# Your life-hacks (formerly known as tips & tricks) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 15, 2024, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267 "2024-07-15T12:59:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/61 "2024-08-02T17:42:28Z")
I actually got this first one from a list of “life hacks” so I will pass it along because it works: Bananas are much easier to peel if you do it “upside down”. Just flip it so the “handle” is down and pinch the now top and peel. Another eating one: If you are eating a flat chicken wing (vs. a drum), pull off one of the cartilage ends, and then grab the smaller bone and wriggle it and pull it out. You should then be able to pull out the bigger bone and have a nice boneless piece of chicken to eat. This one doesn’t always work but usually does. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/62 "2024-08-02T18:07:44Z")
Don’t know if this counts as a hack, but I just bought a Fruit Rake Harvester like this one, for picking up apples dropped by the tree in my back yard: > **[Nut Picker Rake Tool | Nut Collector with Adjustable Long Handle | Acorn Picker...](https://www.amazon.ca/Collector-Adjustable-Opening-Gatherer-Harvester/dp/B0CF55Z6BP)** > > Description:Acorn Picker Upper is easy to use, it can make you say goodbye to bending, rolling back and forth on any surface to collect all kinds of nuts,, easy to remain standing throughout the process.Features:1. Designed with an upgraded side... My god, I should have bought one 20 years ago. I can pick up the apples with about 10% of the effort of how I used to do it. For the first time since I’ve moved into this house, I’m actually keeping up with this damn tree! ---
**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:** [August 2, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/63 "2024-08-02T18:18:06Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Bananas are much easier to peel if you do it “upside down”. Just flip it so the “handle” is down and pinch the now top and peel. I’ve heard this so many times… Am I the only one who doesn’t actually find it easier? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/64 "2024-08-02T18:21:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve heard this so many times… Am I the only one who doesn’t actually find it easier? No, I am with you. I do it both ways but prefer snapping the “handle” to pinching the other end - IMHO neither is easier than the other. Mainly, when you pinch the end, you still have to remove that little dark end of the fruit, whereas when you snap the handle, the dark end can remain in the skin. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/65 "2024-08-03T05:26:22Z")
I live where its HOT in the summer. There is NO SHADE at the grocery store parking lot… except for the pharmacy drive-thru, which closes real early for some reason. So I park in the shade there. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2024, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/66 "2024-08-03T05:42:40Z")
Cut the banana in half and you have no problem either way. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/67 "2024-08-03T12:48:13Z")
That requires a knife. I think we’re talking about peeling it manually. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/68 "2024-08-03T14:47:41Z")
No, **Chronos**. I see this hack for eating bananas all the time and I have no idea what they’re getting at. It’s different, not better. Sometimes I think people just do it to have the satisfaction of explaining to those watching that they have figured out a “better way.” BTW, my wife eats bananas daily and agrees with me. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/69 "2024-08-03T15:15:51Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Sometimes I think people just do it to have the satisfaction of explaining to those watching that they have figured out a “better way.” There’s a lot of memes about life hacks out there that play this card, where they say, “Oh, you never realized that this thing is _supposed_ to be used in this way!” Like, you can use the tab on a can of coke to hold your straw in place if you bend it over the opening. No, that’s not how you’re “supposed” to use it. The designers probably never even thought of it. It’s just something that people noticed can work. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/70 "2024-08-03T15:21:39Z")
After I clean off my dryer lint trap I take a sticky sheet from a lint roller and clean off the rest of the debris that remains on the screen. It also picks up everything that falls on the top of the dryer. I do wash the lint trap off with soap and water every so often but this has helped keeping the dust down. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/71 "2024-08-03T15:36:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@Quimby](#): > > > > Bananas are much easier to peel if you do it “upside down”. Just flip it so the “handle” is down and pinch the now top and peel. > > I’ve heard this so many times… Am I the only one who doesn’t actually find it easier? I wonder what people consider what is up and down in a banana. I have read this “upside down” banana thing a couple of times here, in this board, and nowhere else. Just for the record, bananas grow like this: [![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hGiMkSdNa7Q/UObJpuC-YPI/AAAAAAAANo4/EuA5NlhqPME/s1600/banana-tree.jpg) ](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hGiMkSdNa7Q/UObJpuC-YPI/AAAAAAAANo4/EuA5NlhqPME/s1600/banana-tree.jpg) and are sold like this: [![](https://cdn.freshfruitportal.com/2023/01/20210604_134055-scaled.jpg) ](https://cdn.freshfruitportal.com/2023/01/20210604_134055-scaled.jpg) What is up, what is down? Might as well talk about left and right. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/72 "2024-08-03T15:42:11Z")
I dunno, I hold a banana with the stem on top when peeling it, so that’s the up position for me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/73 "2024-08-03T16:10:45Z")
When I was a kid we sometimes called pinching off the small end (not the stem) and peeling it from there as ‘monkey style’. But sometimes it was called ‘monkey style’ any you ate it with with the banana partially peeled while holding the remainder in your hand. IOW, not completely peeling the banana and tossing away the skin before eating it. I never found that starting that starting at the small end instead of the stem was any easier to do. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/74 "2024-08-03T16:58:49Z")
They grow like that but I think it’s pretty clear the stem end is the top when you ship, buy and eat bananas. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/75 "2024-08-03T17:05:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > IOW, not completely peeling the banana and tossing away the skin before eating it. Unless I’m using the banana as an ingredient in something else, like a peanut butter sandwich, that’s how I always eat them. Why put your fingers on the sticky edible part, when there’s a built-in serving device that keeps your fingers clean? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/76 "2024-08-03T18:16:21Z")
The only demonstrable advantage I’ve seen explained for eating a banana from the end without a handle is that the strings are supposed to come off with the peel that way. Dunno, I’ve never tried it ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/77 "2024-08-05T15:17:25Z")
There’s a guy on TikTok that gives tips for picking out the best fruit at the grocery store. Watermelon: We all know that you should look for the yellow spot that shows the watermelon has been sitting on the ground long enough to be ripe. But he has one more tip that has changed my life. One end of the watermelon is the stem end. It sometimes has a raised part that was where the stem was when it was still on the vine. The other end which is kind of indented (I call in the bellybutton end) is what you have to look at. Find the watermelon with the smallest bellybutton. I find the one that is no bigger that the size of a pencil eraser. It will be the sweetest watermelon. I’ve been following his rules since last summer and have not had one bad watermelon! Bananas: Choose the bunch that has the shortest stems. They will be the sweetest. He’s right! ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/78 "2024-08-05T16:49:34Z")
Good one! I will have to try that. I have an above average at-bat with the melons, but I think it could be much better. For Jalapeños, look for the ones that appear slightly “stressed”, meaning they may have some small “stretch marks” in the skin - these will have some heat. The smooth, clean-looking ones seem to not have as much heat (or any). I think the stressed ones are a little more ripe than the smooth ones. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/79 "2024-08-05T17:06:45Z")
And in my mind the stressed ones would be getting old. I would have chosen the smoothest ones of all! Now I know! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267/80 "2024-08-08T12:13:06Z")
Ice cube trays are very useful for portioning and saving things in the freezer, like roux, tomato paste, minced garlic, minced ginger, etc. Put the whatever in the trays, cover with plastic wrap, put in the freezer, when frozen pop the cubes out and store them in a freezer bag. Take out a cube and use as needed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-life-hacks-formerly-known-as-tips-tricks/1004267.md?page=5)