‘Extraordinary Uses’ full of household hints and solutions
“Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things: 2,317 Ways to Save Money and Time”
(Reader’s Digest, 384 pages, $15.95)
“Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things” is the unlikely offspring of Benjamin Franklin’s practical “Poor Richard’s Almanac” and Martha Stewart’s tony “Living.”
Like Franklin’s almanac, “Extraordinary Uses” is full of real-life household hints – though some are so fanciful you’ll laugh out loud. Just imagine your spouse trying this one: “Oops, you just lost an earring or other small valuable down the drain. Try retrieving it with a just-chewed piece of gum stuck to the bottom of a fishing weight. Dangle it from a string tied to the weight, let it take hold, and reel it in.”
On the other hand, like Stewart, “Extraordinary Uses” also finds crafty solutions for adding pizazz around the house. From the “Dustpans” heading comes this gem for a fall door decoration: “Gather dried fall foliage. … Tie them together as a bouquet with a rubber band or tape. Spread them out in a fan shape and cover the binding with ribbon. Now set this against a copper dustpan. Use super glue or a glue gun to attach your bouquet to the pan.”
Where “Extraordinary Uses” truly excels, however, is in the around-the-water-cooler category:
“Be the only person in your office who knows how the coat hanger was invented: One day in 1903, Albert J. Parkhouse arrived at work at the Timberlake Wire and Novelty Co. in Jackson, Mich., and found all the employee coat hooks were already taken. Frustrated, he picked up a piece of wire, twisted it into the now familiar shape, hung his coat and got to work. The company loved his idea, took out a patent and made a fortune. Poor Albert never got a penny.
“Offer up home remedies for removing warts: Try putting drops of lemon juice (several days may do it) or of nail polish (a week) directly onto the wart.
“Let the worker in the cubicle next door know he can remove an ink stain from his carpet with a paste of milk and cornstarch: Apply the paste to the stain. Allow it to dry for a few hours, then brush off the dried residue and vacuum.
“Make your friends see three coins when you’re holding only two: Hold two coins on top of each other between your thumb and index finger. Quickly slide the coins back and forth to create the optical illusion of a third coin.
Scientists say that our eyes use reflected light to create images on our retinas. Because the images don’t disappear instantly, when something moves quickly you may see both an object and an after-image of it at the same time.