Day 27

A couple of days ago, I purchased this thing for poaching eggs in the microwave. I promptly tossed away the instructions with the packaging, thinking "How hard can this be?"....bad move. After poaching the egg for about 40 seconds, I heard some faint "popping". I removed the poaching contraption from the microwave - everything appeared normal. Then, about ten seconds later, the egg expoded. Literally, the egg exploded all over the kitchen; in my hair, on my clothes, on the cupboards and ceiling...EVERYWHERE! At the moment I wished that I had just threw the egg in some boiling water.

I had some friends over tonight, and one of them mentioned something I hadn't thought of...the garbage disposal. I have no idea about the timeline of this wonderful invention, but my best guess is that it wasn't commonly used in households prior to 1950. Need to do some research. Boy, I'll miss it if it has to go for February.

Day 24

Today one of my closest friends had to go to Omaha immediately because one of her closest friends is very, very sick. She called me with her decision to go at about 9AM and by 1:15PM, we were on our way to the airport for a 3:12PM direct flight to Omaha on a regional jet. She was due to arrive in Omaha at a little after 5PM (eastern time). And she took a later flight than she had to. Had she took the first flight available, she may have been arriving about four hours after she made the decision to go. I am happy to report that her friend is in a more stable condition than he was when she left this morning.

Ahh, the beauty of commercial jet age travel...a post 1950's invention, of course. Alex and I talked about taking a vacation to Florida during my spring break (Feb. 26th - March 3rd...right in the midst of the project). I struggle with the following - Do we "waste" basically three to four days driving? Do I pay a ton of money to select a route to Florida in which I will only be flying utilizing turbo props? Or do I "cheat" and take a jet to Florida even though, if I were staying truly pure, a jet would be completely out of the question. Opinions welcomed!

I've really started organizing the project today - laying out my predictions for the month, referencing sources, etc.. One thing that came up as I was thinking about food was the invention of the outdoor propane gas grill, the crockpot and oven-safe glass baking dishes. Since I do know Teflon frying pans are out of the question, I was trying to think of some alternatives to my grandmother's cast iron pan...I immediately became hopeful with the thought of the grill, as we eat a lot of grilled chicken, vegetables, etc.. Then reality set in...perhaps the outdoor propane grill wasn't invented pre-1950. I need to do some research.

Day 22

This is a pic of the cleaning products I use. I discovered something yesterday - aerosol cans with the easy press down spray were not invented until the early/mid 1950s. Bye, Bye Pledge. I need to do some further investigation for furniture polish substitutes, as well has wood floor cleaners, leather cleaner, and window cleaners. I have discovered that I will be able to use ammonia, vinegar, Pine Sol, and Ajax.

Classes start tomorrow. At the end of last semester, a student said to me "I took this class because "Pick-a-Prof" said you gave out 80% As.". Pick-a-Prof? I had never heard of such a thing. Apparently, it's this internet site that pulls stats from the university and publishes information, such as what percentage of the classes received what grades. It also allows students to publish a review about the professor. This particular student said that the sole reason he took my class was because "Pick-a-Prof" said I gave a lot of As. Poor student....I've change my ways a lot since last semester. Internet information can sometimes be outdated.

Ironically, I have been obtaining a some wonderful items for my project from Ebay. Today I purchased a Better Homes and Garden "Household Inventory" List that was published in 1950. Can't wait to get it!

One more thing - a friend gave me a good idea...she said that she may be interested in doing the project herself for a day of two. I wonder how many other people have this interest? I think I will publish a short "how to" before Feb. 1st for those who may want to give it a go for a short duration...those who do try it, be prepared to get interviewed!

Day 21

Yesterday I needed to by some hamburger. I decided to go to the meat counter instead of buying the pre-packaged meat (which I assume didn't exist pre 1950?). Guess what? Human interaction. The nice guy behind the counter saw me, waved, gave me a universal signal that he would be right over to help, we exchanged friendly greetings, talked about the unusual weather. It was nice. Put a smile on both of our faces that may not have been there had I bought the prepackaged stuff.

I also found a Better Homes and Garden cookbook on Ebay that was published in 1949. I am going to get it because those recipes will be "safe"...i.e. contain ingredients that were accessible in 1949.

Day 19

Here are the first purchases I've made in preparation for the project...some cream-style deodorant (they did have deodorant I've discovered - just not the roll-on kind) and coca-cola in glass bottles.

I ended up finding a ton of useful books at the library yesterday...a bunch about inventions in general and some about people who have tried similar projects (i.e. giving up technology). I look forward to sifting through them all.

As I started to glance through them yesterday, I came across a little fact. Most households pre-1950 did not have refridgerators with freezers...no frozen food for Feb.. I am going to be so healthy!

Day 18

On Tuesday, I discovered that we have a full-service gas station (Mallek's) one block from our house. We got gas there...it was great. Danny (I think) came out to our car as soon as we pulled up, we chatted with him as he filled the tank. I look forward to going to Mallek's throughout Feb. (and maybe beyond).

I think I covered "Hygiene and Beauty" pretty well the other day. Today, I'll tackle "Entertainment".

Things I currently use for entertainment:

1) Computer
2) iPod
3) Television
4) DVD/Video player
5) Digital camera
6) Car radio

Also, yesterday I babysat one of my best friend's son. He is in the midst of potty training...throughout the day I thought of all the wonderful technologies that make raising a child a little easier (maybe?)...pull-ups (although, as I found out, they will not function if put on backwards), sippy cups, even the car seat. Makes me grateful that I will be attempting this project before kids come into the picture.

Day 16

Yesterday Alex and I made ice cream is this electric ice cream maker he got me for Christmas. It was amazing ice cream...but, alas, a technology that was probably not created until fairly recently.

I also had a discussion about the project with a close friend. I told her my idea of giving my neighbor's phone number to a few close friends and family, in case of an emergency during the time. She made a very good point...having this easy access to an emergency phone number may prevent face-to-face interaction; i.e. change the course of things (I'm not sure how else to put it). After thinking about it, I agree. Also, Alex said that all my neighbor would do is come across the street to tell me...if I were home, I would have answered the home phone anyway. Good point. This is one of the reasons why I'm glad I'm getting my whole support structure involved in this...there's just to much to think about otherwise.