My mom recently showed me this photo, taken 40 years ago (1984) on Christmas day:

My dad—at 24 years old—is wearing the black shirt, my uncle is wearing the white shirt, and I’m kneeling on the floor. We’re in my grandmother’s house surrounded by red floral wallpaper above olive-green carpeting. Enlarge

When I saw the toy on the floor—a Tomy Toys Monster Machines Mad Masher—in front of the younger me, a core memory came rushing back from the deepest recesses of my mind: I ruined that toy by washing it.

I can remember it clear as day: at some point during the next spring (1985), I was playing with that toy in a muddy area of my babysitter’s yard and, wanting it to be clean before I was picked up, I took it into her bathroom, turned on the sink faucet, and started washing it.

A moment later, my dad arrived to bring me home and saw what I was doing. Figuring it was probably too late, he kindly told me what happens when water and electronics mix. Needless to say, I have no memory of playing with that toy ever again.

So, here’s the lesson: don’t wash electronics.