30 Common Objects You're Using Wrong

The subtleties of an object’s true use or hidden purpose can often elude even the sharpest among us. Thankfully, there are those who know secrets of everyday objects that none of us could ever hope to uncover. Maybe something was designed for one purpose, but common practice has convinced us that it should be used in a different way. Or perhaps it’s just a matter of bad habits we’ve developed over the years. Sometimes, the best use for an object may not be the one that was originally intended. Whatever it is, we’re here to help. Here are 30 Common Objects You’re Using Wrong. This is how product design should be.

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How you're using it: Thinking it's empty when it's not.

Without going into the evil machinations of the printer-ink-computer-manufacturer industrial complex, we can tell you just how wrong you've been about the amount of ink left in your computer cartridge. Often, your computer will relay that there's no ink remaining when there is still enough to get the job done. All you have to do to get that extra mile is remove the cartridge and use a paper clip to pop the reset button on the bottom—your computer will reevaluate the cartridge's content and you're good to go.

How you're using it: Letting the name get the best of you.

Why keep such an innovative little tool around only to remove staples? How often do you staple things anyway? In the digital age, we need a new use for these bad boys. Here are two: use the teeth of the device to pry open key rings for easier access. The second? Go ahead and sterilize it. No use it to pop your blisters. What? Not happy with that? Let's hear your ideas for this thing.

How you're using it: With paper.

Again, you're letting the limitation of the object's name box you in here. These can do anything! Save a hem! Pop a fuse! The sky's the limit with this one, but you're a sucker if you think you need a stack of paper to make use of these. Scrape dirt from under your fingernails. Use it as a guitar pick. Mark your book. Paper is becoming more rare these days anyway. Get on with it!

How you're using it: In the wrong spot.

One reason beer bottles are designed with a narrow, elongated neck is to reduce the amount of body heat that is transferred to the liquid. Hold that brewskie by the neck instead of the body, and your beer will stay colder, longer. You're welcome!

How you're using it: Just drinking it.

Look, beer can do anything! It really can! Don't just drink it—use it to marinate meat, to help nourish those brown spots of grass on your lawn, or to polish gold or wooden furniture. Beer is the everyman hero that can do everything.

How you're using it: Struggling to keep it in the box.

You know when you unfurl the aluminum foil from the box, it gets everywhere and then the roll comes out of the damn thing? Well, listen here: on each end of the aluminum foil box are little tabs. Bunch them in before rolling out a sheet of the stuff, and the roll will stay in place. It really is that easy!

How you're using it: Eating out of a box.

These cartons aren't just for storing your food. They easily unfold to become makeshift plates. Then, they easily fold back up to store your sweet and sour chicken or what have for another day. So practical.

How you're using it: With a knife.

You're wasting vital strawberry flesh by trying to use a paring knife to get the leaves off. All you really need to do is take a common drinking straw and insert it through the pointy end of the fruit. Push up and outward and the leaves will be gone. This is a consumer guide, right? Consume.

How you're using it: Too much in the wrong places!

First, you're using way too much toothpaste: just a dab will do. Second, you're not supposed to rinse after spitting out. There is actual science behind this. Last: Toothpaste is great for cleaning your car's headlights or getting that persistent onion/garlic smell off your hands after cooking. Try it!

How you're using it: Your knot is just bad.

It was noble of our folks to try and teach us how to tie shoelaces with a nice little limerick. But the fact is, the knot the traditional method produces a knot that faces upward comes undone quite easily. But a 2012 TED talk shows us how we've been doing wrong all these years. Check it out:

How you're using it: Pointlessly.

You think magnets are simply for putting your kids' bum drawings up on the fridge? Get real. Magnets can actually save you a pretty penny. Instead of using a stud finder (if you live in a modern building) just use a magnet, dummy! An actual use that isn't tied to crayons or pathetic sketches.

How you're using it: Just to open the can.

Bro, soda tabs aren't just for popping that top. The secret of the design here is in the outer circle. Spin the tab around and this is where you can place your straw. No more fumbling for that bad boy—whether the design here is intentional or not is really beside the point.

How you're using it: Dripping sauce all over the place.

It's a common problem of every household chef: as soon as you stir that pot, you've got something else to do. And suddenly, you're searching for a spot to put down the spoon. Search no further: Almost every pot and pan has a built in stand for you utensil right in the handle. Though it's obvious, intended use is to latch a hook in the ceiling and hang the cookware, it's much more useful (and probably more needed) to wedge your stir-stick in there, to dribble into the pot itself.

How you're using it: Wavy-side up.

Straight up, if you use bobby pins, I can almost guarantee you're using them incorrectly. For whatever reason, intuition and common wisdom lead people to put bobby pins in their hair with the curvy side facing up. Wrong! That wavy side is meant to latch onto hair and hold it in place. Try it. Then use a bobby pin to pick a lock.

How you're using it: Peeling it like a human.

First of all, you've been peeling bananas wrong your entire life. Check out this video and learn from the natural world—monkeys do it best. Second, rubbing a banana into the bottom of a CD can help to reduce scratches and make it playable once again. Boom!

How you're using it: Knotting it around your hands.

Don't let the tyranny of loops overtake you when flossing your teeth. Instead of wrapping dental floss around your fingers a bunch of times, just tie a small amount in a loop. You still get the tension you need, and you also save a bunch of the stuff. Dental floss is also good for cutting soft foods that would crumble under the pressure of a knife.

How you're using it: Tripping up.

Tired of tripping over your extension cords, causing them to unplug? Just tie a loose knot in the two that come together and the problem is solved. Instead of pulling them apart, when you stumble over the cords, the knot will just tighten.

How you're using it: You're sopping wet.

You know when you splash some water on your face in a bathroom and then go to dry your dripping mug, and there are no paper towels? Don't worry! You're just using the hand drier wrong—that metal nozzle thingy flips up to direct the air into your face and dry you off, albeit far-less effectively than towels.

How you're using it: Shaking that thing.

Though we think this may be a fluke of design happenstance, there's a cool way to dispense your favorite ovoid breath mints without shaking the damn container like a maraca. With the lid closed, just tilt the container on its side, and then open the flap. A Tic-Tac will be resting right there.

How you're using it: Spooning things.

Do you really think they are wooden for the sake of things? This is the age of polymers! The reason wooden spoons are wooden is because they can take more heat than a metal or plastic utensil. If you place one over the top of your pot of boiling water, the pot will not boil over—the spoon pops steam bubbles and prevents the spillover.

How you're using it: Not unlocking the potential.

Ever go to a fast-food place only to be fumbling with the little wax paper ketchup containers, as you try and carry three or four of them to your table without spilling the red menace everywhere? Well, examine one of those little dudes: they can unfold into something more oval in shape, with a greater capacity. Get your ketchup on, without getting your ketchup on you.

How you're using it: As a lid.

We won't go into the history here, but, there is an immense amount of design that went into your iced coffee and soda cups. Not only are those little bubbles good for telling diet cola apart from regular, the lids themselves are meant to collect condensation. Just flip that bad boy over and plop the bottom of the cup into the concavity to create a makeshift cup holder. It will even travel with you from the coffee table to your mouth, without losing a drop of condensation to your sick veneer.

How you're using it: Like a tourist.

Do you think sidewalk squares are there because it makes it easier to pour the concrete that way? Get real. Sidewalks are meant as two-way avenues so that traffic can flow continuously; the cracks are meant to guide you. Some people have places to go!

How you're using it: Drinking it.

Coca-Cola, besides being incredibly sugary and caffeinated, holds a lot of other remarkable powers: it can help defrost a frozen windshield, loosen a rusty bolt, prevent an asthma attack, neutralize a jellyfish sting, clean the battery terminals in your car, clean greasy pots and pans, remove blood stains from fabric, and take rust off of virtually anything. It's an amazing substance that makes us wonder why we drink it so often—it seems almost wasteful.

How you're using it: You just have the wrong one.

Look, those classic-looking pink plungers are great for games and costumes. But fact is, they aren't even meant to be used in toilets—they're designed for sinks. What you need is a bad boy that really has enough air space, the only such device that will provide you the suction required to get your pipes moving again. Plunge on!

How you're using it: Totally backwards.

You ever wonder why your toilet seat cover falls into the water the moment you try and sit down on it? Conventional wisdom says to put the little flap behind you on the seat before you squat. But this is straight up wrong. Put it in the front, and it will stay in place.

How you're using it: At all.

The fact of the matter is: our typical straight-backed chairs are not the best thing for humans. There was an article in Popular Science recently titled "7 Ways Sitting Will Kill You" and another in Medical News Today called, "Don't Sit Up Straight, It's Bad For You." In a study at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland, it was found that people who sit up straight actually cause more back problems for themselves than people who slouch. Try one of those ergonomic chairs or a stool if you're worried about this.

How you're using it: You don't know how to cook.

Look, everyone thinks they know how to cook the best pasta because it can be so simple, but here are some things you're not doing right. First off, use a giant pot. Always fill the pot with cold water. Heavily salt the water, but never put oil in it—this lends to the sauce not clinging to the pasta in the right way. Also, spaghetti is a great ad hoc way to light something on fire from the stove if you don't have a match—highly flammable but slow burning!

How you're using it: Like a civilian.

Need to get to the top in a hurry? There's a built-in hack to every elevator, put in place so emergency services can get to the upper floors faster. It goes like this: get on the elevator, but don't punch your floor button. Hold the "door close" button down until the doors close. Continue holding the door close button, and now hold the floor number you'd like to get to. The elevator will zoom straight to that floor without making any stops along the way.

How you're using it: As fire wood.

There are better uses for these than just as kindling for campfires. Lay out two layers of pallets, in an L shape, cover with cushions, and you have a couch with storage underneath. Because you're just broke, not stupid.