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50 Genius Solutions To Everyday Problems That You Probably Didn’t Know Existed (New Pics)
We humans have an incredible capacity to persevere. When we need to drive in a nail but don't have a hammer, we easily realize that we can use a heavy, flat object—like a rock—in its place. When our table is shaky, we quickly understand that we can put a stack of tissues under one of its legs to stabilize the darn thing.
So to celebrate our creative thinking, we at Bored Panda have an ongoing series where we post pictures of fun and smart out-of-the-box solutions that make life better. Whether it's a DIY home hack or a business product is not important, what counts is that it gets the job done.
Continue scrolling to check out our latest collection and fire up our earlier publications here and here when you're done too!
This post may include affiliate links.
These Tables At My College Campus Use Solar Panels As Shade, Which In Turn Provide Power For The Charging Ports On The Table
This Picnic Table With An Extension For Wheelchair Users
To learn how to look at the world from a different perspective, we contacted UK-based creative Lorna Scobie.
"There is a lot that gets in the way of creative thinking," the author of 365 Days of Creativity: Inspire Your Imagination with Art Every Day told Bored Panda. "Don't worry, we all have those barriers and you can overcome them."
"Start by identifying exactly what it is that stops you from being creative so that you can then find solutions. Many of us fear making mistakes or doing something wrong, but with creativity, it's good to remember there is no such thing! Allowing yourself to embrace mistakes can lead to learning and to new discoveries—about yourself and the way you like to express yourself."
Thailand Supermarket Ditches Plastic Packaging For Banana Leaves
I've been skipping the plastic produce bags and just grabbing them as is, or using a small, reusable bag. Not like produce doesn't get handled dozens of times by the time you grab it, anyways. Can't run from germs. They're everywhere.
My Hotel Phone In Iceland Has A Special Button That Will Wake You Up If There Are Northern Lights In The Sky
Home Office Busy Light - WiFi Enabled LED’s In Door Jam Linked To My Work Calendar, When I’m In A Meeting It Goes Red And The Kids Know They Can’t Come In
Yellow is for knock first, green for coming in for a chat/draw on my whiteboard
Scobie said it's important to remember that everyone's creative habits are different when it comes to the specifics, but we can all add more creativity into our lives. "We often naturally fall into playing it safe and sticking with a routine that we know, but breakthroughs can happen when we force ourselves out of our comfort zone."
"A great way to fuel your creativity is to be playful and to explore. New experiences can kickstart our ideas, and even the everyday can look new in different lights, so be open to looking at your world in a little more detail. Feeling like you have the freedom to play and be expressive is very important to creativity, so perhaps set aside notebooks for drawing or journalling that are just for you, where you don't feel any pressure to share what you create."
If You’re Bored At The Baltimore Airport You Can Learn CPR
This Parking Lot Has Lights Showing You The Empty Spaces. Genius
This Duck Ramp
This was only possible because of the huge strides in duck literacy
This Railing On Gazebo In Naples Has Braille Describing The View For Blind People. More Of This, Please
It may sound obvious but we often disregard what's right in front of us. "Because there are just so many hurdles we can put up, the best thing is to ignore all your obstacles and just go for it," Scobie said.
"Even if you just have 5 minutes to begin your creative project, make a start. The first word or mark can be the hardest part, so just make any mark to conquer that blank page. Remind yourself that you are creative, and you can do it!"
This Park Has A Tiny Water Fountain For Dogs
My Park Installed Outdoor Workout Equipment Facing The Playground
My workout was playing on the jungle gyms with my kid and running around with her. That was more fun than working out on stationary equipment.
Sink Area Designed For Drying
You Can Sit At The Ends Of This Picnic Table
According to Scobie, tapping into our inner potential can be really beneficial to our daily life. "Being creative makes us happier, it makes us feel good! It allows us to express and process how we are feeling," she said.
But if you don't know where to start, "It can be useful, to think about when you might be able to fit creativity into your day and plan to give yourself more opportunities to do this for yourself – a few minutes at lunch perhaps, or as a way to wind down after work. However and whenever works best for you. There are no rules."
My Eye Doctor's Office Uses Laminated Forms And A Wet Erase Marker To Cut Down On Paper Use
Seems Like A Good Time To Finally Show Off The Spice Rack I Built
My mother had a can cupboard built into the wall in the kitchen, between the studs in the wall.
These Benches That Turn Into Tables
This System Allows You To Know If The Package Has Been Handled Correctly
I see some package handler tilting the package in trial to get all the blue back down @_@
Popularized by positive psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura, there's this thing called the flow state. It describes a feeling where, under the right conditions, you become fully immersed in whatever you are doing.
"There’s this focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback," Csikszentmihalyi said in a 2004 TED Talk.
Traffic Light For The Jedi. In Ukraine
Books-A-Million Puts A Slip Of Paper Under The Stickers On Their Books To Prevent Sticker Residue Being Left On The Covers
My Bracelet Came With A Paper Clip To Help Fasten The Clasp
This should come with every bracelet! (Edit: I was too tired and didn't notice it was just a paperclip - I thought it was some fancy tool or something)
This Shopping Cart Has A Spot For Kids To Stand On While The Parent Pushes
Since the kids are going to stand there anyway, it's good companies have made it safe!
"If we get into flow, where our mind loses track of time and our stresses disappear completely, it feels so amazing," Scobie said.
"We all have so much stress to contend with nowadays, and I would say that creativity is an essential tool to help us relax. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you enjoy it. You don’t have to create a massive oil painting, but you can if you want. It’s all personal to the individual."
Movie Theater Tells You If There's A Scene Near The End Of The Movie
This Elevator With Foot Pedals For Floor Selection
*celebrates* OH GOD. I HIT ALL THE FLOOR PEDALS AND IM ON THE TOP. NOOOOOO. (Famous Last Words)
This Restaurant Figured Out That Face Masks Fit In The Napkin Dispenser
A Very Clever Story-Time Chair
"We are all creative creatures, regardless of our profession," Scobie said, adding that if you would try to actively notice all the times in the day when you are able to be creative, you most probably would end up pleasantly surprised.
"There may be projects that you’ve set for yourself such as sketching, journaling, or coloring, or it might be little daily decisions you make such as the flowers you choose in the shop or the way you lay your table for meals. It’s all creative, and it’s all great."
Tinder’s Warning To The LGBTQ Community
Plantable Calendar Made From Recycled Paper
New Toaster Has A Finger Pull In The Cord
Boards Installed At The Traffic Light So You Don't Have To Get Off Your Bike While Waiting
If you've got your seat at the right height, you won't have to get off anyway. I never do.
University Has A Vending Machine With All The Things You Need As A Student, From Sanitary Pads To A Power Bank
This Arthritis Relief Cream Now Comes With An Easy Open Cap For Those With Arthritis
On The Walls Of Madrid’s Metro System Is The Entire Novel Of Don Quixote, So You Can Read While You Wait And Pick Up The Next Time Where You Left Off
Genius
I like them a bit soggy. I don't know about anyone else, but crunchy cereals scratch up the roof of my mouth, especially the sweet ones.
IKEA Made Xbox And PlayStation Sized Boxes, That You Can Place And Check If It Will Fit On The Furniture You Want To Buy
Because no one thinks to take the measurements with them when they go shopping!
My Ruler Has A Raised End So It’s Easier To Pick Up
This Hotel I’m Staying At Has The Shower Shelf Accessible From Both Inside As Well As Outside
This Pickle Jar Has A Little Handle Attached To A Basket That Makes The Pickles Easier To Retrieve
These Tables Are On Railroad Tracks For Easy Moving
This Restaurant Puts A Mesh Net Over Your Lemon So When You Squeeze It, No Seeds Get In Your Food
My Plastic Wrap Just Told Me To Add It To My Grocery List
You Can Lock Up Your Skateboard By This Library
An Egg Timer That Shows You How Hard Your Egg Is By Cooking It With The Egg
This Post Office Has A Helpful Size Guide If You Want To Buy A Box
Canada Post puts out samples on display you can test out to see if everything will fit.
My Microwave Has A "No Beep" Setting
Clever Decoration Idea Found At Aquarium Barcelona
My Pen Has A Built-In Periodic Table
Extra Long Scissors For Wrapping Paper
This Mall Has A “Husband Depository” With Massage Chairs And Phone Chargers
This Korean Snack Has Two Notches On The Bag, So You Can Open At The Second Notch For Easier Access In The Later Stages Of Snacking
These Straws Made Out Of Pasta So They Don't Dissolve Like Paper
Wrapped up in plastic...but I still love the idea. I would stuff them with some cheese and boil.
My Water Cooler Has A Built-In Pet Water Bowl
These Fan Pull-Strings
This Butcher Has A Vending Machine For After Hours
These Batteries Are Flavored So Kids Won't Eat Them
The Store In My New Town Has A Specific Aisle Where You Can Meet Up With Your Spouse If You Get Separated
I guess the grocery stores are getting tired and too stretched to the limit on time to bother with lost people announcements.
This should be the magazine aisle. Are they supposed to just look at soup cans while they wait?
If you are having a domestic dispute, this might be an ideal place to pick up a replacement or exchange.
This is Festival Foods. The one by my house the Lost Spouses are in by the ice cream.
Wow, this is such a great idea in the 1900s before the cellphones.
On Many Japanese Toilets, The Hand Wash Sink Is Attached So That You Can Wash Your Hands And Reuse The Water For The Next Flush
This Advil Is All The Same But Has Packaging With Two Different Lengths, So More Can Be Hung Up At Once
A Man Bolted His Grill Onto An Old Lawnmower So It's Easier To Move Around
The Drain Is Right Under The Soap Dispenser So It Doesn’t Stain The Sink
Hands-Free Hand Sanitizer Dispenser. Home Depot Showing Some Ingenuity
In Japan most disinfectant dispensers at store entrances are pedal-operated.
This Bench Designed Specifically For People That Want To Chat To Strangers
These Cups/Glasses In The Freiburg Football Stadium Have Hollow Handles, You Can Carry Up To Four In A Single Hand
Wegmans Has A "No Candy" Lane, So Parents Don't Have To Drag Their Kids Past A Wall Of Sugar If They Don't Want To
Fairly certain the EU passed a law banning sweets at all checkouts. There's a dedicated sweets aisle, supermarkets just have to make up the impulse purchases with "healthier" options. (Or, as at my local supermarket, batteries). ETA: ok, so it's not an EU law, it's a UK proposal. Most supermarkets have already put policies in place, with the law to be enacted "soon".
This Free Airport Machine Sanitizes Your Phone And Passport In 25 Seconds
Fly Swatter Comes With Detachable Tweezers To Pick Up Flies
My Protein Powder Scoop Is Designed To Sit On A Lip Just Under The Lid So You Don't Have To Reach Into The Powder To Grab It
A Measuring Cup With A Built In Scale
This Milk Bottle Shows You How Much Milk Is Still Inside
This Hi-Hat Stand Is Used As A Handsfree Sanitizer Dispenser
If it was at a music store that would be amazing. Still really smart anywhere though.
The Books At The Bottom Are Flipped At An Angle You Don’t Have To Bend Down To See
My Dishwasher Has A Spot Specifically For Chopsticks
Nice but, omg, my in-laws put all of their nice wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher, and the older ones all look awful. FFS, people, it takes approximately 1 second to wash a chopstick properly by hand. Never put wood in a dishwasher!
One Pubs Solution To Social Distancing
Now, that's a liability. LOL But I know those can be set to a lower level and not horse pasture level. And even then, I've been shocked a couple times by a horse fence.
This Cafe Lets You Silently Tell People You're Willing To Share Your Table
…but where’s the one for “Leave me alone, no eye contact, please pretend I don’t exist and that there’s just a grilled cheese on this plate slowly disappearing”???
This Grocery Store Displays These Nuts And Other Snacks Upside Down So You Can See The Contents More Clearly
How This Cookie Monster Mug Has A Built-In Cookie Holder
My Local Meat Pie Shop Puts The Animal On Top So You Can Tell What Type It Is
This Door Handle Sanitizes Your Hands
I guess that means anyone who's decided not to wash their hands are getting their hands somewhat clean like it or not. That would get pretty skanky fast if people have crap on their hands, still. Sanitizers don't wash off solid dirt.
Finally, A Real Solution
I used to clean the men's washroom at Tim Hortons. The sticky floors were worrisome. I'm not sure if this is the greatest idea. Seems men would, Actually I know men would have a bit more fun and not be bothered to be as careful with their yellow fountains.
This Souvenir Shop In St. Petersburg Has Currency Conversion Tables On The Bottom Of Their Shopping Baskets
This Notebook That's Also A Calculator
This Holder For My Oreos
Now this is a mug I need. Take your Cookie Monster mugs that only hold 1 or 2 cookies. I need half a packet!
My Pencil Has A Built-In Ruler
This Mug I Found With A Tea Bag Holder
This Picnic Table Has A Built In Seat For Infants And A Small Bench For Kids
This Sushi Restaurant Has Tables That Simulate Traditional Japanese Seating While Letting You Sit Normally
This is really common in Japanese restaurants, and a lot of traditional homes have this in their washitsu (usually beneath the central tatami, which can be removed for this purpose).
Restaurant Toilets Forces You To Sanitize Your Hands On The Way Out
I Was Today Years Old When I Realized The Bottom Of A Gatorade Bottle Is Made To Hold The Cap
This Old Mug Has A Mustache Protector
This is because men used to wax their mustaches and the hot drink would ruin it without the guard. My family still has one my great uncle would use.
This Soup Bowl That Also Holds Crackers
This Box Of Dates Comes With A Built In Area To Throw Away The Pits
My Gum Came With Post Chew Wraps To Spit Your Gum In
There Is A Mall In China That Offers "Husband Storage" Where Wives Can Leave Their Husband While They Shop
Why do they always have to make these things out of glass so you can't have any privacy? I don't want all the 10yr old kids tapping on the window telling me I could have won already if I'd only picked up the sword at the end of the first level.
A Touch-Free Holy Water Dispenser Inside A Church In Poland
This Wheelchair-Accessible Picnic Table
Local Music Shop Using A Hi-Hat Pedal As A Hand Sanitizer Dispenser
Are the rest going to be the same thing with these touch free sanitizers?
My Mug Has A Tea Bag Compartment
Judging from the design, it's likely this is actually meant for loose leaf teas. Much more practical than the external tea bag holder at least :D
This Bathroom Door Handle That Doubles As A Hand Sanitizer Dispenser
The Cap Of This Apple Juice Bottle Has An Engraved Arrow, Which Indicates The Direction Of Rotation To Open It
Just A Genius Bag Design
This Restaurant Has Receptacles In The Table So You Won't Spill On Your Phone
Hands-Free Sanitizer Dispenser
This Package Tells You What Temperature To Grill Your Burgers To And Why
Not a husband but I don’t like shopping either. You can find me at the ddmaybeandor depository.
Exactly Brother! I'm always at the DDmaybeandor. Is it a place, is it a state of mind? Is it a meaningless world salad? Who cares! The important point is we is not husbands.
Load More Replies...
) paints their stop signs red on both sides. Its so nice to immediately spot 4 way stops at intersections.
I’m pretty sure wheelchair accessible tables are the standard at most campsites in the western US at least, the last dozen or so campsites I’ve been to have had them.
Mike lost one of the templates on his glasses. so he used a screen door latch (not as comfortagble but itworked. Picture122...3-jpeg.jpg 
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article260247510.html God, look at them. They'd eat their own s**t if a doctor told them not to. They are sub human filth.
Pretty boring article. But if you love hand sanitzers, I guess it's brilliant.
Not a husband but I don’t like shopping either. You can find me at the ddmaybeandor depository.
Exactly Brother! I'm always at the DDmaybeandor. Is it a place, is it a state of mind? Is it a meaningless world salad? Who cares! The important point is we is not husbands.
Load More Replies... ) paints their stop signs red on both sides. Its so nice to immediately spot 4 way stops at intersections.
I’m pretty sure wheelchair accessible tables are the standard at most campsites in the western US at least, the last dozen or so campsites I’ve been to have had them.
Mike lost one of the templates on his glasses. so he used a screen door latch (not as comfortagble but itworked. Picture122...3-jpeg.jpg
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article260247510.html God, look at them. They'd eat their own s**t if a doctor told them not to. They are sub human filth.
Pretty boring article. But if you love hand sanitzers, I guess it's brilliant.
