I got my Lava Lamp for Christmas when I was in Jr High. This means I have had it for 17 years! There were a few years that it sat in my parents garage, and there were many years that it wasn't used regularly... but I have definitely used it a lot over the years.
These last couple of years I have used it even more. It became "The Weekend" lamp. I don't know why I started it, but I started turning on the lava lamp on Friday when I got home from work and kept it on until Sunday when I went to bed. The Lava Lamp literally represents the weekend in my house. Holiday weekend... it stays on longer.
In 2006 is when I took it from my parents garage and decided to put it in my apartment and start using it again. It worked great for a while... and then one day I turned it on and it turned to mush. NOT what it is supposed to do. How do you fix a lava lamp? I didn't know. I figured it was old and just wasn't going to work anymore. I had a bunch of people over at that time. Since it was now broken, we wanted to throw it off a cliff or something and watch it shatter. However, it was still hot from trying to make it work again... so I don't remember if it was me or someone else, stuck it in the refrigerator to cool it down before we destroyed it. Everyone forgot about it and eventually left. I opened up the refrigerator and saw the lava lamp was still there. I took it out and put it back. Decided to try it one more time to make sure it was really broken before I threw it away. Lo and behold... it worked just fine again!
It has worked just fine ever since... until today. When I turned it on yesterday it worked just fine, and I left it on over night (it is the weekend after all) so I noticed this morning that it was just staying in a blob at the bottom. So I turned it off. Let it sit for a few hours. When I turned it back on... it did the same thing it did in 2006. Turned to mush. Why? I don't know. I turned it back off and let it sit for a while and then I decided to do what I did 7 years ago. I stuck it in the refrigerator. My roommates were a little weirded out when they opened the fridge and saw my lava lamp there... but after a few hours I took it out and let it sit for a while and then tried again. Guess what? It works again!
So what is a Lava Lamp made of?
A classic lamp contains a standard incandescent bulb or halogen lamp which heats a tall (often tapered) glass bottle. A formula from 1968 US patent consisted of water and a transparent,translucent or opaque mix of mineral oil, paraffin wax and carbon tetrachloride.[1] The clear water and/or mineral oil can optionally be coloured with transparent dyes.
Why does the refrigerator fix it? I'm not sure.... but it does. I'm glad I figured it out... because I love my lava lamp. :) So if anyone has a Lava Lamp and it turns to mush like mine did.... now you know what to do to fix it.
These last couple of years I have used it even more. It became "The Weekend" lamp. I don't know why I started it, but I started turning on the lava lamp on Friday when I got home from work and kept it on until Sunday when I went to bed. The Lava Lamp literally represents the weekend in my house. Holiday weekend... it stays on longer.
In 2006 is when I took it from my parents garage and decided to put it in my apartment and start using it again. It worked great for a while... and then one day I turned it on and it turned to mush. NOT what it is supposed to do. How do you fix a lava lamp? I didn't know. I figured it was old and just wasn't going to work anymore. I had a bunch of people over at that time. Since it was now broken, we wanted to throw it off a cliff or something and watch it shatter. However, it was still hot from trying to make it work again... so I don't remember if it was me or someone else, stuck it in the refrigerator to cool it down before we destroyed it. Everyone forgot about it and eventually left. I opened up the refrigerator and saw the lava lamp was still there. I took it out and put it back. Decided to try it one more time to make sure it was really broken before I threw it away. Lo and behold... it worked just fine again!
It has worked just fine ever since... until today. When I turned it on yesterday it worked just fine, and I left it on over night (it is the weekend after all) so I noticed this morning that it was just staying in a blob at the bottom. So I turned it off. Let it sit for a few hours. When I turned it back on... it did the same thing it did in 2006. Turned to mush. Why? I don't know. I turned it back off and let it sit for a while and then I decided to do what I did 7 years ago. I stuck it in the refrigerator. My roommates were a little weirded out when they opened the fridge and saw my lava lamp there... but after a few hours I took it out and let it sit for a while and then tried again. Guess what? It works again!
So what is a Lava Lamp made of?
A classic lamp contains a standard incandescent bulb or halogen lamp which heats a tall (often tapered) glass bottle. A formula from 1968 US patent consisted of water and a transparent,translucent or opaque mix of mineral oil, paraffin wax and carbon tetrachloride.[1] The clear water and/or mineral oil can optionally be coloured with transparent dyes.
Why does the refrigerator fix it? I'm not sure.... but it does. I'm glad I figured it out... because I love my lava lamp. :) So if anyone has a Lava Lamp and it turns to mush like mine did.... now you know what to do to fix it.
2 comments:
That is a LONG TIME to have a lamp! Good for you for fixing it instead of tossing it!
That is amazing.
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