gloria.p wrote:
> Susan Bugher wrote:
>>> someone wrote:
>>
>>>> Having picked a quart and a half of sour cherries, I was
>>>> panicking
>>>> when I could not find my little made-in-Hong-Kong cherry
>>>> pitter,
>>>> the kind that slips over two fingers and is operated with
>>>> the
>>>> thumb.
>>
>> <SNIP>
>>
>>>> What to do?
>>
>> Remove the eraser from a wooden pencil. Poke the (now empty)
>> metal
>> end of the pencil through a cherry to remove the pit.
>>
>> Quick, easy and almost free.
>>
>
>
> There's usually paint (lead?) on the ferrule (metal end.)
> A sturdy plastic soda straw should do the same thing.

it is graphite (one form of carbon), so basically
harmless, i'd be more worried about what is in
the paint on the pencil or the type of metal used
for the eraser enclosure (probably aluminum
from what i recall) or manufacturing residues.

it's really hard to find sturdy anything
these days, they are now packaging milk
in cheaper containers with wimpy lids and
now we have milk spoiling faster than
before. green is good, but make sure the
basic design needs are met...


songbird (remembering milk delivery in the city as a kid...