Life is full of tiny details you might never have noticed… and they’re right under your nose. Go to any one of our homes and you’ll find hundreds of items, big and small. Of course, we all know how to use each and every one of them. There’s no question about that. Right? Well, not quite.
As it turns out, you might have been using some of these common items completely wrong or you might not have known about their alternative uses. Meanwhile, even things that you use every single day have some features that might have sparked your curiosity to ask your parents about when you were just a kid, but now you just gloss over and ignore them completely.
Bored Panda invites you to enjoy this list, going from learning how to peel bananas “the right way” and how to get Tic Tacs out of their container to learning all about the hidden functions of the various weird parts of pens, backpacks, pants, and much, much more. Upvote your fave pics and, when you’re done, check out our earlier post about the hidden side of even more common everyday things right here.
Warning: you might accidentally become a Ravenclaw and want to bombard your friends with all of this new knowledge.
#1 Getting Tic Tacs Out Of The Container
There is a thing inside the lid that's designed to get just one piece out. Flip the box, then turn it on its side, and open, there should be one Tik Tac sitting in its place.
Image credits: imgur.com
#2 Heating A Meal In A Microwave
When heating up food in the microwave, make sure to create a small hole in the middle. This way the heat will distribute evenly and your meal will all be the same temperature.
Image credits: imgur.com
#3 Cleaning Blenders
After you’ve made your smoothie you have to wash that blender. It can be difficult and, no matter how hard you try, the smell of the ingredients can stay for a long time. But there is a very simple way to get your blender perfectly clean. After making your smoothie, just pour some water in it, add a splash of dishwashing liquid, blend it, and it will wash itself. All you need to do now is just rinse it off.
Image credits: reddit.com
According to Dieter Rams, one of the most influential industrial designers in the world, what sets good design apart from bad design is that the former is innovative, makes the product useful, aesthetic, and understandable. That's why form, not just function is important; while over-design products tend to fail because they might make customers and users confused as to what exactly they're supposed to do.
It’s fascinating how many seemingly simple items have hidden features because they're integrated into the product so seamlessly. The design decisions behind many of these probably took dozens (if not hundreds) of hours to get just right as RnD employees sketched everything out, built prototypes, and then went back to the drawing board.
What you see in front of your eyes is the condensed labor of countless minds polishing, honing, and improving details to their limits.
#4 Cutting Soft Cheese
Use dental floss to cut soft cheeses.
Image credits: imgur.com
#5 One Side Of A Bobby Pin Is Bumpier
Many hairpins have a grooved and a smooth side. The grooved side is meant to face in towards to scalp to provide a little extra grip.
Image credits: imgur.com
#6 Using Kitchen Sponges
Your sponges might be making your dishes dirtier. If you’re not regularly sanitizing your sponges, you could just be wiping your dishes and counters with bacteria. Keep your sponges away from raw meat. If you're dealing with leftovers of meat juice, use a paper towel instead. To properly sanitize your sponges, immerse them in boiling water for five minutes. Alternatively, soak a sponge in water and heat it on high in a microwave for one minute, or pop it into the dishwasher with a heated dry cycle.
Image credits: pixnio
Some of these design decisions are quite literally life-saving. Like the holes in pen caps and popsicle sticks being hollow to prevent choking if swallowed. Other design details are a matter of functionality. Like the lash tabs on backpacks used to attach rope and tools.
Meanwhile, parts of products that look like they were made solely for aesthetic reasons sometimes have actual functions. For instance, the raised ‘57’ mark on Heinz condiment bottles is actually the sweet spot that makes ketchup pour out faster if you tap it.
The holes near the bottoms of some trainers aren’t just for show, either: they’re used for ventilation and give you the ability to tie your laces in a different way to better support your ankles. Do you know of any other things with hidden purposes that we might all have been using wrong all this time? Let us know in the comment section, dear Readers!
#7 Peeling Bananas
Most people peel their banana from the top part, which is wrong. The best way to peel a banana is from the bottom, so you don’t squeeze the fruit. In fact, monkeys apparently figured this out a long time ago.
Image credits: LyricValentine
#8 Using Foil
Isn't it annoying when you need to use foil, often the whole roll comes out. There’s a simple solution right there on the box, it even says: “Press Ends To Lock Roll” and that’s exactly what it does. If you look on the sides of the box, you will see the little grips, you just push them in and they hold the roll in place.
#9 Eating An Orange
Peeling an orange doesn’t have to be hard and messy. If you cut the top and bottom off and then make a cut on its side, it will unroll in a nice line of orange segments.
#10 Little Metal Plate On A Stapler
Nearly every stapler has two functions! The more common setting bends the staple back onto itself, ensuring that your papers will be held together tight. But if you rotate the base plate, the staple will bend outward, which is meant to be used for a looser hold that you can more easily remove later.
#11 A Strip Of Black Dots That Runs Along The Outside Edge Of Your Windshield
That black strip is called a "frit" and it essentially has two purposes. It provides an etched surface for the adhesive to adhere to, which bonds the glass to the frame. And on the outside of the glass, it protects the adhesive from ultraviolet light and covers any unsightly adhesive. The dots are there just to make it look nice.
#12 A Little Arrow Next To The Gas Icon On A Car's Dashboard
The arrow points to the side of the car your gas cap can be found on. If your car is older, or doesn't have an arrow, the direction of the fuel hose sometimes indicates where the gas cap can be found.
Image credits: reddit.com
#13 The Bottom Drawer
That drawer at the bottom of your oven will keep your food warm.
Image credits: drewandmerissa
#14 Key Rings
Use a staple remover to remove keys from key rings instead of abusing your nails.
#15 Codes On Your Makeup
On the back of your makeup products, you can often find numbers like: "6M", "12M" or "24M". They represent the life of the product on your shelf after opening. So in the above example, you have about 12 months to use this face cream before you should think about throwing it out and replacing it.
#16 Extra Little Piece Of Fabric
Sure, you can use the button to replace a missing one and you can use the piece of fabric to patch up a hole. But they're actually there so you can test how the fabric reacts to different detergents.
#17 Thinner Bottles Leave For Colder Drinks
If you are a fan of having cold drinks, go to your sporting goods store and buy a thin bottle. You can assure yourself that with that kind bottle, you’ll always have a nice cool drink waiting to grace your lips.
Image credits: laughing_kitten
#18 A Potato Peeler
A potato peeler is a versatile tool. Use it to grate cheese as well. Put your peeler to work shaving long, thin strips of parmesan cheese from the block, creating paper-thin carrots for salads, or even slicing an onion in record time.
Image credits: pxhere
#19 You're Probably Using Too Much Toothpaste
Toothpaste ads usually show a gorgeous dollop of toothpaste that runs along the entire length of the brush, but the truth is that you only need a pea-sized amount to get your teeth clean. The ads feature larger amounts for the sake of aesthetics and to encourage you to use up more product.
Image credits: toasty
#20 Drink Cartons
If you pour milk from the other side of the carton there’s less milk sloshing around and it’s easier to hold it steady. It may seem weird, but give it a try and see how it works.
#21 Non Wire Hangers
Wooden hangers were created with a specific purpose in mind. The specific type of wood used in most hangers is hand-selected to repel moths and other unwanted insects and pests that can harm clothing. The wood in the hanger helps make sure that clothes are not only unwrinkled, but that they stay undamaged while they are hanging out in closets.
Image credits: reddit.com
#22 Cutting Cakes
You can use dental floss to cut soft cakes.
Image credits: imgur.com
#23 Opening A Can
You can simply use a bottle opener to open a can instead of breaking your nails.
Image credits: reddit.com
#24 Slotted Patches On Backpacks
It's called a lash tab, and it's there for you to attach whatever you'd like to your bag. For instance, a hiker could lash a sleeping roll to their bag using the lash tab. Originally, it was added to bags to carry tools like axes.
#25 Loading Your Blender
You might be loading your blender incorrectly. Start with liquids and go from there. Add the solid components last. The motion created by the swirling liquids will suck the solid items down and keep the blades from simply tunneling through the middle of the solids.
Image credits: dlee13
#26 Dental Floss
Here’s a trick: tie your floss in a knot. It increases the tension of the floss and makes it easier to maneuver. It also makes it less likely that you’ll lose your grip. You’ll never have to disappoint a dentist again.
#27 Storing Peanut Butter
Store your peanut butter upside down. That way, rather than pooling on top, the oil is easier to mix back in and you can enjoy your peanut butter with much less hassle.
#28 Padlock Hole For Smoother Use
If the key isn’t turning because it’s rusty, just pour a few drops of oil in the hole, and it will get everything moving again.
#29 Using A Microwave More Efficiently
The limited space inside a microwave has always been inconvenient when you want to have a meal together with your friend or partner. It would be easier and more convenient if you could prepare both meals at the same time. Most of us don’t realize that the whole space in the microwave is good for heating, even above the spinning plate. To heat 2 plates at once, simply put the first plate on the microwave platter pushed to one side, then place an upside-down coffee mug next to it and place the second plate on top of the mug.
#30 Suckers Have Hollow Sticks With Holes Near The Top
The stick is hollow so that any child who accidentally swallows the stick won't choke to death. And as for the hole, it's there to hold your sucker in place. Without it, the ball-shaped candy on top would just fall right off the stick. During production, a bit of sugar paste is added into the hole, which helps keep the sucker attached to the stick.
#31 The Pointy Bit On A Cap Of Tubed Medicine Actually Has A Purpose
Unscrew lid, turn it around, and use the point to pierce the foil covering on most tubes of medicine.
#32 Both Ends Of A Utility Blade Can Be Useful
Utility knife blades often have perforated blades that can be snapped off when the cutting edge gets too dull. They also have a little slot on the very back of the handle that you can slip the blade into to snap it off cleanly and easily.
Image credits: pixnio
#33 Shopping Cart Loops
There are loops on shopping carts that can be used to hold your grocery bags, keep them upright if they have fragile items, or store extra if you’ve got a lot of groceries.
#34 Prevent A Locked-Down Work PC From Sleeping
If you need to step away from your computer, place your laser mouse over the top of your analog watch. The mouse will read the ticking of the second or minute hand and will keep your computer active, so you don’t have to retype your password.
Image credits: reddit.com
#35 Cover Up Properly
Many people either take the flap that is cut out in the toilet seat cover and either rip it off or position it to be in the back of the seat. Instead, the proper way to use one of these disposable covers is with the flap facing forward. This is supposed to help it more easily flush down the toilet.
Image credits: reddit.com
#36 To Chill A Drink Bottle Faster
Wet a paper towel, wrap it around any warm drink, and put it in the freezer. It’ll be cold in literally 5-10 minutes!
Image credits: imgur.com
#37 Using Dishwasher
There is an art to loading a dishwasher. The middle of the dishwasher gets the cleanest. The dirtiest items should be in the middle of the bottom rack facing the spray arm. That includes heavily soiled plates, pots, and pans. Keep an eye on what items you’re placing over the detergent dispenser, too – blocking it with a large item could keep the soap from being distributed correctly.
Image credits: wikimedia
#38 Measuring Tape Diamonds
There are tiny markings on tape measures that are there to help you find the right position for wall studs. These black diamonds are known as “stud finders,” and they can help mark the center point between two studs.
#39 Using Plungers
Spending a bit of time understanding your plungers can be useful, though, because different plungers are used for different problems. A flat plunger is fine for a sink, but if you need to use one on your toilet you’ll need one with a tapered end.
#40 Plastic Disks In Bottle Caps
These inconspicuous little disks act as seals. Without them, most bottles wouldn't just leak, they'd lose all their carbonation.
Image credits: raketenmodellbau
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