Kathryn Rhatigan
Grade 6, Oak Hill Middle School, Newton Centre
Paul Lyons, Russell Hunt and Tierney Leary, Teachers
Social Media Flush
"This thing we're doing in science and English ... I can't really find any information for it. Have you had any luck?" said Delia, subtlely stealing my research from me. I decided to tell because she only took my information, not the assignment itself.
"Yeah. I found a bunch of random info, but I also found a lot of topics about this on weird websites." I tugged the piece of paper out of my pocket, copied with the answers from the websites on it. Delia and I read it together. The first section said:
www.twitter.com
When you flush trash down the toilet it backs up. Cooking oil gone down the sink causes backups. Put cooking oil in a non recyclable container with a cover and throwaway.
-Mr.MWRA
''I thought that was kind of cool; it has exactly 140 characters, which is the limit for Twitter," I explained. We looked down at the rest of the paper, which had a lot responses from websites I had never heard of.
www.limericklovers.com
There was an old man who used the loo.
He flushed something down besides his poo.
Although he didn't know it,
the toilet was gonna blow it,
sewage block-ups are true.
-MrCleanDrains22
www.acrosticsacrosstheworld.net
Did you know that
Our toilets get clogged easily,
Not when you have a big poop, but
To flush non-dispersables,
Flushers beware!
Little did you know, around 40,000 blockages occur each year
Under your nose.
So now that you know,
How can you help?
It's easy to throw away grease and flush only human waste and
Toilet paper down the toilet.
-ToiletAcross
www.haikuhello.com
Flush nasties down it
It gets caught in the U-bend
Explodes in your face.
-Uh_Oh_Toilet
www.6wordssumsitup.org
Trash down the toilet makes toilet evil! - toiletsplodeNO!
Oil down the drain makes big fatberg. - DontFlushIt101
Cook the bacon. Trash the grease. - GreaseGuy465
Got Trash? Better have a trashcan. - MrTrash
To: Annabelle Rocks@gmail.com
From: Undisclosed Sender
There have been 40,000 sewage blockages this year, all because of people flushing trash down the toilet and throwing grease down the sink. Grease solidifies in the drain and can collect into major “Fatberg,” like what happened in London, England. Instead, you should put the grease from your cooking in a non-recyclable container, put a cap on it, and throw it away with the rest of your trash. Flushable wipes aren't really flushable. Consumer Reports puts a "flushable" wipe in a blender for 10 minutes and it didn't break up at all. The only things that should go into your toilet is human waste and toilet paper, both of which break up immediately in the sewage system. Other items can get caught in the u-bend of your toilet or in bends in pipes, sometimes accumulating with many un-flushable items, and clog an entire pipe. Don't flush it! Pass on this email before the sewage explodes in your face!
''OK, Annabelle, you're good. Those were pretty cool I wonder who started a chain mail like that? I bet it was the MWRA. I might steal some of your info, but I swear I won't copy your writing. You've got a competitor for first place!" Delia exclaimed as she skipped away.
Just like usual, she cheated off my work, but I don't mind. She's my best friend and she does her own project in the end. But she stands no chance against me ...
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