The difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is.
Unknown
So, funny thing — even if you have a good impression on how well something performs, it pays to test it before you actually need it.
Which was pretty much the idea I had when I took some self-defense spray that was beyond it’s due date and sprayed it into the wind. And yeah, into, not against the wind. I just wanted to see how large the target area was — or to put it in another way, if I actually need it, how well would I have to hit the eyes of the attacking … being?
And it turned out — I got a pretty good idea of that area. For a few seconds.
Then I got an … impressive sensation of how it feels to get that spray into your eyes. And now, I wasn’t so stupid to spray it against the wind. Best I can put it together — there was a cloud forming and some of the particles moved back … into my eyes.
And yeah … it’s made to defend against animals. And I don’t envy them.
The sensation was eyes shut … with no way of opening them due to the pain … and me stumbling to get to some water as quickly as possible. And yeah, I found it hard to believe when I heard stories of people losing directions in their own apartment during a fire, when smoke obscured everything. But “looking” for the sink in the bathroom while my eyes were … just shut … it took me a while. And I walk there by autopilot every morning.
And damn was it a great experience to get water into my face … my eyes … to be able to see again.
So yeah … the spray works … a bit better than expected. And I di learn an important lesson about my eyes, and what to do when they are … shut.
So much for an … interesting experience.