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The glow-in-the-dark Band-Aid packaging

Flying ions!

[Too frantic to write a salutation]: Don’t even ask how this came up. But it’s urgent! I MUST know the answer! When you open a Band-Aid in the dark, why does the glue on the packaging glow as the wrapper is opened? —Bruised in Spring Valley

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Flying ions! Officially, triboluminescence! Ripping the paper frees electrons, which positively charges the left-behind atoms. Light flashes as positives and negatives zap back into their at-rest state. Rip a wrapper near a neon tube, and it will flicker. If your radio’s set to an AM station, you can hear the ions crackle, like the effect of a tiny lightning storm. Does this bandage your piqued curiosity?

The latest copy of the Reader

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Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”

[Too frantic to write a salutation]: Don’t even ask how this came up. But it’s urgent! I MUST know the answer! When you open a Band-Aid in the dark, why does the glue on the packaging glow as the wrapper is opened? —Bruised in Spring Valley

Sponsored
Sponsored

Flying ions! Officially, triboluminescence! Ripping the paper frees electrons, which positively charges the left-behind atoms. Light flashes as positives and negatives zap back into their at-rest state. Rip a wrapper near a neon tube, and it will flicker. If your radio’s set to an AM station, you can hear the ions crackle, like the effect of a tiny lightning storm. Does this bandage your piqued curiosity?

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Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Next Article

Ray Kroc and Hunter S. Thompson had nothing on Trump

Reader’s Walter Mencken carries the story from 2016 forward
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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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