We make (and get) ourselves into a lot of messes here at Pop Goes the Page, and today we are honoring all those…uh…valuable learning experiences by counting down Pop’s Top 10 fails, misfires, and whoopsies!
#1 GINORMOUS FORTUNE COOKIE
Our first fail comes from the kitchen of Katie, where a fortune cookie recipe test took a turn for the huge. Mis-measuring the batter resulted in a giant mega cookie that appears to be smirking at all the other cookies.
#2 UNFOCUSED LAPIN
ALWAYS test your light source. Not all beams are created equal! As we quickly discovered when our oatmeal container projector resulted in an unfocused, blobby bunny.
#3 PANTS BEWARE
Learned this one the hard way – and so did our carpets and clothing. Erasable chalkboard ink enthusiastically liberates itself from deflated balloons. And it makes a mess. A permanent MESS. Oooooo such a mess.
#4 DASHING DOGS
It took SIX tries to get Katie’s pup Finley to simply walk down the hallway with a mailbox strapped to his back. And the one time it worked? Watch the video closely, because a piece of mailbox literally breaks off in transit and drops to the floor! Argh!
#5 WATER WORKS
Our program at a local community pool was going swimmingly, until the entire waterway leaked like mad and beached all the boats. Yes, in hindsight we should have reinforced the seams of the tin foil with packing tape…but ah well!
#6 TODDLER TORNADO
What started as a lovely bucolic picnic scene quickly devolved into chaos at a baby and toddler program. The hardest hit was a lovely contact paper river. We foolishly thought the adhesive would anchor it a little. But no. It lasted about 5 minutes before being twisted and crunched into a slouching shadow of its former self.
#7 THE FAMOUS FUDGE INCIDENT
Yes. That is fudge in a CUP. One of Pop’s most classic fails, Katie learned how woefully temperamental fudge making can be. However! It should be noted that she made a triumphant comeback a few years later, with the assistance of Toni & Slade Morrison’s Peeny Butter Fudge recipe!
#8 CAUGHT PINK-HANDED
Otherwise know as the day I turned my bathtub and hand pink. It was supposed to be a simple project, but the art materials juuuuuust weren’t cooperating. But in my defense, who knew cellophane could be so vengeful?
#9 WHEN CANDY GOES BAD
Another classic from the kitchen of Katie. Long story short, the Harry Potter acid drops recipe went horribly wrong and turned black. The second batch welded your teeth shut. I insisted on trying both batches, and, well, a picture speaks a thousand words.
#10 NOT TO BURST YOUR BALLOON…
While doing research for a Willy Wonka escape room, I attempted to turn myself into a giant blueberry by shimmying into a 6ft latex balloon that would snap around my neck. The process also required the use of a leaf blower. How could this scenario possibly go wrong???
Readers might recall the 
The advertised completion time for the kit is 3.5 hours. Well, it took me 5 hours and lots of complaining, squinting, moaning, and muttering quiet curses. At one point, I sent Katie a photo of my messy progress and bemoaned how crazy the kit was making me. She simply sent back this:
I would say the Mind-Find Bookstore kit by Rolife Hands Craft is mid-range in difficulty. If you are working on this with a kid, plan for lots of extra time and patience as most of the pieces are from scratch, the paper signs are small, and the instructions are a little vague. Ultimately, the results were cute, and this cheerful little bookstore will brighten any room or shelf!
You either manually enter your miles (or kilometers) or you can sync your activities from your smartwatch or fitness tracker. Participants can walk, run, bike, swim, row – it doesn’t matter how you get there, it just matters that you are meeting your fitness goals and making every mile count. And you can see other participants on their journeys!
As you travel, you are sent digital postcards to commemorate the distance or to share information about your location. Here’s the first one I received:
Most of my miles were completed while walking with my own Samwise Gamgee, my pup Finley, who was more than happy to accompany me on this epic trail. Finley and I typically walk three miles a day around our neighborhood, but there were times when we found ourselves strolling down city streets or on a winding footpath in the woods. I also discovered the route I take on Princeton’s campus from the parking garage to Cotsen is exactly one-mile round trip. And here are me and Finley heading to an outdoor concert in Madison, WI this summer.
I left Bag End on June 2 and arrived in Bree on July 14, trekking 145 miles in 42 days. I thoroughly enjoyed checking in on the virtual map. The digital postcards were a nice added touch of encouragement, along with knowing I planted five trees. Here’s my finish screen:
The back includes an envelope that contains the One Ring, which you are instructed to “Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe.”
And yes, if you look closely, you can see that ring does have the famous Mordor inscription in Tengwar! The Conqueror Virtual Challenges are fantastic motivation to either kick-start a personal exercise plan or to encourage you to keep moving forward on the path to good health. And now that My Precious… I mean… the One Ring is in my possession, I must continue the journey to Mordor. I’m going to extend my subscription and further the adventure!