Why Was Paul’s iPad Case on Top of the Fridge?
I woke up the other morning and found an iPad case standing upright on top of the fridge.
It looked a little like a picture frame, except there was no picture and absolutely no obvious reason for it to be there.
The case belonged to Paul, so I texted him to ask what had happened.
His entire explanation was:
“My iPad got a wash and now the sound won’t work.”
That was not enough information. Naturally, I filled in the missing pieces myself.
The story I wrote before breakfast
Paul gets up at about 4.15 or 4.30 in the morning because he works for Australia Post. At that time of day, he doesn’t put his glasses on, and he is pretty much blind without them.
I decided that he must have gone into the kitchen and discovered he had forgotten to fill the kettle the night before.
Perhaps he turned on the tap, put the iPad beside the sink and wandered off for his shower. When he returned, the tap was still running and his iPad had received an unexpected wash.
At this point, he presumably put on his glasses, discovered the flood and quietly swore because Scruff and I were still fast asleep.
He dried the iPad, removed its case and placed the case on top of the fridge to finish drying.
There it was. Mystery solved.
I had written the book, illustrated it and moved on with my day.
Paul’s disappointingly reasonable explanation
When Paul came home, I asked what had actually happened.
He had taken the iPad into the bathroom because he uses it as his alarm. He placed it on the side opposite his clothes, but the tap wasn’t completely off.
The iPad got wet.
That was it.
No forgotten kettle or kitchen flood, and definitely no early-morning swearing while his wife and dog slept blissfully nearby.
I still think my version is better.
Your brain will fill in the missing pieces
This is what happens when we receive only part of a story. Our brains start trying to make sense of the clues.
I had an iPad case on the fridge, a cloth near the sink and one extremely brief message from Paul. That was enough for me to build an entire sequence of events.
The real story explained what happened, but the imagined one was far more fun.
What do you think happened?
Now it’s your turn.
Give me your best explanation for how Paul’s iPad got wet and why its case was standing upright on top of the fridge.
There will be a prize for the best answer. I have no idea what that prize will be yet, but that is a problem for future Jo.
You are not allowed to ask Chatty. The point is to see where your own imagination takes you.
What happened to the iPad?
