Got any bright ideas?
April 17, 2013 9:41 AM Subscribe
I have a roll of glow in the dark tape. Help me think of cool/useful ways I can use it!
Mummy costume!
posted by pointystick at 9:46 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by pointystick at 9:46 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Put it round door handles and frames so you can see where you're going when you get up to pee in the night, without having to blind yourself by putting the light on.
posted by Solomon at 9:54 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by Solomon at 9:54 AM on April 17, 2013
Best answer: Does the tape require charging (by being held up to a bright light) to glow? The most useful answers will vary based on how it works.
A band across the back of your coat or on your messenger back for visibility when walking at night.
A piece of tape on light-switch plates or lamp pulls so they're easy to find in a dark room. You can also mark doorways or thresholds, which is especially handy for houseguests --- doubly so if you mark the bathroom doorway and the bathroom light switch so they can find it easily at night.
Place on stair risers for extra visibility in dim spaces.
I put a strip of glow-in-the-dark paint on a TV remote to make it easier to spot in a dark room. (Why are remotes so often black? They disappear completely in my home.)
For fun: buy or make a mobile of simple shapes and cover one side of each shape in tape. As the pieces move and turn in the dark, the shapes will appear and change and disappear.
posted by Elsa at 10:00 AM on April 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
A band across the back of your coat or on your messenger back for visibility when walking at night.
A piece of tape on light-switch plates or lamp pulls so they're easy to find in a dark room. You can also mark doorways or thresholds, which is especially handy for houseguests --- doubly so if you mark the bathroom doorway and the bathroom light switch so they can find it easily at night.
Place on stair risers for extra visibility in dim spaces.
I put a strip of glow-in-the-dark paint on a TV remote to make it easier to spot in a dark room. (Why are remotes so often black? They disappear completely in my home.)
For fun: buy or make a mobile of simple shapes and cover one side of each shape in tape. As the pieces move and turn in the dark, the shapes will appear and change and disappear.
posted by Elsa at 10:00 AM on April 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Put it around light switches. Also, on your flashlight.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:01 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:01 AM on April 17, 2013
Best answer: [serious mode]
Donate it to a theater company. Stage managers use Glo Tape to flag furniture, doors, etc. to help the cast get offstage quickly during a blackout; they use a lot for each show, so it goes fast, and it can also be pretty expensive. A random gift of spare Glo Tape would be much appreciated.
[silly mode]
Halloween shenanigans.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:02 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Donate it to a theater company. Stage managers use Glo Tape to flag furniture, doors, etc. to help the cast get offstage quickly during a blackout; they use a lot for each show, so it goes fast, and it can also be pretty expensive. A random gift of spare Glo Tape would be much appreciated.
[silly mode]
Halloween shenanigans.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:02 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
if it's glow in the dark masking tape, I have used a paper punch from the craft store to make DIY Glow Stars for the ceiling. way cheaper than buying them in a package.
I've also made several people tops and skirts with it for Burning Man, it's fun to mix Glow In The Dark and UV tape together when you know you are going to be in an interesting lighting situation.
and, depending on the composition and strength of the glow material, try using a laser pointer or a blacklight flashlight on it. people make tape whiteboards and draw on them with pocket UV lights.
good clean fun.
posted by bobdow at 10:10 AM on April 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've also made several people tops and skirts with it for Burning Man, it's fun to mix Glow In The Dark and UV tape together when you know you are going to be in an interesting lighting situation.
and, depending on the composition and strength of the glow material, try using a laser pointer or a blacklight flashlight on it. people make tape whiteboards and draw on them with pocket UV lights.
good clean fun.
posted by bobdow at 10:10 AM on April 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
I marked a line on the floor of my (very narrow) garage with glow-in-the-dark tape so I can line up the car more easily when I reverse in. I tilt the side mirror down and the reversing lights illuminate the tape perfectly.
posted by essexjan at 10:34 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by essexjan at 10:34 AM on April 17, 2013
Write things on the ceilings of your roommates'/families'/friends' bedrooms as a surprise when they turn off the lights to go to sleep.
posted by feistycakes at 10:40 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by feistycakes at 10:40 AM on April 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Do up your walls like the set of Tron and play indoor nighttime frisbee!
And if you have any ceiling fans, be sure to stick some tape on the blades and turn it on in the dark.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:45 AM on April 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
And if you have any ceiling fans, be sure to stick some tape on the blades and turn it on in the dark.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:45 AM on April 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Specifically, a blue or violet laser pointer will work really well. Other colors work, but the difference is dramatic.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:50 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:50 AM on April 17, 2013
Then follow some of the other suggestions, like the fan one. Glow-in-the-dark devil sticks are amazing with a blue laser pointer.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:53 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:53 AM on April 17, 2013
I put dots of GitD paint on doorways (high up) and on the very tips of light switches so I can find them in the dark: bathrooms, kids' rooms, basement stairways, etc.
If there are things you would want in case of a power outage -- a flashlight or the box of candles, for example -- consider marking them with some GitD tape as long as they are stored in a place where the tape will be charged.
If there are things you often walk into in the dark -- like closet door edges or basement lally columns -- throw a strip of tape on them, too.
I have GitD beads strung on loops of GitD string, and I tie them to my tent when camping. I also leave one of them on top of my dresser so I don't walk into its sharp edges on the way back to bed after midnight trips to the bathroom. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:15 AM on April 18, 2013
If there are things you would want in case of a power outage -- a flashlight or the box of candles, for example -- consider marking them with some GitD tape as long as they are stored in a place where the tape will be charged.
If there are things you often walk into in the dark -- like closet door edges or basement lally columns -- throw a strip of tape on them, too.
I have GitD beads strung on loops of GitD string, and I tie them to my tent when camping. I also leave one of them on top of my dresser so I don't walk into its sharp edges on the way back to bed after midnight trips to the bathroom. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:15 AM on April 18, 2013
Response by poster: Oh my gosh, what creativity! I'd considered trying it out on clothing but it is not reflective. This tape is used in darkrooms and glows only after being exposed to light. Would laser pointers be lighty enough to have an effect on this kind of GitD tape?
My very first application is going to be a whoamantic love note taped on the bedroom wall. I'll probably hold a small tape reserve for later applications (Tron, yo) and will share the rest with a local disabilities theater group.
p.s. our cats Puppy and Fidget have no idea what fun we are going to have this weekend. Please keep it our little secret.
posted by mcbeth at 11:44 AM on April 19, 2013
My very first application is going to be a whoamantic love note taped on the bedroom wall. I'll probably hold a small tape reserve for later applications (Tron, yo) and will share the rest with a local disabilities theater group.
p.s. our cats Puppy and Fidget have no idea what fun we are going to have this weekend. Please keep it our little secret.
posted by mcbeth at 11:44 AM on April 19, 2013
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posted by HeyAllie at 9:44 AM on April 17, 2013