9 Work Hacks So Specific They’re Basically Useless
I love looking at life hacks online, despite the fact that I’m entirely aware I will never use 99 percent of them. First of all, most of them are patently nonsensical, and second of all, I don’t go anywhere, and I don’t do anything, so I almost always have whatever I need at hand. I think the reason I enjoy them so much is just the deep satisfaction of watching a human brain at work, proving again why we’re the ones with buildings, destroying the homes of all those smooth-brained animals. In fact, I’ve found I enjoy watching hacks that really are only good for jobs I’ll never have, for absolutely no reason other than to quietly go, “Oh, that’s a good idea.”
Watch these nine incredibly specific work hacks and see if you get the same dopamine hit out of them!
NOTE: I don’t know enough about any of these professions to know if these hacks are any good or if they’re incredibly dangerous, so even if you actually have the need, I cannot recommend trying them.
Use A Magnet and Tape Measure to Retrieve Your Bricklaying Trowel
Outside of disgusting euphemisms, I’ve never laid a brick in my life, and it seems unlikely that I’ll start now. I do understand that it requires you to be on scaffolding and use a trowel. As this bricklayer demonstrates, dropping your trowel off the scaffolding sucks. That’s why he keeps a neodymium magnet on his tape measure in order to hoist it back up without having to climb down.
Strip Electrical Wire (Even Multi-Core) With A Potato Peeler
If you’re an electrician, stripping wires in large quantities can be annoying with regular wire strippers. At least, I assume so, given that this man has gotten so frustrated by it that he’s come up with an entirely new strategy. Apparently, a standard potato peeler makes a great and efficient wire stripper. It even works for multi-core cables, whatever those are!
Always Do Vocals First During Sound Check
Concerts rely on sound, and that sound relies on a sound guy. It seems like a stressful job that involves a lot of panicking when shitfaced people are dancing with full beers near what I assume is an egregiously expensive setup. This experienced sound guy shares his number one tip for sound checks: Always do the vocals first, and then tell the band to relay any feedback or instructions to the vocalist, who can effectively pass it on to you through the board. That way you don’t have to try to hear them yelling over music or try to pick out their voices from the stage mics! Makes sense I guess!
Imagine the Yearly Spend of Annoying Coffee-Shop Customers on Their Foreheads
This professional barista has a tip that’s not as mechanical as it is psychological, and it has to do with dealing with annoying customers. Specifically, annoying regulars, who, though they may not be your favorite, bring a lot of money into your business. His recommended bit of mental conditioning is to imagine their yearly spend on their forehead when they’re being a pain in your ass. That’s $2,000 asking for the most annoying drink on earth!
Use A 3-Milliliter Syringe to Draw Blood From An IV Without Collapsing the Vein
Here’s one thing they won’t teach you in nursing school! Which I am 99 percent sure is a thing! When you’re drawing blood out of an IV, instead of using a larger syringe, use a 3-milliliter syringe. The lower pressure will make it less likely that the IV valve will close or that the vein will collapse. I also just learned that veins collapsing won’t kill you! Thanks, Nurse Hannah!
Cover Your Dive Knife in Silicone Grease So It Doesn’t Rust
I guess divers need knives. My immediate thought was for self-defense against sharks and such, but it’s more for cutting away anything you’re unlucky to get stuck underwater. Obviously, metal and continuous exposure to water is a recipe for rust, which pits and weakens the knife. Simply cover it in silicone grease, which is something divers apparently have around, in order to prevent the knife metal from coming into contact with the water while still retaining a sharp cutting edge!
Use A Snap-Off Utility Knife Instead of A Seam Ripper
If you told me there was a tool called a seam ripper, I would very much assume it was the best possible way to rip seams. But alas! According to this Harlem tailor with a delightful YouTube channel, seam rippers require a constant rip-pull back and forth. Instead, he recommends pulling apart the seam and using a snap-off utility knife to cut the seams and let them pull themselves apart at the same time thanks to the pressure applied. This guy’s other videos are worth checking out just for his outfits, by the way.
Fish Tape Is the Key to Clearing a Severely Clogged Drain Line
Don’t you hate it when an HVAC drain line coming out of your house is severely clogged? Admittedly, it was something I had never thought about until literally about an hour ago, but I would have been glad to know there was an easy way to clear such a clog. I could use my fish tape, a long bit of spring steel I would presumably have on hand and use it to feed wiring through the walls to break up the clog. Fish tape, you have a new fan!
Use Tubing to Help Screw A Spark Plug Into A V6/V8 Engine
As this mechanic explains, with four-cylinder engines, accessing the spark plugs isn’t usually a problem, but with six- and eight-cylinder engines, it can be hard to reach the back spark plugs to install them. Sure, okay! You also don’t want to drop the spark plug, obviously, which I didn’t know specifically but I assume you don’t want to drop stuff as a general rule.
What’s the solution? Use a bit of tubing that’s roughly the same diameter, push the spark plug into it so that the tubing both holds and protects the spark-plug tip, and use that to lower it into place. The tubing’s also stiff enough that you can start rotating the spark plug to seat it before you finish it off with your, uh, special spark-plug wrench?
As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I’ve never held a spark plug in my entire life.
