My favorite pair of sandals came to grief this rainy morning.I been wearing them for 2 years now and it is the most comfortable pair I have ever worn.
I bought them 2 years ago in Thailand, a local Thai brand called Calvin.
This morning, the rubber sole cracked while I was walking to the market.
Despite its age, it is still in excellent condition and it will really sadden me to dispose them.
So the next best thing - Repair. With superglue!
While doing the repairs, an amusing thought ran through my mind.
It's so surprising that many people do not know how to use superglue.
I know this for a fact because I have seen people, including many of my colleagues, applying globs of superglue on stuff and they still say that it doesn't work or stick properly!
Superglue does not work straight out of the tube! Surprise surprise!
If it did, you would never be able to get the cap off, being stuck to the tube by the glue itself.
Yet, the cap never sticks to the tube. Why is this so?
If superglue is so strong, it stands to reason that the cap will be permanently glued to the tube, right?
The simple reason is that superglue needs another agent or catalyst to start its super bonding process.
By itself, superglue is inert but add a little moisture and the bonding reaction immediately takes place.
So, in order to use superglue, add water! or rather just wet the surface so that some moisture is available to kick start the bonding. That's the same reason why superglue sticks on your skin! Your skin is full of moisture and we all know how difficult it is to get rid of superglue from our fingers!
My sandals have just been repaired with the moisture coming from the rain soaked soles. The bond set within a minute and now I hope that sandals can last me another 6 months before I need to replace them. Ah ha! another good reason to travel to Thailand!
