots on nickel:

• SS is an alloy made up chromium, steel iron, molybdenum, nickel and other metals.
• Nickel is magnetic but when added to the steel mix, the changes in its structure (due to the magnetic field) causes the steel to turn non-magnetic.
• Common SS grades:
  18/0   — 18% chromium, no nickel
  18/8   — 18% chromium, 8% nickel
  18/10 — 18% chromium, 10% nickel

• Nickel is added to SS to protect against corrosion and to give SS its glow.
• SS cookware would usually have a magnetic base so that they can also be used on an induction stove, which uses a magnetic field to heat up the cookware.
• If SS is magnetic, nickel is absent.
• If SS is not magnetic, nickel is present.
• The following is said to encourage more leaching:
  - Salty or acidic food stored or cooked in SS
  - Steel scouring pad and harsh abrasive
  - Pitted surface due to extended use

• Austenitic stainless steels like 18/8 and 18/10 are non-magnetic however a small amount of magnetism is produced after cold forming, e.g. bending and rolling.
• SS cookware can be made up of layers consisting of aluminium (or even copper) sandwiched between 18/10 SS, shielded with a polished magnetic stainless steel exterior. This explains why a 18/10 pot or pan can be magnetic.

  Brands that make such cookwares are All-Clad, Emerilware, Dr Weil and WMF.

I have 4 SS pots from WMF, only 2 are magnetic all over, inside and out. Excluding the lid + handles.

To continue with the magnetic trail that was paved because of tea tins, I trailed behind every piece of possible metal seeking for *attraction*.

With the understanding that iron, steel (an alloy of iron), nickel and cobalt are magnetic, here are some of their comrades:

✜ Stainless steel (SS) cookware; esp pot base
✜ SS utensils, including chopsticks
✜ SS sink
✜ SS scourging sponge (surprise!)
✜ Mandoline
✜ Washing machine drum
✜ Fridge casing
✜ Eyelash curler
✜ Tweezer
✜ Scissors, plier, shears, can-opener and knife
✜ Cast iron cookware
✜ Cast iron stove cap and grid
✜ Baking tray
✜ Nickel jewlery
✜ Jar lid
✜ Food can
✜ Tea/cookie tin
✜ Paint can
✜ Sewing needles
✜ Ikea Gruntal and Galant leg
✜ Hammer, wrench and spanner
✜ Allen key
✜ Screwdriver head
✜ Bolt and nut
✜ Concrete nails
✜ Wood nails
✜ Screw and screw hook
✜ Spring
✜ Picture hanging plate
✜ Keyring
✜ Paper clip
✜ Binder clip
✜ Round binder clip
✜ Staple
✜ Steel rule
✜ Safety pin
✜ Watch battery
✜ Batteries, such as AA and AAA
✜ USB drive connector

[More: Which metals are not magnetic? @ Ask A Scientist]

In the good old days, I grew up with Pears as the family’s official facial cleanser. Pears has a certain class of its own which is simply unforgettable…that’s why we still wash with it.

Locally, it’s no longer sold everywhere* like it used to, and it’s no longer made in the UK but in India.

* Found it at Nishino pharmacies and more recently at CK, the budget store for more than half the price!

Since the use of 1 cent coins ended years ago, shops would round down to the nearest 5 cent on their bills. Or so I thought.

It came upon me recently when I was at a supermarket checkout, that if I pay cash, I get to pay a rounded amount which is lesser than if I were to pay with a card (whether debit or credit).

Simply put, if the cash register flashes $9.04, I can pay $9.00 in cash while my receipt will show ‘Rounding adjustments’ to deduct the 4 cents. If I pay by card, there’s no rounding, I will be charged $9.04 flat and the receipt will likewise reflect this figure.

Quickly, I checked with another supermarket and this one declares a rounded figure on the register. Hence no matter which mode of payment is chosen, the same amount is charged. In my case (2nd receipt from the left), $19.30 was the rounded figure I paid with a card.

Did more checks on bookstores, restaurants, shops and not forgetting the other receipts I had on hand, only to confirm fears that they won’t do rounding when we do cards. So for how long have I have been paying extra cents just because!

The few people I talked to just heard it from me…can you believe us?!

[p.s. No rounding on credit card/utility bills when you pay cash at the counters, you would have to pay more or risk late charges on unpaid cents.]

In unison we decided on western food for dinner before heading home to watch last night’s table tennis matches at the Olympics on TV.

As a traveler, I’m aware of the greenhouse gases I contribute, so with that, there’s an extra trip to make:

Go Zero, where

* $10 offsets an average trip including air travel, a one-night hotel stay, and rental car for one person.

* $25 negates air travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for two people.

* $40 equalizes the effects of air travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for four people.

Tins, that’s what we call these canisters though they are unlikely to be made from tin, right?

So what is made of tin and what are tins made of? These questions were floating in my head the last few days and to stop myself from guessing, I went searching for answers on tin – the can, and tin – the metal. Maybe Tintin will like this assignment? :-)

Well here are my quick jots:

• Pewter is a tin alloy.
• Bronze is a copper and tin alloy.
• Tin is used in soldering.
• Food cans are made of steel. Beverage cans are made of aluminium. Some cans are bi-metal.
• A food can has a thin tin coating on both sides to prevent the steel body from rusting. Tin doesn’t rust but steel will.

To find out if both my tins (pictured) are made of steel, I used a magnet. Both held up the magnet, proving themselves to be steel. I went further to stick magnets on food cans too. This magnetic trail has led me to another. Will be back with more jots.

Thanks to Jules for featuring my magnetic hack on Ikea Hacker and overdue thanks to Kevin for including the stapleless paper binding trick as a MacGyver tip on Life Hacker.