h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I want a refrigerator that sounds an alarm when someone who is not authorized to open it attempts to do so. That way when I put food into it and leave for awhile, the food would be there when I get back. Or possibly a refrigerator that squirts indelible ink on anyone who doesn't know the secret trick for opening it. This would be especially good for multiple roommate dwellings.

Yes! I live on the top floor of my halls at university and some people come UP THE STAIRS just to raid our fridge. The other week someone drank an entire 2-pint bottle of milk I'd brought that I hadn't even opened yet! The indeliable ink idea is a good one. Perhaps just a lock and key would suffice. In fact on this note maybe it should included the ' funneled key ' set being discussed elsewhere in this forum, to permit night-time and drunken legitimate fridge raids.

I know someone who put a padlock on their fridge. Not even a week later they found the fridge empty, with the broken padlock and a set of bolt cutters lying on a nearby counter. A lock that was an integrel part of the fridge might work though.

That is more or less what I had in mind, disspiritingly, it would seem that even desperate measures ( like padlocking your fridge shut ) can be overcome by truly determined snackers with a set of boltcutters.

I've heard tell of a biology student who wrote milk experiment on his milk carton. It alledgedly remained untouched. I've found that placing food inside greasy, crumpled paper bags and then shoving it to the back of the fridge works sometimes. Unfortunatly, there's always some brave soul willing to look in the bag, and thats the end of my food.

Ah now, you see, that wouldn't work for where I live. I can hardly write on my milk:

"THIS MILK IS PHILOSOPHISING", I rather suspect that would invite people to tamper with it more. I have tried just resorting to puting my name and room No. on in marker pen. That works. Sometimes. Other people on our corridor, do put there food in bags, as an sign that it should be left alone. Unfortunately the bag is usually just opened and the food taken. Less effective than the padlock really.

I buried a slice of pizza under some rather elderly broccoli and it was still there the next day. Maybe camouflage is the answer. One of my roommates once wrote a note that said "If you touch my food I'm going to take your spleen and sell it on the black market." Someone ate her food anyway. Apparently threats don't work. She probably should have used a more realistic threat. You know, this could be a guide entry. How to keep your food from being eaten.

Great idea! but perhaps we are approaching this from the wrong angle, maybe it's not the food we ought to camouflage but the fridge itself, wouldbe theives would have a hard time of it if they couldn't find the thing in the first place.

Yes,I would love to try and convert this into a guide entry. This would be the first one I have taken part in however, so how do we go about it exactly ?

I've been putting it off now for long enough. I've tried having a go at using GuideML on my homepage, thinking about a guide entry for raid-profed refrigerator. Pop over later and see what you think.

Well It's done now, but I figured you'd want to see it before I put it in as a guide entry. I would value your input to anything you'd like to add or change or get rid of. I've called it " How to stop your food from being eaten."

I'm sorry I was not around to respond to your invite in a timely manner. I was trapped somewhere with (Gasp!) no internet connection. I think camoflage for the feidge is a great idea. I think I'll try making mine look like Elvis Presley. With a little luck, potential raiders will be so excited to find Elvis that they will never realize that there is food in there somewhere.

I'm sorry I was not around to respond to your invite in a timely manner. I was trapped somewhere with (Gasp!) no internet connection. I think camoflage for the fridge is a great idea. I think I'll try making mine look like Elvis Presley. With a little luck, potential raiders will be so excited to find Elvis that they will never realize that there is food in there somewhere.

Oops. Got a little agitated there. One too many clicks. Just pretend it's deja-vu or something.

Don't worry about it. I had precisly the same thing happen to me over in the " Do you constantly find yourself telling people in Rl about things in h2g2 " forum.

To find mauveBib's note that went towards " End - Game". Look here:

http://www.h2g2.com/forumframe.cgi?thread44480&forum34527

Clive