Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it—sometimes, the dumbest-sounding ideas turn out to be diamonds in the rough, real pearls of wisdom that make our lives a shade better. We’re talking, of course, about life hacks! Specifically, the kinds of hacks that sound like fake nonsense but are real lifesavers for some people.
After redditor Rat-avec-London asked other users of the site to share exactly those kinds of life hacks, they responded with over 26.6k comments. The thread quickly went viral, getting more than 75k upvotes at the time of writing, as well as attracting media attention. Check out some of the most intriguing life hacks that people shared below and upvote the ones that you liked the most. And remember—just because something sounds fake doesn’t mean it is (and vice versa).
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Using your turn signal actually can help other drivers know which direction you plan to go and makes driving safer for everyone
Whenever you accidentally set off your smoke alarm, give your pets a treat so they learn to come to you when there actually is a fire and you need to escape.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with showing up to work, doing the absolute minimum to maintain a job, and going home and enjoying your life. massive lifesaver to one's mental health.
"Work to live, not live to work". Others may choose to work harder, but that's on them - it's all a choice for what is important to the individual, and that's ok if it's different for different people.
In an earlier interview, I spoke about life hacks that sound absolutely silly with British comedian Ariane Sherine, from London. She helped me settle the age-old question about whether something that sounds and looks dumb is actually stupid or not.
“It’s actually very smart, and it’s a shame if people don’t use it for fear of looking dumb!" Ariane told Bored Panda, pointing out that we sometimes prioritize our reputations over what actually works. And we’re sometimes scared to test something out because it might make us look like utter fools.
If you've forgotten an acquaintance's name, just ask them what their name is, and after they tell you, say "no, your last name." Works like a charm and they never suspect a thing.
If at a place where you don't speak the language, learn the words for please and thank you. Those, and a smile, will get you far.
It's also helpful to learn, "I'm sorry officer. I didn't know she was your daughter"
if you are ever attacked by a dog, push your forearm INTO the bite. This pries the jaws apart and prevents them from clamping down. If a dog is attacking you, the best thing you can do is offer your forearm, push as far back as possible, and then grab the dog by the scruff of its neck with your other hand to hold it. The dog is now functionally muzzled and you have control of its head. The sooner and harder you push into the bite, the less damage the bite will do.
Ariane explained that people often look down on ideas that sound dumb on a theoretical level because we want others to think we’re way smarter than we might actually be. That’s how much our reputations matter to us (whether we’re aware of this or not).
Wear the same colours as the zoo employees, the animals will come right up to you.
This is also useful when you're walking off with the animal to your car to take him home.
From the amazing book ‘The Gift of Fear’ by Gavin DeBecker: “A woman alone who needs assistance is actually far better off choosing someone and asking for help, as opposed to waiting for an unsolicited approach. The person you choose is nowhere near as likely to bring you hazard as is the person who chooses you.”
Don’t wait for help either because you might not get it. I’ve been in a situation where I was being harassed by a man in broad daylight in a populated public place—multiple people saw it happening and no one helped. This may seem obvious now but it wasn’t obvious to me back then—do not be concerned with politeness when someone’s intentions toward you are not good. It’s okay to be “rude” to get away from someone who is trying to coerce you into doing something you do not want to do.
If you feel suicidal or depressed....don't focus on hope. It is enough to just stay curious. Curiosity has the power to keep you alive far longer than hope ever will. Curiosity leads to engaging work and this leads to opportunity.
As someone who was very suicidal I can say with certainty that the depressed mind isn't just a "sad person who is hopeless and just needs to focus on something". Depression is a full blown illness, like cancer. You don't tell a person with cancer to focus on curiosity it'll help with the treatment. A depressed mind is altered. Your thoughts aren't like those of a healthy mind. There is no hope, you don't actually choose to focus on the hopelessness, it's there. You can't just choose to be curious, some can't even shower, so I'm pretty sure curiosity won't help. I couldn't get out of bed for the first two days of my really bad depressive episode. I do not like this "hack" cause it's written by someone who is luck enough to not know what MDD is like for many
Depression deadens curiosity, hope, interest in food, relationships, life in general. I'd love to think this worked but for those in a rut this sounds more like pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
If you feel suicidal I am sorry firstly, but then if you really do think that that is the only hope, write explanations to everyone you know, full explanations, leave nothing unsaid, do not kill everyone along with you, because that is what happens, the not knowing why, the blame, the guilt, it can also kill, it can kill the futures of the people you care for, it can actually really kill some because they follow the path you lead them down. Consider everything you have to say in those letters to people and then really think can you leave them all behind you, is there a chance you could make changes to anything you do now that could make things not so dire ? Killing yourself seems like the fix but it is a bandaid that falls off the moment you are gone, and everyone else is left with the open wound. Look back at your past, remember other things that felt horrible, and like nothing could fix them and laugh at how now they feel like something small, you are stronger than your feelings ♥
To be honest, I subconsciously used this at a job I hated but needed as it paid really well.
Oh please . if you don't have hope you won't be curious about anything
Explain. This doesn't make much sense. Curiosity? Of what? What you talking about?
Curiosity of anything. Don't you want to finish that series you've been watching? What about a new movie/book? Or finish that new game? Just whatever you're into, pick something that you're interested in. You can even pick when you're not super depressed in preparation for when you are if you know you'll end up there. (Like me with my bipolar disorder). I know depression saps interests, so having an action plan helps. It's really just the idea that you can always die after fulfilling your curiosity, right, so why not hold out until you do whatever. Hopefully by then you'll be out of the deepest part of the hole and able to get help/move past the suicidal thoughts.
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I feel so down ... I wonder what that cafe in the parks coffee is like . ..... This is how I’m getting through my illness at the moment . It helps.
Yeah, maybe this works for some people, but "staying curious" requires a level of thinking that's a step higher than where your brain is when you're depressed/anxious and can't deal anymore. When I'm in the suicidal-thoughts level of depression, my brain doesn't go into higher thinking. I stay here because I know what it would do to my family if I left. But being curious? That only works when I'm NOT in the Black Pit of Despair.
Personally I fight depression by pure spite. Like someone else said, if depression wants to kill me it has to do it like a REAL disease and actually damage some organs.
It is a real disease. It damages your brain. And sometimes takes your life...
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If you want to kill yourself, make a appointment with death like, from today in 5 years, I'm going to kill myself, but first I will get as much help as I can (counseling, therapy, medicaments) and I will do some of the things from the book "1000 things to do before dying". If you gonna kill yourself in 5 years, what's wrong with trying then ?
Someone downvoted you, so I made it zero. Dude, honestly, that's my thinking too. Somehow it really helps. The only thing that snap me out of that state of mind. When black days come, I decide, like, after 6 months I will do a revision. If nothing changes I can do it then. It makes me feel happier. It's something about taking control of your life (literally). It might be dangerous way to others but I am exited to find someone who's in the same boat. Take care
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If hope costs the price of *1* lottery ticket, that might not be a bad deal.
get a true psychic to give you a reading of your future the one where you are dead and seeing people who you think won't miss you are devastated or the other possible future that shows you helping another soul in pain. Depression is awful, awful pain that sadly most feel must be hidden. I wish we could all find the button in our minds that knows we are truly loved even though we feel that is not possible.
Suicide is a permanent solution to a TEMPORARY problem. Please do not forget this.
True. This is something that's kept me going - I want to see where life will take me and learn as much as I can about the natural world. This is why I went into science. For if I can make a difference for wildlife, those who cannot speak up for themselves, through conservation efforts then it's worth it to keep going.
Focusing on the good things even small is good though. Like at least I'm breathing, don't have cancer, have a roof over my head. This helps you see you don't have as bad as some people. But yeah if it's serotonin causing your depression and your crying over everything and feel hopeless see a dr and get meds.
Depression means that you don't want to breathe, do not care if u get cancer or loose home. Ever thought that seeing dr and getting meds not always help? 50/50 I would say
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I can understand both sides. I get why people find it offensive as it resembles being told to cheer up or something- but I also feel like this person was trying to come from a good place and use something that may be a better alternative than just "have hope!" or "cheer up!" At least stay curious is one I haven't heard before :)
I took up fly tying 5 years ago and it has helped remove potentially dangerous ideas due to its myriad of techniques and patterns. Keeps me “curious” about what else I can create.
This is very true. When I feel down I just put anything I can think of in a search engine and start looking (do it yourself sites are best..it's amazing what people come up with!) and 3 hours later I'm so far away from where I started I don't even know what 30 or 60 things lead me to it. Deep sea creatures, videos of animals meeting owners who have been gone awhile, even "(name a country...) Got Talent golden ticket performances" will make you see how magical things can be, how happy people can be made, and how even little things like Popsicle sticks or origami can take you to a new world. .
Even wondering what will happen tomorrow is enough to keep you going. If not, SEE A DOCTOR FOR HELP.
Curious about what comes in the future. If you think well about the plans and how you imagined your life 10 years or 5 years ago, you can't really really say that nothing as changed. Maybe for best, maybe for worst. That saying, stay curious on how your live will be in 5 or 10 years.
"Everybody wants to think they’re smart (even if they’re actually Donald Trump!) and people hate feeling stupid or being duped. If a piece of advice doesn’t sound helpful, I guess people who see themselves as clever will automatically reject it rather than try it and risk feeling dumb," the comedian said this is why we may avoid doing silly things.
When you're freaking out, need to relax, e.g. when a chiro is about to crack your neck or anything along those lines, wiggle your toes. Apparently your brain can't do both, freaking out and wiggling toes, tensing up and wiggling toes etc
25% of 18 is the same as 18% of 25. Percentages are reversible and one is easier to figure out than the other one.
It you start to cough while eating or drinking, essentially the “went down the wrong pipe”, immediately lift both your arms up in the air and keep them held up for a few seconds. The act opens your airways and will allow you to catch your breath. Also helps food or drink travel downward.
Just throw ya hands in the air... And waive around like you just don't care! :)
One of the British comedian’s favorite life hacks has to do with avocados and how to check if they’re ripe. Ariane pointed out that avocados have an “inbuilt ripeness sensor” that lets you distinguish if it’s still green, ripe, or overripe.
If you’ve got a splinter below your skin surface, wrap a banana peel around it. Wet side against your skin. It will draw the splinter out most of the time. I don’t know how but it fricken works. Banana voodoo. Banavoodoo. Banadoo?
If your car is overheating, turn your heat on full blast.
When you turn the heat on in a car, it pulls heat from the engine into the cab, thus cooling the engine.
And roll down the windows. Working in Little Rock, AR, had to do this often in the summer rush hour traffic...which didn't rush.
If you're watching YouTube on your phone just scroll to the end and restart the vid to skip all ads.
Why TF does YouTube think abruptly cutting away in the middle of a video that’s less than 10 minutes long won’t royally piss people off—-especially not even doing it in a section of the video where it would make sense? YouTube is playing a very dangerous game with that practice. Piss enough people off, and viewership will drop dramatically.
“You know how hard it is to tell whether an avocado’s ripe before cutting into it? Simply twist the stem. If it doesn’t come off, it’s underripe; if it comes off and is green underneath, it’s ripe; if it’s brown underneath, it’s overripe. Voila—no more rock hard or mushy grey avocados!" she shared. The comedian added that it’s ironic how avocados marketed as ‘ripe’ in supermarkets are usually anything but.
Sleep on big decisions.
You think most clearly in the morning, and often after some time passes you realize you were about to make a big mistake.
German expression "I' ll sleep over it", in French "La nuit porte conseil - The night brings advice"
Makeup remover on deodorant stains.
My husband has a lot of T-shirts with white/stained armpits, so I gave it a shot.
It worked. :o
Counting really slowly with the goal of reaching 150 is a decent way to fall asleep. If you have any thoughts during it just let them play out, and if you forget what number you're on just go from what you last remember. If you make any major movements just start again.
The goal is to force your brain in to slowing down and not having any jerky motions or thoughts, and eventually reaching such a level of carelessness that you eventually fall asleep without realising. Helped me quite a few times, especially with rain sounds, hope it helps some of you too!
I don't usually have trouble sleeping but when I do what best works for me is taking a random letter from the alphabet and trying to find as many vegetables and fruit starting from that letter.
Like with plenty of new ideas and inventions, chance plays an important element when it comes to discovering new and useful life hacks. Whether through experimentation or lucky coincidence, we might end up finding a pearl of wisdom among the weeds.
More life advice than a life hack, but: “A dropped knife doesn’t have a handle.” If you ever drop a kitchen knife or other bladed instrument, just let it fall. Trying to catch it will almost certainly give you a nasty slice on the hand.
My involuntary reaction has always been to try to lift both feet off the floor at the same time.
Run your wrists under cold water or rub an ice cube on your pulse points to cool down all over quickly when you get overheated. It seems obvious but I didn’t realize it until last summer working in a warehouse with no ac.
If you’ve written on a dry erase board (or any glossy surface) with a permanent marker (like a Sharpie) just draw over it with a dry erase marker and it will wipe right off.
Hi! I'm pooh & I just use hand sanitizers (100% recommended by a fellow bear)
And despite how funny it might sound, life hacks are an expression of how wonderful the scientific method is, riding on the wave that is human ingenuity. We might lose hope in humanity from time to time, but just the fact that there are hundreds of people sharing useful life hacks is enough to restore our faith in our intelligence as a species a tiny bit,
Gently rocking back and forth while pooping. I’ve never had any problems in the bathroom, but I happened to be sitting on the toilet when I read the comment so I decided to give it a test drive. I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and effortless the whole experience was and I haven’t gone back to my old stationary technique since.
Dawn dish soap is better for cleaning tubs than any bathroom cleaner. Consider that when you bathe you’re mostly washing of body oils/dirt/skin. Dawn is so effective at cleaning oil it’s used to clean up after oil spills. You can use a small amount and it cleans pretty effortlessly with circles on a sponge.
When putting a paint can lid back on the can, first put down a layer of cling film (saran wrap). This will stop the lid sticking to the can once the paint on the lid has dried.
Which of these life hacks did you find to be the most useful? Which ones were a complete surprise to you, dear Pandas? Do you have any fake-sounding-but-real hacks to share with all the other Readers here? Drop us a comment below!
Crayons are flammable and will provide about an hour of light as a candle if you lit the top.
Use a wet knife to chop onions, it reduces tears if you have sensitive eyes.
It really works!! I could barely make it through chopping half an onion without needing multiple breaks before I tried this. Just keep the faucet running and dip your knife under periodically while chopping. I still get a little reaction, but nowhere near as bad.
Don’t leave the faucet running, please. Have a container next to you filled with water rather.
"Pay yourself first". No matter how much or how little you make. Take 10% of your paycheck and put it in an emergency fund before you buy or pay for anything else. That strategy has saved me on numerous occasions.
Mosquitos Bites be gone!
This hack is the most valuable thing I’ve learned in my whole life.
Heat of the back of a spoon with hot water. Then apply the back of the spoon to the bite. I usually do it twice for good measure. The spoon needs to be hot enough to keep on the skin without burning yourself. So test the heat before you press it down. Keep it on until the heat dissipates. Bite will stop itching almost immediately...usually the bite ha completely disappeared within an hour.
This only works with mosquitoes from my experience.
I have used ice cubes for the same result for many years. Rub until the area is numb. By the time it warms up, no more itch. I am guessing the increased blood flow to warm it up helps dilute/carry away the toxin?
If you're going to climb a ladder or work on your roof, wear a bike helmet.
Every male should know this. If you want to get rid of an awkward boner flex any muscle in your body maybe an arm. For a minute. The blood will rush to that muscle and away from your D. Crisis averted.
During pollen season... rinse your hair before bed. Otherwise you’re just depositing pollen on your pillowcase every night and then rolling your face in it all night. And then multiply that by how many nights you use the same pillowcase.
Rubbing vegetable oil (or any cooking oil) on your hands after you cut up jalapeños or other hot peppers. It gets rid of the awfulness that would normally be left on your hands from the peppers. I rub my hands with oil and then wash it off with dish soap. I can totally remove my contacts after doing this. It’s crazy how well this works.
Sounds interesting, but I will test it some other way...just in case.
The cheapest, most effective, and safest insecticide against roaches (especially those huge “water bug” roaches that we have in the South) is a spray bottle of mostly water with just a little liquid dish soap in it.
Shake the bottle & get the water a little foamy, then spray the roaches. They will run, scrabble, and attempt escape, of course, but they will die. The soap film suffocates them faster than any chemicals will.
I know two ways to get rid of roaches. I moved into a place that had an infestation and was working for a guy who had a Masters in Entomology. He said just make sure everything is dry. You can't starve a roach - they will literally eat anything. But always keep your pipes dry, wipe out your sinks, etc. When they have no access to water they will leave. That's all I did. They were gone in a couple weeks and never came back. The other idea is what's stated here but you don't have to spray to roach. Just put out some little dishes of water with a couple drops of soap in them. The roaches will drink it and die.
Drinking a cup of water with your alcoholic drink, waking up Alive not dead.
I hesitantly submit squeegeeing yourself off before getting out of the shower. It's so simple I was dubious, but just use your hands to quickly wipe off excess water and bingo, you're not cold getting out.
Microwave tip: Put a cup of water on the tray with whatever you are microwaving, it always makes it taste better and "fresher".
If your ring gets stuck on your finger windex will slide it right off. Worked at a jewelry store for five plus years.
Eating candied ginger helps with nausea. Any ginger really, but candied ginger is much better tasting.
Vinegar in a plastic bag with rubber band tied around any faucet will make the faucet like-new. I'm talking decade old rust and stuff gone...and water flows like the first day.
Getting 8 hours of time on bed, not necessarily sleep, is mental magic
Note: this post originally had 91 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
I'm confused as to where the "fake sounding" element in the article title comes in. These all seem like perfectly plausible bits of advice.
I’m struggling to understand the bit where it’s supposed to be fake. A lot of these aren’t relevant in the UK but there’s some sound advice on many of these posts.
Live the way the title says “shared by people “. Who else would be sharing it? Animals? Aliens??
My cat is The Terminator. If it moves, he kills. He ate his first kill and threw up within seconds. Never seen him so disgusted. Now he just kills them and calls me to give him a treat. He's turned mercinary.
wish mine was like that, instead she catches them and then walks around growling until someone manages to corner her and take it away (whether it's dead or not)
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My favorite life hack that is pretty unbelievable until you try it: remove smells from your hands (fish, garlic, etc.) by rubbing them on stainless steel while you wash them. If you have a stainless steel sink it works great. They even make stainless steel bars of "soap" for this purpose. Works like magic.
Here's a lifehack for hiccups that works 100% of the time for me, 100%. No more drinking upside down or making someone surprise you, no. Take a deep breath, as deep as you can. Then, bring your teeth together and blow out on an S, making a snake sound, sssssssss! 🐍Blow air out real slowly like that. When you're out of air, push some more out, try it, there is usually a little more left. Then take another deep breath and do it again. Two to five times should do the trick. If you hic while doing the sssssss, just get straight back into the sssSSSssing 🐍and keep focused. This is a common singing exercise, and there is some science to why it works. Hiccups is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm, which is a muscle that sits like a belt around your lungs. Singing, and especially this exercise, is focused on the diaphragm, so this distracts it for a minute and it "forgets" the spasm. Voila! Hiccups no more!
One time I had the hiccups and so as a joke my grandpa told me to look in the mirror to scare myself. Going along with it just because, I actually went and just looked in the mirror and my hiccups were gone afterwards. Voodoo magic
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If you have a song stuck in your head, sing the last few lines and then announce the next song to yourself.
On the flip side, I've nearly gotten into accidents because of drivers who use their turn signals when they're not turning. I hate driving.
I'm confused as to where the "fake sounding" element in the article title comes in. These all seem like perfectly plausible bits of advice.
I’m struggling to understand the bit where it’s supposed to be fake. A lot of these aren’t relevant in the UK but there’s some sound advice on many of these posts.
Live the way the title says “shared by people “. Who else would be sharing it? Animals? Aliens??
My cat is The Terminator. If it moves, he kills. He ate his first kill and threw up within seconds. Never seen him so disgusted. Now he just kills them and calls me to give him a treat. He's turned mercinary.
wish mine was like that, instead she catches them and then walks around growling until someone manages to corner her and take it away (whether it's dead or not)
Load More Replies... My favorite life hack that is pretty unbelievable until you try it: remove smells from your hands (fish, garlic, etc.) by rubbing them on stainless steel while you wash them. If you have a stainless steel sink it works great. They even make stainless steel bars of "soap" for this purpose. Works like magic.
Here's a lifehack for hiccups that works 100% of the time for me, 100%. No more drinking upside down or making someone surprise you, no. Take a deep breath, as deep as you can. Then, bring your teeth together and blow out on an S, making a snake sound, sssssssss! 🐍Blow air out real slowly like that. When you're out of air, push some more out, try it, there is usually a little more left. Then take another deep breath and do it again. Two to five times should do the trick. If you hic while doing the sssssss, just get straight back into the sssSSSssing 🐍and keep focused. This is a common singing exercise, and there is some science to why it works. Hiccups is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm, which is a muscle that sits like a belt around your lungs. Singing, and especially this exercise, is focused on the diaphragm, so this distracts it for a minute and it "forgets" the spasm. Voila! Hiccups no more!
One time I had the hiccups and so as a joke my grandpa told me to look in the mirror to scare myself. Going along with it just because, I actually went and just looked in the mirror and my hiccups were gone afterwards. Voodoo magic
Load More Replies... If you have a song stuck in your head, sing the last few lines and then announce the next song to yourself.
On the flip side, I've nearly gotten into accidents because of drivers who use their turn signals when they're not turning. I hate driving.
