Many everyday items have hidden features that we often overlook but can really improve our daily routines. For example, I recently discovered that the hole at the end of my pot handles isn’t just for hanging—it’s perfect for holding a wooden spoon or spatula while cooking, keeping them from slipping into the pot.
Luckily, there are kind people all over the internet who love sharing these helpful tips. We found some great ones under this r/AskReddit thread, and of course, we had to let you in on them as well. Take a look below—you might find something that could make your life a bit easier!
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Sometimes, we stumble upon hidden features in everyday items purely by chance, and they quickly become life hacks we can’t live without. Other times, they’re intentionally designed for specific purposes. Bored Panda got in touch with Oyindamola Ajibike, a product designer in London, UK, to understand why some objects are crafted with these clever elements in mind.
She explains that one reason is the joy of discovery. It’s exciting when, while taking the time to explore a product, you come across something unexpected. For example, Google’s search page often has fun Easter eggs, like the dinosaur game in Chrome when there’s no internet connection. “I’ve used a bank app that brings up the help chat when you shake your phone,” Oyindamola adds. “I thought that was quite interesting.”
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Humans love discovering new things, and it’s no wonder this plays a big role in design. We’re are highly stimulated by novelty. Neuroimaging shows that our brains respond much more intensely to new experiences—up to three to five times more, according to Dr. Sylvain Moreno, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Simon Fraser University.
“Let’s say a musician, who’s very experienced in sound differentiation, hears a sound they’ve never heard before; their brain will react very strongly because their brain is already trained to capture differences in sounds,” says Dr. Moreno. “The same would go for someone who isn’t a musician, just to a lesser degree.”
This heightened response is due to evolutionary development. “It’s rooted in survival,” Dr. Moreno says. “We need to understand if novel stimuli in our environment is dangerous or not.” To react quickly in such situations, our brains release dopamine, signaling that something is beneficial. This makes experiencing new things exciting.
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If you own a windows computer, do this from time to time, especially if it's behaving oddly and a reboot doesn't seem to fix the issue:
1. Run CMD/PowerShell/Terminal as admin (easiest way is to right click the start button and select it.
2. type in this and press enter:
sfc /scannow
3. Let it run and look at the results.
I work in IT, and this fixes a range of problems. Why Windows isn't set up to run this automatically in the background occasionally, I have no idea.
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Including subtle features isn’t just about adding fun elements; it’s also practical. These details can make a product cleaner and easier to use. Oyindamola says, “Designers could hide features to help with decluttering or streamlining the way a screen or product works.”
When using something new, it’s practical to learn the main features first before exploring advanced options. “Advanced features in a product can be hidden for users to find later on. This, I believe, can minimize overwhelming them. As users become more familiar with the interface, they gradually discover more complex features,” explains Oyindamola. Think of all the settings on your phone—you don’t need to explore them all right away, but they’re there when you need something specific.
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If you put the Konami code into the Fisher-Price baby video game controller toy, it does a special sound effect and tells you that you won.
Edit - Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. For those who are curious.
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This should be common knowledge as it's obvious but people do still seem to miss it. Most toasters come with a little removable tray which collects crumbs for easier cleaning.
The paper sauce-holders in McDonalds peel open to make a bigger sauce tray for easier dipping and more sauce-to-surface ratio.
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If your car has a memory drivers seat there's a decent chance your car ties the setting to a specific key fob. So you and your partner can each have their own key fob that automatically adjusts to your setting when you get in the car.
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Kraft Parmesan cheese lids that screw on also fit on mason jars. Side by side refrigerators do not have enough space so we keep a small mason jar of the cheese in there with the larger container in a garage fridge.
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I didn't always know that most dish brushes have a scraping edge on the top.
It thought it was pretty useful when I found out.
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The star symbol next to one of the floors on the elevator button panel is the floor that leads you out to the street.
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When working with spreadsheets, tab moves you to the next cell, but shift+tab moves you back.
I was working in a grocery store, and they were teaching me how to do the end-of-night spreadsheets. Put in a wrong number, tabbed to the next cell.
"Great," said my boss. "Now you've got to hold down tab for like 10 minutes to go all the way around and get back to that cell."
I look at her. I hit shift+tab. Her jaw dropped.
EDIT: For the folks asking, "Why didn't she just point and click on the cell?" This was 20 years ago. It was old-back-then software custom built for our chain of stores. DOS-based. All keyboard entry. No mouse.
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Fisher & paykel washing machines can play 3 different national anthems. (US, NZ, Aus.)
No, I don't know why, either.
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Cars have a little arrow on the gas tank icon that tells you which side has the refueling hatch. You're welcome.
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Mose staplers have a hole in the sides allowing you to see if you are running low on staples so that you don’t have to dry fire or open it up to check.
On Swinglines the staple pusher thingy is copper colored so that it stands out through the hole.
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On a Apple phone, if you text yourself a flight number, tapping the number will reveal flight information. Don’t know if it works with whatsapp, but for text messages it works great!
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The instapot handle on the body fits the lid handle.
You can put the lid handle in the body handle so you don't have to put the wet dirty lid on the counter.
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Your mattress might have a winter side and a summer side. Check its edge for a tag.
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So, before I say this, I realize you can use basically anything to do this, but, Maruchan ramen cups - the cardboard cover is designed to be removed and not torn off, then flipped upside down and there are little slits to fit the edges of the cup in to hold down the lid while it cooks.
It's useless, because again, you can use anything...like the fork you'll eat it with. It fits the topic though.
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Most prescription bottles with childproof lids have a second pair of threads, so you can flip the lid over and it will screw on normally without the annoying childproof feature.
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If you hold the RIGHT button in on your Casio F-91W wrist watch for 3 seconds, the word **Casio** appears on the screen. You're welcome.
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Can't believe I'm admitting this, but the little black slider on the lid of Yeti mugs is magnetic. It comes completely off of the lid so you can wash all the nooks and crannies. I only discovered this after accidentally dropping the lid once and it flew off. I spent years washing around that little black piece. I felt so dumb.
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The clear section at the end of a lipstick tube that shows you the color can be removed. It's filled with more lipstick!
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The "end" of a roll of tape doubles as a temporary mustache for impromptu spy missions—perfect for undercover operations in the office.
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The cap on disposable pepper grinders can be left on to hold/transport the ground pepper and also keeps steam from getting into the grinder.
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On those gas station pumps that advertise to you while you fill up your vehicle: there are buttons on each side of the screen. Pressing the second from the top on the right side will mute the speaker.
Is this a USA only thing?
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The metal rods on car headrests can be used to break out windows if you are trapped.
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Most "modern" European windows have a 3rd setting called "Spaltlüftung" (gap ventilation). It's a setting between the tilting and full opening of the window, that just leaves a tiny gap. Extremely useful if you have a pet, but nearly no one knows about it.
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Have you ever noticed the hole in the handle of a pasta spoon? It's actually there to measure out a single serving of spaghetti. Yeah.
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Some tent bags have a removable strip of fabric on the bottom that, when removed, makes extra space for repacking the tent.
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Many (not all) dishwasher front panels are color reversible.
Unscrew, slide out the front panel, and flip it over to change the color. Check instructions online or contact the manufacturer for instructions, and always disconnect power first for safety.
Usually the panel flips from white to black, but sometimes there are other hidden color combinations. This makes it easy for the manufacturer to ship out units in whatever color was ordered.
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Swiping the little horizontal line at the bottom of your iPhone to the left or right when you have an app open allows you to go back and forth between apps that you frequent.
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Automatic vehicles have the option to switch to a lower gear so you don't have to keep hitting the brakes going down a steep and/or long hill.
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Not sure if it’s only people around me that tend not to know this, but for most vacuums you should be able to rotate the top hook that holds the cable 180 degrees to take off the wire coil all at once instead of having to unwind the entire thing.
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There is a tiny k**b on the base of a combination square. You can unscrew it and have a scribe, arguably better than a pencil.
I find they tend to loosen and disappear over time, but great for when it is there.
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On a Heinz bottle of ketchup the "57" glass on the bottle is where your supposed to tap it to make ketchup pour out faster.
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Almost all Name-brand kitchen faucets have a free replacement parts policy. There is no shipping fee.
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When you pop open a can of soda, you can turn the popper around and insert a straw through the hole.
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Some brands of mustard squeeze bottles allow you to snap the flip-top in an open position so it doesn’t get in the way when dispensing.
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If someone walks into your space and you don’t want them to see the stuff on your screen (Windows) all you have to do is hold down the Windows key and tap the letter “L”.
Win+L (it’s not case sensitive)
It immediately gives you the LOCK screen.
You might have your Cayman Island bank accounts open, or “something else”…😬.
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Super Glue - stick the metal end of a tack/push pin with the plastic top in the hole instead of the screw top. Keeps the glue fresh & always easy to remove.
Caulk in a caulk gun - use a plastic electrical wire nut on the end to keep the caulk fresh after use.
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Most garbage disposals can be reset easily if it stops working. It’s a red button under the disposal device you can press and it resets.
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Babies clothes: The neck hole flaps are not for some sort of weird baby style points. They are to allow the garment to be pulled down over the shoulders and be pulled off the legs in the event of a poopocalypse (or whatever else).
When a cousin who told me this over a year in to ours, she was like "🤯🤯🤯 right?!??" She was excited to tell me because she had JUST learned it and didn't know herself, and her kids are both out of college haha.
Almost every new parent I talk to now, I ask if they want a couple tips, two important things no one told us and that we didn't read anywhere, this is the first. Not that I talk to that many new parents, but so far the score is 7 of 8 didn't know.
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On the hatch to your gas tank, there is a hook for the 'cord' or a place to put the gas cap to keep it from dangling and scratching your car while you fill up.
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I'm not sure about other car makes, but if you use the key to manually unlock your driver's door on a Toyota, turning it a second time will unlock ALL the doors.
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Holding down the PS button on your PS4 controller for around 10 seconds turns off the controller but not the console. Great for downloading games or watching a movie and preserving the battery of the controller.
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Most can openers have a bottle opener at the end. Most wine openers with the two handles do, too.
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Most Swiss Army Knives have a set of tweezers and a toothpick. There will be a small gray or white plastic bit on the end which you can pull out with your finger.
I had no idea for the longest time. They are small and flush with the sides and it never occurred to me to try and pull it out.
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The smile on Scrub Daddy/Scrub Mommy is for spoons.
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The lines on the red SOLO cup are measurements: 1oz, 5oz and 12oz.
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Top drawers in dishwashers can drop down, usually to fit taller glasses. They generally are in the up position when new and drop down with lever tabs on the sides of the drawer.
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Expo marker ink will remove Sharpie ink. Cover completely and simply wipe away.
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Window restrictors found in many hotels will have a button on the hinge that allows you to fully open the window.
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Osprey backpacks have an emergency whistle built into the sternum strap.
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You can use advanced Google search to find PDFs, Word Documents, Presentations, etc even if it’s not linked anywhere on the website.
I’ve found a lot of court records like this.
Also found a presentation created by a coworker from 15 years ago when they worked for a different company.
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Many large appliances like washing machines have a diagnostic mode where you can test every mechanical function of the device for faults. Depending on the issue and model you have you can theoretically fix an issue without calling an expensive repairman over.
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Most caulking guns have a hole near the handle that can be used to snip the tip of the caulking tube.
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Some funko pop boxes contain a little plastic stand to clip under the figurine feet in order to stabilize it.
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The spot in between the handles on scissors to open bottles. When we first started dating I blew my wife's mind when I used scissors to open a bottle of soda that was screwed on very tight.
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Cars
Most cars have a secret compartment to store your sunglasses, usually on the ceiling in front of the sun visors in the middle. recent Toyota Sequoias have five for some reason
Side panel of your car door tells you what to set your tire pressure for your car
Trunk/back of your car has a pull so that you can open your gas tank in case the switch in the front of the car doesn't work
By the odometer on your dashboard this small silhouette of a gas pump and an arrow which shows you what side she used to fill your gas tank.
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The slots on your blade guard front of your chop saw is so you can look through the guard to see directly above the blade to line up the cut target, and not look around the side to line up target cut. It's hard to adapt at first, it is difficult to reprogram old habits.