# How the hell did I lose my pepper mill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524 "2013-07-03T11:54:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/1 "2013-07-03T11:54:09Z")
This is an Item that I thought was pretty much impossible to lose. It’s not like I wonder around absentmindedly peppering, it exists in only two rooms, Kitchen and dinning room. It’s a foot tall and looks like nothing else I own, It’s not like something I would grab after seeing it out of the corner of my eye thinking I was grabbing the remote or my cell phone. And yet somehow I sit here this morning hands dirty from pulling out stoves and fridges, and yet my eggs remain unpeppered(and now cold). It had to have been like a prison break movie . The only conceivable way for my Pepper mill to have left my kitchen/DR area without my noticing would have been in the garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/2 "2013-07-03T12:01:10Z")
Or a light-fingered guest. Nice pepper mill. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/3 "2013-07-03T12:03:06Z")
How do you refill/clean it? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/4 "2013-07-03T12:06:21Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > How do you refill/clean it? Just unscrew the lid, and pour more peppercorns in. I do it over the sink, in case a few miss. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/5 "2013-07-03T12:11:41Z")
If it fell on the floor & rolled, would it be easily seen by a wine rack or under a table by a wall? Also, is it the only way you have to pepper when you cook? Because if you have a can of the ground stuff for recipes, why not pepper those eggs, eat, and worry about it on a full stomach? Bon Appetite. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/6 "2013-07-03T13:05:27Z")
Get a flashlight and look in cabinet corners. Is it the same color as the cabinets? ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/7 "2013-07-03T13:06:42Z")
Anyone else’s first instinct to check and see if the OP was written by **Cal**? Anyway back on topic - OP, check your cupboards, dishwasher etc, particularly if you are under any amount of stress. I find the more I’m worried about something the more likely I am to have space cadet moments that end up with my sunglasses in the bathroom cabinet or keys in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/8 "2013-07-03T13:24:04Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Anyone else’s first instinct to check and see if the OP was written by **Cal**? > > Anyway back on topic - OP, check your cupboards, dishwasher etc, particularly if you are under any amount of stress. I find the more I’m worried about something the more likely I am to have space cadet moments that end up with my sunglasses in the bathroom cabinet or keys in the fridge. Fortunately, I still have my Pepper Mill. She;s right her (and always capitalized). As for condiment containers, we don’t see m to lose them, but pepper grinders – especially elaborate ones – sometimes break. MilliCal thought she accidentally threw out her iPod in the garbage, but it turned up later. Maybe your pepper mill will, too. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/9 "2013-07-03T13:33:07Z")
You didn’t lose it, it escaped. It was tired of being your pepper mill, it wanted to ground cinnamon instead ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/10 "2013-07-03T14:31:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fortunately, I still have my Pepper Mill. I admit I checked the poster’s name after I saw the thread title. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/11 "2013-07-03T14:36:00Z")
Have you checked the fridge? All sorts of odd things end up in mine including the phone and tv remote. If it isn’t there, it may have run off with my can opener. I haven’t seen it in months. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/12 "2013-07-03T15:19:08Z")
Go over your social calendar and see who your last dinner guest was. Call them and scream (with an over the top French accent), “J’accuse, J’accuse!!” ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/13 "2013-07-03T15:29:21Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Anyone else’s first instinct to check and see if the OP was written by **Cal**? Yes! I’d look in the pantry or wherever you keep the pepper for refills. Perhaps you set them both back there by mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/14 "2013-07-03T15:41:34Z")
Check the freezer. Or check your giant chess board if you have one. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/15 "2013-07-03T16:10:28Z")
Who else is in your kitchen? Could a room mate or SO have “put it away”? ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/16 "2013-07-03T20:46:37Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Also, is it the only way you have to pepper when you cook? Because if you have a can of the ground stuff for recipes, why not pepper those eggs, eat, and worry about it on a full stomach? Bon Appetite. Ew. Don’t do this. Canned ground pepper might as well be sawdust for all the flavor it imparts. It’s as useless as dried parsley flakes, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/17 "2013-07-03T22:21:00Z")
Well I had to buy a new pepper mill today. The more annoying thing is that it was full of good peppers. The Mill itself was cheap(much like the new one and the pepper that came with it most likely). ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/18 "2013-07-03T23:12:28Z")
It wouldn’t have rolled off the counter and into the garbage can maybe? I hope it turns up, even if you did buy a new one - you can keep the new guy for backup in case of future disappearances. …and I didn’t know pepper mills came that large! ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/19 "2013-07-03T23:36:22Z")
Maybe it’s on your head? That’s where lots of people find their glasses. It might work for pepper mills, too. (And yes, I thought about **Cal** too…) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524/20 "2013-07-03T23:39:15Z")
The surefire way to find it is to lose something else. When you’re looking for that other thing, you’ll find the pepper mill. (and I, too, opened this thread to confirm it wasn’t **CalMeacham** ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-i-lose-my-pepper-mill/662524.md?page=2)