New York-based comedian Jerrold Benford (@comedianjerroldb1) turned an underrated winter shopping frustration into funny content. He joked about a creative and timely solution when Home Depot’s $5 ice melt was sold out. The clip is on point, given that a major winter storm is affecting regions from northern Mexico and Texas to northeastern Maine and into Canada.
“So I go to Home Depot because I need some ice melt,” Benford said in the clip, “and I have $5 on me.” But he says there was none on the shelves.
“So I asked one of the employees, ‘Where’s this ice melt?’” he continued. “And she goes, ‘Oh, we’re out of that cheap [expletive]. But what we do have is what we use here at Home Depot. It’s $25 a bag, and it works fabulously.’”
But he’s beside himself.
“I’m not buying no $25 bag of rock salt,” he said. “I had planned on buying a $5 bag of rock salt.”
So, he did what made sense to him.
“I took my $5 and did the only thing I could,” he went on. “I bought a broom and a dustpan and swept out what they had out front, and she was right.”
Then, he flips to him, shaking out rock salt that he’s gathered from in front of Home Depot: “This [explicative] works fabulously.”
Benford mentioned two different products. Rock salt and ice melt are not interchangeable.
Basic rock salt (sodium chloride) works at temperatures above 5°F, and is the cheaper option. However, it can be corrosive to concrete, like your driveway or walkway, and can also damage your lawn or landscaping.
Ice melt (calcium/magnesium chloride) works in temperatures as low as -15°F to -25°F, depending on the brand’s formula. It’s less corrosive, partly because it requires fewer applications.
The bit satirizes a real and likely current phenomenon. During winter storms, the budget rock salt products often sell out first. $25 for the premium can be a tough proposition if you need money for other safety items for a deep freeze. It forces consumers to either pay significantly more or go without. Or, like Benford, people could improvise, which is exactly the absurd scenario he mined for comedy.
The present and historic freeze is likely to stick around through the rest of January and into early February. This means the snow and ice currently accumulating will take a long time to melt. Hopefully, homeowners and renters got the rock salt or ice melt they needed.
One person used the Dave Chappelle meme, where he says, “Modern problems require modern solutions.” Using a Druski meme, another said, “Hey. A win is a win.”
Others considered the cleverness of the joke: “That man playing chess not checkers!”
Another wrote, “[I] had no idea where you were taking us, the ride and destination was fabulous.”
AllHipHop reached out to Benford and Home Depot via email. The article will be updated upon response.
@comedianjerroldb1 I’ll definitely be back!
♬ original sound – JerroldB
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