On acclimatisation

My kitchen sink was blocked again, how droll. At first I thought I would solve this problem in Mother Nature's way, i.e. through the application of large quantities of brute force, but after spending an amusing but fruitless quarter-hour with the plumber's friend, I decided "to hell with the environment" and poured a therapeutic dose of Drano down each plughole. It fizzled and stank nostril-searingly in its usual way, bubbling up dark-green slimy clumps of please-don't-tell-me-what-that-is, and then I confidently opened the taps to flush it all out. Imagine my consternation, when the sink proved itself to be still blocked, by filling up with diluted hydrochloric acid.

What to do? There's no way that I am going to put my hands into that, so bailing it out is impossible (in any case: into what?). Have to wait for it to trickle through by itself - ah, but what if the waiting takes so long that I forget that the stuff in the basins is hydrochloric acid, and put my hands in it?

Better write out a warning sign and hang it on the edge of the sink: "Achtung Säure!" in big black letters. Or should it say "Warning Acid!"? I really couldn't decide, because what if I wrote it in English but was thinking in German when I next re-entered the kitchen? I might not register the sign.

Dear reader, I was seriously considering putting up a bilingual warning sign for myself.

I must still be light-headed from the fever.