This Guy Tests Viral Hacks So You Don’t Have To, Here Are 30 Of The Most Helpful Ones
Life hacks are supposed to make things easier for us, but when so many people and publishers are using the label just to farm clicks with their zero-effort content, we often grow frustrated just with the term alone.
So a guy named Andrew, who goes online by 'This Is Hack' has set out to test as many as he can. And he sounds like the right candidate for the job. "I'm a professional actor [and] I've studied hard for a long time to become one," he writes on his socials. "I used to work at a theater, played Holden Caulfield in 'The Catcher in the Rye' [as well as] Romeo in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet.' I've even had some parts in movies."
Continue scrolling to check out some of the life hacks he tackled in his spare time.
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I agree. But why is he wearing a pair of red socks as a tie?
Load More Replies...Or just use one of the million twist ties you all have lying around the home
Personally, I like using metal clothespins, they're really hard to break. Just twist or fold the bag closed, and clip. Great for arthritis sufferers.
Load More Replies...I roll the top down and keep it closed with an elastic hair band.
Use a spoon to keep a strainer or siv level.
Use the container upside down so you don't have to dig out the cake.
Load More Replies...What?!? Using a container to store food!!! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THIS!!!
done this for ages, especially when bringing a cake into the office to share pre-covid, used a large container, put the plate on the lid and put the bottom over top.
Put a sheet of foil on your ironing board and there will be no need to turn your clothes
Just don't wear clothes. Wear fur. Silver tabby fur is the best, of course. Easy to lick clean, accentuates the butt, and blends in well with whatever Shyla is having for dinner.
Scales work well too! Just shed them when you want a new look.
Load More Replies...I…ron…? Psssh, just hang your item of clothing in the bathroom and turn on a hot shower for a few minutes.
The board has holes so you can steam iron. What's going to happen if you steam into some foil?
Be careful when ironing delicate fabrics with this, it can result in burning the fabric as it's gets so hot.
Alternative method - those little dials on the front of your stove can actually be used to turn down the heat. Works like a charm.
Doesn't always coincide with the cooking requirements, though, and one cannot guarantee against foaming starting while unattended, but this spoon trick is obviously excellent insurance. Merely accepting the usefulness also saves on wasting snark that could be used elsewhere.
Load More Replies...I dont understand why...But but this has never worked for me. Ive tried it with both plastic and wooden spoons, but still...
I actually knew this from childhood. My mother taught me and her mother taught her. Not necessarily a life hack, just old fashioned knowledge.
Use greese-proof baking sheets to clean off stubborn limescale.
my grease proof baking sheets are silicone...so doesnt work for me
You stick the stem through the hole in the grater and pull, you do not grate the parsley.
Yeah, I use scissors then the stems go in the freezer for stock.
Load More Replies...I don’t think I want to know where this illegitimate son of Mr. Bean has been sticking his bit…
Load More Replies...Use the peel for homemade fruit tea, maybe dry it for thenext tea. With cinnamon and lemon rind, maybe with a little of curry, hot or iced is delicious.
Place a hot jar over butter to soften it instantly
Jar obviously only hot on one side; either that or he has no feeling in his left hand
The part they don’t show is the shattered glass after this dude drops the red hot jar….
Load More Replies...seems like more effort to boil the water and everything than it is to just microwave the butter for a few seconds
Isn't pouring boiling hot water into a random glass container risky? I only do it with my glass stuff that's rated for the oven. Maybe I'm misrembering but there's a risk for it to explode.
It can be, yes, I was thinking exactly the same thing; I assume the spoon is definitely some insurance against this but I wouldn't trust it entirely.
Load More Replies...Did anyone else have those plastic faces you could push into the bread to do this?
Didn't even know something like that exists. Do they work?
Load More Replies...And you can cut up the crusts in cubes to make croutons/stuffing mix.
Anyone else thinking this guy looks like he is 15 and 35 at the same time.
Imo that is the absolute best way to look. I am currently 15 and 50. Am hoping to get to 15 and 90, or hopefully even much more <3
Load More Replies...THIS IS WHY I WANT THE ORIGINAL KINDER TO BE IN THE US I AM SO JEALOUS OF THE REST OF THE WORLD
now come on, the government has your best interests at heart - you know you cant by dangerous things in American shops.
Load More Replies...He needs to find a life hack to fix his bow tie…if that’s what that is. Sorry, it’s bugging the c**p out of me.
He is melting the chocolate in hot milk and the marshmallows are on top. That's a classic choco bomb :)
Load More Replies...It's possible too that the big marshmallows are cheaper per gram than the small ones. It'd also be cheaper to just use a cocoa type mix than buy an actual kinder egg to melt into your drink though.
Load More Replies...we dont have the original kinder eggs anymore so pointless for those of us in the usa...but there are kits to make hot chocolate bombs anyway
Why bother gluing it back together if you're just gonna melt it though?
One version I saw was to make a small box of chocolate using an ice cube tray or a silicone mold and then put mini marshmallows in there.
I guess twisting the bag in the middle so it cushions the bottles from clinking against each other.
Load More Replies...For carrying two bottles without them dislocating or clinking at each other? This one would actually be useful if plastic bags actually were still common here...
I use this trick all the time to very two fast food cups in the same bag without them tipping over
Put one bottle in, twist bag, put in second bottle. They stay upright
Since I could never get the razor trick to work I actually bought something on Amazon for like $11 that does the job perfectly. I think it's called a pill-eater or pill-shaver....something like that. But I absolutely love the thing and the sound of it shaving the pills off is one of THE most satisfying things in the world. Ughhh I'm at work and now I'm wishing I could just go home and use it!!
Just use an apple cider vinegar, sugar, dish soap and water mix. It attracts them and they instantly die when they hit the mixture. It gets rid of a lot of different small flies fast.
Indeed. Also works with (sweet) wine, vinegar and a drop of dish soap. It creates a massacre
Load More Replies...I just left a cup of OJ out on accident and they all flew in and drowned.
As someone who deals with fruit flies annually… I used to do the apple cider vinegar/soap hack… I broke down and bought a little fruit fly fan last year… OMG! 😳 It was eye opening to see how many fruit flies I WASN’T catching before I had the fan. Best $30 I ever spent!
Use a straw to get the pesky stem off of strawberries quickly.
Must be why we call them straws; they must've been originally invented for this. :-)
Load More Replies...Get a shark. It looks like a small melon baller with teeth around the edge of the bowl. Works great for strawberries and tomatoes. https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-1176-Strawberry-Tomato-Corer/dp/B000LNQ6Y0
I'm not usually a fan of one trick gadgets, but sharks are very useful
Load More Replies...It's. Called. A. Straw. That. Is. Why. They. Are. Called. Strawberries.
i just use the huller that i got from my grandmother, they have been around for 50 years or more
I have a bought rubber lid a bit like that for use on large yoghurt pots.
I've got a few of those too, each one fits three different circumferences, I use for tins. Glass jars just get the lid put back on.
Load More Replies...And has latex in the food. I'm allergic to latex around my mouth on my chin. Where food can fall to.
I'm allergic on my hands and who knows where else. Don't think I want to know what an allergic reaction would be like on the inside. No way.
Load More Replies...Why not use a cap, which is, after all, meant for this, unlike the balloon.
Didn't he just show us how to make butter softer instantly? And why would this be easier than spreading butter? I don't get it?
Butter can be hard, this would soften it. But cleaning grease from a garlic press? That's an awful idea!
Load More Replies...On firm butter it *really* buggers up bread though. I like this one.
Load More Replies...I despise cleaning garlic from these and definitely not cleaning butter out of it
Ah, I get it, the "hack" he is testing is that you use a fork to punch evenly spread dots in your cheese, so the slices are even. Then he demonsteates that the job can be much eadier be done with a veggiepeeler*(Sparschäler in German), not knowing that in some countries special slicers exist or just saving on drawer space. *Why people in possession of a veggiepeeler still scrape carrots and peel e.g. asparagus with a standard knife ...
I can confirm that this is the best hack ever. I’ve been using it for butter and cheese for years and any hard cheese just gives up on resisting the moment I grab the veg peeler.
I had completely forgotten this was common in my household when I was a kid!
It's a potato peeler, but a wire slicer would be better.
Load More Replies...Catching hair in the shower drain.
It doesn't catch all hair but it does alright and if you shed a lot you have to clean it out mid shower.
Hair catcher or sink stopper; I have them in my kitchen sinks and in the bath. You can probably get them from Amazon but I got mine from a hardware shop about 30 years ago
Load More Replies...I mean, if you don't have a wine-key, I guess that's one way to do it. In a pinch, I've used a hotel Bible and a pen to pound the cork in, so who am I to judge?
[God looking down from on high]: OK, that's strike one!
Load More Replies...I get the concept, but holding a flame to a wine bottle for eleven minutes doesn't seem safe. Looks like a recipe for glass grenade to me
yes, it would harm the flavor of a wine, so dont do it unless you care more about a slow show than quality of the wine
Load More Replies...I mean, when you have no bottle opener, sure... Just beware of thermal shock as you can shatter glass well with this.
Trivia: rich folk would get their servants to iron the newspaper, not to make it flat, but so the ink wouldn't rub off on their hands.
Not steaming… just a hot iron. And I’ve done this in college when I’ve purchased used books and wanted to get rid of someone else’s old notes and highlighting, BUT… it doesn’t work with all inks/highlighters/markers/pencils.
Load More Replies...This only works with so called "erasable" ink pens. The ink disappears with heat created by the friction of the eraser instead of removing it. So ironing simply erases large swaths at a time. This will not work with most pens.
I mean, the ink has to go somewhere, right? So it’s probably distributed throughout the rest of the pages 🤷🏻♀️
i never had a reason to iron my homework...if my teacher didnt like it, too bad. work was done, nuff said.
Use a pipe to add the key to a key chain easily.
Why isn't he using a pair of protractors to cut the pipe instead of a pair of scissors?
staple remover works better to open ring on a key chain to add or remove a key
We don't have plastic straws here any more. They've been restricted.
I bought a better keychain from Amazon for $7 a number of years ago. You press and it opens a bit!
if you have a staple ripper - the jaw kind, that works well and lot less work.
Add water and cover the pan for perfectly cooked eggs.
I like to spoon the oil over the egg while it fries and get those edges all crispy and brown.
I think it’s just water; basically he’s poaching an egg
Load More Replies...Simply turning off the heat and adding the lid will do the trick. No water needed.
This is poaching an egg. If you think it's sunny side up, it isn't. If you think it's a fried egg, it isn't. So it should have a veil because all poached eggs do. And there's no oil to spoon over it because it's not a fried egg.
It's actually called a basted egg, at least that's what our customers call them when ordering. Also there isn't any fat added just some nonstick spray on the grill before adding eggs.
I've been doing that for many, many years, long before hacks were invented.
Umm. How is this a hack? People have been making poached eggs for hundreds of years. LOL
People, In the first two panels he is watching a stupid "hack" made by someone, the last two he shows how it is done - some of you are simpletons tho :D
I wanted to say the same thing. Glad I'm not the only one.
Load More Replies...Does it really count as a "hack" if you're the only person in the world doing it wrong in the first place.
I'm pretty sure by now he's making fun of life hacks.. Since this is just it's intended use
What the actual f**k? Are you kidding me? If you don't know how to open a bottle of ketchup, I'd say you aren't ready to use ketchup...
too much effort, take the top off and use the little paper tab on the paper cover and pull it off...this guy is useless for the most part
In many dining experiences, folks like to put the guest's napkin into the glass at the place setting. I assume this is a "quick hack" to accomplish that.
Load More Replies...I must be daft because for about half of this I need a caption of some kind so I can include it. What are you doing?
I'm really irritated there are no captions. Just plain lazy writing.
Load More Replies...For all those many times you must have a red light in your house. And know I have the song "Roxanne" stuck in my head
For all those times when you’ve murdered someone and need to hide the bloody mess until you can clean it up. /s
So, I just have my soft can-opener sit there and hold the paper over the light?
SERIOUSLY BE CAREFUL PUTTING ANYTHING OVER A BULB! THEY CAN GET HOT AND SET THINGS ON FIRE!
I think here the guy drew a red circle on paper with markers and that made the light red; for anyone who was confused :)
just to make red light? you realize there are lightbulbs for that? or paint a regular light bulb with suncatcher paint
One of the ways you can get certain lighting during photos. Usually other filters are used besides paper but for an 8 year old's school project, it wouldn't be bad.
rub your tap with a candle
Why would you do this though? I mean you have a stainless steel tap cos you like the shiny look. If you rub it with a candle you lose the shiny look. Seems pretty pointless.
Load More Replies...That still wouldn't work where I live. I joke that the water is harder than the rocks it comes out of.
Is...is this a joke? His "hack" is to turn your veggies while washing? The only hack I see here is him...
Water goes through the florets rather than just splash off.
Load More Replies...I'm more interested in what's going on with that fan above him... Can someone explain? I'm in the US...Is it a foreign thing?
What is this for. How is this a hack. No I do not want to use question marks. Yes I know it’s 2 keys away.
It’s telling you to turn the broccoli upside-down to wash it, I think it’s because the florets are aquaphobic.
Load More Replies...he looks so proud of himself for coming up with common sense things most of us have been doing for years
Possibly a water heater; if it is there should be a bottom plate to it
Load More Replies...ehh fold it and use the ruler to rip the closed side to have a better cut
I kind of feel like if you're the type of person with access to two protractors, you probably have a pair of scissors handy
Again, for all of you who think he’s an idiot, he is testing viral hacks…these are not his ideas!
heres a thought...if you dont have a scissor, make a sharp fold in the paper and carefully tear along the line...wow...common sense again
This guy’s entire segment was absolutely ridiculous and a waste of time!
Spraying water on tight jeans to loosen them.
use tiny tooth brushes to clean the holes of your showerhead.
The are called interdental brushes, you use them for cleaning braces.
Load More Replies...Right. At best the roll would start smelling really bad.
Load More Replies...Holy s**t! Are you telling me you can cook food in a microwave? What sorcery is this?
I don't even know what that is, but it looks very undercooked
Things don't get brown in the microwave. They have a sort of sickly pallor.
Load More Replies...My dad called this 'airliner style'. It's how I prefer to make scrambled eggs. No oil, eat out of the jug.
Removing corn kernels.
using a tool that's meant to remove kernels to remove kernels... what a hack!
I would say progressively MORONIC, but that’s just me 😆
Load More Replies...Yeah, these aren't great. I surely hope this guy isn't on here reading these comments. Burn after burn after burn.
This is stupid but I have a pillow hack. Turn the pillow case inside out, put your arms inside, hold onto the pillow, and flip over, your pillow case is now on your pillow
Or just slip the pillow case in the pillow. It is actually pretty darn effective
I read this wrong and thought you said why just not grate Satan 😅
Load More Replies...to cut your eggs perfectly in half, place the knife halfway in, then roll the egg itself towards you, the knife always embedded at the same depth.
This guy's just screwing with us now. Is he seriously suggesting that this is easier than just, you know, cutting the egg straight through?
It’s supposed to leave the yolk intact instead of cutting though it
Load More Replies...Folding duct tape to mark end of it.
So, I can waste six inches of MASKING tape rather than fold over a quarter inch at the end? Good tip. Suggested by Big Tape, no doubt
He is folding it over and tearing it off against the roll itself in order to get a clean tear.
A spoon would be safer AND can hold more Nutella!
Load More Replies...Is this suggesting making a cookie lollipop using a knife as the handle? That's great - I love my snacks with a side of chipped tooth. Other than creating job security for dentists, what exactly is the point of this?
Half of these are just using things as they were intended. It's nice that he's figuring it out for himself, though.
Load More Replies...do we have Flanby in the United States any place? It looks delicious.
Cooking an egg in a microwave.
Sooo...if I cook an egg in a microwave, I should use a plate? Huh. I usually use a wool hat or an old sock - I'll have to try this...
I just like his delightful facial expressions… He looks like a brilliant combination of David Byrne and Mr. Bean
A lot of these are useless without captions, and most of them aren't hacks.
He looks like the illegitimate offspring of Eddie Munster and Pee Wee Herman.
Most of these need some kind of text explanation, also, mosty of these are poop
These so-called "hacks" are dubious at best, and a few of them are downright dangerous. Some basic common sense will serve you better than all of them combined.
I just like his delightful facial expressions… He looks like a brilliant combination of David Byrne and Mr. Bean
A lot of these are useless without captions, and most of them aren't hacks.
He looks like the illegitimate offspring of Eddie Munster and Pee Wee Herman.
Most of these need some kind of text explanation, also, mosty of these are poop
These so-called "hacks" are dubious at best, and a few of them are downright dangerous. Some basic common sense will serve you better than all of them combined.
