10 Common Household Items With Genius Hidden Purposes

Gas gauge arrow

While electric cars are on the rise, most vehicles still require gasoline. And that means drivers need to keep an eye on their fuel gauge to know when they need to find a nearby gas station.

Next time this happens, though, take a closer look at your fuel gauge and you will see a little arrow. That arrow serves as a basic reminder of which side of the car your gas cap is on. If you have a new vehicle or are driving a rental, this can save a lot of time!

‘Random’ buttons on your jeans

Nothing is quite as comfy as a good pair of jeans. But you might find yourself wondering why your jeans are covered with so many buttons.

Technically, these are not buttons but rivets. And they aren’t random: the exact placement of these rivets helps to keep your jeans from ripping and tearing as early as they otherwise might. And that’s why your favorite jeans have lasted as long as they have.

The hole in your pot handle

Even if you don’t cook that much, you likely have a few cooking pots around the house. But have you ever wondered why the pot handles all have a little hole?

There are two basic reasons for this. The first is that the hole makes it easy to hang the pans up (which you might see in the kitchen of a professional restaurant). The second is that the hole makes it easy for you to insert utensils such as stirring spoons while you cook.

Dimples on golf balls

Pop quiz: what shape is a golf ball? If you said “round,” you are technically incorrect. That is because the little “dimples” on the golf ball keep it from having a perfectly spherical shape.

As you might imagine, those golf ball dimples didn’t end up there by accident. Their placement helps to create turbulence while the ball is in the air and reduces overall drag. From lifting up to traveling farther, these little dimples make the entire process of hitting a golf ball much, much easier!

Margins on paper

Whether it’s college-ruled or not, most of the paper you need to get for school has something in common: a red margin. Sure, the margin helps keep your writing straight, but did you know the original reason for these margins is kind of insane?

Many years ago, the dog was less likely to eat your homework than rats. Homes were likely to be infested with rats, and these rats loved to chew on stray bits of paper. By adding margins to the paper, homeowners could rest assured that rats chewing on the sides of the paper wouldn’t actually eat any important information.

Soda can tabs

If you like to drink soda, then you’re probably dealing with soda can tabs each and every day. However, most of the biggest soda fans don’t realize that these can tabs have a hidden purpose.

After you use the tab to open up the can, you can turn the tab around and use the hole in the back to secure your straw. Next time you pop a straw in your soda can, use this technique to make sure the straw doesn’t go anywhere!

Takeout food boxes

Many kinds of takeout food come in special takeout boxes, including Chinese food. And after we bring our Chinese food feast home, most of us immediately take out our plates to pour the food on top of it.

However, many takeout boxes were meant to fold out completely flat after you pull the sides out. This lets you use the takeout box as its own plate. Best of all, you won’t have anything you need to wash when you’re done eating!

Hidden keyboard bumps

Whether for work or for pleasure, many of us use computer keyboards each and every day. Despite this, most people typing away each day after never noticed the little “bumps” on their keyboards.

Go ahead and check your own keyboard out now. If you look closely, you’ll see that the “F” and “J” keys each have a little bump on them. The purpose of this bump is to make it easy for you to use the keyboard when you aren’t looking directly at it. And thanks to these bumps, those of us who never learned the proper QWERTY method of typing can still move pretty damn fast on the keyboard.

Lines in your red solo cup

Whether you like to party or just don’t like washing dishes, you are probably familiar with the red solo cup. But did you know the very design of the cup is made to help you party?

It all comes down to those horizontal lines inside the cups. These lines tell you how much of the cup you should be filling with certain beverages. For example, the bottom line measures an ounce, which is good if you are doing shots of hard liquor. The next line measures five ounces, which is good for a glass of wine. Finally, the last line measures 12 ounces, which is perfect for a normal can of beer.

Freezing dish soap inside a ziplock bag

Do you have some aching muscles, or maybe a bout of sciatica? Classic wisdom holds that you should put an ice pack on the area until the pain is reduced.

However, here is a sly tip: instead of using a traditional ice pack, try filling a sturdy Ziploc bag with dish soap and then freezing it. The final result is a bag of frozen material that will mold to your back better than an ice pack, and you can keep freezing it and re-using it as often as you want.