Did you know that basic power plugs boast prongs that can double as flathead screwdrivers? Or, to supercool a drink, you just need to wrap a paper towel around it and then place the bottle in the freezer? If not, continue reading to see forty-two more extremely useful life hacks.
5 Interesting home facts:
- Today’s dishwashers can be traced all the way back to Josephine Cochrane’ 1886 hand-powered machine. Her creation made its debut at the 1893 Chicago’s World’s Fair. Cochrane�s invention had nothing to do with saving time or protecting her supple hands. You see, Cochrane, as the granddaughter of John Fitch, the inventor of the steamboat, was filthy rich. She had never washed a dirty dish in her life. Cochrane only invented the modern dishwasher because her servants kept chipping her fine china.
- Boiling water in the microwave can cause explosions. Not an action movie explosion with flames and slow-motion, but an explosion nonetheless. Heating water in the microwave in a clean ceramic or glass container can prevent bubbles from forming. Bubbles help cool the water down. Without bubbles, water gets heated beyond its boiling point. When this “superheated” water is disturbed, say you move the container or drop something into it, the heat is violently released. So be careful when heating up water for your tea in the microwave.
- The earliest commercially successful blender was called the Warning Blender and it was named after orchestra leader Fred Waring. How did a music conductor get involved in the blender business? Well, Frederick Osius was working on improving the blender when he went to Warning for some much needed investment capital. Osius chose Warning because the maestro had an ulcer and one of the meals prescribed by his doctor was pureed raw vegetables.
- The garbage disposal has been making appliance repair men rich from San Antonio to San Marino. They have John W. Hammes to thank for all those plugged up appliances. Hammes invented the garbage disposal in 1927 for his wife (apparently she didn’t want a vacuum cleaner). He spent a decade refining his invention before starting his own garbage disposal business. The name of his company? The In-Sink-Erator Manufacturing Company.
- Boxer George Foreman had nothing to do with the invention of the George Foreman Grill, although you probably had guessed that already. In 1994, he was hired as their spokesman. His healthy lifestyle as a boxer was conducive with the grill’s claim of fat reducing cooking. As a pitch man, Foreman’s infomercials were so popular that the company, Russell Hobbs Inc., decided to put his name on the product (after giving him a boatload of money). The actual appliance was invented by Michael Boehm. Since 1994, the Foreman Grill has sold more than 100 million units.
