A lot of people
think the hole in the cap of a ballpoint pen is there to keep the pen from
drying out, or that it’s there to keep a pressure balance that prevents the pen
from leaking. The real reason it’s there is much more straightforward:
It’s there to
lower the risk of suffocation. If a small child was chewing on the cap and
choked on it, the hole keeps their airway from closing up entirely.
2. Ever
notice the little holes in the windows of airplanes?
Sean Gladwell / Getty Images, Phasuthorndesign / Getty Images
That little hole is there for two reasons:
The first reason is to compensate for air pressure. When the
plane climbs to cruising altitude, there’s a huge pressure difference between
the inside and outside of the plane. The hole is there to regulate some of that
difference so that the outer window doesn’t have to do all the work.
The other reason is that it prevents the windows from fogging
up.
You probably
always thought it was there for patches, right? Wrong! The manufacturer
includes that little sample of material so you can test how different laundry
detergents will react to your new garment.
4. And
this little pocket on your jeans?
Tpopova / Getty Images
The purpose of
that little pocket is obvious to any Wild West cowboys or 19th-century gold
miners reading this. It’s where you kept your pocket watch when jeans were
first invented.
5. Okay,
but what about the studs?
Tarzhanova / Getty Images
When Levi
Strauss made his first pair of jeans, it was a pretty common problem
for the seams of the trousers to tear due to the stress being put on them by the workmen & miners who wore them.
for the seams of the trousers to tear due to the stress being put on them by the workmen & miners who wore them.
6. What
are those little holes in Converse All Stars there for?
dancinintheclouds / Via instagram.com
The main reason
they’re there is the most obvious one: ventilation.
But some people
think that because Converse All Stars were originally made as basketball shoes,
laces could be looped through the extra holes for a snugger fit.
7. Ever
notice the little hole at the end of a tape measure? Ever wonder what it’s for?
seejanedrill / Via youtube.com
It’s there to hook onto nails or screws so you can measure
safely without the tape measure slipping.
Pretty obvious now that you see it, isn’t it? Imagine trying to
mark where your measurement is, but not being able to because your hands are
currently both busy using a tape measure.
A little serrated edge would come in handy right then, wouldn’t
it?
9. That
hole in the handle of your pot is useful for more than one reason.
fuckyeahlifehacks.tumblr.com
Sure, the main
reason that hole is there is for hanging up your pot, but next time you need to
set down a messy cooking spoon you’ll know exactly where to look.
This one is going to blow your mind. The hole’s primary purpose
to strain the pasta and let the water drain out, but on many spoons, the hole
is just about the size of one person’s portion of spaghetti.
Maybe you’ve
never even noticed it before, but that little arrow is secretly the most
convenient feature on any car. It indicates which side of the car the gas cap
is on. Believe me, it comes in handy when you’re driving a rental car.
12. Why is
one side of a bobby pin bent into a zigzag?
Coprid / Getty Images
That’s an easy
one! The grooved side is the bottom of the pin and should face toward the
scalp. The grooves help the hairpin hold the hair better.
That little
hole is there for a few reasons. The first is that it lets water drain out of
the lock if you’re using it outdoors, so it won’t rust in the rain or freeze
and break in the winter. The hole can also be used to oil the lock to keep it
working well.
Those little
cylinder-shaped lumps are ferrite cores or chokes, and they’re essentially just
chunks of magnetic iron oxide that are there to suppress high-frequency
electromagnetic interference.
Have you ever
heard weird interference when your cell phone goes off too close to a speaker?
Well, ferrite cores are there to keep that from happening to your monitors,
power supplies, and everything else.
15. Do you
even know how utility blades work?
Onairjiw / Getty Images
Take a close
look at the blade on your box cutter or utility knife. Notice the little score
lines? You can break off the end of the blade to give yourself a fresh, sharp
blade whenever you want.
To do so, take
that back cap off, slide the blade out the back end, and use the cap to snap
off the end of the blade before putting it all back together again.
Unscrew the
lid, flip it around, and push it in. The little spike will punch right through
the protective foil on a new container.
17. And
the little bumps on the “F” and “J” keys on a keyboard?
Getty Images
Most trained
typists will already know what they’re there for. In 10-finger typing, the “F”
and “J” keys are the home keys, where your index fingers rest. The little bumps
let you find your way back to the home position without looking down at your
keyboard.
Easy. It’s for
hanging them up.
The wings flip up to give you something to wrap the cable
around. Start by wrapping the thicker section of cable around the power block,
then the thinner part of the cable around the wings, and secure the whole thing
with the little clamp on the very end.
20. And
while we’re at it, what’s the dot next to the camera on an iPhone for?
BuzzFeed / t-driver2015 / Via ebay.de
It’s a
microphone for when you’re using the back camera.
21. Have
you been eating Tic Tacs wrong this whole time?
palmsilo / Via instagram.com, Twitter: @oxruon
Maybe you’ve noticed the little indentation on the lid of a
package of Tic Tacs before and figured it was there to tightly seal the
container, right? Well, it also serves as a dispenser that gives you one Tic
Tac at a time.
22. And
the little disc under the lid of a plastic bottle?
BuzzFeed / Andreas / Via raketenmodellbau.org, Shijiazhuang Beike Sealing Technology Co., Ltd. /
Viagerman.alibaba.com
Have you ever pried one of them out and found that your bottle
still closes fine? What purpose could they possibly serve then?
They’re there to create a seal that keeps EVERYTHING in that
bottle, both liquid and carbonation. Without it, that soda would go flat in no
time.
You’ve always
heard that it could erase pen ink. Well, it can. But it only really works on
very strong, thick paper.
The blue side is
harder and more abrasive that the softer pink side, and takes a lot more paper
off when you use it, which is why you’ve probably erased clean through the
paper any time you’ve tried to use it.
24. And
why do wine and champagne bottles have those indentations in the bottom?
weingutfaubel / Via instagram.com
It’s not there
so that the sommelier can get a better grip while they’re pouring, which is
probably what you’ve always heard.
It’s actually
there to compensate for the pressure that the contents of the bottle go through
during the corking process. The sides and bottoms of bottles are weak spots,
and the indentation helps evenly distribute the pressure inside the bottle.
That’s why it’s so much deeper on champagne bottles, which are under much more
pressure due to the carbonation.
(Thanks, BuzzFeed)
Did you know
that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost
immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain
relievers?
Before you
head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious
chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints.
They'll clear up your stuffed nose..
Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.
Sore throat?
Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six
times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.
Cure urinary
tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of
water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins
eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly, even though the product
was never advertised for this use.
Honey remedy
for skin blemishes...... Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a
Listerine
therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking
your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your
toenails looking healthy again.
Easy eyeglass
protection... To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small
drop of clear nail polish to the threads of the screws
before tightening them.
Cleaning
liquid that doubles as bug killer... If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or
yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray
of Formula 409.. Insects drop to the ground instantly.
Smart splinter
remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and
peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.
Hunt's Tomato
Paste boil cure.. Cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The
acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.
Vinegar to
heal bruises... Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise
for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing
process..
Quaker Oats for fast pain relief.... it's not
for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl
and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to
your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.
(Thanks, Carole)
To see a whole lot more, click here.
It was almost impossible to find cartoons on today's subjects,
so here are some on puzzles & just being puzzled:
Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns.
Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.
Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds
healing.
Works overnight.
Balm for broken blisters... To disinfect a broken blister,
dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic..
(Thanks, Carole)
To see a whole lot more, click here.
It was almost impossible to find cartoons on today's subjects,
so here are some on puzzles & just being puzzled:
I’m out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can----fishducky
On a different subject, I want to remind you again about a book by my blogging buddy,
Carol Wyer.
If you like mysteries, it's a must read!!
Right now it's only 99 cents on Amazon.
Buy it!!
Read it!!
You'll thank me!!
