If you have a toilet that, when flushed, turns your shower into lava, adjust the toilet filler valve so it’s barely open and you’ll have much less of a problem.
Also, if the water coming out of your faucet is hot enough to harm you, turn down the temperature of your water heater. You will save quite a bit of money too.
Edit: and check the anode in your water heater every 5-ish years. So much cheaper and easier to replace that than the entire tank. Pay attention to your water heater.
Absolutely correct. However, I’ve lived in apartments where I couldn’t control the water heater temperature and other people might be in the same situation who might benefit.
Just commenting to say you cannot simply lower the water temperature. If you go too low there is a risk of legionella and nobody wants that. So please, before you lower your water temperature, do some research.
I believe 60 degrees is basically the lowest you can go safely. Different sources seem to indicate that.
I cut in half, and lay the half down flat. Then I cut off just the very end from each side which makes it easier to lift the peel off. Then slice. Usually works, but occasionally there’s difficulty. Isn’t that life?
Using a chef’s knife, cut around core and twist to separate halves. The core will remain stuck on one side.
Holding the side with the core in your off-hand, (gently) chop the knife into the core and twist to remove it from the avocado half. Reaching around the back side of the blade, pinch the core off with your fingers.
Scoop the avocado flesh from the skins using a large spoon, then slice/dice/mash as desired.
That’s how I learned to do it (in a tex-mex chain restaurant), anyway. I think maybe we were supposed to use one of those cut-proof gloves for step #2, but nobody bothered.
Step 2 should be: Put the side with the seed DOWN skin-side down, and lightly whack the long sharp edge of the knife into the seed without risking your hand. If you’re afraid of the avocado escaping, hold one end, but don’t put your whole palm directly in the line of cut. A lot of people wind up in the ER because avocado seeds are slippery and may send the blade askew, or just because they missed. Twist to pop out the seed, and whack the handle on the edge of your trashcan to dislodge it into the trash.
I worked in the ED for a decade and this is very true. Avocado injuries might be the most common non allergic good injury. I do mine like this guy says. Usually 3 or 4 a day. I only use butter knives to cut them and the wacking the seed still works. I then take the knife and make either slices or grids in the fruit while it is in the peel and use a spoon to scoop out the pre cut flesh
Of course, you could just use a spoon to remove the pit. Or I saw another variant where you push it out from the “back” of the side its stuck in once cut in half, no tool needed beyond the initial halving
Read the lines before that – or at least read the “also” to notice stabbing is a secondary injury.
Mostly: just put the avocado down! ERs feel the need to warn about how common an accident this is, so why tempt fate?
People lose their grip on the avocado and accidentally slice their palms or fingers, doctors have warned. When this happens, there’s a high likelihood of people accidentally severing their nerves or tendons. However, people also tend to stab themselves in the hand as they attempt to use the knife tip to remove the avocado pit.
From the Sun:
Wolfe recommended holding an avocado down on a cutting board and slicing into it with the dominant hand, cutting around the fruit at the equator, then rolling it halfway over and cutting again, according to CBS New York.
But then again, I grew up eating ripe, if not nearly overripe avocados, the kind whose flesh would turn into mush if you try to grab them. So, yeah, I would just slice the avocado in half (going around the pit), remove the pit, and then scoop out the flesh.
They are quite thin and have a sharper edge then normal spoons which makes them perfect for scooping out avocados, mangos, the seeds of pumpkins and all kind of melons or vegetables for filling (like the core of a zucchini or cucumber).
I really wouldn’t want to miss them, they are so versatile.
Do a bunch of things at once, not in parallel, but in series.
It makes sure I’m staying in the mood of being productive and keeps myself motivated, as I can keep focusing on the tasks. Of course, still take breaks if you need it.
I worked at a factory that produced food with onion as one of the main ingredients. The best trick was to breathe with the mouth. Breathing with my nose would always make my eyes cry.
If you want to open a padlock and don’t have the key, you can almost certainly break it open with 2 big wrenches.
I only had 1 opportunity to try that yet, when removing a 20 year old lock some stupid kid left on my stuff and then forgot where I put the key, but man did it feel empowering.
You can practice this trick at any romantic bridge. Do you really think whoever etched their initials on the lock is still together and would notice? Please
You can shim a surprising number of them with a cut up soda can. If you’ve got the time, lockpicks are pretty easy to buy and a novice can pick most locks in less than an hour with a “raking” technique.
If you can’t defeat the lock, attack the mount. A lot of doors/drawers/cabinets use thin punched steel, or mild steel for the hasp/lock point. You can get through those in a few minutes with files, saws, pliers, etc.
My landleech padlocked the basement and attic of the house I rent. I keep a large screwdriver for exactly this eventuality. Something goes wrong in the basement and that lock point is done for. Just slip it in the gap around the padlock and pull. Will only take about 200N to rip the thing off the door and I can get way more than that with a little bit of leverage.
I always read these and go “fuck yeah I could stand to feel like a new bloke as well” and then I remember I don’t drink and thus can’t quit it either. Fuck the baseline.
Got some domed glass pot lids but the one you need broke? Simply invert the handle on the next size up and you get a universal lid that fits any pan! Condensation pools in the middle instead of dripping over the sides.
Ahh I get it now. My lids have handles that are riveted on so I can’t do that :( goodwill has a hundred lids missing pans tho I can get one there for a buck
When given the option, read the instructions, and save for future reference. (A URL / bookmark doesn’t count as saving unless you control the hostname (including DNS).)
I have a plastic container where I put all instruction manuals plus hardware that comes with it that I don’t need right then. It was very useful when I decided to mount my soundbar a decade after I bought it and knew exactly where the mounting clips and template were. Any time I need to check the manual for specs or something, I just need to look through a pile and will find it.
Getting a Shavette. The prospect of it being sharper than a straight razor makes you think that you will slice your face off, but in my experience at worst I had a nick or 2. The blades are dirt cheap and perform better than multi bladed razors.
I’ve been getting ads for Henson razors -Not an endorsement! I know nothing about safety razors- . But the idea of not buying razor cartridges anymore is attractive, provided I’m not cutting myself all the time. But supposedly this sort is less likely to cut me, even if I’m a klutz?
I started with a $15 double edge safety razor that I used for years. I bought the $70 Henson razor because I wanted a better shave, but the results are about the same as the $15 razor I started with. The Henson razor glides better so I can get the same quality shave with less time. I can also shave twice (one across the grain once against) if I want a better shave, but it still isn’t the smooth shave I was hoping for. The henson razor came with 100 blades, but you can also get 100 blades for $10 on amazon.
Not really a life hack but: folding bicycles are so, so convenient for everyday use (fits in every elevator, fits under your desk at work, fits in public transportation even when it’s crowded, etc)
I really don’t know how they are not a lot more common; you only need a mountain bike if you actually ride on mountain trails often enough. Even non-folding city bicycles are way more comfortable for everyday usage (higher handlebar position and cushiony saddle <3)