How do you open this door without all the plates smashing? That’s the crockery conundrum confounding Internet users in Taiwan and China.
It began when a photo of a closed cupboard, containing piles of porcelain bowls tumbling off the shelf and leaning against the glass door, was posted on a Taiwan-based Facebook community page.
Hundreds of people offered advice to the poster, Tseng Shao-Tsen, who uploaded the picture to “Baoliao Commune” group on Sunday.
“(This is) a cupboard that can never be opened,” he wrote.
However, other people were more optimistic, offering their two cents on how to open the cupboard without smashing the crockery.
The picture has been widely shared on China’s social media network Weibo, as well as in Taiwan.
Blankets, drills or take it into space?
Most people suggested softening the plates’ fall with soft pads, thick blankets, quilts or mattresses.
Others proposed using power tools to drill a hole in the glass and slowly move the plates to a safer position.
Some other solutions were a bit more drastic.
“If you can move the cupboard, just lay it flat,” one Facebook user, Ping Chang, said.
While some approached the problem on a small scale, other users thought big.
“Take the cupboard into space, or flood whole room with water, then open the door and the plates will just float out,” one posted.
Another user saw the artistic value in the piece and suggested putting it in a museum. “(Sell) the whole cupboard to art museums and (name) it ‘Freeze in Time’ collection,” they said.
Tseng told Daily Mail that he posted this picture to seek help for his friend, a stay-at-home mom.
While people kept flocking to offer solutions, Tseng told Daily Mail that his friend had already solved the problem.
“She opened one door slightly and used her hand to hold the plates, then she pushed the door further.”