# Failpril (Monthly Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [April 1, 2026, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931 "2026-04-01T12:32:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/121 "2026-04-21T21:01:57Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > > My latest minirant: some time back, a certain mail order pharmacy known as Dropped’em quit putting the reversible caps on their pill bottles, in favor of purely “adult-proof” ones. Now, I don’t have any real issue with that myself, but in 10 years, who knows. I’ve taken to saving the caps from older bottles and using them on the new ones. > > I’ve been getting my prescriptions filled at CVS and years ago I put in a standing request for non-childproof caps. I have all my prescriptions delivered now, and for some reason my latest prescription came with child-proof caps. So I called the pharmacy and after jumping through all the hoops I was able to speak to a real person. I explained my problem and was assured that the note about the caps would be restored to my account. They then offered to send me a replacement cap, but I assured them that I was able to swap out an older cap. I don’t know exactly what kinds of caps you guys are dealing with but in my experience there are two kinds of childproof caps – the kind where you have to press down when turning, and the kind where you have to line up a little invisible arrow on the cap with an equally invisible arrow on the bottle. At least, the arrows are invisible except in bright light, which it isn’t when I need to take a pill at bedtime. The press-n-turn type is easy, so naturally, the skill-testing align-the-arrows type is the one that’s almost always used. It never occurred to me to ask if they had a non-childproof option. I will ask next time – thanks for the suggestion. However, this being super-safety-conscious Canada, they’re probably not allowed to offer them! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/122 "2026-04-21T21:09:44Z")
There’s also the kind of cap where you have to squeeze the outside of the cap before it will twist… Laundry detergent sometimes has this, but I’ve seen pill bottles do it too. [![](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/4/45/Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-3-Version-5.jpg/v4-460px-Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-3-Version-5.jpg) ](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/4/45/Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-3-Version-5.jpg/v4-460px-Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-3-Version-5.jpg) Oh, and the kind where you push a tab before twisting. [![](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/f/f7/Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-4-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-4-Version-3.jpg) ](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/f/f7/Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-4-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Open-a-Child-Proof-Pill-Container-Step-4-Version-3.jpg) That last kind is what almost every prescription I get comes with. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/123 "2026-04-21T21:10:59Z")
Yesterday, as I was walking Bob around the neighborhood, I scooped some poop in a poopie bag and went on my way. It was windy and my hair was all over the place and my bangs were in my eyes, so like any other day I combed my hand through my hair. Do you remember the first sentence? Do you see where I’m going with this considering the thread? Yep. I had a big chunk of dog shit on my thumb that I didn’t notice until I felt it on my forehead. I was a true shithead. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/124 "2026-04-21T21:23:36Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > That last kind is what almost every prescription I get comes with. That kind would seem easier to deal with than the “align the tabs” puzzle game in the dark of night. I haven’t seen that here. I haven’t seen the “squeeze sides” kind, either, except on large bottles of mouthwash, which have multiple skill-testing requirements before you’re allowed to access the product. First, you have to remove super tough plastic wrap from around the cap, which is designed to be as difficult as possible – apparently in the hope that you might injure yourself with some sharp implement – and then you’re required to do the squeeze-n-turn trick, which is usually impossible without the aid of powerful steam-powered hydraulic actuators. Once I finally get the cap off one of those fuckers, I put it back on loosely to avoid further aggravation. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/125 "2026-04-21T21:27:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I haven’t seen the “squeeze sides” kind, either, except on large bottles of mouthwash, which have multiple skill-testing requirements before you’re allowed to access the product. Ooh, yes, my Listerine has that kind of lid. I totally forgot. Removing the plastic wrap sucks because I swear that stuff is bulletproof, and while they have “easy tear” perforations they usually don’t really work. But once you get it off, that kind of lid is handy. I do hate the “align the arrows” lid though. It’s _so easy_ to see a white arrow match up with another white arrow on a white bottle with a white lid. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/126 "2026-04-21T21:42:00Z")
You don’t use your eyes to align those arrows. You use the touch sensors in your fingertips. Assuming they still work. Easy peasy in the dark without your specs. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/127 "2026-04-21T21:47:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You don’t use your eyes to align those arrows. You use the touch sensors in your fingertips. Assuming they still work. I guess my paws are just not that sensitive. I’ve never understood how braille could possibly work. Humans are an amazing species and I thank them for picking up our poop! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/128 "2026-04-21T21:54:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It never occurred to me to ask if they had a non-childproof option. I will ask next time – thanks for the suggestion. However, this being super-safety-conscious Canada, they’re probably not allowed to offer them! You should be able to get a non-childproof cap. We were able to get them for my father’s prescriptions. Ask next time that you’re at the pharmacy. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/129 "2026-04-21T22:16:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You don’t use your eyes to align those arrows. You use the touch sensors in your fingertips. Assuming they still work. That works sometimes, depending on the shape of the particular bottle and how far the arrows stick out. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/130 "2026-04-21T23:24:50Z")
My eyedrops have the push down and turn lid. The “push down and turn” instructions are white letters on a white dime-sized lid and it took me forever to figure out how to open the bottle because I couldn’t see the damn instructions without my glasses on. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/131 "2026-04-21T23:26:04Z")
Some of those childproof caps are reversible. As in, flip it over and it’s not childproof anymore. In the illustration above you can see the scoring on the “small” side of the cap. That part will screw into the bottle on the inside and the cap will be easy to remove. I hope I’m making sense. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/132 "2026-04-21T23:50:28Z")
When I was living in Chicago and getting my wife’s prescriptions filled at Walgreen’s they had the reversible caps. Of course when they gave you the bottle it was in childproof mode, but after you did the press-and-turn you just had to flip it over to turn it into a regular screwtop. Once when I was picking up a prescription there was an elderly (well, at the time I thought of her as elderly, although I’m now probably about her age) who looked at her bottle of pills and complained that she wouldn’t be able to open it. So I opened it for her, flipped the cap, and showed her that it was now a simple screwtop. I thought she was going to kiss me. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/133 "2026-04-22T00:40:39Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I couldn’t see the damn instructions without my glasses on. The kicker would be if you can see perfectly once you apply the eyedrops. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/134 "2026-04-22T03:51:48Z")
After being in fairly extreme pain on Sunday, the rib is feeling much better today. I am going to downgrade my self diagnosis from a cracked rib to a bruised rib. Coughs and sneezes still hurt like hell, but are bearable. The long planned fishing trip this weekend should be fine, which is good since it is non-refundable. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/135 "2026-04-22T10:09:12Z")
Hooray for healing progress. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/136 "2026-04-22T11:43:08Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > After being in fairly extreme pain on Sunday, the rib is feeling much better today. I am going to downgrade my self diagnosis from a cracked rib to a bruised rib. Coughs and sneezes still hurt like hell, but are bearable. The long planned fishing trip this weekend should be fine, which is good since it is non-refundable. Yay!! My fractured rib, as painful as it was, healed fairly quickly, and it seems yours is doing at least as well or better! Happy fishing! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/137 "2026-04-22T13:52:49Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > The long planned fishing trip this weekend should be fine, which is good since it is non-refundable. When people say they’ve been abducted by aliens I tend to believe them & _not_ think of them as crackpots. Why? Because I’ve gone fishing before & practiced catch-&-release. 🤣 Does the fish then go back to his buddies & say he was abducted & they ~~anally probed~~ weighed & measured him all why he was gasping for air before finally releasing him. Maybe we’re just in a giant fish pond & it really _did_ happen to them ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/138 "2026-04-22T14:39:50Z")
Makes perfect sense to me! I would appear to be an alien abductor as well! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/139 "2026-04-22T18:32:24Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > When people say they’ve been abducted by aliens I tend to believe them & _not_ think of them as crackpots. Why? Because I’ve gone fishing before & practiced catch-&-release. 🤣 _The X-Fishers_ THE TROUT IS OUT THERE ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931/140 "2026-04-22T20:58:26Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I grabbed a handful of rear brake when I needed the front brake. I once did the opposite, and the bike did a handstand on its front wheel… while I went flying over the handlebars. So far, no accidents this season. Maybe because I’m taking fewer chances. (My knee went out last week, and a lot of ice, ibuprofen and a cortisone injection later, I’m still riding slower and more carefully than usual.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/failpril-monthly-mini-rants/1028931.md?page=8)