I had to dig out some old electronics — an 8mm video camera — to dub a tape for a friend. This bin of stuff hadn’t been opened since we moved, and for quite a while before that.
It was always stored clean and dry, and temperature controlled.
The camera was just fine — worked 100% once I charged up the batteries — but some of the other stuff in the bin has me scratching my head. Specifically a laser pointer, which I used while teaching, and a Bluetooth mouse.
Nothing else was affected.
On both items all of the black plastic was essentially coated in a gummy residue, looking like dried rubber cement. Both were stored inside the plastic bin and inside individual cloth pouches within the bin. The pouches themselves show no vestiges of any residue.
I can’t figure out what the residue is made of. It doesn’t dissolve in water. It doesn’t dissolve in Gum-Out. It doesn’t dissolve in dishwashing detergent. Rubbing alcohol seems to be the most successful but even that requires a lot of rubbing.
What is it, and where did it come from?
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