I Got Silica Balls in My Pocket!

Did you ever wonder why those little silica gel packets were stored in the pocket of your new coat, box of shoes, or handbag?

Me too!

Well, not really.

I only think of those clear colored balls when I go back in time to the sixth grade. I had a pack in my new coat and my best friend 'dared' me to give them to our greedy classmate at the bus stop. So! Me and her pretended like we were eating them. He walked over and asked what we were eating. We told him they were the 'new' clear Nerds. He immediately asked if he could try one. My friend and I giggled, as I poured three or four of them in his hand. He popped them in his mouth...and man o' man!!! I never saw anyone's eyes grow that wide in my entire life! It was by far the funniest memory from my childhood, but I could have killed him. It did say 'do not eat' in capital letters on the packet.

I will say though in my defense! The boy would eat anything! He was always asking other kids for their food and snacks. We would drop our pizza crusts on the floor during lunch, then pick them up, and place them on his plate. Just to see if he would eat them. And, he would take them off the plate and pop them in his mouth without even looking! Who does that? Or eats anything without seeing where it's origin was? How about the crazy boy I almost killed with silica balls that's who!

So, to say the least. I became curious about the purpose of them, when I looked at a picture of the boy who happens to be a healthy living breathing man now on Facebook. Good feeling to know he's still alive.

The purpose of the silica gel packets is to eliminate moisture and mildew within your newly purchased item.

And get this!

You can reuse those silica packets by storing them with various products in your home, like your camera to prevent moisture from getting inside of it. Or within your photo albums to keep them dry. Your silver jewelry and silverware so it doesn't tarnish. Your golf bag! Your tackle box for fishing. Storage bins that you keep excess clothing in too.

When the silica gel packets appear not to be working anymore. Set your oven to 100 degrees, and place them on a cookie sheet in the oven for 1 hour. This will recharge the silica balls. Isn't that neat? (This feels like Science class, minus an explanation of why it works.) And store them in a Ziploc bag until you're ready to use them again.

I can't wait to buy something new! Just so I can use those packets.
This time, I won't feed them to anyone either.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry