55
votes
Accepted
How can I eat my bagel when I lack a knife to cut it?
Knives are useful tools for cutting bagels and applying delicious spreads such as peanut butter or cream cheese, but luckily if you are missing this implement, you can still enjoy your bagel with 3 ...
- 819
34
votes
How do I easily divide dough into thirds?
Another trick: make an evenly roll, lay it down in a S-form and push it together. It works quite well after a bit of practice. Main advantage: you can add more "loops" to make 4, 5, and more parts. ...
- 441
27
votes
Accepted
How to peel an orange?
That question has been asked on cooking.stackexchange before, and the answer by Jolenealaska (and originally by blogger E is for Eat) quite qualifies as a life hack:
Basically, you cut off both ends ...
- 576
22
votes
Accepted
How can I sharpen a knife?
One way is using the bottom of a ceramic plate or cup.
On the bottom of some of these, you'll find unglazed ceramic where it's been cut, using this you can rub the blade of the knife along this ...
- 1,268
19
votes
Accepted
How do I easily divide dough into thirds?
You could measure it out using your hand. Roll out the dough to be close to the width of three hands, and then cut each piece at the width of your hand. It is fairly easy to make an even roll, and the ...
- 6,984
19
votes
How can I eat my bagel when I lack a knife to cut it?
If you can find some dental floss or thread, you can use that to cut the bagel. Wrap it around the circumference (as in picture), then cross ends and pull through. Bagel ready for the toaster.
- 1,025
18
votes
How can I neatly eat messy food without "common" utensils?
The best way to avoid sticky fingers while dining is to use this ubiquitous and easy to use tool:
17
votes
Accepted
How to open a bag of rice sealed with string
There is a "right" and a "wrong" side to start. Note that the seam is typically made with one string, which is exactly the reason it's so easy to unravel.
Look at the side with the loops. You'll ...
- 3,195
16
votes
How to peel an orange?
I really like the Tupperware Orange Peeler. It is used by dragging the hook end around the orange skin, which opens the peel up all the way to the flesh of the orange. Then it's a simple matter of ...
- 954
14
votes
Accepted
How to clean floor if there is cooking-oil spilled on it?
First, you should cover the cooking oil in either kitty litter (I've found this works best, but you may not always have it) or baking soda. After waiting about 15 minutes, you can use paper towels to ...
- 11.3k
13
votes
How can I neatly eat messy food without "common" utensils?
Try chopsticks.
If you don't use these much you might not know how good they are - they can pick up just about anything messy that is the size of a carrot or smaller:
Bit Rebels
You can also use ...
13
votes
How do I easily divide dough into thirds?
Why not using the simple fact that cos(60°) = 1/2?
Put your dough in the form of a circle, make sure you know the centre point. From there you draw a horizontal line to the right, and in the middle of ...
- 319
13
votes
How can I eat my bagel when I lack a knife to cut it?
Look around and see if you can spot a letter opener (old usage was "paper knife"). It's likely to be sharp enough, with patience, to cut the bagel, and it will surely work to spread your peanut ...
- 9,790
13
votes
Accepted
How to rid steelware of metallic taste
Instead of changing the properties of a metal, the easiest thing would be to permanently have your own set of steelware at the office. Use it a lunch, wash/clean it, store it in your cubicle/office. I ...
- 1,188
13
votes
Is there a better way of transporting bagels to work?
Carry them in one of the round boxes blank CD-roms come in sometimes.
- 239
13
votes
What is an easy way to drain a can of tuna?
I discovered a great way to press out the water or oil from a can of tuna using only the can and a cup.
Start by opening the lid with an old style can opener. (Sadly a safety can opener will not work ...
- 331
12
votes
How to warm up milk for the baby during a trip?
A completely electricity-/stove-free method would be storing the baby milk not in rigid bottles, but in zip-lock-type baggies as they are sold for storing expressed breast milk, for example.
Slip ...
- 3,195
12
votes
How to decarbonate ("make flat") beverages more quickly?
I despise carbonated beverages so I often flatten my drinks. In order to meet all your acceptance criteria (namely, portable and works for cans) the solution I suggest is simple. Carry around a ...
- 221
11
votes
How to peel an orange?
I have found I can reliably peel the entire orange
without splitting any of the inner slices
without causing drips
quickly
I do this by starting at the tip where the stem was attached. If my thumb ...
- 211
11
votes
How can you get algae out of of a glass bottle?
Use sand.
If you are close to some source of sand, you could put some into the bottle and swirl it around to "scrub" the bottom of the bottle with some hot soapy water. Sand is fine in size, abrasive,...
- 14.1k
11
votes
How to share food fairly with three people?
Have the first person cut off an estimated 1/3, the second person divides the remainder in half, and the third person get first pick, then the second person get second pick.
If the first makes the "1/...
- 5,993
10
votes
natural way to reverse tooth decay fast
No. You should go see a Dentist, who are experts in Dental Hygiene, and are the only persons opinions who you should trust.
- 1,017
10
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
I am in a similar situation at home. I get up to go to work at around six in the morning whilst my wife and two very young children (2 and newborn) continue to sleep. If I make too much noise and ...
- 969
10
votes
Keeping the spoon on the surface of a sucralose container
Pour the Splenda into a bowl (temporarily).
Put a tall glass inside the now-empty cereal box.
Put the spoon in the glass.
Pour the Splenda back into the cereal box, around the glass.
Now you have a ...
- 11.6k
10
votes
Accepted
Induction based fry pan not working on induction cooktop
The actual induction heating process will work with any conductive material -- steel, aluminum, copper, even gold (even salted water in a glass pot). Your issue appears to be because the cooktop is ...
- 9,790
10
votes
Accepted
How to avoid food spill/stain on bedsheet?
Get a sturdy tray with a rim.
I would recommend a model that can be cleaned easily (e.g. plastic) and is rather sturdy, so that it doesn’t warp or bend when it’s lifted up or set on the bed. That ...
- 3,195
9
votes
How to eat loud food (chips, celery) quietly
To me, this is more of a manners question, as crunchy foods are meant to be crunched.
So, offer some chips (etc.) to your workmates before snacking. Explain they are welcome to any and apologize for ...
- 91
9
votes
Accepted
How to break an egg without making noise?
Mask the sudden crack of the eggshell behind other, gentler noises. For example, you could gradually turn on the water in the sink, slowly increase the stream until it's a loud (but gentle) hiss, and ...
- 11.6k
8
votes
How do I easily divide dough into thirds?
Here's an old math trick that makes dividing dough into thirds easy.
Flatten your dough into a bit of a disk and mark the center point as a reference.
Find a convenient object with an "edge" that is ...
- 6,655
8
votes
How can I eat my bagel when I lack a knife to cut it?
find a piece of plastic like a telephone card or a credit card, abrade the edge against a rough surface like a stone or even bite little dents in it, or use any metal object, and use that to cut. ...
- 181
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible