# That thing YOU think everyone should get. Everyone! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198 "2025-02-11T23:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/121 "2025-02-15T18:53:32Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Maybe I’ve just encountered crappy models, but I’ve never had much luck with those V-shaped jar openers. The ones I’ve tried don’t grip the lid very well unless you press them really hard into the V, which kind of defeats the purpose of the thing. I don’t see why pressing the “V” into the lid “defeats the purpose” of the V-style jar opener. It opens jars – jars that in some cases are pretty much impossible to open unless you’re Superman. The real problem with very tight, stubborn lids is that you need to get a very tight grip on the jar, not with the grip or leverage of the device itself. When I get a jar that’s super-stubborn and the usual method of unscrewing the lid with jar upright fails, I end up leaning on the jar placed horizontally on the counter over the edge of the sink while pulling on the jar opener handle. I get lots more leverage that way. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/122 "2025-02-15T19:36:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It opens jars – jars that in some cases are pretty much impossible to open unless you’re Superman. My point is, the times I’ve tried to use them, you need to be Superman to press the jar into the V hard enough to make it work. I didn’t seem like the strength required to use the opener was much less than the strength required to open the jar by hand. But I’ve only tried to use them a few times, in rental houses and such, so I’m willing to believe that I’ve just encountered some crappy models. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/123 "2025-02-15T19:54:22Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I have a little wooden push-pull thingie for the oven shelves. Mine is handmade of a pretty polished wood and it has a magnet in one side of the handle so you can have it handy. It’s simple and elegant and makes me happy. > > [https://i.etsystatic.com/6383419/r/il/5c1b26/1794062886/il\_1140xN.1794062886\_100j.jpg](https://i.etsystatic.com/6383419/r/il/5c1b26/1794062886/il_1140xN.1794062886_100j.jpg) How old is that stove? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/124 "2025-02-15T20:29:09Z")
It’s a nìce one, ain’t it. I noticed it too. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/125 "2025-02-15T20:40:21Z")
She’s a beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/126 "2025-02-15T20:41:41Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I have a [Gerber Suspension](https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/multi-tools/all-multi-tools/suspension-22-01471n) multitool, which is, in principle, a Leatherman, only, done right. The blades and things open _outward_, so you can get at them without having to open the sides. As with a Gerber knife, all the parts have a lock, so they stay out as you use them. And it is a fair bit heavier than a Leatherman – probably heavy and solid enough to break a vent side window (obviously, I have yet to need to use it for that). Not everyone _needs_ to get one of these, but it is a darn handy thing to have. Yep. Carry my Gerber everywhere, use it every day. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/127 "2025-02-15T21:08:04Z")
Not all Leathermans works the same. I recently got a Leatherman Free P4, which operates the way you describe your Gerber: all the tools open outward, without deploying the pliers, and they all lock in position when opened. It’s 8.6 oz compared to the Gerber’s 10.2 oz, but for something to be carried around with you, I wouldn’t consider higher weight to be an advantage. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/128 "2025-02-15T21:24:17Z")
Seems kind of odd that three significant manufacturers of folding knives, Leatherman, Gerber and Kershaw, are all based in Portland Oregon. What is the thing about cutting stuff in that area? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/129 "2025-02-15T22:21:23Z")
A Filter. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/130 "2025-02-16T20:17:33Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I keep a bandana (a big hankerchief) in the front seat of my car. I use it constantly, such as to wipe rain or grime off my glasses, food and drink spills, dust from the dashboard, or sweat on a hot day. Of course it gets washed occasionally, and I find myself reaching for it even when it’s not there. Sometimes I’ll stuff it into my pocket when going on a long walk or going in a restaurant or movie theater, just in case. I see _somebody_ got close to the correct answer. **Don’t forget your towel** They are for more than just traveling the galaxy, you know. From the guide > [@](#): > > A towel is just about the most massively useful thing an interstellar [hitchhiker](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Hitchhiker) can carry. Partly because it has great practical value. \*\*You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of [Jaglan Beta](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Jaglan_Beta); you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of [Santraginus V](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Santraginus_V), inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of [Kakrafoon](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Kakrafoon); use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy [River Moth](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/River_Moth); wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it around your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the [Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Ravenous_Bugblatter_Beast_of_Traal) (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course you can dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. > > More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value\*\*. For some reason, if a [strag](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Strag)discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with. > > Hence a phrase which has passed into hitch hiking slang, as in “Hey, you [sass](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Sass) that [hoopy](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Hoopy) [Ford Prefect](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Ford_Prefect)? There’s a [frood](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Frood) who really knows where his towel is.” > **[Towel](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Towel)** > > A towel is the most important item a Hitchhiker can carry. Ford Prefect and his fellow hitchhiker and friend Roosta both emphasise the importance of towels throughout Hitchhiker's and are both known to carry one with them at all times. Although... ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/131 "2025-02-17T01:19:09Z")
Someone to take showers/baths with. My back hasn’t had a good thorough scrubbing since 2022. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/132 "2025-02-17T04:19:12Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I keep a bandana (a big hankerchief) in the front seat of my car. I keep a giant pile of fast food napkins in the cubby in my car for the same reasons. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/133 "2025-02-18T05:53:50Z")
It’s the most commonly searched-for information. During the “grams of fat” craze in the mid 1990s, a friend of mine said, “If your meals consist entirely of things that have the grams of fat printed on the side of the package, you are not eating healthy.” She was right. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/134 "2025-02-18T06:02:17Z")
I got a plastic version of that at Harbor Freight for a couple dollars, when my online resale business took off (before its eventually collapse, of course). It’s great for measuring the thickness of packages. I didn’t know it was called a Vernier, just a caliper. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/135 "2025-02-18T12:46:35Z")
“Vernier” is the type of mechanical readout it has on the side. The device is a “Caliper”, even if it’s a Vernier caliper. You can put vernier scales on lots of things. And you can have a caliper without a vernier scale (as is the case with digital readout calipers). > **[Vernier scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernier_scale)** > > A vernier scale (/vərˈniːˈər/ ver-NEE-er), named after Pierre Vernier, is a visual aid to take an accurate measurement reading between two graduation markings on a linear scale by using mechanical interpolation, thereby increasing resolution and reducing measurement uncertainty by using vernier acuity to reduce human estimation error. It may be found on many types of instrument measuring length or measuring angles, but in particular on a vernier caliper, which measures lengths of human-scale obje... ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/136 "2025-02-27T14:30:17Z")
> [@motu](#): > > Well it doesn’t have to be bamboo but everyone deserves a backscratcher. I have one made from a corn cob on a stick. Piece of binder twine on the handle so you can hang it up. Neighbor was a Park Ranger and he made them in the park where they demonstrated farm tools. Works great. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/137 "2025-07-12T18:38:16Z")
While opening a stubborn jar recently, I remembered this thread. I now have a can opener that operates similar to the V shaped ones, but comes at the problem from all sides evenly so you aren’t pushing the lid to one side. It also helps solve the issue of holding onto the jar, as it comes with a silicon base to help keep the jar from turning in your hand. My favorite part is that the turning of the device to remove the lid happens in concert with the tightening around the lid, so if the lid is only slightly stubborn, it automatically uses less pressure around the lid. > **[Amazon.com: OXO Good Grips Twisting Jar Opener with Basepad, Black : Home &...](https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Twisting-Opener-Basepad/dp/B09ZC55TP2)** > > Whether you have arthritis or just need a helping hand in the kitchen, the OXO Good Grips Twisting Jar Opener with Base Pad is the perfect partner. From small bottles that are hard to get a good grip on to jars lids that require a lot of strength,... I also agree with the smooth edge can opener suggestions, but they were always a bit finicky. Either I’ve gotten far better at using them or the one I use now is just superior, as I haven’t had a tricky opening in years. > **[Amazon.com: OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener, Black : Home & Kitchen](https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Smooth-Opener/dp/B000079XW2)** > > By cutting on the side of the can below the edge, the Smooth Edge Can Opener leaves no sharp edges on the can or lid. The sharp, hardened stainless steel cutting wheel stays clean, avoiding contact with can contents, while the lid pliers allow for... No, I’m not an OXO representative. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/138 "2025-07-14T15:01:34Z")
Last year, I injured my shoulder and could not sleep on that side (my favorite side to sleep, of course!). The alarm clock is on that side of the bed. I haven’t used it as an alarm for years. I wake up before I have to on my own. But if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to know what time it is. I bought an alarm clock that projects the time on the ceiling or wall, depending on where you aim it. So now, even though my shoulder has healed, I just have to glance at the ceiling and VOILA! there’s the time. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/139 "2025-07-14T15:13:38Z")
Rechargeable electric toothbrush. I have [this one](https://www.amazon.com/Oral-B-1000-Rechargeable-Electric-Toothbrush/dp/B003UKM9CO/) and love it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198/140 "2025-07-15T00:36:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And you can have a caliper without a vernier scale (as is the case with digital readout calipers). Digital calipers still use a vernier scale–it’s just electronic and internal (Specifically, they test the capacitive coupling between two arrays of conductors with slightly different spacing. Like a visual vernier scale, they can test which one of them lines up the best and get a more accurate reading than if they estimated the coupling directly.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-you-think-everyone-should-get-everyone/1014198.md?page=8)