Daily Ick: The Milk Carton Is Keeping Up Appearances

In this invented kitchen scene, the kettle clicks off and a mug of tea waits on the bench. Someone opens the fridge, takes out the milk carton and tips it. A single drop lands in the tea and disappears so quickly it might have been a trick of the light.

The carton goes upside down for a second opinion. Nothing. It had been standing on the shelf all morning, looking like an ingredient.

Today's tiny ick is putting a carton back with just enough milk to prove that milk was once involved.

The last drop has a job

There is a perfectly useful splash, and then there is the splash that needs a witness. The carton in question contains the latter. You can hear it if you shake hard enough, but by that point you have spent more energy on breakfast than the milk is likely to contribute.

The nuisance is mostly the surprise. An empty space on the shelf tells you to pick up milk. A carton tells you to put the kettle on. By the time you discover the difference, the tea is made and you are examining a seam in the cardboard as though it might be concealing a second, more generous compartment.

It is impressive how much optimism a closed lid can hold.

The defence of the splash

A little milk really can be enough. One person's disappointing dribble is another person's ideal cup of tea. And saving a bit for somebody else may be a kind impulse, especially if the alternative is finishing it without asking.

There's also the ordinary business of being distracted. Toast pops, the doorbell goes, and a hand returns the carton to its usual place without conducting a stocktake. This is hardly grounds for a household tribunal. Nobody needs to weigh the milk before putting it back.

A quick heads-up does most of the work. If the last splash is spoken for, say so. If the carton has reached the stage where the milk must be coaxed out by gravity and encouragement, it can probably retire.

Our subjective verdict: innocent if there’s enough for someone’s tea; mild ick if the carton is mostly there to keep up appearances. The shelf can cope with an honest gap.

Ick or innocent? Would you save the last drop for the next person, or call time on the carton?