Question

Julie is going on an extended trip for three weeks. she lives in a remote area where there are frequent electrical power outages which can last up to three or four days. julie has quite a bit of food in her freezer which would go bad if it thawed and then re-froze. she does have digital clock and a vcr which would flash 12:00 if the power went out. unfortunately the clock and vcr flash even if the power only goes out for a few seconds. what can julie do so that when she returns home she will be able to determine whether the power was out long enough to thaw her food? asking a neighbor whether the power was out, isn't a reliable option because the nearest house is half a mile away, and one house may have power, while another house may have no power. she won?t be able to have a neighbor check on her house every day, and has no one to house sit.

Answer 1

Hello,

So Julie can take a container of ice and place it upside down in her freezer. If the power goes for too long, then the ice would melt and she would know that the food is not safe to eat. Even if the power does come back, because the container was kept upside down, the ice would be formed as flat ones on the surface of the freezer and she would know that the power had gone. If the ice is intact in the shape she had left them upside down in the freezer, she can rest assured that the power had not gone and she can eat the food safely :)