What Other Uses Are There for Internet Service CDs?

[Yarborough]

Many have played the game of what other uses could be found for a paper clip or coffee mug. After seeing pluckyduck's "No more AOL CDs" post with replies by wivabef and theeye, I thought it might be fun to see if any of you have alternate uses for all of those ISP CD offers we constantly get in the mail.

The only thing I've done, besides tossing them in the trash, is a few with fancy graphics have made it to my wall as decoration. (Yes, I will admit that my talents for interior decorating included a bookcase made of bricks and wood when I was 20)

CDs that were wall-worthy include a very fancy "Casino" offer with images of roulette wheels, cards, dice and chips. Another, an old "Earthlink" CD, has an image of the World shaped like an egg. Then there's my MSN twin set, because I had some allegiance to them until they gave me busy signals and hung up on me for the last time.

Close second to this use is the CD I have on the wall in my work cubicle with the shiny side facing me that acts as a rear view mirror for anyone sneaking up on me or brief moments of doing the Fonz impression.

So what are your ideas?

[sylvanb]

This very week I visited the local art museum, where one of the featured exhibits was an installation which included a huge mobile sort of thing made of strings of cd's. Rather pretty, although I was underwhelmed by the overall Work Of Art.

[wivabef]

I can make a hat!
Or a brooch!

[Yarborough]

"Rather pretty, although I was underwhelmed by the overall Work Of Art"

I think I would be underwhelmed too, if at an Art Show. Heck, you can make a mobile out of anything, like old sneakers.

But I guess it's a legit reuse of CDs. I thought there would be more ideas by now. Maybe this is tougher than I thought.
Thanks for your contribution.

How about a frisbee that you don't have to retrieve if goes over the fence?

Oh, I just remembered someone was using them as a faceplate for clock movements.

[jnbmoore]

I don't get it.

But around here, folks hang CD's from their review mirror. 1/2 the cars at school have CD's hanging.

Don't ask me why.

or you can just give AOL CD's to monkey to be "water" on her train table

Bridgette

[emeleel]

~ Christmas tree ornaments

~ Buy a clock movement and use the CD for a clock face

~ Let your baby teethe on them (my son used to chew on an old hard drive disk - loved it!) although you'd have to be sure to keep the usable ones out of their reach if you did

~ Use 'em to teach your homeschooler about rainbows

~ My mom tried to make a wind "chime" out of them, never finished that project

~ Air hockey replacement disk?

~ Cut more of the middle out and make a photo frame

~ I wonder if you can bake them and warp them like you can do with phonograph records?

[ThePirateKing]

I don't know about baking, but if you stick them in the microwave for a few seconds you get a really cool crackle pattern on the data side.

(CAVEAT: I'm not sure whether this does damage to the microwave, since you get a nice little fireworks show for your trouble. But who cares if it does damage to the CD?)

[adonna]

It's a natural. Those CDs are the same size as some glasses, right?

Well, I've seen several crochet patterns online where a freebie CD is the basis for a nice coaster. I won't print any of the patterns here. If you want them, they're out there.