Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Plastic Thing


This one's from the B3ta Question of the Week - The Naughty Step:

My parents had a reasonably old-fashioned approach to punishments. If we were naughty, we'd be told off or sent to our rooms. But if we were REALLY naughty, it would be The Plastic Thing.

The Plastic Thing was the detachable handle from a Tupperware cake box. It was about 30 inches in length, made a satisfying (for those of us not experiencing its wrath) swoosh as it was swung through the air at a repentant child, and it hurt like hell. 

I soon learned not to be an evil bastard, essentially because I didn't like The Plastic Thing above half. Take my word for it – people say that corporal punishment doesn't work, but that's because their parents didn't have Tupperware parties.

Here, thanks to those crafty types at Etsy is a Plastic Thing almost (but not quite) like my arch nemesis.



It also left its mark. For hours after, the culprit would walk around with the word "OOOO ЗЯAWЯЗqqUT" on their leg.

The Plastic Thing mysteriously disappeared one day. I cannot – and will not – say what happened to it.

5 comments:

  1. The plastic thing in our family was a rather long shoe horn (now looking back, it makes me wonder why my father had such a thing; did he have problems bending over? ). I was never subjected to The Horn. I was always a good girl. ;-)

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  2. I have a near-identical cake carrier (my plastic thing is blue). I had no idea it could be used for corporal punishment.

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  3. My parents used the same Tupperware handle on me and my brother. Ours wasn't green though but the same cloudy plastic as the top of the cake box. We still joke about it now (in-between therapy sessions and calls to ChildLine)

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  4. Bloody good job your parents had Tupperware parties. My mum hosted Ann Summers.

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  5. My childhood implement of torture was

    "THE WOODEN SPOON"

    It used to be brought out and put on the mantlepiece
    as a sort of warning.

    I still get the shudders if I see one.

    Rachel Allen's BAKE! is not prime viewing in my house!

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