# I think I should get the Nobel prize for this **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856 "2018-02-15T03:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/1 "2018-02-15T03:33:02Z")
My 13 year old daughter has a really nice Tiffany’s charm necklace given to her by her grandmother, the kind with the super finely braided chain. Because she is 13 she got it hopelessly and horrifically tangled. Because she is 13 she tried to fix it herself and made it infinitely worse. Crying, she brought this mess to me to see if I could fix it. After half an hour of fiddling I got nowhere. My daughter is asking “Is it fixed? Did you get it?” Every two minutes. “That’s it!” I announce, “I’m going hardcore on this thing!” “No daddy, don’t. You’lll break it!” “I won’t” I get my pedestal magnifier from my soldering kit and I set it up. I get my dental picks. I put on my hardcore 2X reading glasses. I get you bright work light and clamp it on to my flexible extension. I get a cutting board and put a piece of white paper on it. I put the necklace on the paper. I put the paper cutting board necklace under the magnifier. I focus the light on it. I pick up the dental picks and regard the necklace through my reading glasses and the magnifier. My daughter watches apprehensively. 3 minutes later the necklace is completely untangled. “Oh my God, daddy you are amazing!” Says my daughter with genuine awe as I hand her the necklace. * * * So here are the takeaways: This is easily one of my top ten all time achievements as a human being. I am not sure whether this speaks poorly of my achievements as a human being, or well of me that I regard it as such, but the fact is that i am insufferably as full of myself over this as if I’ve invented anti-gravity combined with perpetual motion. Even my wife conceded that it was pretty cool. I should go hardcore more often. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/2 "2018-02-15T03:36:03Z")
Any neurosurgeons out there who like a consultation on my technique should feel free to contact me. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/3 "2018-02-15T03:47:04Z")
Why do you have dental picks? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/4 "2018-02-15T03:48:12Z")
Fantastic! Detangling chain is really hard. That being said, I love to detangle yarn. Something just so satisfying when you finally get that big tangle rolled in to a nice neat ball. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/5 "2018-02-15T03:51:23Z")
A Nobel is worth nothing next to the looks of awe and appreciation you got, amiright? Job well done, sir! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/6 "2018-02-15T03:52:58Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Why do you have dental picks? Why don’t you? They’re very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/7 "2018-02-15T03:58:00Z")
h > [@friedo](#): > > Why do you have dental picks? You can buy a set for ten bucks or so anywhere online. Incredibly useful for any kind of fine work. No tool kit is complete without them. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/8 "2018-02-15T04:08:22Z")
My dentist saves old ones for me. Many have two working ends. If they get dropped, sometimes one end is damaged, so I get them. Handy tools indeed. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/9 "2018-02-15T04:57:44Z")
Of course the guy who waterboarded himself for shits and giggles also owns dental picks. I bet you he also owns a few varieties of duct/gaffers tape, because each have their own use. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/10 "2018-02-15T04:58:39Z")
You can buy them at Harbor Freight for a few bucks. Alot of mechanics have them. My son always asks me for T-pins for something he does mechanically. Chain is seriously hard to untangle. If they call me from the Nobel Prize board I will give you a good reference, Super-dad! ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/11 "2018-02-15T05:14:32Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Of course the guy who waterboarded himself for shits and giggles also owns dental picks. I bet you he also owns a few varieties of duct/gaffers tape, because each have their own use. Um…I have dental picks. And hemostats. And come to think of it,I have 6 rolls of tape. 4 duct, 2 gaffer. (Colors, widths etc) To the OP. Ive tangled:rolleyes: with a necklace before…if you didn’t ruin it, and punch something, you need an award of some sort.😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/12 "2018-02-15T10:57:07Z")
I could have used you to untangle the huge matted fur on my cat’s back. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/13 "2018-02-15T10:58:47Z")
Ah, yes. Yesssss! Feel the power of Dad-ness! Within my family, I am also the Detangler, and also the Finder. I have received similar life-affirming accolades when I perform Sherlockian feats of detection, such as walking through the door to the frantic whine of “I can’t find my _KEYS_ and I am _LATE_!!!” and, without breaking stride, walking to that one coat I had recalled seemed out of place when I noted it hours earlier - reached into the pocket and handed off the keys as she ran out the door. Right when the door clicked shut, the kids went nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/14 "2018-02-15T11:19:25Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > My 13 year old daughter has a really nice Tiffany’s charm necklace given to her by her grandmother, the kind with the super finely braided chain. Because she is 13 she got it hopelessly and horrifically tangled. Because she is 13 she tried to fix it herself and made it infinitely worse. Crying, she brought this mess to me to see if I could fix it. After half an hour of fiddling I got nowhere. My daughter is asking “Is it fixed? Did you get it?” Every two minutes. > > “That’s it!” I announce, “I’m going hardcore on this thing!” > > “No daddy, don’t. You’lll break it!” > > “I won’t” > > I get my pedestal magnifier from my soldering kit and I set it up. I get my dental picks. I put on my hardcore 2X reading glasses. I get you bright work light and clamp it on to my flexible extension. I get a cutting board and put a piece of white paper on it. I put the necklace on the paper. I put the paper cutting board necklace under the magnifier. I focus the light on it. I pick up the dental picks and regard the necklace through my reading glasses and the magnifier. My daughter watches apprehensively. > > 3 minutes later the necklace is completely untangled. > > “Oh my God, daddy you are amazing!” Says my daughter with genuine awe as I hand her the necklace. > > * * * > > So here are the takeaways: > > This is easily one of my top ten all time achievements as a human being. I am not sure whether this speaks poorly of my achievements as a human being, or well of me that I regard it as such, but the fact is that i am insufferably as full of myself over this as if I’ve invented anti-gravity combined with perpetual motion. > > Even my wife conceded that it was pretty cool. > > I should go hardcore more often. You Sir are a credit to all humankind. And may I say as a daughter. . . A REALLY GREAT DAD! ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/15 "2018-02-15T14:07:55Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Of course the guy who waterboarded himself for shits and giggles also owns dental picks. I bet you he also owns a few varieties of duct/gaffers tape, because each have their own use. I do. I also have more than one screwdriver. You are the second person who seems to indicate that owning dental picks, or more than one roll of duct tape is excessive, or eccentric in some way. I’m pretty sure I don’t understand the worldview that finds this odd. I don’t wish to be insulting, but how does one get through life without the very easy to Acquire basic tools and skill set to deal with minor repairs and maintenance? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/16 "2018-02-15T14:09:49Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Ah, yes. Yesssss! Feel the power of Dad-ness! > > Within my family, I am also the Detangler, and also the Finder. I have received similar life-affirming accolades when I perform Sherlockian feats of detection, such as walking through the door to the frantic whine of “I can’t find my _KEYS_ and I am _LATE_!!!” and, without breaking stride, walking to that one coat I had recalled seemed out of place when I noted it hours earlier - reached into the pocket and handed off the keys as she ran out the door. Right when the door clicked shut, the kids went nuts. Aww shucks, thanks it was nothing. You hang around this world for 50 years or so and eventually you get a win or two. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/17 "2018-02-15T14:15:40Z")
FYI, Nobel prize aside, most jewelry stores will do this kind of thing for free. I had a chain that I spent an hour or so working on, hubby spent maybe an hour on. No luck. Took it to my local jewelry store, they had it done in about 5 minutes, no charge. No clue how they did it, but I was kicking myself for not doing that sooner. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/18 "2018-02-15T14:19:03Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > FYI, Nobel prize aside, most jewelry stores will do this kind of thing for free. I had a chain that I spent an hour or so working on, hubby spent maybe an hour on. No luck. Took it to my local jewelry store, they had it done in about 5 minutes, no charge. No clue how they did it, but I was kicking myself for not doing that sooner. They don’t do it at 9:30 at night when your kid wants to wear it to school first thing in the morning , though. I do. That’s why I want the prize. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/19 "2018-02-15T14:28:46Z")
Scylla, that is awesome. I’ll happily nominate you. Nothing for a Daddy like the appreciation of a daughter. Even that of a son is never quite as expressive and heartwarming (though it’s wonderful in its own way). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/20 "2018-02-15T14:52:42Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Ah, yes. Yesssss! Feel the power of Dad-ness! > > Within my family, I am also the Detangler, and also the Finder. I have received similar life-affirming accolades when I perform Sherlockian feats of detection, such as walking through the door to the frantic whine of “I can’t find my _KEYS_ and I am _LATE_!!!” and, without breaking stride, walking to that one coat I had recalled seemed out of place when I noted it hours earlier - reached into the pocket and handed off the keys as she ran out the door. Right when the door clicked shut, the kids went nuts. I have successfully convinced my spouse that I have operational X-Ray Vision, because of stuff like this. She used to scoff, but now relies on it. On the other hand, my spouse suffers from “if it were a snake it would have bit you” blindness, so I do have a leg up. But my observational skills, and ability to collect useful visual information on mere split-second shards of input are what gets me by. Oh, and dental picks? Yes, get some! They are THE tool for untangling necklace chains! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856.md?page=2)