# One Weird Trick... That actually works? **URL:** \ **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:** 3
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/41 "2016-08-24T18:29:17Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > Vegetable oil is great for cleaning up paints and stains. I don’t know if it works on epoxy. I’d recommend the cheaper corn oil, not the extra virgin olive oil. 🙂 In patching my roof a few years ago, I got roofing tar on my hands. That stuff is like road tar in that it is very difficult to get off skin. I was out of mineral spirits, which does the trick nicely, so I was scrounging around the house for something that might work. In my wife’s bathroom I saw baby oil. My thoughts went like this: Baby oil is nothing but mineral oil with perfume. Mineral spirits is a less refined version of mineral oil. Both are petroleum distillates. Hmm. I poured some baby oil on my hands and - voila! - it took the roofing tar (also a petroleum based substance) right off. My next thought was “We put this stuff on baby’s butts?!?!” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/42 "2016-08-24T22:10:05Z")
Cooking/shucking corn. Leave the husk and silk intact. Grill or nuke the corn. When it’s hot, cut off the thick end of the cob, squeeze from the silk end until the ear pops out from the cut end. Throw away the silk and husk in one chunk. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/43 "2016-08-25T00:07:22Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > My next thought was “We put this stuff on baby’s butts?!?!” I didn’t think people were still keeping it around the house after the aspiration dangers became known. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/44 "2016-08-25T14:31:42Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I didn’t think people were still keeping it around the house after the aspiration dangers became known. Like any other petroleum distillate, it should be kept out of the reach of children and only used externally (though swallowing presents no danger - it has been used a laxative for many years). The overall risk is quite small, and certainly not enough for people to ban baby oil from their homes any more than they would ban gasoline, furniture polish, paint thinners, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/45 "2016-08-25T16:40:49Z")
With all due respect **Doctor Jackson** , I’m not sure if you’re familiar with parents of the new millennium. These are people that will ban oranges from schools and peanuts from baseball stadiums, let alone gasoline and paint thinner in their homes. Accurate evaluation/perception of risk is just not a thing for “the kids these days”. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/46 "2016-08-25T23:40:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Cooking/shucking corn. Leave the husk and silk intact. Grill or nuke the corn. When it’s hot, cut off the thick end of the cob, squeeze from the silk end until the ear pops out from the cut end. Throw away the silk and husk in one chunk. I’m using this one. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/47 "2016-08-29T14:45:40Z")
> [@MrSquishy](#): > > With all due respect **Doctor Jackson** , I’m not sure if you’re familiar with parents of the new millennium. These are people that will ban oranges from schools and peanuts from baseball stadiums, let alone gasoline and paint thinner in their homes. > > Accurate evaluation/perception of risk is just not a thing for “the kids these days”. Sigh. I believe you nailed it, **MrSquishy**. I guess the old trick of using WD-40 topically for arthritis is right out, then. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/48 "2016-08-29T16:09:56Z")
Slam a jar, lid side down, on the counter (not hard enough to cause the jar to break though) and the lid will come off easily. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/49 "2016-08-29T23:23:13Z")
> [@AllShookDown](#): > > (not hard enough to cause the jar to break though) Well, now, that’s the trick then, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/50 "2016-08-30T05:32:40Z")
Vinegar and salt and a dash of dish soap does an awesome job of killing grass along a fence line. Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a dash of dish soap is the only way to get skunk off your dog. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/51 "2016-08-30T06:18:19Z")
Marry a locksmith, or always keep one in tow, that way when you are faced with a door that is locked you can ask them to pick the lock, and if it all turns out to be illegal anyway then they will take the fall instead of you. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/52 "2016-08-30T06:39:37Z")
“Well, that’s nice, honey, but my lockpicking tools are all in my toolbox…inside the house…on the other side of that locked door.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/53 "2016-09-01T06:15:42Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > 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 😛 Yep. Salt + baking soda works as well, and is much cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/54 "2016-09-01T13:26:22Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > 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 😛 SCUBA divers have known that trick for years to keep the face mask from fogging. Has to be real toothpaste to be effective, though, not gel. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/55 "2016-09-01T13:46:23Z")
If you’ve got scratches on finished wood furniture, you can hide them by rubbing a piece of walnut on it. It’ll gradually stain the scratched part until it matches the surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/56 "2016-09-05T16:22:51Z")
I’ve posted this elsewhere, but it’s so effective and cheap, I try to pass it on whenever I can. To get rid of fruit flies: Pour some apple cider vinegar (NOT regular vinegar) into a small bowl. Add a few drops of common dish soap. Stir lightly. Give it a day and you’ll have fly corpses galore. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/57 "2016-09-06T00:32:42Z")
> [@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. > [@amarinth](#): > > Am I the only person for whom this doesn’t work? A square knot may be more secure than a granny knot (between macrame & tatting, I know the difference), but my shoelaces still end up untying themselves. I heard about this a couple years ago, and have been using it. It usually works. The only time it doesn’t is on some particularly slippery round shoelaces I had. They just wouldn’t hold a knot. I’ve also gone to shortening my laces on my shoes. The standard ones on tennis shoes are so long that even after double knotting, the ends and loops drag the ground, making it much more likely to step on them and pull the knot open. Here’s my hack - I don’t cut the lace, because I want the ferrules on the ends to remain intact so I can feed them through the eyelets. So what I do is thread the shoe, center the lace, then pull some of the excess to the middle and tie it off in a loop knot. Then I as I’m lacing up, I feed the ends through the loop near the end to secure the loop in the slot above the tongue. [QUOTE=ticker] 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. [/QUOTE] The problem with that is when you get to the point to pull the loops tight, your hands are on the opposite sides from the direction you want to pull. > [@Trinopus](#): > > 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. Angled spots are a lot easier to pull into and back out of, because the turn is much smaller. Perpendicular slots require a sharp 90 deg turn. Sometimes in some parking lots because of other cars, traffic, people walking, etc, the lane you are turning from is narrow enough to make that right angle turn a chore. But yes, it is important to realize that the turn is at the front and the back of the car trails, so it doesn’t follow the front wheels directly. > [@Quimby](#): > > A lot of those Life Hack lists suggest you peel a banana “upside down” i.e. not from the stem but by pinching the bottom and I am here to tell you that works and is how I peel bananas now. I’ve heard that and tried it. The reasoning seems to be the stem provides a convenient handle. I find that I prefer having a pop top on the banana. By the time I’m down far enough on the banana for the lack of a handle to be an issue, I can just plop the rest in my mouth. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Well, now, that’s the trick then, isn’t it? Glass jars are fairly thick and fairly sturdy. Hitting the lid flat on a surface is not going to provide the kind of shock to break it that falling on a corner from ~3 ft up will. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/58 "2016-09-06T01:07:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ve posted this elsewhere, but it’s so effective and cheap, I try to pass it on whenever I can. > > To get rid of fruit flies: Pour some apple cider vinegar (NOT regular vinegar) into a small bowl. Add a few drops of common dish soap. Stir lightly. Give it a day and you’ll have fly corpses galore. That’s funny. I’ve always heard you can [catch more flies with honey](https://www.google.com/search?q=you+can+catch+more+flies+with+honey+than+with+vinegar&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS562US562&oq=you+can+catch+more+flies&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.3639j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). Another folk adage out the window. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/59 "2016-09-06T02:14:25Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Here’s my hack - I don’t cut the lace, because I want the **ferrules** on the ends to remain intact so I can feed them through the eyelets. Bolding added. The word of the day is “[aglet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglet)”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996/60 "2016-09-06T08:46:53Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > That’s funny. I’ve always heard you can [catch more flies with honey](https://www.google.com/search?q=you+can+catch+more+flies+with+honey+than+with+vinegar&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS562US562&oq=you+can+catch+more+flies&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.3639j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). Another folk adage out the window. Actually, you can catch more flies with shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-weird-trick-that-actually-works/762996.md?page=4)