In My Not So Humble Opinion

Archive for December, 2008

Tips from The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project

DENVER – December 13, 2008 — Driving in the winter means snow, sleet and ice that can lead to slower traffic, and hazardous road conditions. To help you make it safely through winter, here are some suggestions from the Great Fruitcake Recycling Project to make sure that you and your vehicle are prepared.

Everyone knows you need a shovel, jumper cables, tow and tire chains, but did you know that you should also carry fruitcake with you?

Your fruitcake essentials for winter driving:

3-4 Large Fruitcakes, with waterproof matches, to burn in lieu of flares. Because of its high alcohol content, your fruitcakes will light quickly and burn bright against the snow.

1 Bag of crumbled fruit cake to spread behind your tires if you get stuck on snow or ice. (Hint: The best crumbs come from fruitcake run through a wood chipper or industrial grinder. Your local lumber yard or grain elevator can help with this.)

Several fruitcakes, cut into slices (a table saw is handy for this task) – if your other provisions run out, having fruitcake as the food of last resort will give you the motivation to find a way out of your dilemma before you have to eat it.

Store fruitcake in the trunk of a rear-wheel drive vehicle to aid in traction. The weight of the average fruitcake will replace 1-2 sandbags, giving you more space for additional fruitcake.

A spare fruitcake can be used as a wheel chock in case you need to park on an incline.

Because of its density, the average fruitcake will burn for up to six hours, which will keep you warm, should you run out of fuel.

About The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project:
The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project is in its fourth year, helping to minimize the environmental impact of fruitcake proliferation by offering useful ways to recycle fruitcake. Its owner, Barbara Bailey, still has way too much time on her hands. You can find out more, here: www.fruitcakerecycling.com

DENVER (Dec. 9, 2008) The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project is asking concerned citizens to think about recycling their fruitcakes this holiday season.

Many recyclers tend to think of gift catalogues, greeting cards and non-foil gift wrap when recycling during the holidays. Champagne bottles, popcorn tins and cardboard boxes all show up in recycling bins between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Recycling fruitcakes will take this environmental action one step further.

When recycling your Christmas trees, and wreaths, you may be tempted to add your fruitcake to the wood chipper. Because the half-life of a well-aged fruitcake is at least 50 years, The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project recommends that instead, you join the new fruitcake movement: Regift, Reuse, Recycle.

Regifting of fruitcakes actually started in 1913, when the first fruitcakes were sent via mail order. With nearly every household receiving a fruitcake via mail, in addition to the home-baked ones being circulated, the cycle was started.

Reusing fruitcake can be as simple as repurposing this year’s gift as a doorstop, or using one in a variety of craft projects.

Consumers who are unable to regift or reuse their fruitcakes are encouraged to send them to The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project, where they are busily working on solutions to the problem of Fruitcake Proliferation. For more information, go to www.fruitcakerecycling.com. Their motto: Together, we can make a difference, one fruitcake at a time.

About The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project:
The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project was established in 2005 with the goal of educating the public on both the versatility, and environmental impact of fruitcake. Their website contains fruitcake facts, helpful uses for fruitcake, a forum for the community to share its concerns about fruitcake proliferation, Fruitcake Cards, and Fruitcake games. Its owner and webmaster is clearly a woman with too much time on her hands.