People Ignore These Hidden Design Features Every Day

Most of us go through life with complete confidence that we know how to use basic foods – after all, understanding how to use Swiffer isn’t hard, and you don’t need a YouTube tutorial to figure out how to use peanut butter properly (eat it) . this if you’re interested).

Of course, many things can be used off-label, including Swiffers and peanut butter . But a creative hack that uses a product outside of its official mandate is one thing; It’s much more interesting to discover that the products you use all the time have secret uses on the label and design features that you never noticed.

Aluminum foil tabs

It’s amazing how many people still don’t know about the simple, ingenious design that can be found on almost every foil box or kitchen packaging. Each end of the box has a perforated tab called an end-lock . Before opening the box, press down on these tabs – they will hold the roll of foil (or whatever) in place when you pull out a new sheet. If you’ve ever spent moments of your life fighting with a roll of foil that keeps popping out of the box, now your healing can begin.

hammer claws

You can purchase a hammer with a magnetic nail holder that makes driving a nail easier and protects your fingers from getting hammered. But if you don’t have such an advanced hammer, you can mimic this feature by simply placing a nail in the claw with the pointy side out .

It’s debatable if this was ever the intended use of a hammer, and it’s only really useful if you’re only hammering a small amount of nails and have hammer hammer experience – if you’re going to be hammering nails all day it will slow things down to a brutal tortoise speed, and you’d be better off getting a nail gun anyway. But if you’re nervous about hammers and need to hammer in a small number of nails, this can save you a painful lesson in hand-eye limitations.

Lock holes

If you have something secured by a lock, take a closer look. You will almost always find a small hole at the bottom of a standard padlock (or sometimes on the face of other designs of padlocks). It is designed to drain so that rainwater or other liquid can drain out of the lock if it gets wet, but you can also add some lube here. Lubricate the lock from time to time to prevent internal rust or other problems, and if your lock is tight and difficult to open, a dose of lubricant in this hole can be crucial.

Shirt loops

If you have a button-down dress shirt, you will notice a fabric loop at the back of the neck. In fact, there is a long history behind this loop, which probably dates back to early military uniforms , but came into vogue in the mid-20th century at colleges and universities. It is officially known as the ” locker loop ” and is designed to allow you to hang your shirt on a hook in your locker without it becoming a wrinkled mess.

Gas sensors

It has become a rite of passage for every generation: the day you are told that there is a little arrow on every fuel gauge in every car. This arrow shows you which side of the car your gas (or electric) cap is on. In other words, you will never pull up to a gas station or charging station from the wrong side again.

Holes for pasta spoons

Go to the kitchen and look at your pasta spoon (that big clumsy spoon you use to take cooked pasta out of the pot). Look at that big hole in the middle. It’s for drainage, right? Wrong. Your pasta spoon drains just fine without it. This hole is officially for you to measure out one serving of spaghetti . Just stick in the dry pasta until the hole is filled and voila , you have a serving.

Tic-Tac Covers

Eating Tic Tac is an exploration of frustration. You open the lid and start shaking and you either don’t get Tic Tacs at all as they collect in the little hole or you get a tsunami of Tic Tacs in the palm of your hand (and possibly everywhere). This is because we are dumb and misusing the container. Take a closer look at the lid. Do you see how small the gap is? As shown in this video , this slot will serve you exactly one Tic Tac with no mess or fuss.

Prescription caps with child protection

Child-resistant caps on prescription bottles keep kids from swallowing dangerous drugs, but if you don’t have kids in your life, they’re just annoying. And if you suffer from arthritis or any similar ailment, they can just drive you crazy. But most child-resistant caps are designed to be flipped : flip them over and put them on a pill bottle. They still function like caps, but now without the annoying security.

Roulette Hooks

Roulettes are essential elements for any toolkit. The metal tip on the end is called a “hook” and it’s obviously meant to be fixed on the edge so you can pull the tape measure to the other side to take your measurements. But there are two secret features that every tape measure hook has to offer you: firstly, there is usually a small hole in the hook that is designed to fit over the head of a screw or nail so that you can measure in places without a convenient edge, and secondly , the bottom of the hook is usually slightly serrated, so you can make a mark on soft wood without letting go of the pencil and not grabbing it. Your home improvement projects just got a little easier.

Backpack loops

Quick, look at your backpack. Is there a leather square or rhombus with two slits on the back? This is an eyelash tab . Once only included on backpacks used by serious outdoor enthusiasts who climbed mountains and the like, they are now on many backpacks used to carry water bottles to yoga classes or books to school. And they are incredibly useful as you can attach whatever you want to them for extra and easily accessible cargo. Insert wired headphones into the slots, attach a water bottle with a carabiner, or use a piece of twine or a zipper to carry keys or whatever.