Everyday tips and tricks

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

- Save some large unflatened cardboard boxes and put your recyclable paper inside. Sounds kind of obvious, but a lot of people don't know you can put your recyclable paper inside a cardboard box and then tie the box. It's much easier than tying a bunch of loose paper things.

- Take 4 squares of toilet paper and throw it in the toilet in such a way that it covers the whole surface of the water. This way the soiled water won't splash into you when you're taking a dump. If your toilet has a tendency to clog, don't try it at home, but it's still pretty useful for public restrooms. Personally, my toilet rarely clogs and this trick saves me the work of having to bathe if I get soiled with dirty water.

Share your own or from other people! Be sure they work.

[BryanM]

This way the soiled water won't splash into you when you're taking a dump.... Personally, my toilet rarely clogs and this trick saves me the work of having to bathe if I get soiled with dirty water.

My poops are far too mighty for such shenanigans to have a prayer of working.

Also having to bathe after "dirty nasty" water touches buttcheeks is kind of a non starter. Your anus is soiled with poo after the event, it needs to be bathed in some way, perhaps a bidet. If you have a sweaty, stinky armpit, you don't just wipe it off with tissue paper and call it clean do you? Of course not.

Personally, the most useful thing to know would be how to prevent incomplete voiding. The only remotely effective strategy so far has been to try to go early, which seems to yield a 40/60 success rate.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

All I have to say is try it. You can throw in a little more toilet paper if your shit is so mighty.

[Specineff]

^ ^, V V, <, >, <, >, B, A.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

^ love that one .

Here's another one:
- When working on a hard problem for a long time, let your mind rest for a little while by taking a nap, walk, shower or anything that keeps your mind away from the problem. Often, you'll arrive at the answer easily after the break. Even if you're not hard at work at the problem, it seems like the brain is working on it in the background and being relaxed facilitates coming up with ideas.

[kernow]

Just flush the toilet first, jesus, I had a flatmate who used to stuff wads of bog roll down before dropping the kids off, for fear of splashback. If you flush the toilet first the water is clean surely. You shower every day anyway right? Who cares if you get splashback.

People are dying of hunger in the 3rd world and the nearest worry westerners have is toilet splashback with basically clean water.

Oh what a wonderful world we live in.

[gabe]

If your toilet has a tendency to clog, don't try it at home

This brings up another tip: 98% of all clogs are preventable by using a multi-flush system. This is sometimes referred to as a "courtesy flush."

[TodayIsForgotten]

^ love that one .

Here's another one:
- When working on a hard problem for a long time, let your mind rest for a little while by taking a nap, walk, shower or anything that keeps your mind away from the problem. Often, you'll arrive at the answer easily after the break. Even if you're not hard at work at the problem, it seems like the brain is working on it in the background and being relaxed facilitates coming up with ideas.

I have issues with this one. Retards like myself will come back and quickly arrive at the same dilemma they were in beforehand: "This is impossible!"

[robivy64]

You ALWAYS want to lay a bed of toilet paper when laying down the dirt snake in a public restroom.

This allows the turd to park on the paper flight line, then slowly sink to the bottom.

Receiving the neptune's kiss from public water is not enjoyable.

[jonny5]

easy solution.....dont use public washrooms....or if you really need to, you hover....

[robivy64]

Sometimes you don't have an option. When i'm away from home and squelching back a growler, i'd rather take care of the situation and continue on.

[ncp]

come in thread expecting interesting tips for life
entire thread is about taking a shit
oh okay

[Ed Oscuro]

Tip: Get your laptop serviced before the warranty runs out. >_>

Also, try to keep your eyes level with the top of your monitor (for 17" and so). At least once every half hour, take your eyes off the screen and focus on something farther away (around 20 feet / 6 meters is good).

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

- To keep your original game cases in pristine condition, buy clear cases and put your discs in them. That way you avoid the wear and tear of bringing them around and opening/closing all the time.

[Ed Oscuro]

Make it PVC plastic for the extra win.

[Schrodinger's cat]

This was mindblowing when I first learned about it:

Open a Banana Like a Monkey

[ZOM]

Need help opening that pickle jar? If your strength alone doesn't help, take small rubber band, wrap it around the lid and try again. The rubber's friction will work wonders.

[Klatrymadon]

Don't drink ten pints before going to a bar, with the intention of saving yourself some money. The doormen will not let your slovenly, faltering carcass in, no matter how incredibly harmless and polite you are about it.

(Tip courtesy of a recent embarrassment.)

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Need help opening that pickle jar? If your strength alone doesn't help, take small rubber band, wrap it around the lid and try again. The rubber's friction will work wonders.

Any hard to open pickle container opens easily after poking a hole in the cover and air getting inside. I did that to one that just refused to open no matter what. Problem is that your pickle container has a hole now. However, if you're using all the product, like in the case of tomato sauce, then no problemo.

It's also easier to twist in the opening direction with your left hand. I've opened my fair share of nacho cheese and the like that nobody else could by twisting with my left. I'm right handed by the way.

[Ed Oscuro]

Pickles are scientifically designed to resist atmospheric pressure and contamination in any case, so puncture away! However in the case of tomato paste, fear not; you can drink all the unused contents and the tomato paste actually gives you more antioxidants than eating a couple fresh whole tomatoes would.

Another tomato trick: For maximum enjoyment, do not remove the tomato from the stem until you are just about to eat it. The stem keeps the "volatiles" (aromatic compounds and other things which will float away) from escaping out the hole at the top of the tomato ahead of time. (Source: lifted entirely from Marketplace on NPR the other day)

[chempop]

Am glad that the thread has moved beyond the bowels. Only tip that comes to mind righte now is pretty lame but it has saved me about $100/month.

Make coffee at home in the morning instead of buying it out! I used to think that it took too much time and I needed a nice coffee machine that would take more time to clean yadayada, but a few months ago I bought one of those simple "pour over" funnels for a couple bucks and instead of spending $130+/month (2 cups a day), I buy about 2 pounds of fine ground (that is important!) gourmet beans for about $20 and it lasts about a month.

It's also easier to twist in the opening direction with your left hand.

entirely true, it is because we have more strength pulling our arms apart than we do pushing them inward.

Another tip for opening containers is to tap the lid a whole bunch before you attempt to open it. Also for old restaurant ketchup hold the bottle upside down and gently tap upward at the part where the neck bells out and forms the body of the bottle (usually right above the top of the label, Heinz has a ~57~ at the perfect spot. This works wonders compared to what most people do which is whacking the bottom of the bottle! I think it has something to do with the pressure bouncing back or something.

[Pirate1019]

It's also easier to twist in the opening direction with your left hand. I've opened my fair share of nacho cheese and the like that nobody else could by twisting with my left. I'm right handed by the way.

Being left-handed rules.

Tip: When playing beer pong, try to keep it on the DL if you're left-handed, because if house rules dictate that a re-throw be done with the non-dominant hand, chances are you can just throw again with your good hand and nobody will know.

Because beer pong is worth cheating at.

[Acid King]

This was mindblowing when I first learned about it:

Open a Banana Like a Monkey

Thats pretty awesome.

[SamIAm]

Tip: Get your laptop serviced before the warranty runs out. >_>

Also, try to keep your eyes level with the top of your monitor (for 17" and so). At least once every half hour, take your eyes off the screen and focus on something farther away (around 20 feet / 6 meters is good).

This is good advice, and I can take it a step further. I learned this from my dad, who is a total eye-biology nerd. This applies not only to using computers, but any activity in which you are staring at something within an arm's reach.

If possible, roughly every half-hour, go look at something that is at "infinite distance". That is to say, your eyes have to flex their focus for the maximum distance possible. Mountains work great for this; clouds and airplanes are fine, too. Basically, it's best if its really far away, not just down the block.

My dad does this, and he's got 20/10 vision at 64 years old. Not saying that's the only reason why, of course, but it's definitely good for your eyes.

[KBZ]

this might sounds kinda lame and wussy, but doing stretches everyday can be a real life saver, especially for your back. I've been a cook for a little while and have seen people with some screwed up bodies just from all the taxing movements they need to make on the job. Much of this is avoidable, but just doing a basic stretch like you would have done in Gym class is enough to prevent a minor injury (sprain, carpal tunnel etc), or a longterm injury like a crappy back or bad knee. Doing some at the end of the day will make it easier to sleep as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

Tip: Get your laptop serviced before the warranty runs out. >_>

Also, try to keep your eyes level with the top of your monitor (for 17" and so). At least once every half hour, take your eyes off the screen and focus on something farther away (around 20 feet / 6 meters is good).

This is good advice, and I can take it a step further. I learned this from my dad, who is a total eye-biology nerd. This applies not only to using computers, but any activity in which you are staring at something within an arm's reach.

If possible, roughly every half-hour, go look at something that is at "infinite distance". That is to say, your eyes have to flex their focus for the maximum distance possible. Mountains work great for this; clouds and airplanes are fine, too. Basically, it's best if its really far away, not just down the block.

My dad does this, and he's got 20/10 vision at 64 years old. Not saying that's the only reason why, of course, but it's definitely good for your eyes.

That makes sense to me. I bet you could train your eyes to focus (defocus) as if you were looking at something far away - I know I can defocus easily but I'd have to think about whether it was the same as a close focus or a far focus. It's interesting how the eye focuses faster on objects far away, isn't it?

[Ruldra]

Never lend your game discs to friends. Quite often they are far less careful handling them than you are. The last thing you want is a 60-dollar disc scratched so much it's unplayable.

this might sounds kinda lame and wussy, but doing stretches everyday can be a real life saver, especially for your back. I've been a cook for a little while and have seen people with some screwed up bodies just from all the taxing movements they need to make on the job. Much of this is avoidable, but just doing a basic stretch like you would have done in Gym class is enough to prevent a minor injury (sprain, carpal tunnel etc), or a longterm injury like a crappy back or bad knee. Doing some at the end of the day will make it easier to sleep as well.

Interesting advice, I'll keep that in mind

[Pirate1019]

Never lend your game discs to friends.

As if I own any games my friends want to play.

Still very sound advice though. All of those used PS2 games at Gamestop had cases and manuals at one point in their lifetime.

[robivy64]

When creating a forum username, do not integrate "420", "69", or "Xx xX". Seriously, this makes you look like a douche.

For example: Xxrobivy42069xX =

[Schrodinger's cat]

Never lend your game discs to friends. Quite often they are far less careful handling them than you are. The last thing you want is a 60-dollar disc scratched so much it's unplayable.

Especially if those "friends" lend your games out to their other friends without your permission. It's happened to me before and it took a long ass time to get the game(s) back.