101. Ridges On Coins
Best Place to Purchase: U.S. Mint
Average Product Price: $0.01-$1*
For as long as there has been currency, there have been people trying to make a buck from it illegally. The U.S. Mint is in charge of coin production now, and there was a time where the value of coins was equivalent to their weight. The weight of the coin was the value attached.
Ridges On Coins ©ING Studio1985 / Shutterstock
So, naturally, some people tried to cheat that system. They would shave the edges from coins and use those collected edges to create new, counterfeit coins. The U.S. Mint added edges to the rims of coins to protect against this fraud and make it more evident to see if the coins had evidence of tampering.
102. Lollipop Stick Holes
Best Place to Purchase: Candy stores, grocery stores, Amazon
Average Product Price: $1*
Some lollipops, but not all, have this feature. Lollipops are a perfect sweet snack, and they have been popular since 1908, when George Smith, a candy-maker, created the first lollipop and named it after his race horse.
Lollipop Stick Holes @Pinner62764345 / Pinterest
If you check the stick of a lollipop, you might see a little hole drilled into the stick near the base. This hole serves a purpose, particularly if the lollipop has molten caramel in it. When the caramel is poured into the mold, a small piece of it gets stuck into the tiny hole, ensuring that the lollipop itself won’t fall off the stick.
103. Tin Foil
Best Place to Purchase: Grocery stores, Walmart, Amazon
Average Product Price: $3-$5 per roll*
You probably think of foil as the item with which you line pans when you’re cooking. Or, you might think of it as a way to line your grill to make for easier cleanup. You might not know this, but you can use foil to clean pans that might otherwise seem impossible to scrub.
Foil For Cleaning Pans ©Pixel Enforcer / Shutterstock
Just add water to the dirty pan. Then, crinkle a sheet of foil into a ball. Use the foil to scrub any residue. Only try this with regular pans, not non-stick ones. The foil’s abrasive surface will scrape away baked-on grime within seconds of scrubbing.
104. Wrench-Shaped Screwdriver Handles
Best Place to Purchase: Home Depot, Lowe’s
Average Product Price: $10-$15 per set*
You may have noticed that the handles of some screwdrivers are shaped like wrenches. They are uniquely shaped—that way, you can slide the wrench over them and create more torque (the force used to make an object rotate around an axis).
Wrench-Shaped Screwdriver Handles @Pinner62764345 / Pinterest
Be careful with this hidden purpose, however. While screwdrivers with handles shaped like wrenches do make it easier to apply more force, you don’t want to apply too much force. Too much torque will strip the head of the bolt. Instead, use an impact driver (you can find some as cheap as $10-$30) instead of manual force whenever you can.
105. Left-Sided Buttons On Women’s Shirts
Best Place to Purchase: Target, H&M, Amazon
Average Product Price: $20-$40 per shirt*
If you’re a woman or someone who wears women’s clothes, go into your closet and take a look at your button-down shirts. There is a tradition of having buttons on the left side of women’s shirts. The orientation dates back to decades ago, and it was once a signifier of wealth.
Womens Shirt ©Diana Vyshniakova/stock.adobe.com
Though now, no one even notices what side the buttons are on (except left-handed people), having buttons on the left side meant you were rich and had a chambermaid dress you in the morning. It was easier for your chambermaid to button your shirt when the buttons were oriented to the left.
106. Ketchup
Best Place to Purchase: Walmart, grocery stores, Amazon
Average Product Price: $4.14 per 32oz. bottle from Walmart*
When a skunk sprays your dog or cat, the smell is unbearable. Skunks smell the way they do because they spray the organic compound known as thiol, which has a classic rotten egg smell. It’s what makes the smell not only disgusting, but also long-lasting.
Ketchup To Remove Smells ©MaraZe / Shutterstock
If you want to get rid of it, you have to act fast. Some people swear by tomato sauce, while others claim a coating of ketchup on your dog’s or cat’s fur will do the trick. Not only will it help decrease the odor, the lycopene and vitamins K, C, and A are good for your pet’s skin.
107. Use Jars
Best Place to Purchase: Thrift stores, dollar stores, Amazon
Average Product Price: $0.10-$0.50 per jar*
You can use jars for just about anything. Most people are loathe to get rid of a glass jar, whether it was used to hold jam, spaghetti sauce, candy, or whatever else could fit in there. Jars can always be repurposed. You can use them to hold pens on your desk, for example.
Use Jars As Pen Holders @sunnylibs / Pinterest
You can also use them as décor if you place tea lights in them, and, of course, you can re-use them for food storage. One of the best parts about jars is that they can be repainted and decorated any which way you like to make them match the room in which you stow them.
108. Dryer Sheets
Best Place to Purchase: Amazon, dollar stores, Walmart
Average Product Price: $3-$10 per box*
Very few things are more annoying than static. It seems like, almost at random, you suddenly become the human version of Magneto when you put your clothes on. You’re shocking everyone in sight, and, if you’re really unlucky, your hair is standing on edge.
Dryer Sheet Hairbrush Hack thekrazycouponlady/Pinterest
If you want to get rid of static quickly, try using dryer sheets. Dryer sheets, when their stearic acid is activated by heat (such as the heat found in the dryer) coat the surfaces of fabrics and get rid of static cling. Though these sheets might seem like pieces of soft paper, they are actually woven fibers coated with a concoction of static-fighting and sweet-smelling chemicals.
109. Nail Polish
Best Place to Purchase: Dollar stores, CVS, Rite Aid
Average Product Price: $0.99-$10 per jar*
Let’s be honest. Licking envelopes is kind of gross. Sure, it’s been a thing since the envelope was invented, as spit is often the quickest moisture source around. But, now more than ever, we are trying to reduce the amount of germs we put out into the world.
Nail Polish Hack ©LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS/stock.adobe.com
Instead of licking the envelope, use clear nail polish to seal it. You probably already have this in the house. Clear nail polish works as a glue, protective layer, and/or sealant, and it will actually make the envelope far more secure than it would if you licked it like usual.
110. Extra Shoe Eyelets
Best Place to Purchase: Columbia, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Salomon
Average Product Price: $100-$300 per pair*
If you’ve ever bought a pair of hiking boots or something similar, you might have noticed there are extra eyelets on the shoes. While you might have thought that these eyelets were just for show (or perhaps you even thought they were an error), they do have a function.
Extra Shoe Eyelets @yik060 / Pinterest
You can use the eyelet to tighten your shoelace around the ankle—don’t worry; it will be long enough to fit. This will provide you with far more stability, preventing the shoe from moving when you are hiking or climbing. A twisted ankle can be quite dangerous, especially if you’re out in the woods, so tightening the shoe with the extra eyelet is definitely advisable.