WD -40 An Easy Fix

When the new millennium was marked by bells ringing in other cities, Mayor Thomas M. Menino had nothing to offer. And while bells around Boston rang to mark the Fourth of July or the Red Sox and Patriots championships, the mayor couldn't contribute.

It's not that he didn't have a bell -- there's a historic one atop city-owned Faneuil Hall, in clear view of Menino's City Hall office -- but for as long as anyone can remember, it was inoperable, its striker rusted and frozen in place.

Tired of sitting out solemn and happy occasions when bells are called for, Boston has finally restored the ringing mechanism of the 1866 British-forged bell. The fix: a can of WD-40. Officials said they repeatedly sprayed the lubricant on the rusted striker over the course of a week. Now, it works like a charm.

via The Boston Globe