I buy these bags of hardwood charcoal from Whole Foods.  They are sewn closed at the top and a little thread hangs out at one end.  Every so often I grab the thread, offer a prayer to the grilling gods and pull; and the most beautiful thing happens:  the thread unravels end to end and the bag is open.  And if this has ever happened to you, the sound of it, the feel of it, and the pure joy of being admitted entrance, at a subconscious level all remind you of your other favorite thing to unzip.

But like that other thing it almost never works out that way and it seems to be determined by nothing more than pure randomness.  When it fails you can try yanking in either direction or unraveling it by hand for a bit to get it started but to no avail.  Eventually you have to get the scissors.

So I am asking you, dear readers.  Does anybody know what is the trick to get these threaded seams to unravel?  (I already tried plying it with tequila.)

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