Once, I came across a post online that stated, “In the UK, there are warnings on light bulb packaging that says — do not put that object into your mouth.” (I’ve never been to the UK, so I’m not sure if this is true.)
Really, would anyone actually put a light bulb in their mouth? That would be idiotic. I thought.
I casually mentioned this to my Indian colleague sitting next to me.
Surprisingly, he told me that their primary school textbooks also mention this because once a light bulb is put into the mouth, it gets stuck and cannot be removed.
Even though, I was very skeptical about this. I think the surface of a light bulb is very smooth. If the bulb can be put into the mouth, indicating that the mouth is large enough to accommodate it, it should theoretically be possible to remove it.
So, I countered his point of view. But he ended up calling me stupid for not knowing such a basic fact.
With that, I went home angry. Sitting at my desk, I picked up a regular-sized light bulb and mulled over it on my bed.
I still believed I was right. I wanted to prove my colleague wrong with practical action. In the spirit of a scientist — daring to hypothesize, careful to verify, I decided to put the light bulb in my mouth…
