I have spoken of this often and I am sure you have heard about it in other places.
If you break a lightbulb in the socket when trying to remove it, stick a potato in the socket and simply twist the broken part out.
Sounds easy enough, but I have never broken a lightbulb off in a socket. So I would just pass along this QuickFix as the problem solver.
Until now.
Sunday evening on my deck I was changing a burned out lightbulb from my yard lights and snap! The lightbulb broke leaving the threads in the socket.
Not wanting to rush anything (I am a fully accredited member of the Procrastination Society, if you want to be too let me know and I will send you an application at some point.) I waited until Monday afternoon.
Searching through the pantry I found a perfectly shaped potato to do the job (on the left side of the picture. The broken lightbulb is next to it. These are the real pieces, not actors). I got a small ladder out, stepped up, inserted the potato, applied a little more pressure than I thought I should, and turned.
Remember – righty tighty, lefty loosey.
Not only did it immediately begin to back the broken piece out, the potato held onto the threads without spinning.
It worked! I am guessing it will cost me half of this potato (you can’t eat a brave potato like this all at once) but other than that, no worries. I did make sure the light switch was in the off position but did not cut the power. I also didn’t go poking around in the socket after I was through.
Not sure what other household chores you can get done with a potato, I am guessing the over/under is 3.5 and I am taking the under, but this one is a winner.
And if you are health conscious, a sweet potato will do the same thing, only will taste worse.
Now if there was something a marshmallow could accomplish…