There comes a point in the life of every sink drain where the daily travails of swallowing gunk just become too much, and a natural plumbing constipation develops. My bathroom sink had reached such a point. In fairness, it reached that point months ago, but it finally annoyed me enough to remedy the situation yesterday.

Now I could have simply dumped a little Draino or Liquid Plumber on the problem and that likely would have been the end of it. But why opt for chemistry when sheer brute mechanical force is an available option? Besides, plunging the drain had that immediate gratification aspect to it that pouring and waiting simply can’t match. It was with that mind set that I deftly placed the high-volume plunger over the drain, and seated it for a nice tight seal.

It was mere seconds later, after forcefully depressing said plunger, that physics slapped me on the forehead to remind me why I should maybe have given chemistry a chance, or at least thought physics all the way through prior to execution. In retrospect, it was obvious that the sink overflow drain was connected to the drain of imminent plunging above the clog of ill repute. I also knew well, that air and water would follow the path of least resistance when put under pressure, and I was about to exert a fair bit of it into the system. But this obvious hindsight observation only revealed itself after I thrust the plunger and the overflow value spouted forth like the blowhole of a large whale breaking the surf. The vile sputum surged forth its globbery mass, clinging to and dripping from the mirror, the sink backsplash, the wall, and pretty much anything else on that half of the small room.

Lessons I learned from this adventure? Don’t underestimate the power of chemistry, patience, or the combination thereof. Also, apparently to drown a whale you need to seal it’s mouth and its blowhole. And finally, fate is a cruel mistress and she thinks it’s high time I cleaned the bathroom.