Bob the plumber is repairing a leaking brass pipe. After careful inspection he finds that he will have to cut the pipe and sweat a new piece in place of leaky section. (Sweat is a term used to describe the procedure of using solder and a torch to mend two pieces of brass pipe together.) Once Bob gets the water shut off, he proceeds to start sweating the new piece of pipe in place, but there is still some water leaking out of the pipes, which is hindering his work. Since Bob is in a hurry and doesn’t have time to wait for all the water to drain from the pipes, what item found in most food cupboards or pantries could help him continue his work? (Note: This is not food he is going to eat waiting for all the water to drain from the pipes.)
Answer
Bread.
If Bob takes some bread and shoves it in both ends of the pipe, it will hold off the water long enough to get the pipe repaired. You may be asking yourself how he will remove the bread once the pipe is repaired? Once the pipe is repaired Bob removes the filtres from the faucets in line with the repaired pipe. He then turns the water main and the faucets back on, allowing them to run for several minutes. The water pressure will cause the bread to break up and run out of the faucet into the sink drain.
