The WaPo has an amusing piece about how household-tips columnist Heloise is trying to connect with the new generation by giving seminars on campus-life to incoming college freshman.
Most invaluable tidbit: "If you drop your cellphone in the toilet, take out the battery, then blot the phone with a towel and blow-dry."
The piece also includes some of the more inventive cleaning techniques Heloise has heard about from young readers. Unsurprisingly, many of them revolve around technology, such as the guy who cleans his CDs by gently placing them in the toilet and then flushing. Other questions are decidedly low-tech, scuh as: "Dear Heloise: I get in the shower with my T-shirt on and lather up and then rinse it off and hang it on a hanger. The next day it's dry and clean. Do you think this is a good way to do laundry?"
Laundry and tech maintenance are, in fact, two of the categories listed under the "Heloise's Three Basic Survival Skills for College Students" portion of the household guru's website.
Clever. Though my guess is that Heloise is blowing a big opportunity by not having an entire survival category devoted to the removal of vomit stains from various fabrics.
--Michelle Cottle