The Ring That Walked Through Walls

The other day, while my wife Sara was preparing for a trip, I heard a 'tink' and a muffled imprecation from the washroom where she was packing something.  Shortly thereafter, she asked me to help her look for one of her rings which she had dropped while drying it off after cleaning.  I went into the washroom and did a quick search, but found nothing.  She was under the gun on time, so I assured her that I would look more carefully and let her know when I found the ring.

About an hour later, having:

1. Cleared the countertop and made sure the ring was not on it or hiding behind or under something on the countertop;
2. Emptied the magazine basket next to the toilet and made sure the ring was not in the basket, not in the lining, not under the lining, and not inside any of the magazines;
3. Taken the two hampers out of the washroom, making sure that the ring was not in either the laundry hamper or the towel hamper and not under either of them;
4. Pulled the round rug and liner up to make sure the ring wasn't hiding in the rug fringe, under the rug, or under the liner;
5. Gone through the trash basket item by item to make sure the ring wasn't in it; and
6. Looked in the drawers and cabinets under the sinks to make sure the ring wasn't in any of the drawers or hiding in the cabinets...

I called Sara and asked her if she was sure she'd had the ring.  Had she dropped more than one ring?  Was she sure that ring was among the ones she was cleaning?  Yes, No, and Yes.  What had she seen and/or heard when she dropped the ring?  A 'ting' and a 'thunk'.  She was sure the ring had hit the floor (ting!) and then hit the base of the cabinets (thunk!).

I checked in the air vent, pulling the grille off and both looking and feeling as far back into the vent as I could.  I pulled the drain plug from my sink and looked down to make sure the ring hadn't somehow slipped into the drain.  I even checked the toilet, using a brush (and my hand) to reach as far back into the bowl as possible.

No ring.

It is a cliche, but when faced with a seemingly impossible set of facts, I like to fall back on the famous dictum of Mr. Sherlock Holmes of 221b Baker Street, London:

...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

So what do I know is true?

1. The ring was in the washroom
2. The ring was dropped near my sink
3. Sara heard a 'tink' and a 'thunk'
4. I have not found the ring anywhere in the washroom
5. 1. on the counter
   2. on the floor
   3. on or under the rug
   4. in any of the various baskets or hampers
   5. in the air vent
   6. in the toilet
   7. in the drawers or cabinets
   8. in the drain

Unresolvable facts: the ring must be in the washroom but it is not in the washroom.

Hmm.  You have presented me with a significant technical challenge.  How to find a ring which is not where it must be.  If I were Mr. Holmes, I might say that this is "quite a two-pipe problem".

Except that I don't smoke.

But I do think.  So I thought.  And I went to Sara's jewelry box for a similar ring.  I stood in front of my sink and dropped the ring several times, noting the 'tink' sound.  I made sure it hit the cabinet.  Didn't sound like a 'thunk' to me.  I tried the toilet.  I tried the door.  I tried the wall.  Nothing made anything but a 'tink'.

How do you make a 'thunk' with a lightweight ring if the wooden toe kick or front wall of the cabinet won't do it?  Maybe you need some sort of resonance chamber like the hollow portion of a guitar.

I got a flashlight and lay down on the floor.  I carefully examined the front of the cabinet.  At the far right, where the counter met the wall, there was a space.  The cabinet projects out over the toe kick in something rather similar to a soffit (that is, there is space for your toes to fit under the front portion of the cabinet).  And the right edge of the soffit wasn't complete: there was an open space about 1.5 inches square.  A bouncing ring might possibly have gone up into that space!

I felt in the space with my forefinger.  Something slid out from under my finger and fell away with a distinct 'thunk'.  I was reasonably sure that was her ring.

I called her and told her what I had discovered.  She was cautiously pleased.  That was her grandmother's ring, and she would be heartbroken if it were lost.  She didn't want to get her hopes up until we had the ring back in our hands.

---

So yesterday I went after the ring.  I used a hole saw to drill through the side of the cabinet.  I couldn't feel or see the ring.  Choices, choices.  I could use a snake-cam to look around, or I could cut a larger piece out and get a better view.  Hmmm.  Bigger hole or $250 to buy a snake-cam?

Bigger hole.

I used a jigsaw to cut a panel about 6" x 8" out.  Now I could get both hands and a flashlight into the gap between the cabinet and the wall.  It was filled with scrap wood left there by the builders, now covered with sawdust from the hole saw and jigsaw.  I moved the scrap out of the way and used the flashlight to look carefully...there was a glint...was it one of the diamonds on the ring?  I blew away some of the sawdust...there is definitely a glint.

If it was the ring, it was out of reach unless I took a much larger piece out of the cabinet side.  I broke a piece off a wire coathanger, bent it into a hook, and tried to hook it through the ring, using one hand to hold the hook and one to hold the flashlight.  That was definitely the ring, but I couldn't hook it with this.  I re-bent the hanger to a shallower hook, almost an 'L'.  I got it into the center of the ring and carefully pulled it out.

A quick puff of air to remove the sawdust, and Sara has her grandmother's ring back!