People Explain Which Common Products Have A Feature Most People Aren't Actually Aware Of

People Explain Which Common Products Have A Feature Most People Aren't Actually Aware Of
Image by PDPics from Pixabay

"Wait ... that's what that's for!?" - us, about 17 times reading this thread.


One Reddit user asked:

What common product has a feature you're not sure everyone is aware of?

and honestly, we know we normally do a whole big long intro, but we're all over here so annoyed at all the stuff we didn't know that we're gonna go try things out. We're pretty sure we have quite a few of these things laying around here somewhere...

Microsoft Whaaaaaaaaat

shocked kimmy schmidt GIF by Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtGiphy

When you are writing in Microsoft word or Outlook and accidentally leave caps lock on, select the text and press Shift F3. It will change the text between upper and lower case, and there's a third option to make the first letter of each word upper case too.

Always seems to blow peoples minds when I tell them.

- graeuk

The other one along with this I love to tell people about is windows key + period which opens an Emoji keyboard on your pc.

- Chimie45

The Windows

With many car key remotes, you can make all the windows go down at once by pushing the "unlock" button 3 times.

- throwRAstarly667

I learned this the hard way, sat on my keys, all my windows and sunroof opened.. in the middle of a snowstorm

- stixyBW

On our car remote it's press and hold unlock to lower all windows. Great, until I sat on the key in the house whilst it was raining outside. It still smells a bit musty months later.

- xylose

During the summer it routinely hits 100F during the summer. My car is parked in direct sunlight from the time I get to work until the time I leave.

I can literally bake cookies in my car in the summer. Being able to let the windows down from a distance like that would be a god send.

- bitchyghost

Move That Cursor

If you hold down the space bar on your iPhone (and some androids) it allows you to move the cursor anywhere in the text.

- ChicagoShadow

Woah. You have saved a lot of my time in future. Thanks

- ash_it_24

Most of the time the cursor defaults to the beginning or end of the word I tapped. Using the space bar is wayyyy faster for very quickly place the cursor EXACTLY where I want.

Also, a key component to this trick is that you can re-tap the space bar (while doing the cursor movement) to switch to highlight mode. Highlighting shit on iOS is hard AF to get it precisely where you want. This solves that.

- 1saltyMF

Switch It Up

Most ceiling fans have a switch to reverse direction of the blades.

Set to clockwise at low speed in winter for an updraft that redistributes warmed air at the ceiling downward, and then switch to counter-clockwise at higher speed in summer to create a cooling downdraft.

- Sweetcombination6

If you're gonna use that switch, before you turn the fan back on, make sure you dust the blades! You will get a nice snowfall of dust on your head and in your eyes otherwise.

- DanielleMuscato

The Most Magical Mute

You can mute many microwaves.

- FessJaulkner

Holy shot I need to figure this one out. I always set it for more time than I need so I can open it before it runs out of time, otherwise,

BEEEEEEEEP......

BEEEEEEEEP......

BEEEEEEEEP......

BEEEEEEEEP......

BEEEEEEEEP......

And there's nothing you can do until the 5 excruciatingly long beeps.

- newspapey

I would absolutely buy the first microwave that gives the user control over beeping volume, or has an abbreviated beep mode. It's fascinating how manufacturers put so much attention on aesthetics, but in terms of acoustics they have no issues with making their products ugly as f*ck.

- AnthillOmbudsman

Staple Shenanigans

office space stapler GIF by 20th Century Fox Home EntertainmentGiphy

Staplers have a spring loaded base plate that can be popped up and rotated, which will make the staples splay outward as opposed to inward.

The rub is that nobody wants that so as a practical joke I flip them for everyone's stapler and watch as then go f*cking batsh*t crazy.

- kdubstep

I noticed that at work one day and looked up why that is.

A staple that points outward is far easier to remove. So if only want to staple some documents temporarily, that's what that setting is for.

Basically bend it in the middle and the staple comes right out, no fancy stop remover necessary.

- RoyalOreo99

Stop Stretching

Oven doors come off. just open till the first stop and pull straight up. i don't know how many people i've seen stretching to clean the back.

- pbehndthedumpstr

And stove tops lift up and can be locked like a car hood!

So you get everything under/around the coils

- iamfuzzywuzzy

I remember when I did that in college and my roommates were absolutely floored that it did that. I'm just like... I've always known this and your kitchen at home must be NASTY.

- slapthefatcat

That Overlap Is There For A Reason

Baby onesies have the overlap at the shoulders so you can pull it down the kids and off if they have a diaper blow out.

So much better than trying to get a sh*t-covered onesie over their head. I'm so annoyed that I found out about this after I was done with the baby stage.

- LucyWyldstyle

Man, this tip would have been nice when my kids were babies and regularly getting those up-to-the-neck poop explosions when they were in their jumper seats.

- YardSard1021

When You're Not Carrying Quarters

Most gas station coin operated air compressors have a button on the back. Press this button three times and the pump starts automatically.

- samwisegamjy

Parking Problems 

Find parking function on Google Maps.

When you park in a stadium or airport parking lot or a city you unfamiliar with: Open Google Maps, hit bullseye (location) then the blue dot. Pinpoints location and gives option to add notes to remind yourself of things like garage level etc.

- imnotsoho

Not Sure, But It Works

The metal part inside the handles of meat scissors (that gap left inside when they are closed which often has metal or a round cut out with ridges) is extremely useful for opening stuck lids on soda bottles and such.

I'm not sure it's supposed to be a bottle opener, but it works really well as one.

- payperplain

A Tab And Seagull Necks

You know those plastic rings for six-packs? They have a little tab that if you pull on it, they're much easier to tear. I've been using that for ages. It's really useful if you're worried your trash is gonna end up around a seagull's neck.

- Swagfeather

All This Paint Wisdom

painter GIFGiphy

I am trained in house paint (the things I know, wow)

ALWAYS when buying paint, ask for the MSDS sheet... (material safety data sheet)... think of it like this. You buy a bottle of Tylenol and the short instructions are on the box. But, if you ask the pharmacy they can print you the long version that tells you all the crap you didn't know, you needed to know... well same with a can of paint.

The MSDS will tell you how to prep your surface, that type of hair brush you need or roller, how many coats at what thickness the paint and primer should be, for the paint to live up to its warranty.

If you spill house paint on a solid surface... leave it, let it dry a few hours (but don't leave it for days, cause then it will cure), spray Windex on it and grab a knife, peels right up.


Also, if you have peeling paint that you need to remove, instead of spending hours in the sun scrapping paint, get one of those Windex power washers, that hook on a hose... loosens up all the paint so it comes off easy... less work.

Also, exterior paint has a min/max surface temp. Most brands, if the surface temp us below 65 or over 80, paint could fail like peel off, not dry right, pin point, and various other things.

Some paint brands can go higher then or lower then the average. That goes for ALL exterior paint /stain products, the surface temp of the item your painting matters.

So, if its 70 degrees out, pain the area in the sun not the shade, you need the surface temp to not fall below the product specifications. That even goes for safety paint that's on curbs and the lines in a parking lot. If you paint those and they are always peeling up... that's why.

- PracticalMatter304

A Safety Feature

Most in-sink garbage disposals have a reset button on them. If the disposal stops working completely (will not turn on at all) try pushing that button.

Mine stopped dead once after it got hung up on a piece of silverware. I figured it would at least make noise if broken and it might have been a safety feature. Felt around on it and there was a little button.

- MarkHursburner

Pencil Lube

You can use a pencil to make zippers open & close more smoothly.

The "lead" in a pencil is actually graphite, which is a lubricant. If you have a pair of jeans or whatever with a pesky zipper that catches or gets stuck, just run a pencil along it a few times. It will work great!

You can also use a pencil on a freshly cut key.

- throwaway1975674

Just Add Water

Your Vitamix or high speed blender will clean itself.

All you have to do is rinse it, fill it up halfway with warm water, add a few squirts of dish soap, and run it, gradually increasing the speed to full power.

Let it run on full power for 60 seconds then rise it out. Works great and makes some amazing soap foam for washing other dishes as well!

- AlarmedCoyote56

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

US Supreme court
Photo by Adam Szuscik on Unsplash

When Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in the fall of 2020, the United States panicked.

Namely, democrats and liberals were terrified by the prospect of another conservative judge on the United States Supreme Court, which already had a two-seat majority.

Then of course, there was the ongoing debate as to whether or not then-sitting president Donald Trump was entitled to pick another Supreme Court judge, as the 2020 presidential election was only weeks away.

Barack Obama was famously banned from appointing Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court owing to the fact that it was an election year, even though President Obama still had eight months left in his presidency.

Of course, RBG's death at age 87 also brought to the forefront an ongoing debate about whether there should be age limits for Supreme Court Justices.

Keep reading...Show less

As humans with autonomy and knowledge, we try to protect ourselves as much as we can. However, accidents do happen, and while we can expect the unexpected, we can't always protect ourselves from it.

Because there isn't always a defense, people sometimes have a close brush with death. They experience something that could've killed them but, by some miracle... didn't.

More people have stories like that than we expect.

Redditors are no exception and, in fact, were eager to share their close calls.

Keep reading...Show less
woman stretching
Photo by Emily Sea on Unsplash

The human body is truly amazing. It's resilient, it can create antibodies to fight off infections, and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

There are some awesome facts about the human body, like that no two people have the same fingerprints.

However, there are also some creepy facts about the human body.

Redditors are well aware of this and are ready to share the creepiest facts they know about the human body.

Keep reading...Show less

Until we're in a situation, we'll never really know how we'll react.

I have been in this scenario, though.

Sex matters. And people rarely want to admit how much.

But sex isn't a lifetime guarantee.

It fades, as does love.

It's important to speak about it.

It can be a fixable situation.

A relationship without sex may not be the end of the world, but it's definitely a sign that something is off.

Keep reading...Show less