Pick Me!

Sarah has signed up for a bunch of periodic "pregnancy newsletter" things.  These are updates sent every week or month or whatever that tell you how baby is developing and what you'll experience as a mom-to-be.  They also offer some practical advice on how to deal with common pregnancy-related ailments.  Today we get this tidbit:

"I work at a jewelry store, and we always get pregnant women's wedding rings off swollen fingers by spraying with Windex or glass cleaner. I don't know why it works, but it sure does." Anonymous

I know why it works: most commercial glass cleaners are fairly concentrated aqueous ammonia.  Ammonia is a base.  Human epithelial proteins are particularly base-labile; ie, they denature and dissolve into basic solution.  This is why basic chemicals feel slippery: not because the basic solution is natively slippery, but because the instant you get it on your hand the surface of your skin begins to dissolve into the solution.  An effective way to get a too-tight ring off, I'm sure, but probably not the most skin-friendly; I'd try dish soap first.