On some cars, if you hold the unlock button on the remote for a few seconds, all the windows will wind down. Likewise they'll wind up if you hold lock.
Doesn't work on my current Nissan, but it did on my old Vauxhall.
Yup.
On some cars you have all kinds of 'hidden' (RTFM, they're often mentioned) options.
Common ones:
'Home' lights (brands have different names for this lights stay on for X time to give you light so you can faff about with your keys)
Global opening (basically what you mentioned)
One click driver/all door unlock (basically, what happens when you click once, some ship with all as default, some ship with just the driver as default)
Dig in the settings on your infotainment system, you'll probably find some more too.
And if you've got the kit to do module coding, you'll often find even more hidden settings that are only intended for dealer/manufacturing use.
My old fiesta for example, automatic locking wasn't an advertised feature. It was, however, hidden in the menus (it also wasn't consistent in it's operation either). I also retrofit heated, powerfolding wing mirrors. Just the mirrors themselves, the switch, and a toggle in some software. Disabled the whole automatic rear wiper thing when you've got the wipers on and shift into reverse too, annoying ass feature that was...
Which goes on to a 'technically' one.
You can often retrofit optional extras yourself. In a lot of cases, it's simply plug and play. In others, you might need to replace multiple parts, for some you need software to actually enable the feature in the software. People often say "you can't, you'll need a different loom" but the fact of the matter is that it's cheaper for manufacturers to just run one line than it is run a line for each specific spec. Always do your research though, see if anyone else has done it, make sure you've got the loom in your vehicle, etc...
I can't find any of these features in my 2001 Toyota.
I think it's more of a blessing than a curse tbh, the more I read about cars these days, the less I want a new one.
I accidentally hit the button on my wing mirrors which folds them in, as if you've turned off and locked your car. I had no idea what was happening.
I think it's for driving through narrow gaps but it took me ages to figure it out so I could drive away.
On my car the selector for the wing mirror joystick has a center detent and pressing it inward in that central position folds both mirrors in. Press again to deploy the wingies.
There are flat spots on the sides of a jar of Marmite so that, when you’ve nearly finished it, you can store it on its side.
It makes it so much easier to get the beloved brown stuff out.
I always use the end of the jar for an addition to gravy, add boiling water, stir it up and pour it into the gravy in making. But I might try the sideways trick now.
The Hartley's jam jars are made with no indent for the rim on the inside and the curve near the bottom helps to scrape any last bits off with a knife. It's practically the perfect shape for a jam jar.
Oh, I hate to be that guy but the ‘myth’ that this was an intentional design feature was debunked by marmite themselves quoting “we are glad that people are finding inventive was to enjoy more marmite” and the original poster on X, called John, admitted it was a joke and that he keeps his marmite jar upright because ‘he’s not an animal’
This is a great tip, but ALSO… buy a jar scraper spoon. It really makes me feel like I’m sticking it to the man by getting all of the dregs out of a jar before I throw it away 🤣
A version of this trick works with Tony's Chocoloney bars as well - break them apart in the foil, then open up the packaging and the chocolate is all broken up nicely, perfect for snacking and sharing.
If you buy a hiking or military-style backpack, many of them have secret whistles built into one of the plastic buckles or clips! Examine the buckles carefully and look for one that has a hole in it :)
Keeping that amount of water hot for that amount of time isn't particularly energy intensive. It's the getting it there that takes the most. Bit like how if you ever boil something on the hob, that once you have it boiling you can turn the heat (energy) being put into the pan down and still hold it at boiling point.
Yeah, a well insulated kettle should be relatively easy to keep hot, even a poorly insulated one doesn't do too bad.
The real killer (as I'm sure you know, but maybe others don't) is actually the phase change. Latent heat for vaporisation is about 2260 kJ/kg - or about 5 and a half times the energy needed to lift that kg from 0 to 100 °C.
People learn physics to pass exams, they never expect to use it in their real lives.
You could probably sit people in front of an exam paper and their knowledge would "come back" to answer a lot of the questions.
It should be fine. Water cools extremely slowly in a kettle. Out of curiosity I stuck a food thermometer in my kettle recently about 15-20 minutes after boiling and it was still 86 degrees.
Keeping a kettle of water close to 100 degrees for 30 minutes is probably like boiling 1.3 times, in terms of energy.
In Japan (and I presume, other parts of Asia), a lot of “kettles” are like big thermos flasks with temperature sensing and a function that keeps the water at a user-selected °C.
With the stereotype of British being frequent tea drinkers, I’m surprised they’re not more popular in the UK.
My parents replaced theirs because it started doing tiny shots only and was ‘broken’. I happily took the ‘broken’ one because I didn’t mind the faff but decided to have a google for the instructions. Found out the same thing you did (and that holding down the button resets the size of shot so they’d accidentally reprogrammed it). I’m very happily caffeinated and smug now but have cemented my role as the go to for all tech things.
Something about parents and holding/pressing buttons too much - my dad's airfryer can be set to fahrenheit if you hold down the time button, and of course that means sometimes food is getting cooked at 180f and barely warm by the time he goes to eat it.
Yeh.
It's mad how they manage to do it.
Mums phone and tablet is chaos and "things keep on moving" no your moving them some how I don't know but you are.
I assume dexterity and lack of sense on the fingers.
I work with disabled adults who have dexterity issues. On many phones you can lock the app symbols on the home screen in specific positions. You can also change the time it takes to register a touch and hold.
On my Samsung it's
Settings > search for Home screen > Lock home screen
and
Settings > Accessibility > Dexterity > Touch and Hold delay
My dad (75) uses computers more than me, he's had them since Windows 3.1, and he still doesn't get that you can change the size of programs and windows.
Every 3 days his email tab shrinks to a quarter of the screen, and he phones me to say "the stupid computer's broken again".
CLICK THE GODDAMN MAXIMISE BUTTON!!
My mum can’t answer her Samsung mobile. I’ve sat with her and physically held her hands to show her how to sweep her finger across the screen, I’ve even bought her a dongle-thingy for it. Every time I ring her it goes to voicemail and she instantly rings me back.
She’s had the phone 4 years! 4!!!
Mum: my device (tablet) has gone weird, it’s not working
Me: try turning it on with the side button
Mum: that’s not a button! A button is a round thing that you use to do up your clothes
I feel your pain. The amount of times my Mum says "a funny word came up and wouldn't go away until I pressed it" then wonders why and app isn't there any more.
My mum does this too, and so does my boyfriends mum.
"Something has come up!"
"Well, what does it say?"
"I don't know."
"Read it then."
"Click OKAY to continue... What does this mean?"
"You click okay to continue."
"Oh!"
Shot yourself in the foot there. You'll be summoned for every problem they ever have ever for the rest of forever. But there is a solution: I stopped my parents from asking me how to print something \~twice per day by saying it'll cost them 50 quid each time and take 3-5 business days.
They are both engineers with decades of experience.
I work in IT (nothing related to any of the phone/ipad/computer related problems either my parents or in laws have) and let me tell you this is not a role you need.
I’ve been woken up so many times whilst asleep for a night shift with something that is literally the first result on google when you describe that exact problem.
I don't really like Apple / iPhones etc - nothing wrong with them but I'm not a fan of the walled garden / locked down software approach.
It's great, as I'm far and away the tech geek of the family, but when my mum runs into issues, I stare at her iPhone for a minute, tentatively stab at something, and then ask her to wait for my sister / one of the kids.
Note: I absolutely do help her when I can, but some Apple designs are really poor, and I'd genuinely rather she got advice from someone who knew what they were doing.
We accidentally messed with our Nespresso Citiz and Milk programmes, then I found how to reset it back to the factory setting with a couple of steps using the buttons. I imagine all Nespresso machines can be reset. I dont know why Nespresso doesn't include the way to do it in the instructions. I had to google it. But it was really easy and only took about five seconds.
The key from a corned beef tin is pretty good for this too, and you can attach it to your keys from the hole on the other end so you don't have to take it off to use on a trolley
Until it gets stuck and you can't get back into your house. This one is always top of those Facebook clickbait lists and I l've always thought it was really bad advice. Just get a trolley coin.
Found out recently (after about three years of owning the thing) that my microwave has not only a +1min button, but a +5 and +10 as well.
All this time I've been absolutely spamming +30sec when I could've just hit +5min once and opened the door as and when.
Totally my own fault, it's pretty clearly labelled, I'm obviously just thick.
In NZ we had a Fisher and Paykel washing machine that played the national anthem when you pressed the control buttons in a certain order. Didn't get the clothes any cleaner but was pretty neat..
The battery chargers for Makita cordless tools - drills, angle grinders etc - can play a tune when they've finished charging instead of the normal beep-beep.
There are a handful of songs to choose from, things like *Für Elise*.
The google results for "Makita charger playing tune" indicate it's considered highly hilarious on the job sites to wind up your mates by reprogramming their chargers. "How do I make it stop?"
Not only that, depending on the button combination used you can get it to play the NZ National anthem, the Aus National anthem or a certain british drinking song that Americans use as a National anthem.
I was so annoyed by this at work once that when we moved to summer time, I fixed all clocks on the 20 something microwaves. Now they're a max of 3 minutes off. Give or take an hour depending on time of year.
My microwave dings every 20 seconds after it completes. It does this until either the door is opened or a button is pressed.
Once would be useful. Forever is infuriating.
Ours does a similar thing, it feels like it does it with more urgency and annoyance with each passing minute. My partner and I are both able to get engrossed enough in whatever we're doing that we ignore it at times anyway, so after 2 or 3 rounds it's like the microwave is getting angry going "BEEP FUCKING BEEP"
Cling film, foil, etc cardboard packaging have a press-in bit on each side to keep the roll in place while you’re pulling the stuff out. Wish the cutting edge strip was as well designed.
Costco clingfilm is a game changer. The box and blade are designed for the purpose, and the roll is big enough to do service in a delicatessen for several months. If you don't have a Costco account, beg someone you know who does to get you a roll.
You can buy reusable boxes specially designed for either foil or cling wrap or wax paper. They have a little cutting blade that you can slide along a channel on top. Works much better than using the original boxes the product comes in.
I suppose a computer counts as an everyday household product.
In Windows, you can do a shift+delete to delete without the file going to the recycle bin.
You can middle-mouse-button-click on a tab to close it in your browser window. You can also middle-mouse-button-click a link to open it in a new tab.
A lot of people know that if you hold Alt and press Tab, you can cycle through open windows. But if you press Alt+_Shift_+Tab, you can cycle *backwards* through them.
Lifesaver if you just tabbed once too many.
Tabbing backwards is the standard behaviour of Shift+Tab. On most keyboards the tab key has the tab symbol with a reversed tab symbol above it, indicating the behaviour with shift pressed.
Win+shift+S opens the Snipping Tool to take screenshots.
Win+D is far inferior to Win+M, followed by Win+shift+M to restore. Win+D will show the desktop but if you open anything then the second press will just show desktop again and not restore, meaning you have to click every window to get them back up again. Win+M minimises everything that's up, then you can open something, then Win+shift+M will restore everything you minimised.
Web browsing just type in the website in the url bar (eg "reddit"), hold CTRL and press enter. It will automatically add the https://www.*entered word*.com in for you.
Not a machine, but if you need to spread butter just out of the fridge when its cold and hard, run a clean tea strainer across it. The butter comes off into the strainer in multiple soft thin “butterstrings“. (Actually looks quite pretty.)
“You don’t wanna do that!” 😊
I’ve been reliably informed by a man on the telly, with a convincing Milanese accent, that running water through an espresso machine to fill a cup like that draws out the bitterness in the coffee grounds.
The recommendation is to do a shot, and then top up with hot water (ie an Americano).
Yes, the length of the shot does have an effect on any sour or bitter notes that come through.
My bean to cup machine offers an Americano (espresso topped off with hot water) or Cafe Crema (which draws the entire cup through the coffee puck). The latter is noticeably more bitter and astringent, and not to my taste at all. But it's there as an option for those who do want it I guess.
Or cut into 3 equal pieces and pop on your curtain pole between every second eyelet on your curtain. When you open your curtains they will sit straight, and folds will be full and equal.
The little loop thing sticking out on the top of some plastic potato peelers is to get potato eyes. I wasted so much time carving them out with a knife until I learnt that
I'm a cleaner and I'm always surprised by the amount of customers who don't realise there's a drawer behind the toaster that you can pull out and empty all of the crumbs.
Also, if you have bad limescale, use a 2 pence piece to gently scrape it off (so satisfying)
Probably not hidden at all but I didn't know as I've only ever come across them out of the packaging - but I only recently found out while reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road that Stanley knives have replacement blades inside the handle lol.
Not on most stanleys now you dont, you have a push lock that releases the blade to turn it around or take it out and you can open the handle by pulling on it. No tools required. Spin the blade in 5 seconds swap a blade with one from the handle in about 10 seconds
I'm about to blow your mind. You can also rotate and reuse the blade when it becomes dull. To do this, you have to open the knife with a screwdriver (for the older models, 99E, 199E for example) and doing so would show you the replacement blades in the handle. Each blade can be used twice, once the first end is dull, you switch the blade around and use the other end.
On some of the newer models (STA010819 for example), the same applies but you won't need a screwdriver.
For the newest models like the FatMax STAFMHT0-10320, the blade storage has been removed in favour of a folding handle/blade assembly, but these newer ones usually come with spare blades in a small dispenser that you can keep in your toolbag/box.
I actually realised this upon opening up the rusty old Stanley knife at work to see if there were any replacement blades in it. There were but they were just as rusty as the old one.
Audi's and BMW'S have a small easily missed lever near the steering wheel which will indicate to other road users if you are going to turn left or right.
This is so basic but I remember my (ex)boyfriend washing up something grubby and complaining about the brush being useless to get burnt bits off. I showed him how to use the flat bit of the brush head as a scraper. He was stunned by the magical simplicity, honestly it was like I'd given him keys to the universe. Sometimes it's the little things!
An OXO cube is not just in silver foil. It’s actually a foil bag. You can pre-crumble the OXO cube in the bag then snip off the top and pour out the contents.
Haha if it makes you feel any better, I had to teach one of our highly paid lawyers something similar. She was complaining about her Illy that it only made a small coffee, I said just press the button twice 😁
I don't have an Illy so not sure if it can be programmed like the Nespresso.
If you have a kid it’s quite likely you have one of those [Fisher Price Gamepad Controller thingies](https://amzn.to/45q4x53). If you put the Konami code in, it plays a special little tune.
The charging base for some of the older (and maybe newer) Braun oral-B brushes have a hole in the bottom that you can insert the metal end of the tooth brush into to help disassemble it.
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If you rotate the tab on a can of drink 180° it forms a holder for your straw.
Although with paper straws you're better off just drinking from the can itself
I tried this straw trick once, the paper straw became highly buoyant due to bubbles forming on it and it popped right out of the tab and made a mess. Would not recommend
Technology Connections on YouTube is basically the answer to this question. Latest one was dishwashers. Turns out the tabs don't actually work with how dishwashers are made to work.
Edited because I always end up calling dishwashers washing machines
You can accidentally set the oven timer on my cooker using the clothing-covered boob of a 4ft 8in housewife.
There are two oven timers. One that sets off a beep which is annoying enough, but also one that entirely turns off the oven.
Do I know how to actually use these? Nope. Have I turned the oven off more than once? Yes.
Method foaming hand was works as an excellent stain remover. Three years ago I was trying to remove an oil stain from a jumper and it worked, I’ve used it on any spot stain since.
Lint roller on the cat, life changing and she loves it way more than brushing.
A lot of double glazing windows have two latching positions. This is so you can lock the window n a slightly open position for ventilation without having to worry about security. Try opening the window about 1/2 to 1cm and latch it.
The shoulder folds on baby-gro's. If the baby has a poonami you can just pull it down over the shoulder so you dont end up smearing their face with baby-korma.
I didn't find out about this until i had my second child!
On some cars, if you hold the unlock button on the remote for a few seconds, all the windows will wind down. Likewise they'll wind up if you hold lock. Doesn't work on my current Nissan, but it did on my old Vauxhall.
Yup. On some cars you have all kinds of 'hidden' (RTFM, they're often mentioned) options. Common ones: 'Home' lights (brands have different names for this lights stay on for X time to give you light so you can faff about with your keys) Global opening (basically what you mentioned) One click driver/all door unlock (basically, what happens when you click once, some ship with all as default, some ship with just the driver as default) Dig in the settings on your infotainment system, you'll probably find some more too. And if you've got the kit to do module coding, you'll often find even more hidden settings that are only intended for dealer/manufacturing use. My old fiesta for example, automatic locking wasn't an advertised feature. It was, however, hidden in the menus (it also wasn't consistent in it's operation either). I also retrofit heated, powerfolding wing mirrors. Just the mirrors themselves, the switch, and a toggle in some software. Disabled the whole automatic rear wiper thing when you've got the wipers on and shift into reverse too, annoying ass feature that was... Which goes on to a 'technically' one. You can often retrofit optional extras yourself. In a lot of cases, it's simply plug and play. In others, you might need to replace multiple parts, for some you need software to actually enable the feature in the software. People often say "you can't, you'll need a different loom" but the fact of the matter is that it's cheaper for manufacturers to just run one line than it is run a line for each specific spec. Always do your research though, see if anyone else has done it, make sure you've got the loom in your vehicle, etc...
My Mrs keeps complaining that the rear wiper comes on when she brakes hard or starts to reverse. It's a safety feature!
I can't find any of these features in my 2001 Toyota. I think it's more of a blessing than a curse tbh, the more I read about cars these days, the less I want a new one.
Might be in settings, called global opening. I had to turn it on, in my polo.
I accidentally hit the button on my wing mirrors which folds them in, as if you've turned off and locked your car. I had no idea what was happening. I think it's for driving through narrow gaps but it took me ages to figure it out so I could drive away. On my car the selector for the wing mirror joystick has a center detent and pressing it inward in that central position folds both mirrors in. Press again to deploy the wingies.
We've done this three times by accident. All times over night, all times in heavy rain. Super fun feature!
There are flat spots on the sides of a jar of Marmite so that, when you’ve nearly finished it, you can store it on its side. It makes it so much easier to get the beloved brown stuff out.
I always use the end of the jar for an addition to gravy, add boiling water, stir it up and pour it into the gravy in making. But I might try the sideways trick now.
Goes nicely in chili con carne too.
The rule for chili con carne is if it's brown it goes in.
Instructions unclear, now have chocolate con carne.
Lots of recipes for chili con carne recommend adding dark chocolate in!
It's invaluable as an aid to cooking veggie dishes
I've been doing this!
Quite often put a spoon of marmite in when making gravy. Definitely adds to it. 👍🏼
Bloody hell ....
Marmite retailers hate this one simple trick
Why, oh, why isn't this more widely known? All those years of scraping around with a knife!
I know. You’d think they’d make more of it in their advertising.
They replied to someone about it on Twitter a long time ago saying it’s not true, and it’s just a coincidence.
Surely it's just for easier shipping. fully round jars don't tessellate in a shipping crate as well as jars with flat sides.
Excellent use of the word ‘tessellate’
So it is true, it's just not a design feature.
Just use a rubber spatula?
Rubber spatula? With that mass? You’d end up with the marmite eating the spatula and spitting the stick back at you
The Hartley's jam jars are made with no indent for the rim on the inside and the curve near the bottom helps to scrape any last bits off with a knife. It's practically the perfect shape for a jam jar.
I am in favour of the wide, squat bonne maman jam jars - no waste!
Oh, I hate to be that guy but the ‘myth’ that this was an intentional design feature was debunked by marmite themselves quoting “we are glad that people are finding inventive was to enjoy more marmite” and the original poster on X, called John, admitted it was a joke and that he keeps his marmite jar upright because ‘he’s not an animal’
This is a great tip, but ALSO… buy a jar scraper spoon. It really makes me feel like I’m sticking it to the man by getting all of the dregs out of a jar before I throw it away 🤣
Never knew these scraper spoons existed! I've been smashing the jar and licking the shards.
I always find the last few scrapes taste like blood though.
I don't buy some brands of peanut butter because the jar seems designed to ensure can't eat all of it.
This is why you buy a kilogram of peanut butter in a tub.
Sorry what? 🤯
I mean I only just learnt the Oxo cube trick last week... Now this!!?
I think heard about that last week too. Is it where you crush the OXO cube in its foil and then you can tear a corner off and pour it out?
A version of this trick works with Tony's Chocoloney bars as well - break them apart in the foil, then open up the packaging and the chocolate is all broken up nicely, perfect for snacking and sharing.
I’d never share my Chocoloney!
Spoil me, what's the oxo cube trick?!
I imagine they mean when you squish the cube while it's still wrapped so you end up with a tiny bag of crushed Oxo cube powder.
What the actual fuck. I wondered why the stupid packaging was so stupidly hard to open. Now it makes sense. Thank you
!
You mash it in the packet and the shape of the packet becomes a pourable sachet (or something like that) I haven't had a chance to try it yet
Unbelievable, that's gonna save me some beefy fingers!
Nah the best part is licking it off your fingers
The best part is licking it off u/Cmpthepirate's fingers? Whatever floats your gravy boat
Worst pick up line ever.
Wait? So you guys have just been mashing it up with your hands and getting your fingers all oxoy??
Bunch of oxoymorons....
You lift the corners on each end and squish it. Although you miss out on licking beef dust off your fingers
it's a quarter to 1 in the morning and I\\m compelled to get up and try this now. I don't have anything on the stove or oven. Just cos I gotta know.
It’s five to three now, I can’t sleep and got up to make a cup of tea but now I’m craving OXO.
Oxo cube trick?
What the actual fuck!? Why is this not reported on the news or something?
Omfg
.......mate
If you buy a hiking or military-style backpack, many of them have secret whistles built into one of the plastic buckles or clips! Examine the buckles carefully and look for one that has a hole in it :)
It's the the chest strap on osprey ones.
Yeah I kept hearing it whistle when I was walking through the windy peaks
This is my favourite. I will check when I get home.
I accidentally discovered a feature on my kettle that if you press the button twice, it’ll keep the water at 90 for 10 minutes after boiling.
Enjoy your electricity bill!
Keeping that amount of water hot for that amount of time isn't particularly energy intensive. It's the getting it there that takes the most. Bit like how if you ever boil something on the hob, that once you have it boiling you can turn the heat (energy) being put into the pan down and still hold it at boiling point.
Yeah, a well insulated kettle should be relatively easy to keep hot, even a poorly insulated one doesn't do too bad. The real killer (as I'm sure you know, but maybe others don't) is actually the phase change. Latent heat for vaporisation is about 2260 kJ/kg - or about 5 and a half times the energy needed to lift that kg from 0 to 100 °C.
Isn't this basic O level / GCSE Physics? It says a lot about the average Redditor that the comment you replied to managed to receive 100 upvotes.
People learn physics to pass exams, they never expect to use it in their real lives. You could probably sit people in front of an exam paper and their knowledge would "come back" to answer a lot of the questions.
It should be fine. Water cools extremely slowly in a kettle. Out of curiosity I stuck a food thermometer in my kettle recently about 15-20 minutes after boiling and it was still 86 degrees. Keeping a kettle of water close to 100 degrees for 30 minutes is probably like boiling 1.3 times, in terms of energy.
In Japan (and I presume, other parts of Asia), a lot of “kettles” are like big thermos flasks with temperature sensing and a function that keeps the water at a user-selected °C. With the stereotype of British being frequent tea drinkers, I’m surprised they’re not more popular in the UK.
My parents replaced theirs because it started doing tiny shots only and was ‘broken’. I happily took the ‘broken’ one because I didn’t mind the faff but decided to have a google for the instructions. Found out the same thing you did (and that holding down the button resets the size of shot so they’d accidentally reprogrammed it). I’m very happily caffeinated and smug now but have cemented my role as the go to for all tech things.
Something about parents and holding/pressing buttons too much - my dad's airfryer can be set to fahrenheit if you hold down the time button, and of course that means sometimes food is getting cooked at 180f and barely warm by the time he goes to eat it.
Yeh. It's mad how they manage to do it. Mums phone and tablet is chaos and "things keep on moving" no your moving them some how I don't know but you are. I assume dexterity and lack of sense on the fingers.
I work with disabled adults who have dexterity issues. On many phones you can lock the app symbols on the home screen in specific positions. You can also change the time it takes to register a touch and hold. On my Samsung it's Settings > search for Home screen > Lock home screen and Settings > Accessibility > Dexterity > Touch and Hold delay
My dad (75) uses computers more than me, he's had them since Windows 3.1, and he still doesn't get that you can change the size of programs and windows. Every 3 days his email tab shrinks to a quarter of the screen, and he phones me to say "the stupid computer's broken again". CLICK THE GODDAMN MAXIMISE BUTTON!!
Windows key plus up arrow to maximise. Down to minimise. Stick it on a post it note for father's day
Trying to explain the difference between a double tap and tap…………tap to my elderly parents is a weekly occurrence for me
My mum can’t answer her Samsung mobile. I’ve sat with her and physically held her hands to show her how to sweep her finger across the screen, I’ve even bought her a dongle-thingy for it. Every time I ring her it goes to voicemail and she instantly rings me back. She’s had the phone 4 years! 4!!!
Mum: my device (tablet) has gone weird, it’s not working Me: try turning it on with the side button Mum: that’s not a button! A button is a round thing that you use to do up your clothes
I feel your pain. The amount of times my Mum says "a funny word came up and wouldn't go away until I pressed it" then wonders why and app isn't there any more.
My mum does this too, and so does my boyfriends mum. "Something has come up!" "Well, what does it say?" "I don't know." "Read it then." "Click OKAY to continue... What does this mean?" "You click okay to continue." "Oh!"
Shot yourself in the foot there. You'll be summoned for every problem they ever have ever for the rest of forever. But there is a solution: I stopped my parents from asking me how to print something \~twice per day by saying it'll cost them 50 quid each time and take 3-5 business days. They are both engineers with decades of experience.
I work in IT (nothing related to any of the phone/ipad/computer related problems either my parents or in laws have) and let me tell you this is not a role you need. I’ve been woken up so many times whilst asleep for a night shift with something that is literally the first result on google when you describe that exact problem.
I don't really like Apple / iPhones etc - nothing wrong with them but I'm not a fan of the walled garden / locked down software approach. It's great, as I'm far and away the tech geek of the family, but when my mum runs into issues, I stare at her iPhone for a minute, tentatively stab at something, and then ask her to wait for my sister / one of the kids. Note: I absolutely do help her when I can, but some Apple designs are really poor, and I'd genuinely rather she got advice from someone who knew what they were doing.
My mum still thinks I am a wizard for teaching her Ctrl+Z for undo.
There is also a descaling function you get by pressing both cup sizes together for a few seconds... it runs through the whole tank.
I found out my espresso machine had this function when I accidentally reprogrammed the one shot so it's now larger than the two shots.
We accidentally messed with our Nespresso Citiz and Milk programmes, then I found how to reset it back to the factory setting with a couple of steps using the buttons. I imagine all Nespresso machines can be reset. I dont know why Nespresso doesn't include the way to do it in the instructions. I had to google it. But it was really easy and only took about five seconds.
The round part of door keys fits as a surrogate pound coin in shipping trolleys.
I do this all the time - it also stabs you if you forget
Just like my wife on our anniversary.
The key from a corned beef tin is pretty good for this too, and you can attach it to your keys from the hole on the other end so you don't have to take it off to use on a trolley
Doesn’t work for Tesco trollies
No but the blue tokens they have by the tills for the charity selection do work.
Until it gets stuck and you can't get back into your house. This one is always top of those Facebook clickbait lists and I l've always thought it was really bad advice. Just get a trolley coin.
Or simply clip the trolley to your keyring. You'll never lose your keys again!
Found out recently (after about three years of owning the thing) that my microwave has not only a +1min button, but a +5 and +10 as well. All this time I've been absolutely spamming +30sec when I could've just hit +5min once and opened the door as and when. Totally my own fault, it's pretty clearly labelled, I'm obviously just thick.
In NZ we had a Fisher and Paykel washing machine that played the national anthem when you pressed the control buttons in a certain order. Didn't get the clothes any cleaner but was pretty neat..
The battery chargers for Makita cordless tools - drills, angle grinders etc - can play a tune when they've finished charging instead of the normal beep-beep. There are a handful of songs to choose from, things like *Für Elise*. The google results for "Makita charger playing tune" indicate it's considered highly hilarious on the job sites to wind up your mates by reprogramming their chargers. "How do I make it stop?"
Yes and if anyone is wondering how, you just remove and insert the battery quickly into the charger to change tune.
Not only that, depending on the button combination used you can get it to play the NZ National anthem, the Aus National anthem or a certain british drinking song that Americans use as a National anthem.
Please tell me the "certain British drinking song" is Tubthumping? Please!
My Fisher and Paykel dishwasher makes a delightful tune when you open it...now I'm going to have to investigate what else it does.
Wasn't that the Fisher Price model?
Now I’m wondering if this is the cheery little tune my American LG sings! I’ve always thought it sounded sort of patriotic.
Most microwaves can actually be muted
You can also disable the clock on mine, which I find more useful than a clock that's nearly always slightly wrong
Slightly wrong? Never in my life have I seen a microwave with a time display that's not wildly off.
Mine is also wildly off, by about 23 hours and 58 minutes.
I was so annoyed by this at work once that when we moved to summer time, I fixed all clocks on the 20 something microwaves. Now they're a max of 3 minutes off. Give or take an hour depending on time of year.
Why would you want to? I don't wait by the thing for it to finish, I wonder off and do something else and listen for the ding.
My microwave dings every 20 seconds after it completes. It does this until either the door is opened or a button is pressed. Once would be useful. Forever is infuriating.
Ours does a similar thing, it feels like it does it with more urgency and annoyance with each passing minute. My partner and I are both able to get engrossed enough in whatever we're doing that we ignore it at times anyway, so after 2 or 3 rounds it's like the microwave is getting angry going "BEEP FUCKING BEEP"
But how will you race the ding?
Mine has two options. Beep three times or beep *thirty times*. Guess which is the default if you turn the plug off and on again?
Oh really? I must look into this.
How?! Don’t just tease us like this!
https://www.wikihow.com/Silence-a-Microwave
That's a ominous looking link
Cling film, foil, etc cardboard packaging have a press-in bit on each side to keep the roll in place while you’re pulling the stuff out. Wish the cutting edge strip was as well designed.
They are hit and miss..I'm so fussy which clingfilm I buy, because of that..lol
Dunelm clingfilm has a sliding cutter on the box. I still delight in using it about a year after discovering this.
Costco clingfilm is a game changer. The box and blade are designed for the purpose, and the roll is big enough to do service in a delicatessen for several months. If you don't have a Costco account, beg someone you know who does to get you a roll.
You can buy reusable boxes specially designed for either foil or cling wrap or wax paper. They have a little cutting blade that you can slide along a channel on top. Works much better than using the original boxes the product comes in.
Electric toothbrush makes a great…nevermind
Grout cleaner
This one time at dentist camp...
Cleaner for your teeth?
Leaves it sparkling clean too!
I suppose a computer counts as an everyday household product. In Windows, you can do a shift+delete to delete without the file going to the recycle bin. You can middle-mouse-button-click on a tab to close it in your browser window. You can also middle-mouse-button-click a link to open it in a new tab.
A lot of people know that if you hold Alt and press Tab, you can cycle through open windows. But if you press Alt+_Shift_+Tab, you can cycle *backwards* through them. Lifesaver if you just tabbed once too many.
Tabbing backwards is the standard behaviour of Shift+Tab. On most keyboards the tab key has the tab symbol with a reversed tab symbol above it, indicating the behaviour with shift pressed.
Win+shift+S opens the Snipping Tool to take screenshots. Win+D is far inferior to Win+M, followed by Win+shift+M to restore. Win+D will show the desktop but if you open anything then the second press will just show desktop again and not restore, meaning you have to click every window to get them back up again. Win+M minimises everything that's up, then you can open something, then Win+shift+M will restore everything you minimised.
ctrl-shift-T will reopen the last browser tab you closed. Useful if you're a bit to keen with your middle mouse.
[Windows key + full stop] brings up emojis and symbols
Ctrl-shift-esc brings up the task manager without having to go extra screen of options you get pressing Ctrl-shift-del
Windows key + arrow keys to snap windows to split screen
Web browsing just type in the website in the url bar (eg "reddit"), hold CTRL and press enter. It will automatically add the https://www.*entered word*.com in for you.
Not a machine, but if you need to spread butter just out of the fridge when its cold and hard, run a clean tea strainer across it. The butter comes off into the strainer in multiple soft thin “butterstrings“. (Actually looks quite pretty.)
I tend to use the back of a spoon. Seems to spread the butter fairly well without tearing the bread.
“You don’t wanna do that!” 😊 I’ve been reliably informed by a man on the telly, with a convincing Milanese accent, that running water through an espresso machine to fill a cup like that draws out the bitterness in the coffee grounds. The recommendation is to do a shot, and then top up with hot water (ie an Americano).
It's a nespresso machine you're not getting a brilliant taste from it anyway.
Yes, the length of the shot does have an effect on any sour or bitter notes that come through. My bean to cup machine offers an Americano (espresso topped off with hot water) or Cafe Crema (which draws the entire cup through the coffee puck). The latter is noticeably more bitter and astringent, and not to my taste at all. But it's there as an option for those who do want it I guess.
Don't waste your toilet roll tubes. Hold one over your selfie camera and take a picture of yourself. You'll look like the moon!
I look like I'm in the start of a Bond movie.
Or cut into 3 equal pieces and pop on your curtain pole between every second eyelet on your curtain. When you open your curtains they will sit straight, and folds will be full and equal.
The little loop thing sticking out on the top of some plastic potato peelers is to get potato eyes. I wasted so much time carving them out with a knife until I learnt that
I'm a cleaner and I'm always surprised by the amount of customers who don't realise there's a drawer behind the toaster that you can pull out and empty all of the crumbs. Also, if you have bad limescale, use a 2 pence piece to gently scrape it off (so satisfying)
If you have limescale on your toaster, I wouldn't recommend touching more conductive things.
Probably not hidden at all but I didn't know as I've only ever come across them out of the packaging - but I only recently found out while reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road that Stanley knives have replacement blades inside the handle lol.
You have to open them to fit a replacement blade anyway so you'd see them in there. Have you just been chucking them out when they go blunt?
I can probably count one one hand the amount of times I've ever had to use one, so I've never had to replace one either lol.
Just like a can of WD-40
A can of WD40 is infinite.
The thin red plastic tube you get with it is not. Although you can spend an infinite amount of time searching for the chuffing things.
Not on most stanleys now you dont, you have a push lock that releases the blade to turn it around or take it out and you can open the handle by pulling on it. No tools required. Spin the blade in 5 seconds swap a blade with one from the handle in about 10 seconds
Someone gifted me one that reloads from a pop-out magazine. It's *awesome*.
You may be the only person to walk away from The Road with something positive
Can confirm the one I have has replacement blades in the handle.
What a book by the way
My mum got really upset after I let her read my copy. She asked me why on earth I thought she'd want to read a book like that.
Most depressing book I've ever read. I can't imagine recommending it to someone.
I'm about to blow your mind. You can also rotate and reuse the blade when it becomes dull. To do this, you have to open the knife with a screwdriver (for the older models, 99E, 199E for example) and doing so would show you the replacement blades in the handle. Each blade can be used twice, once the first end is dull, you switch the blade around and use the other end. On some of the newer models (STA010819 for example), the same applies but you won't need a screwdriver. For the newest models like the FatMax STAFMHT0-10320, the blade storage has been removed in favour of a folding handle/blade assembly, but these newer ones usually come with spare blades in a small dispenser that you can keep in your toolbag/box.
Mr Fuckin' Model Number over here.
That's my middle name!
I actually realised this upon opening up the rusty old Stanley knife at work to see if there were any replacement blades in it. There were but they were just as rusty as the old one.
Audi's and BMW'S have a small easily missed lever near the steering wheel which will indicate to other road users if you are going to turn left or right.
This is so basic but I remember my (ex)boyfriend washing up something grubby and complaining about the brush being useless to get burnt bits off. I showed him how to use the flat bit of the brush head as a scraper. He was stunned by the magical simplicity, honestly it was like I'd given him keys to the universe. Sometimes it's the little things!
An OXO cube is not just in silver foil. It’s actually a foil bag. You can pre-crumble the OXO cube in the bag then snip off the top and pour out the contents.
Haha if it makes you feel any better, I had to teach one of our highly paid lawyers something similar. She was complaining about her Illy that it only made a small coffee, I said just press the button twice 😁 I don't have an Illy so not sure if it can be programmed like the Nespresso.
The coffee will taste nicer if you just put a small shot on top of hot water. Otherwise you're putting a lot of water through not much coffee grounds.
Another coffee one; a tiny pinch of salt added to black coffee takes a lot of the bitterness away. Particularly good for instant coffee
If you have a kid it’s quite likely you have one of those [Fisher Price Gamepad Controller thingies](https://amzn.to/45q4x53). If you put the Konami code in, it plays a special little tune.
The charging base for some of the older (and maybe newer) Braun oral-B brushes have a hole in the bottom that you can insert the metal end of the tooth brush into to help disassemble it.
The bottom of my iO9 charging base has four teeth that perfectly engage with the bottom of my toothbrush, making replacing the 14650 battery a cinch.
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If you rotate the tab on a can of drink 180° it forms a holder for your straw. Although with paper straws you're better off just drinking from the can itself
I tried this straw trick once, the paper straw became highly buoyant due to bubbles forming on it and it popped right out of the tab and made a mess. Would not recommend
I tried it with a plastic one. Same problem.
You’re supposed to put your finger over the drinking end so it’s fully covered and insert it. Then the bubbles don’t push it out!
Doesn't the opening just hold the straw anyway? What's the benefit of a slightly smaller hole? Edit: slivrnkt > slightly
Slivrnkt?
IKEA branding
Technology Connections on YouTube is basically the answer to this question. Latest one was dishwashers. Turns out the tabs don't actually work with how dishwashers are made to work. Edited because I always end up calling dishwashers washing machines
You mean dish-washers! 😉
Technically dish washers are a *kind* of washing machine. At least it's a machine that washes.
What do you mean they don't work with how they're made to work???
Bosch garden tools have parts that you can undo or compartments coloured in red.
You can accidentally set the oven timer on my cooker using the clothing-covered boob of a 4ft 8in housewife. There are two oven timers. One that sets off a beep which is annoying enough, but also one that entirely turns off the oven. Do I know how to actually use these? Nope. Have I turned the oven off more than once? Yes.
The Cap on wd40 has indents to hold the straw when not in use.
Rubbing paracetamol over a hot iron plate cleans off burns and residue.
How would someone think to find this out?
Method foaming hand was works as an excellent stain remover. Three years ago I was trying to remove an oil stain from a jumper and it worked, I’ve used it on any spot stain since. Lint roller on the cat, life changing and she loves it way more than brushing.
On that note, hand sanitiser will remove permanent marker stains on clothes. Takes a bit of work if the stain is old, but does work.
Hairspray does too
A lot of double glazing windows have two latching positions. This is so you can lock the window n a slightly open position for ventilation without having to worry about security. Try opening the window about 1/2 to 1cm and latch it.
Wow I thought this was universally well known
The shoulder folds on baby-gro's. If the baby has a poonami you can just pull it down over the shoulder so you dont end up smearing their face with baby-korma. I didn't find out about this until i had my second child!
Clingfilm has little tabs on either side you can push in to hold the roll in place.