These Common Household Items Have Mind-Blowing Hidden Functions

Get ready, because we’re going to expose all the things you didn’t know about these common items you use and see everyday. Most, if not all, will probably surprise you!

To get the lightbulb unscrewed safely, stick half of a potato onto it so that the pointy parts of the broken bulb are well covered. The sharp edge should push into the potato. When you start to twist the potato you should be able to unscrew the light bulb with it. There are so many household items like this one that you can use in handy ways. Who knew potatoes were good for more than eating?

Often, takeout meals come in those iconic paper boxes that we are all too familiar with. These are actually foldable for a reason. You can unfold the corners of the box to lay the takeout dish flat and use it as a plate. No need to use a plate that you’ll have to wash later. This hack is useful for lazy people and busy people alike. Easiest. Dinner. Ever!

Go to your kitchen, grab your foil, and look at the end. See those little perforated tabs? Push them in. Next time you reach in to grab some tin foil, you won’t have to scramble to grasp the roll. The roll will stay snugly inside the box. We’d love to know whose genius idea this way because it’s as if they predicted our problem before we even knew it existed. Problem solved!

All you need is a dust pan with a handle. Take the pan and place it in the sink under the faucet. The handle should be facing out. Put your bucket beneath the handle and turn on the water. Now you’ve got your very own spout to fill your bucket. Full bucket, no struggle. It’s not what the trust dust pan was designed for but we’ll sure take it as a convenient hose extension replacement.

These lines are recommended serving sizes for wine, liquor, and beer. For example, the one ounce is a shot of liquor, the 5 ounce is a serving of wine, and the 12 ounce is a serving of beer. That way you would know how much you should pour in a cup so you don’t over-serve yourself or others. Who would have thought red solo cups could be used as measuring cups?

To prevent your pot from boiling over and making your stovetop a mess, lay a wooden spoon across the top. The way it works is that wood does not absorb water. So when water bubbles up to touch the spoon, it is essentially rejected and the bubbles subside. In so many words, the wooden object makes the water retreat. It keeps the bubbles in the pot and under control! Naturally, any dry wooden object would work, but most people have a wooden spoon handy in the kitchen.

Taking the top off a strawberry can also be a frustrating process because you end up cutting off half the strawberry on accident. Don’t fret, there is an easy solution. Just slide a straw through the berry starting from the bottom and the tops will come right off. Its a simple and quick solution to prepare your delicious snack without losing half of it in the process!

Just let gravity do the work for you by storing the jar upside down. The oil will travel down towards the lid and mix nicely with the peanut butter. If the oil ends up on the other side of the jar, you can always flip it and store it right side up again to let the oils mix again.

It also helps your milk carton expand should you freeze your milk. In addition to allowing your milk room to expand, the circle on the side of the carton also serves another handy purpose. It can indicate to you that the milk has gone bad. If the circle ever pops out towards you, this is most likely an indication that your milk has gone bad because the gas from the sour milk has caused it to expand. The more you know!

Who knew that the hole in the center of your spaghetti spoon is the solution? We thought the hole in the center of this utensil was simply to drain liquid. Like many of these helpful hidden features, its purpose is two-fold. It’s not there just to drain liquid but also to guide your portioning decisions. One serving of uncooked spaghetti will fit through the hole at the center of the spatula.

If you have a warming drawer, you should typically see the words “warming drawer” as a button option on your stove. If you have a gas oven with a narrow drawer, that would be a broiler drawer. If your oven doesn’t have a button and the drawer is rather deep, then this type is strictly made for storage and you should not put your food in it.

Most people do not even notice this arrow because they instinctively know the side of their car the gas tank is located. However, if you are driving a rental or new car, this arrow becomes very handy.

The key is having the right item for the job. A cup-style plunger is better for a sink, while you should use one with a narrower end to clear toilets.

In the 19th century, French sailors were wearing them for functional purposes. The pom-poms on their hats were to protect their heads from hitting the ship’s low ceilings. Many ships had smaller doorways than expected, and the pom-poms absorbed the blow.

Just grab one of the kids’ white crayons and use it to fill those unsightly holes. Fun and functional!

They were made to keep bugs like moths away from a wardrobe because they can damage clothes, especially if they are made of wool. Usually, wooden hangers are made of cedar which is known for its ability to repel moths and other insects.

Those holes are designed to prevent moisture from collecting inside the lock to prevent rust. The hole also can help if your lock gets jammed. If you pour WD-40 or oil in this small hole, that should fix things.

It has more uses than greasing a pan, however. You can also use it to grease hinges! It works great when you’re in a pinch and don’t have WD-40 around.

All you need to do is apply a hole-punched reinforcement sticker to the bottom portion of your nails and paint the tops.

The difference between the blue and the red part is that the blue part can be used on the thicker and tougher types of paper, while the red one should be used on either notebook or loose-leaf paper.

Most people put the flat side against their scalp, but it actually works much better if you use the bumpy side down! This is how they were intended to work, anyways.

Peel from the side to help the note lay flat against the surface and stop the edges from curling up. Who knew there was a “right way” to use sticky notes?!

However, the other side can also be used to seal the bottle! Just make sure to close them with the secure side if you have kiddos around.

If you slide your soft drink straw through the middle of your meal container, your fries and nuggets or burger can rest perfectly, supported by the lid of your drink. This way, your entire meal can fit sturdily inside your cup holder should you find yourself eating in the car.

However, it is too small for that. The real purpose is so you can test cleaning products on this small piece of fabric in order to make sure that a certain cleaning product does not ruin the material before you wash the real thing.

Find the little “57” that’s raised on the side of the bottle, angle the opening toward your fries, and tap that spot with the heel of your hand. It really works!

The next time you’re using French’s Mustard, take a look at the back of the cap. There is actually a tab here to lock the open lid in place. Simply click the lid down and you’ll no longer have to deal with messy mustard caps.

Opening bananas from the top causes bruising and can be frustrating. Flip ‘em around and squeeze the bottom. Ta-da! Your snack is ready.

Remedy that problem with this cool breadclip hack. Lock your socks together and never worry about what your socks are doing when you aren’t looking, again.

The truth is that these squares have nothing to do with your toothpaste’s formulation. It is just a mark for light beam sensors during the manufacturing process to indicate to the machines where one tube ends and the next begins.

Just make sure the burners are off so you don’t solve one problem and cause a much bigger one. Trust us.

If you are ever trapped in a vehicle and need to get out as quickly as possible, the headrests can be used to smash your car windows. It is a rare situation, but you never know what may happen and when you’ll need to know this helpful tip.

Instead of struggling trying to get that next sweet sip, just stick a (biodegradable) straw through the hole! Genius.

Fear not, friends! Did you know that most microwaves have a hidden feature that helps you silence its sounds? Typically, if you hold down a single button on the microwave for a few seconds (try the “1” button), it will activate “silent mode,” and you can now enjoy your microwave at any time of day, free from incessant beeping.

Well, they actually bend at the perfect angle to dump the berries or granola right on top. Maybe these things should come with instructions!

Oh wait, you totally do! Clear nail polish has a number of uses. You can paint it over the sides of a  screw to keep it tightly in place.

An experienced handyman once told us that you can use painter’s masking tape to get a crisp, clean line. Just make sure to remove the tape before the caulk dries fully.

Just pour one cup of dish soap into the bowl and let it stand for about 20 minutes to allow the soap to get rid of the debris causing the clog. Then, flush the debris with a bucket of hot water and your toilet pipes will be debris free.

Save yourself some grief next time you need to do some quick math. When using the built-in calculator app, you can simply swipe right to delete the last number you entered.

The packets of this gel also have different uses, including drying out a wet smartphone that you dropped in water or helping your clothes smell fresh. Therefore, next time you find these items in a shoe box, do not throw them away.

Not only is this more efficient than washing these items by hand, but it saves you a ton of water too. You can also use the rinse-only cycle to wash vegetables, the steam setting to cook salmon, and much more.

The second purpose is to let you be creative with laces. Yes, you do not have to choose traditional lacing techniques all the time – there are other more creative ways to lace your shoes by using these two holes.

These helpful ‘fins’ or ‘combs’ are spaces where the ink can expand into rather than leaking out of the pen all at once. Essentially, this design helps manage ink distribution inside your pen, keeping the ink flow steady and readily available for when you need it.

In addition, it helps improve the quality when you are on the phone or when you are using a virtual assistant.

However, in fact, each color is known for its unique purposes and ingredients. The white color contains substances to remove plaque and whiten teeth. Blue is known for breath-freshening and antimicrobial effects, and red contains the special elements helping to keep your gums healthy.

The first purpose is for stability. Inside the outlet that you plug your electronics into, there are bumps that match up with these holes to create a firm grip. This not only helps the plug from falling out, but also helps for the plug and outlet to have more contact between each other. Another reason for the holes would be for safety. You can slide zip ties with notes or even a small padlock in between the two holes to seal the plug if it shouldn’t be used or if there are special instructions involved. The last reason is for practical monetary reasons as having holes in the prongs means that the manufacturers can use less metal.

They help you find the way back to the home position without the need to look down at the keyboard. Moreover, these bumps also help blind people with typing.

Save yourself the hassle next time and boil a little water in the pan before you clean. Add some vinegar too if it’s nonstick. The results are magic!

The hole in the cap will help the air flow continue through the cap. This means that with the help of the cap’s design, the person who swallowed it will still be able to breathe. While you absolutely shouldn’t be swallowing pen caps, it may help save an innocent child’s life who didn’t know any better.

It appeared on the jeans of cowboys in the 19th century, and its primary purpose was for keeping their watches safe. It has also served many other functions, such as a coin pocket, ticket pocket, key pocket, or even a match pocket.

Well, as a matter of fact it does! The plastic ring on these bottles are very important for keeping your beverage fresh. The ring helps seal the cap tightly down on the bottle so the soda does not go flat prior to when you want to enjoy it. Furthermore, if you ever find this plastic seal on your bottle broken before you twist open your soda yourself, you’ll know it has been tampered with and should not be consumed.

This actually was a security feature that helped prevent the casual fraud from scraping off tiny bits of gold and silver. Nickels and pennies were never made of valuable and expensive materials, so there was no need to add ridges to them.

These holes were created so that runners can lace their running shoes in many ways in order to get the customized support they need while they run. Looping your laces through the top holes will hold the shoe tighter to your foot while also stopping the shoes from rubbing against your skin if you aren’t wearing socks.

In contrast, if the buttons are on the right, it told the world that most likely you were a farmer or commoner, and you were probably dressed by yourself.

In the past, they became really popular among the working class, such as farmers, laborers, miners, ranchers, and other workers with very physical jobs. They all wore jeans, and the metal rivets on them helped to keep their jeans from ripping apart at the seams during their work.

This chocolate is not meant to be eaten all at once but savored slowly piece by piece. The pieces of Toblerone are in triangles so that if you push on the end of one piece with your thumb, it will snap off easily and give you a perfect sized serving of delicious chocolate.

Two years after this acquisition, the company decided to print the candies with a black “m” which eventually became the iconic white marking we know and love today. Customers were encouraged to “Look for the M on every piece” to ensure they were getting the real M&M candies.

These nylon brushes do not allow you to stand too close to the sides as they push your feet away from the escalator’s side panels. These brushes have helped prevent thousands of accidents.

When the airplane reaches cruising altitude, there is a significant pressure difference between the inside and outside of the aircraft. The hole in the airplane window helps regulate this difference. The other purpose of it is to prevent the window from fogging up.

If you happen to be running into an important business meeting and notice an embarrassing hair protruding from your nose or chin, simply hold three coins in the way shown above and use these everyday objects as your makeshift tweezers to save the day. This trick can also be useful if you or even your kids get splinters while out and about and don’t have handy tweezers around.

The hole allows the candy to adhere securely to the stick, ensuring it doesn’t come loose and slip down your throat. It eliminates a choking hazard.

The little bumps on top of the lids are designed to hold a cup in place when used as a coaster. No, they’re not just there to amuse you for a few minutes while you push in the various buttons.

Many bags designed for mountaineers had that little diamond piece to hold essential tools. However, today you’re more likely to use it to hook on your gym shoes or corded headsets.

They are called a panty gusset and have a very specific purpose. Usually, the gussets are made of moisture-wicking, breathable materials in order to keep the privates properly ventilated and dry.

That way, you’ll have a neater-looking, more organized suitcase. Plus, your items will be less wrinkled and you’ll be able to fit more souvenirs to bring home!

Trousers were being made in Europe and then shipped to other countries. Because of how they were folded and the long journey by ship, when they were received by the buyers the crease was not fixable. Because of this, they made it into a fashion statement.

The little tab on the opening of the Tic Tac box perfectly fits a single Tic Tac. When you tilt the box at an angle, one Tic Tac will perfectly slide onto the tab!

The punt also allows sediment in the wine to settle into a tight space at the bottom of the bottle. This prevents it from being released into the wine as you pour it into a glass.

If you’re trying to drain hot grease off a pan or other cooking vessel, make sure to use two layers. Let the grease sit until it is totally cooled, wad up the foil, and toss it in the trash for a mess-free cleanup.

This generates a waveform that corresponds to the light that was reflected. The waveform is then decoded by the barcode reader in a similar manner to how Morse Code dots and dashes are decoded.

However, it is important to keep in mind that there are better products out there for sunburns, so only use this method as a last result. Also, this life hack should never be used for a severe burn, which needs a much stronger product.

This allows the water to leak out slowly, giving the plant a drip of water a little at a time without you having to remember it.

The astringent salicylic acid is plaque-busting. The citric acid in banana peels gently bleaches your teeth, effectively lightening surface stains on your teeth without wearing down the enamel. With this simple trick, you’ll have bright pearly whites within a week!

We all love melty cheese, but wait until it’s off the fire to add your cheddar. It will still melt, but it won’t coat the grill and make it harder to clean.

You’ll also notice that the edge of the measuring tape is a bit serrated. The reason for this is to make it easier to mark a wall or other surfaces if you don’t have a pencil behind your ear at the time of measuring.

You can tilt the mirror to reduce the brightness of the blaring headlights behind you by manually adjusting the angle, thereby deflecting the light while still being able to see that there is a car behind you.

Nothing ever seems to fit back in the cart the way it’s supposed to. These loops are there to help you out in situations like these. Not only can you hang extra baggage off these loops you can always store things like 12-packs of soda on the side to open up more cart space.

The imperfections would create turbulence and reduce drag. Eventually, manufacturers began to design balls with these dimples, creating more lift and greater distance traveled.

The other hidden feature is to keep your saucy stirring spoon from dirtying anything in your kitchen.

These chokes are magnetic iron oxide that helps prevent any high-frequency electromagnetic interference. Those are a lot of big words, so in more simple terms, you know when your phone gets too close to a speaker and makes that horribly pitched noise. This interrupts that.

If you flip the wings, you’ll notice it becomes much easier to wrap the cord around the power block. This makes it neater and tidier to wrap. Just a small hidden detail for those who like to be extra organized.

After you fill up your ketchup, the idea was that upon returning to your seat at the restaurant, you’d open the cup. The small cups are meant to be unfolded and used as a small condiment plate of sorts.

Furthermore, some bottles have more bulbous necks to collect sediments and particles in unfiltered beers. And lastly, the long necks distribute heat throughout the entire bottle.

Ice cream scoops can be served in over a dozen different sizes and is based on how many scoops can go in a cup and how many can full up a 32-ounce container.

Manufacturers of paper began to apply margins to writing paper for the purpose of protecting your written work. In earlier eras, rats were a common unwelcome houseguest in many people’s homes, and one of their favorite snacks was  paper. Applying wide margins to the paper safeguarded against losing important work by leaving blank spaces around the edges for the rats to chew through first, and to protect the writing on the outer edges from general wear and tear.

Using copper and brass as forms of antibacterial properties is rooted in history. Ancient Egyptian medical artifacts documented the application of the metals to treat wounds and sterilize water.

Oversized jackets were issued that could double as blankets during cold nights.. The half-belt was used to gather the extra material and hold it in place so soldiers could walk around without the excess fabric getting in their way.

By doing this you are able to create more torque. This feature is especially helpful at complicated heights and angles.

Fear not, microwave ovens are designed to keep in radiation. Against the glass, there is a protective mesh screen dotted with tiny holes. These holes are spaced appropriately so that the long microwaves are kept bouncing inside the chamber, while also safely allowing you to look through the glass front and view your food’s progress.

 This is important because it keeps rain and water out of the car while holding the glass in place. Secondly, frit offers a more abrasive surface for adhesion to help seal and create a long lasting barrier from outside elements. It also helps to stop you from seeing the “messy part” of the seal.

These extra loops began appearing on dress shirts by the menswear brand GANT in the 1960s and were named “locker loops”. The purpose of them being to keep students’ shirts wrinkle-free in Ivy league locker rooms while the students were in their gym attire.  

Outfits are fitted with plastic loops so that clothes can be hung on hangers properly. This is because not all articles of clothing are created the same and some are made with heavier material, or wider necklines needing the plastic loops to secure the piece to a hanger properly. If you cut the plastic loops out you risk not being able to properly store your new pieces. This could even result in damage to the clothing.

Sometimes the purpose of everyday items gets lost amongst its main function, which in this case is to cart your groceries around while you shop. The manufacturers of grocery carts are more forward-thinking than they are given credit for. These specific loops are for your fragile items like bread and eggs so they don’t get crushed among your other groceries.

The plastic cap can be pulled off of the end of the utility knife and the slit in the end can be used to break off the tip of your blade to reveal a brand new, sharper razor blade. Using the cap instead of your hands to break the scored blade off from the rest of the knife makes it quick, easy, and prevents any unwanted injuries!

The metal plate is called an anvil, and if you turn your stapler upside down you can adjust it by spinning the wheel until it lines up with the seemingly random hole in the metal plate. This essentially puts your stapler into “temporary staple mode”and will adjust the arms of the staple outward making it easier to remove and less noticeable when the staple is removed.

The seemingly basic design of disposable plastic lids is really pretty versatile! The lid once removed from your cup doubles as a coaster. The way the lid perfectly hugs the base of your cup is no accident. These plastic lids are manufactured with this function in mind, and each size fits the corresponding cup’s base.

Originally, keys were arranged in alphabetical order but that way of typing came so naturally because of our ability to remember the alphabet, typists ended up typing too fast and the key “arms” were getting crossed with one another and stuck. Keyboard manufacturers had to randomize the order of keys to intentionally slow down typists to keep the machine running properly. Oddly enough, no one ever tried to change it back.

Additionally, the number of bands indicates which end goes where. Three bands equate to one band per left and right ear, and the third band for grounding, and should be plugged into the stereo or amplifier, while 2 bands indicate the end that plugs into a device.

Lots of people use the penny trick to do a quick check to see if the depth of their tire tread is still ok, but an easy way to tell if you need to get to the tire shop is if the edges of your tire tread are even with the bumps. If this is the case you are driving on legally unsafe tires and you should get yourself to the mechanic quick!