# One Weird Trick... That actually works?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 16, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996 "2016-08-16T15:57:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/1 "2016-08-16T15:57:55Z")
The thread about stupid clickbait ads made me wonder if people have any “weird tricks” that actually work?
The one that comes to mind for me is using toothpaste to clean foggy/hazy headlights. Works like magic! I’m sure any paste with very fine grit works similarly but toothpaste is handy and smells good 😛
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/2 "2016-08-16T16:00:19Z")
Start with the “Hints from Heloise” column and books, ca. 1940. Recycle to the present day.
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### Author:  [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/3 "2016-08-16T18:54:34Z")
How about making peeling garlic easy-as-pie by smooshing the clove first?
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/4 "2016-08-16T19:08:08Z")
I’m just amazed that it is always MY town where these brilliant people have figured this stuff out. I must live in the Eureka of the Deep South.
Heating lemons in a the microwave for a bit does seem to help in getting the juice out.
I had to work with some epoxy the other day. Invariably I got some on me. My usual go to for getting gunk like that off is mineral spirits or gasoline or acetone or whatever other nasty solvent is handy. Often with on so so results.
I recently read somewhere that white vinegar worked. Well damn if it didn’t remove that stuff better than most things I’ve used before. And its dirt cheap a gallon at a time too. Will try that from now on for most nasty expoxies, glues, and paints from now on first.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/5 "2016-08-17T04:11:22Z")
So what works to take off the residue of sticky-gum when you’ve peeled the price-tag off the front of a paperback book?
I’ve been using WD-40, which works…sorta, kinda, maybe, a little.
Parking: Swing wide, so the corner of your car is really close to the car in the next space, then swing inward again. (I ought to draw a picture…) Instead of trying to head directly in to the space, you head “across” the space, to the far side. When you straighten out from this, you’re in the center of the space, and aligned with it.
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### Author:  [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/6 "2016-08-17T04:30:53Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> So what works to take off the residue of sticky-gum when you’ve peeled the price-tag off the front of a paperback book?
>
> I’ve been using WD-40, which works…sorta, kinda, maybe, a little.
A product called Goo Gone was our go-to for sticker residue at the bookstore, but watch out if the surface is glossy - it can dull the finish of the area you use it on.
A plain old pencil eraser is good for non-sticky smudges on book covers.
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### Author:  [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/7 "2016-08-17T05:11:33Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> So what works to take off the residue of sticky-gum when you’ve peeled the price-tag off the front of a paperback book?
>
> I’ve been using WD-40, which works…sorta, kinda, maybe, a little.
>
> Parking: Swing wide, so the corner of your car is really close to the car in the next space, then swing inward again. (I ought to draw a picture…) Instead of trying to head directly in to the space, you head “across” the space, to the far side. When you straighten out from this, you’re in the center of the space, and aligned with it.
Rubbing alcohol-aka isopropyl alcohol.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/8 "2016-08-17T05:22:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> So what works to take off the residue of sticky-gum when you’ve peeled the price-tag off the front of a paperback book?
Go to an art supply store, and get a can of rubber cement thinner. I use it for all sorts of things. (Being an artist, I always have some, in a convenient dispenser.)
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### Author:  [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/9 "2016-08-17T07:10:55Z")
Terry Moore did a [three minute TED talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAFcV7zuUDA) where he describes a superior way to tie shoelaces. The problem arose when his pair of shoes with slick laces refused to stay tied.
It’s a small trick but it’s a stronger form of the traditional knot.
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### Author:  [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/10 "2016-08-17T10:59:20Z")
> [@Quercus](#):
>
> How about making peeling garlic easy-as-pie by smooshing the clove first?
Someone reminded me the other day that if you want to grow your own garlic, you plant a clove per plant… but you always plant them in the Fall.
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### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/11 "2016-08-17T12:02:13Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> So what works to take off the residue of sticky-gum when you’ve peeled the price-tag off the front of a paperback book?
>
> I’ve been using WD-40, which works…sorta, kinda, maybe, a little.
>
> Parking: Swing wide, so the corner of your car is really close to the car in the next space, then swing inward again. (I ought to draw a picture…) Instead of trying to head directly in to the space, you head “across” the space, to the far side. When you straighten out from this, you’re in the center of the space, and aligned with it.
That’s going to depend on the the turning ratio of your car, the length of your car, and whether the spots are angled. Try that with my Buick and straight in (90 degree) spots and you’re hitting the car in the next space unless you stop and back up a bit.
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/12 "2016-08-17T12:28:26Z")
> [@bleach](#):
>
> Terry Moore did a [three minute TED talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAFcV7zuUDA) where he describes a superior way to tie shoelaces. The problem arose when his pair of shoes with slick laces refused to stay tied.
>
> It’s a small trick but it’s a stronger form of the traditional knot.
I learned this from these very pages a few years ago and it is amazing. I no longer double-knot my laces yet they rarely come undone. One small improvement on the TED presentation. In the video Terry Moore tells you to reverse step #2 of lace-tying, making the bow. Much less awkward is to reverse step #1, the initial crossover-and-under. The result is the same but I believe it takes much less effort to unlearn-relearn.
In a similar vein is this magic way to fold t-shirts. I think this comes originally from Japan but I have linked to an English language version. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAxhr0j0thY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAxhr0j0thY)
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### Author:  [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/13 "2016-08-17T12:43:04Z")
> [@bleach](#):
>
> Terry Moore did a [three minute TED talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAFcV7zuUDA) where he describes a superior way to tie shoelaces. The problem arose when his pair of shoes with slick laces refused to stay tied.
>
> It’s a small trick but it’s a stronger form of the traditional knot.
I watched that a few years ago and implemented it. Previously, my laces would untie fairly often. Since my change per his instruction, it hasn’t happened once. I still haven’t told my parents though.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/14 "2016-08-17T21:53:33Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#):
>
> That’s going to depend on the the turning ratio of your car, the length of your car, and whether the spots are angled. Try that with my Buick and straight in (90 degree) spots and you’re hitting the car in the next space unless you stop and back up a bit.
You’d be doing it wrong, then. The idea is for the corner of your car to come very close to the other guy’s car, so that, in the last couple of feet, you swing away from it again, placing you right in the center of your space and aligned with it.
If you naively aim directly for the center of the space, your trailing hind corner will come too close to the car on the trailing side, and you’ll be off-center in the space, too close to that guy.
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### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/15 "2016-08-17T23:28:30Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> You’d be doing it wrong, then. The idea is for the corner of your car to come very close to the other guy’s car, so that, in the last couple of feet, you swing away from it again, placing you right in the center of your space and aligned with it.
>
> If you naively aim directly for the center of the space, your trailing hind corner will come too close to the car on the trailing side, and you’ll be off-center in the space, too close to that guy.
That might work for your car, but it won’t for mine. We have three vehicles, and each one requires a unique strategy to end up in the spot correctly and efficiently. In one of them aiming for the center of the space is the ONLY strategy that ends with the car properly centered.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/16 "2016-08-18T03:49:16Z")
I wish we could exchange video!
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### Author:  [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/17 "2016-08-18T18:59:10Z")
Or just learn to back in. There is good reason people in big pick ups / vans often do it this way. Steering with the trailing wheels is far superior for parking in a tight spot. As a bonus you can actually see what you are dping when you leave.
You either have to back in or out. Out makes a lot more sense.
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### Author:  [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/18 "2016-08-18T19:54:16Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#):
>
> Or just learn to back in. There is good reason people in big pick ups / vans often do it this way. Steering with the trailing wheels is far superior for parking in a tight spot. As a bonus you can actually see what you are dping when you leave.
>
> You either have to back in or out. \*\*Out \*\*makes a lot more sense.
I think you meant “in”.
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/19 "2016-08-18T20:07:22Z")
I’m no cook, so I’ve not tried this myself. But I understand that peeling onions under water in the sink will eliminate the “crying” or tears effect.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/20 "2016-08-18T21:12:11Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#):
>
> Or just learn to back in. . . .
Very difficult when the spaces are angled toward on-coming traffic. To back in, you have to reverse direction, which takes extra time and also extra space, blocking oncoming traffic, and even preventing someone behind you from going around you. It’s glaringly less efficient for angled spaces.
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