Origin: Hiking trip in the late 90s, see confession.
Usage: Not at all.
How long kept: Since 1999.
Why kept: They were Perfectly Good, and Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
Destination: The NY sewage system. These can't hurt us, can they?
Confession: These were on a list of supplies for a high altitude hiking trip, apparently my second trip in 1999.
In 1998, I had "purified" my water with iodine on the first night of my first trip,and proceeded to become quite sick to my stomach. It really made it quite difficult to hike for the rest of the trip, which was over some pretty rugged terrain. You lose your appetite at altitude, so it was doubly tough for me to take in enough calories to do the hiking. I started feeling better on the way back down.
The funny thing was, a) we had people with us carrying the heavy stuff and boiling water for us. So the iodine treatment was not necessary. And b) why I would have bought these at all in 1999? It boggles my mind, knowing both my reaction to the iodine, as well as our "hiking support team" situation. What, did I think I might get lost and need to eat bugs and purify water? Hmmm.
Confession, part deux: How do I know that these are from 1999? According to Michael A. Neiger of The Rucksack:
"According to the manufacturer, an unopened bottle of Portable (sic) Aqua iodine tablets stored at temperatures between 60 and 86 degrees F should have a shelf life of four years. An opened, but tightly closed, bottle of iodine tablets should be good for about one year, after which it should be discarded. To determine the expiration date of a particular bottle, examine the vertical lot number on the label. For example, the lot number "49127"" means that the product was manufactured in the 4th month of the year 1991 and was the 27th batch produced."The lot number on my bottle? 39966.
Didn't need them. Paid rent on them for close to 11 and a half years. Aargh.
And thanks to Mr. Neiger, they're are goners. I found Mr. Neiger, a member of the Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue Team, by typing "potable aqua expiration" into google. (We heart first responders here at 365 Things. The internet can be wonderful!)
Confession, cont: "J/NYC" had asked me if it was ever hard for me to get rid of something every day. I had all kinds of other stuff going on today...and on those days that I have no planned item to donate or give away, I figure on tossing or recycling something. The first place I go to these days is the medicine cabinets, which are apparently a bottomless pit of stuff I don't need. (And these, I believe, came to the medicine cabinets out of my backpack when I sorted through it as part of this project...)
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