Honestly I still have nightmares about my deli slicer.

My buddy Marcus actually had the same problem with a $20 strip light he got from Amazon. He figured it out when he filmed his face for a Zoom call and the video looked like a strobe light show. Threw that thing in the trash and grabbed a basic $15 incandescent desk lamp from the grocery store, no problems since.

Hold your breath before you declare victory. My lab mix is a textile terrorist and the only braided fleece toy that survived him was one I literally soaked in bitter apple spray before handing over. But you might be onto something with those wide strips, that extra inch or two of fabric seems to give the braids enough heft to not unravel.

Man the butter timing is everything. I wrecked probably a dozen pans before a buddy finally told me to pull the pan off the heat for a solid 20-30 seconds before swirling the butter in. Now I do butter last, off the flame, and I swirl until it just melts and emulsifies. Also found out the hard way that cold butter straight from the fridge splatters and breaks way worse than if you cube it up small and let it sit out for five minutes first. That little extra patience made my sauces go from greasy mess to restaurant level.

Did you ever catch yourself making the same face in the mirror just to see how dumb you looked?