My humble opinion:
It was most likely a strip of a metal. The reactions may appear to be an equal equation, however, due to the surface area of the metal strip, it may not react with the inner core of the metal. Therefore, even though the equation balances, it does not ract to conclusion...
The Cl example:
It would be highly unlikely to get any loss of electrons from the Cl ion simply because of the size of the atom. Cl is quite small and if you remove an electron, it becomes substantially smaller causing the gigantic increase in ionization energy. It would wish to go to a +2...
If there is a bright center of the universe, I am in the point farthest from it. LeMars, Iowa...
...and yes, Iowa is a state in the United States. We do not grow potatoes.