There's something about picks and lighters...
Anyhow, I am looking at one of the latest batch that I bought--its a red pick made by BRAIN with a thickness of 0.73 (stated on the pick but a cursory check with my micrometer nails its thickness at closer to 0.36") Its like an old Ball medium but has more attack. I like these picks because the front and back finger areas are "microcheckered" (think of a handgun's stock only MUCH finer checkering). It is equivalent approximately to 100g sandpaper without having the annoying quality of removing skin layers upon use! It is also made of polyethylene--NOT cellulose like Ball picks--so you can't amaze people with how intensely it will burn if ignited. Oh well.
Anyhow, I found it necessary to post this because I know of this pick's PRECISE migratory pattern due to serendipity and...well, who knows WHY humans remember some totally prosaic things, right? Anyhow, here are its travels in a nutshell (so far):
Bought in a pack of nine like picks from Guitar Center in Chicago which are still in my guitar case-unused but for one.
Used that very day with my Washburn acoustic for approximately 2 hours. Found that I really like these picks a lot.
Found in dryer post-use.
Laid upon ICCULUS (the UNIX CPU) for a time.
Used to try a pedal-steel a friend brought over. Fun, but what a TOUGH thing to play!
Found two weeks later in same friend's car when going to put coffee into cup-holder. He says, "Hey, isn't that pick YOURS?" Just so non-guitarists know, the answer to that question when asked among guitarists is ALWAYS "yes!" In this case it also happened to be the true answer, which was a happy coincidence!
Found in washer several days later whilst transferring clothes to dryer. Pocketed.
Used later that day to set the air gap between a magneto and a flywheel to an almost precise 0.36" Worked great.
A few days later while flying my R/C airplane I had an expensive 2-stroke engine seize due to a piece of sparkplug deciding to break off while the engine was rotating at about 11,000 revolutions per minute. Went into my toolbox to find an Allen wrench to remove the cylinder and the pick was in the top section next to the wrenches! What the...? Pocketed.
Found in pocket while undressing for bed. Placed next to TV and car keys.
Girlfriend practiced playing my old beat-to-hell Stratocaster using it.
Found today in girlfriend's change container in her Honda Civic while attempting to feed the Illinois Department of Transportation's always-voracious, high-tech, picture-taking, fine-issuing automatic tollbooth. Pocketed.
Read this node's title and removed from pocket. It's being held in my front teeth as I type this (gross but true--it LOOKS clean!)
Keep in mind that this is over less than ONE month!
I believe picks are never created or destroyed--only resold and reused and relost. It's the Law of Conservation of Plectrums!