Half Used Candle Has Been Granted Temporary Authority
A household candle that is nearly finished has survived four cleanup cycles because finishing it would feel wasteful.
Hearing Transcript: Half Used Candle Domestic Status Review
Convened by: A general household cleanup.
Present: Two residents. One candle.
CHAIR: The candle is down to approximately two centimeters of wax. It has been at this level for some weeks. The agenda item is whether to finish it or store it.
RESIDENT A: It still works. It lights. It smells fine. There is no reason to discard it.
CHAIR: The question is not whether it works. The question is whether it will be used. When was it last lit?
RESIDENT A: Recently.
CHAIR: Can you be more specific?
RESIDENT A: It was lit during a dinner. It created atmosphere. It contributed to the evening.
CHAIR: That was in July.
RESIDENT A: It has been a busy few months.
CHAIR: The candle has two centimeters of wax. At the rate of use described, the remaining burn time is approximately one occasion. What occasion is being saved for?
RESIDENT A: A suitable one. It would be wasteful to use it just to finish it. The occasion should be appropriate to the candle.
CHAIR: The governing rule applies: a half used candle may not be removed until every resident agrees it has no hypothetical future use. The hypothetical future use is one dinner. That dinner requires scheduling.
RESIDENT A: I think we should keep it until we know what we're having people over for.
CHAIR: We have not had people over since the dinner in July.
RESIDENT A: Exactly. The candle is motivation.
CHAIR: The candle is motivation to have people over in order to use the candle.
RESIDENT A: Correct.
[Pause]
CHAIR: The candle remains in its current position.
RESIDENT A: That seems right.
[Hearing adjourned. The candle was not moved. Adjacent objects were reorganized to protect it from accidental contact with a bag that had been left nearby.]