SEGMENT 1: A Father’s Day Story
Dan recounts some of his favorite childhood memories of his Dad and the lessons that come along with them.
SEGMENT 2: The Unexpected History of Ladders
There are a lot of everyday tools and objects that we take for granted. We never stop to think where it all began…In the case of the Ladder its story begins in Spain, as cave paintings, that date back to 10,000 BC! We dig into the innovations as well as the 40 years of bad luck!
Some Fun Folkore Fixes
If you happen to wander beneath a ladder . . . there are some tried and true fixes from history:
WALK BACKWARDS THROUGH THE LADDER! Don’t turn around, but instead, freeze in your tracks and walk backwards out. According to some sources, this is a the prime time to make a wish as well.
MAKE THE I’VE GOT YOUR NOSE GESTURE! OK, if walking backwards isn’t your thing and you find yourself beneath a ladder, history tells us you can put your thumb between your index and middle finger (I’ve got your nose). If the ladder is REALLY big or if you’re REALLY nervous, you could do this with both hands. Unless you’re shopping and carrying many packages. Then just do the one hand and hope for the best.
CROSS YOUR FINGERS AND WAIT FOR A DOG! Another finger-crossing fix from history is to cross your index and middle finger and keep them crossed until you see a dog. Now, we were unable to determine what kind of dog you are looking for. Technically, any dog will work. But maybe hold out for a bigger one. Bigger is better after all.
SPIT THROUGH THE RUNGS! If you’re in an area with a sparse dog population, you can always spit three times through the rungs. This is also said to be very effective, but, of course, do not spit on the rungs. That would result in a slip-hazard for the poor person actually working on the ladder.
SPIT ON YOUR SHOE AND WAIT! The last method we uncovered was our favorite. If you happen to find yourself under a ladder all you need to do to ward off the bad mojo is to spit on your shoe. However, it’s absolutely critical that you do not look at the spittle on your shoe until it is dried. This is so important and so many people miss this step. We repeat: do not look at the spittle until it’s dry. So you may need to have a spittle-checker-helper.
SEGMENT 3: Is Painter’s Tape Worth It?
Taping is our least favorite part of the paint job and most masking tapes will still allow paint to bleed through. Leaving you to wonder; is it really worth it? We put 7 painters tapes to the test to find out!
Below we have our test board pictured. To clarify:
- For all tapes, the left side is the tape pressed down with finger pressure only.
- For all tapes except the two Frog Tape samples, the right side had been applied and then pressed down with a putty knife.
- For the Frog Tape, the right side edge has been applied and then “pre-activated” with a damp paper towel.
A few takeaways:
- The Frog Tape outperformed all of the other tapes when it came to sharp lines, even when it was only applied using finger pressure.
- Most of the other tapes provided dramatically improved results when pressed tightly down with a putty knife.
- The cheapest tape definitely underperformed in every test. Even with a putty knife, paint bled under the tape.
SEGMENT 4: Paint the Baseboards, Not the Carpet!
If the last segment didn’t get you hooked on tape this one is sure to. Painting baseboards can get really messy when you have carpet on the floor. Tools sold as carpet shields rarely live up to the name but we have found the magic trick that offers flawless results.