A Life Hack refers to any trick, shortcut, skill or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency in all walks of life. It is also a tool that makes one’s life easier or a clever tip or technique for accomplishing a familiar task. I have recently come across several Life Hacks which may change your world. I hope at least one of them comes in handy for you today.
Is your car lock covered with ice? Well, not yet, but if that happens, pour some hand sanitizer on the area. The alcohol in it will melt the layer away almost instantly. Since the weather is still not wintery cold, I haven’t been able to try this. I’m simply putting it out there for you. Most people have a little container of hand sanitizer with them these days. Give this a try when you need it.
Of course, hand sanitizers are getting a bad name in these times. It seems they kill off too many germs and we need to be exposed to some. So, if you’re not using it on your hands, at least keep it handy to free up the lock on your car.
Are you too busy to read the full article on the Internet? Maybe you just want the highlights of something you are researching. The chrome extension TLDR site will give you quick summaries of long articles online. This service is free for the download. In our busy lives you never know when you need to skim things at a quick pace. In that same vein, if you need an answer to a question just call this number, 1-334-844-4244. This is a special line which is connected to Auburn University in Alabama. They will try to answer any question you have. I called them and actually talked to a live person with my question.
Here’s a Life Hack involving your cell phone. Put your home number in your cell phone in the contact list, under owner. That way if someone finds it, they can contact you. Of course, as most people do, your phone will probably be locked when they find it. Then they will have to go through numerous combinations to see if they can get into your phone. But if they do and someone wants to help you and not steal your phone, there will be your number.
Here’s a tip about your charger. If you put glow-in-the-dark paint on your phone charger, you will never fumble in the dark again. It seems like such an easy thing to do. I have searched for that charger many times in the dark.
This crazy Life Hack may never come into play, but I’m offering it in case you ever need it. If you get kidnapped and they tie your hands together and put tape over your mouth, lick the tape until it falls off. I guess that means then you can scream for help, or bite somebody.
The next one will take some advance preparation. It is suggested that when you go to a zoo, wear the same colors as the employees do. The animals will come right up to you instead of backing away. As I said, this would require some reconnaissance work. You would have to visit the zoo the first time to see what to wear and then return in the proper color. Maybe it would pay off. I love it when the animals come right up to you as if they want to have a conversation.
For a mosquito bite, which you could still get, press a hot spoon onto the spot. The Life Hack information didn’t say how hot it should be. Use your best judgment. But it should stop the reaction and thus the itching. Of course, if you get the spoon too hot, you could burn yourself, I suppose. But here’s a chance to stop it before it starts.
When traveling, if a taxi driver asks if you’re from around here, always answer, yes, even though you may be a visitor. OK, so that’s not the truth, but it could help you. Sometimes they take the farthest route, driving up the price for tourists.
Actually, this happened to me when I was visiting Boston. I was there for my niece’s college graduation and she was in the cab behind us. Our driver was going all over town taking the long way as we headed to dinner and she called me on her cell phone saying, “Aunt Melanie tell that man to pull over right now.” You have to know my niece, Kathryn. She’s a very strong-minded young lady and knows what she’s doing, so this wasn’t totally unexpected. Quickly, her cab pulled over, too, and she got out to speak with our driver about the most efficient way to get to our destination. She had been a student there for four years and knew he was taking us the long way with her cabbie following. Since then I have been more aware of the out-of-the-way routes cab drivers try to take for a bigger fare for them.
These are my tips for the day to help you live a more streamlined, easier life.
(Melanie Behrens – melb@marysvillejt.com)