Everyday Items With A Secret Hidden Purpose
Have you ever wondered about everyday items’ design and why they are designed that way? Why are lollipop sticks designed with a hole on the end of the stick, or why do denim pants come with a fifth small pocket that seemingly has no use? Are these items designed that way purely for aesthetic reasons or are there hidden purposes to these designs? Come to think about it, people in the old days lived prudently and economically, so it’s safe to assume that things were invented with multiple purposes in mind, to save on cost. To lessen your wondering, here are some everyday items with secret purposes that you may have missed:
Your Jeans’ Fifth Pocket
What’s up with the small fifth pocket found on denim pants? While some may say they are there simply for decorative purposes, others have found use to store super small items on that fifth pocket, say folded up money or a small lighter. I myself have stored my earrings and chain necklaces on that fifth pocket multiple times! Back in the 1800s, jeans were definitely not considered as fashion pieces. In fact, jeans were the everyday pants of gold miners, and the fifth pocket was used to mainly store their pocket watches, delicate and expensive pieces that should be stored safely when they were working in the mines.
The Hole at the End of a Tape Measure
If you’re a pro at do-it-yourself ventures, you’re probably familiar with the use of the small hole at the metal end of the tape. While some people think they’re just simply designed that way, those familiar with that hole’s use have sworn that work becomes easier when they utilize that hole. What is it used for, you might ask.
That small hole at the end is used to hold the measuring tape in place, so that you can continue measuring the length of your wall or table, etc. The head of the nail fits perfectly into the notch, and you’ll find the tape measure more steady and stable, ensuring no room for wobbles and wrong measuring.
A Solo Cup’s Lines
Ah, the solo cup, the life of any college party, what memories it brings back for all of us! I mean, who hasn’t drunk from one of these plastic cups, right? But if some of you might be left wondering why these solo cups come with graduated lines along its sides, there’s a perfectly practical purpose to these lines! These lines are built-in for measuring the amount of liquid you put into your cup! The bottom line measures exactly an ounce, and is an ideal for measuring hard drinks like tequila or gin. The middle bottom line measures 5 ounces, which is a perfect amount for wine while the third line from the top equals to 12 ounces, a perfect serving for beer!
The Hole on a Lollipop Stick
Ever finished a lollipop and seem nonplussed about the hole at the end of the stick? If you’ve tried whistling into the stick you’ll be disappointed, unless it’s a whistle lollipop that you’ve just finished off and designed with a whistle stick. That hole’s actual use is to hold the candy in its place during the manufacturing process. The hot candy is poured onto the end of the stick, filling the hole and making the candy stay in its place while it hardens. Once hardened, the candy is then impossible to budge off the stick.
The Arrow Next to Your Gas Gauge
I’m not a car driver but even those with cars are seemingly nonplussed about the arrow right beside the gas gauge! When asked, most seem to think that the arrows are just there for dashboard aesthetics! But of course, car enthusiasts can probably tell you that there’s a hidden design for that little arrow, which you’ll find very handy on the occasions that you rent a car. The arrow, placed left or right or the gas gauge, is designed to let you know on which side of the car the gas tank is placed! No more mistakes of parking your car at the wrong side at gas stations once you’ve unlocked this arrow’s purpose!
Toothpaste Stripes
Nothing says fresh and minty like newly brushing your teeth after eating lunch. But have you ever thought about why toothpaste comes with stripes and while some are just pure white? If you think they’re just for aesthetics, you might be right, but back in the days these stripes have a purpose to them! Toothpaste company, Aquafresh, first started the striped toothpaste trend after gaining insight during several consumer studies. The stripes were designed with supplemental features other than just cleaning your teeth. The blue stripe was added to refresh your breath while cleaning your teeth, and the red stripe was designed to add a triple-action combo of cleaning, refreshing and controlling plaque.
The Indentation In The Bottom Of Wine Bottles
Have you ever noticed that most wine bottles – especially back in the days – come with an inward indentation at the bottom? While some people say that this indentation indicates the quality of the wine, it’s more realistic to say that the indentation is the result of the bottle’s manufacturing process. Back in the days, wine bottles are crafted using a handblown process, and it’s impossible to create a perfectly seamless bottom that let’s the wine bottle stand on its own. To make a seamless bottom, a nub is created that’s pushed inward, resulting in the indentation and the seamless bottom that lets the bottle stand on its own.
The Hole in Your Pot Handle
Cooking pots with handles often come with a hole at the end of the handle that’s mainly used to hang the pots on hooks in your kitchen cabinets or cupboards. While this space-saving design is the main purpose for these holes, there’s another secret and hidden purpose that can also help you tremendously in the kitchen while you’re cooking. Cooking enthusiasts often place their ladles or cooking spoons onto these holes whenever their cooking, saving an extra small plate from being used and dirtied up as a ladle or cooking utensil holder.
Exit Signs Hidden Message
Driving on a busy highway can be quite a scary experience, especially for new drivers, not to mention having to decipher all those highway road signs when you’re already busy maneuvering the car, right? Reading and understanding these highway signs can get quite confusing for most, resulting in having to miss your exit and going another extra mile to get off the next one. You might think that highway exit signs are seemingly placed randomly but here’s a tip to make you read the signs faster and to avoid confusion. The alignment where the exit sign is placed tells you which side of the road the exit is on!
Highway signs can be scary and confusing, especially for those new drivers or those not used to driving on highways. Reading those signs and looking for your exit can be utterly mindboggling for some, and many have been known to miss their exits because of their confusion. You might think that those exit signs are randomly placed but here’s a tip to lessen the confusion. The alignment of the exit signs tells you which side the exit is on! If you see the exit sign is aligned at the right side, that means that the exit is coming up on the right side of the highway. Knowing this makes driving along highways easier and saves you time too!
The Extra Fabric in New Clothes
Nothing is as frustrating as ruining new clothes during laundry time, and I’m sure plenty of you have experienced this! But did you know that it doesn’t have to be that way? New clothes often come with extra buttons and a swatch of fabric sewn attached to the dress or shirt you’ve just bought, and these are not for just keeping until a button goes missing. The extra fabric is given out by manufacturers to you can test the fabric out with your laundry detergent first! That way, if the detergent is too harsh, only the extra fabric gets damaged, and not your newly bought dress!
Notebook Margins
People often take for granted the margins that papers and notebooks come in, assuming that those lines are only for the purpose of aligning your writing or as a writing guide. While that is mostly true, did you know that margins originally come with a deeper purpose that just for alignment? Back in the days, it’s quite common for houses to have rats living on it as well, and one thing rats love to chew on are papers. Back then, people often find their papers chewed on by rats around the edges, destroying whatever they’ve written on it. So manufacturers invented the margins, so that people would write well of from the paper’s edges, thereby saving the writing and making it still decipherable in the event that rats chewed on the edges.
Tiny Hole On Elevator Doors
While most don’t seem to notice this, elevators have tiny holes drilled onto the doors, and its there for a reason. Most assume that these holes are for peeping Toms to freak people out but let me tell you that these holes are there for safety and security purposes! These holes are used to open up the elevator doors in the event of a technical failure so that people trapped in the elevators can get out. These holes are designed with special unlocking keys that are kept by that building’s superintendent or administrator.
Eat Tic Tacs the Right Way
If you don’t know yet, Tic Tacs are designed to be eaten one at a time, contrary to popular belief! Tic Tacs are actually breath mints, so just one piece is enough to freshen your breath! To make your mints last longer, Tic Tacs are designed to come in a container with a specially-designed lid that dispenses only one Tic Tac at a time. If you take a look at the lid, it has a special Tic-Tac shaped indentation to hold one mint at a time. So instead of shaking the entire box that lets a few pieces to come pouring out at the palm of your hand whenever you open the lid, you just have to upend the container only once, letting a mint fit the indentation, which will then be dispensed when you open the lid.
The Holes on the Airplane’s Windows
The first few times you’ve flown on a window seat on an airplane, I’m pretty sure you’ve panicked at finding a tiny hole at the bottom of the window, I did! You’ve probably thought that the window is damaged and at some time during the flight the window will blow wide open and suck you out onto the sky! But don’t worry, that tiny hole is there for a reason, and no, its not a design flaw. The tiny hole found at the center bottom of the window serves to regulate the air pressure difference between the inside and outside of the plane as a buffer, and also serves to avoid the window fogging up. You’re safe!
The Ridges On The Edges of Coins
Ever noticed how some coins have ridges at the edges while some don’t? Pennies and nickels have smooth edges while quarters and dimes come with ridged edges. While some may think these ridges serve to make it easier for you to differentiate between coins while groping for some coins in your pocket, there is a more credible reason for these ridges. Back in the days, coins are made with different metal types the equivalent of the coins. A silver dollar is made up with an ounce of silver. Therefore, some people shave off the edges and sell these slivers of silver, then spend the shaved dollar, without it lessening the value of the coin. Manufacturers got wind of these practices, and so they made ridges to make it noticeable if the coin was shaved off.
