But is a slightly loose joint always a disaster? I had a wobbly table from a humid day glue-up that's held up for like five years now (it's fine for books). Sometimes the glue just cures slower and stays a little rubbery, but it still holds. Are you sure the joints actually failed, or did you just panic and redo them too soon?

Have you ever considered that the plain stuff tells us how most people actually lived? I used to agree with you, but then I got into local history and started noticing everyday objects. Seeing what regular folks used daily made the past way more personal for me. It's like the small finds give context to the big events, so kings and battles have more meaning. For me, that mix of ordinary and epic is what makes history feel complete.

My GPS hates me for finding places like that.

I mean, like @the_brooke, skipping cafes lets you chat with vendors and pick up the language.

Did you try testing different wick types? My candles kept drowning in wax until I switched to cotton core wicks. Making sure the first burn lasted two hours fixed the tunneling problem. Now they actually melt evenly instead of becoming little fire pits.