I have a hard time remembering numbers. I frequently forget my PIN. If I really, really like you I might remember the month or day of your birthday, but never both. I’ve forgotten the code to every combination lock I’ve ever had (God bless gym staffers with bolt cutters), and yet, it took me many years of trashed Master Locks to find the Wordlock, a padlock that you crack with a word instead of a numerical code.
Kismet brought it to me. I was starting at a new gym, and just after yet another combo vanished from my brain, I stopped in Duane Reade for a replacement. They had only one lock in stock: a Wordlock. I haven’t forgotten my code since.
Here’s what’s great about the the Wordlock: Everything. Here’s how it’s superior to the classic Master Lock: Literally every way. The Wordlock’s rubber casing makes it feel good in your grip, the coated wheels are easy to manipulate one-handed, the shape is unique and easy to spot if you’re also prone to forgetting where your locker is. No part of it hurts the pads of your fingers.
And of course: no numbers. You choose your own four-letter word code, and if you, like me, pick one that is also a little personal joke (mine is L-A-R-Y, as in Louis and Harry of One Direction obviously), you get a little burst of happiness each time you unlock it. I’ve had my Wordlock for three years, and plan to have it forever, to slowly become one of the naked old ladies at the gym, taking my time unlocking my locker, giggling at my long-ago joke to myself.
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