Well hi!
Hey, look around – even in the comfort of your own home – you’ve got plenty of new
things to discover!
Common objects hide secret purposes not many people know about…
The blue bristles on most toothbrushes tell you when to change the brush.
If they fade, it’s time!
The loops on the frame of a shopping cart are for hanging fragile goods - like eggs
and fresh bread - so other groceries don’t crush them.
A pop can tab has a hole on the other end so you can twist it around and put a straw
through it.
The metal tip of a tape measure has a slit that lets you anchor it to a nail or screw.
You can also press the tip against the surface to make marks when your pencil’s not within
reach.
To open a glass bottle without a bottle-opener, hold the bottle vertically by the neck.
Press your thumb on the lid and cling the edge of it onto something hard.
Gently hit your wrist - not the bottle - and the glass won’t break, but the cap will
pop off!
You don’t need a special scissor sharpener (do those even exist?) – cutting fine sandpaper
or folded aluminum foil will do the trick.
Coins haven’t always had ridges on the edges.
Back when they were made of gold and silver, people would shave off pieces from the sides,
and melt enough shavings to make a whole new coin.
The ribs were put there to show the coin is still intact.
Today, it’s more of a tradition.
You can use a penny to check the tread on your tires.
Put the coin in between the tread lines with the head upside down.
If you can see the top of the head, it’s time to pony up for some new tires!
That small square piece of fabric that comes with clothes (often with a button sewed to
it) isn’t for patching holes.
It’s so you can test if the material fades, stains, or pills in the wash before you throw
the whole garment in the machine and possibly ruin it.
Side holes in the bottom of Converses are actually lace holes.
Try looping your shoestrings through them, and you’ll get a better fit with less rubbing
on the heel.
Paper margins started out as a way to prevent important information from winding up in a
rat belly!
People kept their writing away from the edges because that’s where rats chewed books and
paper in storage.
The blue and red parts of the eraser aren’t for pen and pencil.
The red side rubs the pencil particles out of the paper, while the blue side is stiffer
and scrubs off a thin layer from the paper itself.
That’s why it’s for tougher grades of paper, whether it’s getting rid of pen or
pencil.
Unfold the pleated paper cup you get for condiments at fast food places.
You’ll have enough room to dunk nuggets and a whole handful of fries!
Same goes for the oyster pails you get for take-away.
Unfold it, and you get an entire plate!
A utility knife has a removable part on the end of the handle.
Use it to snap off the dull piece of the blade to reveal a new sharp one!
A pen cap has a small hole in the top in case of accidental swallowing.
It keeps the airway unblocked.
The loop on the back of a shirt came from sailors who’d hang their shirts from hooks
on the ship.
This “locker loop” is still useful for hanging the shirt without a hanger, but it
has mostly stuck around for tradition.
The metal plate on a stapler base is turnable.
Rotate it, and the staple’s pins will be bent outward.
This creates easily removable temporary staples.
Lids on paper and plastic to-go cups work as coasters.
The ring in the middle of the lid is exactly the size to fit the bottom of the cup.
The lid’s lips also catch dripping condensation from cold drinks!
The hole in your frying pan’s handle can hold your stirring spoon and keep it from
messing the counter- or stovetop.
A pasta spoon has a hole in the middle to measure out one serving before you cook the
spaghetti noodles.
You can change which side your fridge door opens on.
Those round plastic caps on the top and bottom of the door (on the handle side) cover holes
needed to do the job.
You can use your car’s detachable headrest to break the window in case you get stuck
in.
Just slip one of the “legs” down in between the door and the glass pane, and it’ll shatter
the glass with some shimmying.
The small dot in the back of an iPhone between the camera lens and flash is the third microphone.
It’s for noise cancellation during a conversation and sound enhancement when recording videos.
Ever notice the tiny hole in the bottom of a lock?
It’s there so excess water on rainy days can drain out.
This is also where you’re supposed to add oil when the thing jams.
If you look at your gas gauge on the dash, you’ll notice a little arrow on the gas
pump.
It shows which side of the car the tank is on.
A must-know when you’re renting a vehicle or just got some new wheels!
Jerry cans have 3 handles so you can carry it without sloshing the liquid around.
You grab the middle one if you’re alone, or you and a friend each grab a side one.
And gas cans have an extra tiny hole to prevent “glugging”.
That’s a real word.
Keep it open, and it gives the air somewhere to escape – that way it won’t fight the
stream like it does when you pour a jug of milk.
Wooden closet hangers are often made of cedar because it repels bugs and smells nice!
But if your delicate tops keep slipping off your wooden hangers, wrap some pipe cleaners
around the shoulder part.
Buttons were originally put on the left side of women’s garments because it was easier
for their right-handed maids to dress them.
People dress themselves nowadays, but the tradition stuck!
The F and J buttons on the keyboard have tiny bumps so you can quickly find your homerow
keys without looking.
They mark where your index fingers should be.
See the 57 etched into the neck of a glass ketchup bottle?
That’s where you’re supposed to tap it to get the sauce out, not from the bottom!
The number in the upper right corner of Heinz packets shows which line the packet was manufactured
on.
That’s all!
Similar story with the colorful boxes on toothpaste tubes – they tell the manufacturer’s machines
where to cut and fold the plastic.
A Toblerone bar is shaped with those triangular tooth-like pieces so you can break a piece
off easier.
Just press the “mountain top” on the end toward the one next to it.
(Ya mean somebody DOESN’T know this already?)
Tri-colored toothpaste is a marketing trick to show you all those helpful ingredients
(red is for gums, white whitens teeth, and blue freshens breath).
Solid-colored toothpaste has all these components, they’re just mixed up.
Toothpaste is good for polishing silver, but use the all-white one that has fluorine.
You can also shine your silverware with ketchup!
Just spread it all over the silver surface, wait a few minutes, and rinse with warm water.
The folded flaps on top of juice boxes are there so you can hold the box without squeezing
the liquid out.
The drawer under the oven isn’t for storing kitchenware.
It was put there so you can keep ready dishes warm while others are still cooking.
A TicTac container lid has a special little compartment in the flap to extract just one
mint.
Most of us eat them by the handful, though…
The backs of UK coins have seemingly random pictures and lines.
Put all the coins together – from the penny to the 50-pence piece – and you’ll see
the Royal Coat of Arms!
You can use tongs to juice a lemon!
Just put the lemon between the handles and squeeze.
Bobby pins are meant to be used with the zig-zagged part closer to the scalp.
It holds its place better than the straight slippy side.
A McFlurry has a square-shaped hole inside the spoon handle that tapers to the bottom.
Before serving, the spoon attaches to a machine that mixes the dessert.
And that’s more Quirky Queries of the Cosmos revealed!