Have you ever noticed that most pots and pans have a hole at the end of the handle? You
must have, right? Unless, you’re living in a cave or something. While the obvious
use is to hang up the pot, there’s actually another purpose, believe it or not. If you’re
stirring say, some Bolognese and don’t want to leave your messy, wooden spoon on the table,
you can simply slot the wooden spoon in the hole so it rests an angle. That way, the sauce
from the spoon will drip right back into the pot instead of on the table. A neat little
trick that will save you from making a big mess. Also, there’ll be one less thing to
wash-up which is always a bonus.
Ever thought to yourself why there is a small hole at the end of a ballpoint pen lid? Well,
there are two reasons for this, one of which can actually save your life. The first reason
is quite clever as the hole equalises the pressure inside the pen which prevents the
ink from leaking. But, the second reason is far more important. A lot of people, especially
little children, like to chew on pen lids which, in turn, can lead to lids getting accidentally
swallowed. Instead of the lid obstructing the airway, the small hole allows the passage
of air, thus preventing one from choking to death. It’s a clever, little design that
can save a lot of lives.
Have you ever put on a pair of jeans and wondered what’s with that tiny front pocket in another
pocket… pocket-ception? The tiny pocket has history and dates back to the 19th century,
where it served as a watch pocket, originally for cowboys who needed a place to store their
pocket watches. Cowboys used to wear their watches on chains and kept them in their waistcoats,
so to stop them from getting broken, Levis had the “jean-ious” idea to introduce
a small pocket for cowboys to easily access their pocket watches while keeping them protected
too. With the invention of modern wristwatches and smartwatches, this isn’t the case anymore
and nowadays the pocket is used to store things, such as coins, lighters, condoms and many
more. But what about the little, metal studs you see around the pockets? Known as “rivets”,
they are designed to strengthen the jeans and prevent the seams from tearing.
This may never have crossed your mind before but on a standard computer keyboard, there
is a little bump on the “F” and “J” keys. Do you see it? There’s a simple explanation
for this as the little ridges help people to correctly position their left and right
hand on the keyboard without having to look down, allowing muscle memory to take over.
These keys are part of a keyboards middle line, known as the “Home row”. Your left
fingers rest on the A, S, D and F keys, while your right fingers rest on the J, K, L and
semi-colon keys and both thumbs rest on the spacebar. By positioning your index fingers
on the ridged keys, you should be able to locate all the other keys without having to
look down at your keyboard. This is known as “touch typing”. The number “5”
key on a keyboard with a numeric keypad also has a little bump for the same reasons.
You probably have noticed that a lot of backpacks have this diamond-patch on the front. And
no, it’s not some sort of logo or funky decoration although it is pretty funky but
it actually has a purpose. The diamond-patch is known as a “lash tab” or a “pig snout”
and was originally designed for hikers and outdoorsmen to thread rope through and attach
extra gear, such as hiking boots, ice axes, flashlights and so on. The patch is usually
made from leather as it’s less susceptible to freezing than plastic or cloth. Today,
lash tabs are still added to backpacks for a vintage appeal but that’s not to say you
can’t use them. Just make sure you don’t attach anything valuable. Now you know the
purpose, do you think you will use it for anything?