This year has been quite a wild ride, hasn’t it? We thought that things couldn’t get any more bizarre after the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, but it turns out…they could. In its own little way, 2022 has been just as unusual.
Amidst the tumultuous political landscape, a cost of living crisis and the sad death of the late Queen, we’ve been shedding some light amongst all the darkness with plenty of weird and wonderful news in 2022.
Throughout the year, we’ve been sharing the seemingly mundane tasks that people are actually doing completely wrong – and people even say their ‘whole lives are a lie’ after finding out. It’s incredibly satisfying to find out what certain utensils and appliances are actually designed for – even if you’re frustrated at only just figuring it out.
From people only just realising how to use a simple cheese grater, to why it’s important to not wear a white bra under a white shirt (we know, right?!) there are so many ways our eyes have been opened throughout 2022, and here are just a few of them…
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How to use a cheese grater
Surprisingly, some people didn’t realise how to use their cheese grater properly – specifically the fourth side of it.
People’s minds were blown when they realised it could be used to zest hard cheese, garlic, nutmeg, ginger, and other similar ingredients to make a paste.
According to experts at Marthastewart.com : “The smaller shredding holes are designed to finely grate cheese, chocolate, vegetables, and more.”
Then the smallest holes can be used to make fine strands of cheese that will easily dissolve into salad dressings or sauces, and the side with wide slots is used for slicing. The side with the largest shredding holes – the one many of us use most – is designed for semi-hard cheese, carrots and apples.
How to check your hot water bottle is ‘in date’
Many people were left shocked this year when they realised that hot water bottles have an expiration date. Found under the cover, the flower-shaped symbol is said to reveal when the bottle was made, and it helps you work out when it is no longer safe to use. Bottles that have seen typical usage tend to last up the three years.
Alice Beer said: “You’ve got a daisy wheel date with 12 segments. In the middle, you have the year it was made, then you’ve got 12 segments around the outside – those are the months in which it was manufactured.
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“You can tell the month it was manufactured from when the dots end. It’s got dots in eight segments so it was made in August.”
Why you should wear a red bra under a white top
This year, we realised why a red bra is better to wear under a white top – strangely it cannot be seen at all underneath white clothing.
It’s better to wear a bra that mimics your skin tone, rather than just opting for white with white, as you may still be able to see through it.
A lingerie expert said they were in favour of a nude bra, saying: “I work for a lingerie company and if you don’t want your bra to show under white clothes, beige is better than white. Personally, I don’t care if my bra shows but a lot of people don’t like that.”
How a ballpoint pen works
Perhaps surprisingly to some, a ballpoint pen is quite literally – a ball. Inside the pen is actually a ball of ink that rolls, but some weren’t as shocked at this revelation, as they referred to the name of the pen.
People replied to the TikToker asking: “You don’t feel it when you write?”
She responded saying she thought it was more of a scrape than a roll, but now we know it’s not!
Tying a dressing gown
A TikToker has claimed that we’ve been using the wrong method to tie our dressing gowns as he says that we’re supposed to tie it at the front after hooking it in the loops, instead of tying it around your waist.
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The method involved looping the belt through the front loop and then the adjacent loop, pulling the belt to tighten, and then tying it at the front as normal – but some weren’t sold on the technique, preferring to do it the way they already knew.
You haven’t realised there’s an actual purpose for a nutcracker
Many people were under the impression that a Nutcracker soldier was just a Christmas decoration – and they’re very wrong.
Yes, nutcrackers, shockingly, are actually used to crack nuts – and this sent social media users into a frenzy, with one writing: “NUTCRACKERS ACTUALLY CRACK NUTS?! WTF SINCE WHEN?”
You’ve been peeling an orange wrong
Peeling an orange can be irritating to say the least, so if we told you there was an easier way, you’d probably jump onboard – right?
Turns out you can just cut an orange in half, take the half, and pop it out in the opposite direction. The fruit will then be in segments, which are ready to peel off the skin and are ready to eat.
This method is certainly much easier than trying to peel the whole thing before you tuck into your afternoon snack.
There’s also a better way to cut boiled eggs
If you’re wanting to cut boiled eggs and keep the yolk separate, there’s a much easier way than just cutting them in half – and it’ll mean your knife won’t get full of yolk (it’s a waste!).
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A TikToker figured out the best way to do it, and in the video, she can be seen slicing the egg lightly, and then rolling it towards her so the yolk pops out in a perfect ball, and the whites of the egg are cut into perfect halves.
People said that the hack was the perfect method to make deviled eggs.
Staples can be made longer
In a TikTok clip, it was shown that staples can be made longer…yes really. The video showed the woman taking off the small metal compartment at the bottom end of the stapler, then she spins it around 180 degrees, before pushing it back into its place.
While the action seemed to not immediately do anything, the staple size was significantly larger than before. So if you ever need bigger staples – try it.
You’ve been storing your fragrance wrong
If you’re keeping your perfumes in the bathroom, yep, you guessed it, you shouldn’t be! This is because all of the steam and constant temperature fluctuations are going to spoil your perfume a lot faster than if you store them correctly.
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Instead, you should look to store your fragrance in a cool, dry, dark place, like a closet or a dresser drawer. If stored in this way, perfumes can last years and years.
How to actually open an Oxo cube
Opening an Oxo cube can be a messy nightmare, but one TikToker pointed out that there’s an easier way to open them which will minimise mess.
If you peel back the corners of the hard cube, making each side of the cube look like it has wings, you just need to give it a gentle push.
Then, it’s no longer a cube, and you can tear the edge. The Oxo cube will then be a fine powder, rather than hard, but won’t end up all over your kitchen floor – genius.
So, like we said, it’s been quite the year – and we’ve learned so many things along the way. We’re so excited to see what we’ve been getting wrong in 2023. We’re sure there are plenty more life lessons to be had.
What’s your favourite hack of 2022? Let us know in the comments.
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