Dante's 10th Circle of Hell

My "duh!" advice to every garbage disposal owner? Keep small metal objects FAR FAR AWAY from your sink. And, of course, always double check your garbage disposal before running it.With a fine tooth comb and a magnifying glass. ALWAYS. 

I apparently suck at this.

Last year, I replaced the window above the kitchen sink and the next day a nail mysteriously managed to become lodged in the garbage disposal. It took quite a bit of muscle to pull that little sucker out and it was most unpleasant.

But do you know what is infinitely worse than a nail?

It's a little hard to identify since poor Abe has been re-assassinated, chopped up into little pieces, and then ground into the dust, but that would be a penny.

Note to self: Do not allow siblings to steal coins from your gum ball machine right next to the sink. Even if they are desperate cheaters intent on snagging jelly beans. Cut them off. No mercy.

Hey look! You can sort of tell it's a penny on this side. Sort of.

It took Stephen over an hour to pry Abe loose using a flashlight and a variety of tools. He had to detach the garbage disposal from the sink because the penny was lodged standing up against the inner wall of the garbage disposal and was nearly impossible to reach.

Once he finally got it out, he tossed the penny to me and said, "I think Dante forgot to include a tenth circle of Hell for people who drop tiny metal objects into garbage disposals."

So, if you want to avoid eternal damnation, I suggest you keep your DIY & candy snatching pursuits far away from the kitchen sink.