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Peeling a banana? Cleaning your blender? Breathing?? Yeah, unfortunately, you're probably doing those wrong. On today's episode of The List Show, we're giving you 28 life hacks to improve your everyday life.
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28 Things You're Probably Doing Wrong | Mental Floss
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0:00
I hate to tell you this, but you're breathing wrong
0:02
First of all, half of you watching this are breathing through your mouths right now. What you want to do is breathe through your nose because it's so good at filtering and
0:09
warming breaths, making it easier for your body to absorb oxygen. Breathing through your mouth means you're taking in whatever's in the air unfiltered
0:16
from pollutants to viruses to mold. You're also probably breathing too quickly, at a pace of one breath per every three seconds
0:24
To lessen anxiety, increase focus, and feel better, you want to slow that down to six seconds in and six seconds out hi i'm aaron mccarthy editor-in-chief
0:31
of mental floss let's take a deep calming breath together during the intro because on this episode
0:37
of the list show we're going to talk about a lot of things that you're probably doing wrong and
0:40
i don't want any of you to get mad at me breathe in and out okay let's get started
0:47
let's begin in the kitchen where it turns out we're doing a lot of things really wrong do you
0:58
open a carton of oj or milk and just pour with the spout side closest to your bowl or cup wrong
1:03
if you want minimal splash you should flip that carton the other way leaving the spout on the
1:08
furthest side from your vessel i guess does say if you want minimal splash if you've ever tried
1:13
to pull out a little aluminum foil but then pulled out too much and couldn't get that
1:17
excess back in the box without ruining your day, you're doing aluminum foil wrong
1:21
There are tabs at either end of the box, which you just need to push in. That will lock your foil
1:26
in place, making it much easier to control your roll. Here's a classic life hack you see around
1:32
the internet. Peel a banana upside down from the bottom, not the stem, because it's cleaner and
1:37
easier. As they say, monkeys know this, but people don't. Interestingly, that's kind of a myth
1:43
It might be easier, but monkeys in the wild don't come across bananas much, so they shouldn't be our inspiration for banana eating. We should really turn to the minions for
1:50
that. If every Thanksgiving Uncle Fred is complaining about how your mashed potatoes
1:54
aren't fluffy enough, there's a trick for this. Boil your potatoes before you peel them. This helps
1:59
them hold in more water and allows them to absorb dairy better. And tell Uncle Fred that until he
2:04
figures out how to make his green beans less limp, he can keep his opinions to himself
2:09
Speaking of family arguments, the question of whether dishes need to be pre-rinsed before
2:13
going in the dishwasher has threatened to tear my family apart so I not touching that one with a 10 pole But what I will tell you is that you probably loading the dishwasher wrong Look at where your dishwasher spraying arms are and make sure you don block those with any large dishes You should also angle
2:27
all dishes downward and with their dirty side facing the middle of the dishwasher
2:32
And on the cleaning front, we all know cleaning a blender is a total pain. But you can actually put
2:36
some water and dish soap in your blender, then blend it on high for a few seconds and bam
2:41
Clean blender. Results may vary depending on the condition your blender started in, so
2:45
some pre-scrubbing may be necessary. If you're less confident in the kitchen
2:49
you may be extra nervous about getting eggshells everywhere. So you're cracking your eggs lightly
2:53
against the side of a bowl or pan. Don't. Instead, confidently tap it on a cutting board or your
2:58
countertop. Using a flat surface makes shell pieces less likely. Speaking of eggs, you shouldn't
3:03
store those in the door of your refrigerator. For safety, they should be stored in the coldest
3:07
part of the fridge set to 45 or below. The door is generally the warmest part of your fridge
3:11
so that's the worst place to put them. And while you're moving those eggs, go ahead and flip your natural peanut butter upside down. Storing it right side up is why
3:18
all that oil is collecting at the top, making it painfully annoying to stir every time you
3:22
want some ants on a log. Natural peanut butter separates, and the oil wants to be at the top
3:27
So if you flip the jar, it's more difficult for that oil to travel through the big chunk
3:31
of solid peanut butter, and they'll stay together better. Opening cans with the can opener sideways
3:36
Wrong. Hold it so the can opener is flat on the top of the can, with the sharp side
3:41
under the edge of the can. This should prevent the lid from falling into the opening, so you won't
3:45
have to fish it out and get grossed out, or worse, cut. Another thing you may be holding wrong
3:50
your wine glass. If you have a stemmed glass, hold it by the stem. That will keep your wine
3:54
from getting warmer than it's meant to, and it will prevent unsightly fingerprints. Now you're
3:58
ready to drink wine with royalty. Recycling is harder than it looks, and if you haven't done
4:03
your research, you're probably doing it wrong. Every municipality has different rules for what
4:07
can be recycled, and if you're breaking those rules, you may be contaminating entire batches
4:12
of recycling. For one rule of thumb to start with, definitely avoid recycling things with food mess
4:16
like plastic plates, takeout containers, and pizza boxes. Let's move it on over to the bathroom
4:22
Those toilet seat covers? The flap goes in the front of the bowl. They were specifically
4:26
patented as having a front-facing flap. After you wash your hands in public, if you grab multiple
4:31
paper towels to try to dry your hands there a better way First shake your hands a few times or exactly 12 times if you want to go by the trusted viral TED talk about this very topic Then once you get your paper towel fold it lengthwise
4:43
and it will more effectively dry your hands. Way less wasteful. And if you're rinsing out your mouth with water
4:49
after brushing your teeth, you are doing it wrong. That could make your toothpaste less effective
4:54
because you're diluting its fluoride. Most people also use way too much toothpaste, by the way
4:58
All you need is a pea-sized amount. Now, I'm not here to discourage any attempts at personal hygiene
5:03
But if you're one of the two thirds of Americans who are showering every day, you probably don't need to
5:08
There's no good evidence that a daily shower helps your physical health, and there is evidence that it could lead to drier
5:13
and more irritated skin. Beyond that, when you do a daily scrub of the bacteria and microorganisms that live on your body
5:19
you may be reducing the effectiveness of your immune system. Showering is a good transition
5:24
to the world of fashion and beauty. There's a right and a wrong way to brush your hair
5:29
If you start at the roots and roughly tug down, Ouch, you shouldn't
5:33
That can break your hair. There are also different brushes you can use and different methods of brushing based on your hair type
5:39
So you'll have to do your own research there. And for my fellow long-haired friends
5:44
bobby pins are designed to go wavy side down. Those ridges are there to hold onto your hair
5:49
and keep the pin more secure for longer. Many of us have integrated sunscreen
5:53
into our skincare routines, which deserves a pat on the back. But are we doing it right
5:58
Not unless we're applying roughly two tablespoons every two hours or so and reapplying more often when doing things like swimming or sweating
6:06
You don't need to wash your jeans after every wear. In fact, Levi's recommends washing them after 10 wears as a rule of thumb
6:12
Though, of course, if they're noticeably dirty, you should do something about that, whether spot clean or an official wash
6:18
You're about to go drinking wine with royalty after all. There's a better way to tie your shoes
6:23
Do the initial knot the same, then make your loop. Now you would typically take one shoelace and pulling it first in the direction of your
6:30
body, wrap it around the loop that you made. What you should do is flip the direction of that wrap
6:35
so you're first tugging the lace away from your body. Pull it through as usual and you have a
6:39
stronger knot that's less likely to come untied. I did that all backwards. Please clap. Also I need
6:45
you all to know that I've been sitting here wearing only one shoe for this whole entire video
6:49
Do not shake your nail polish before putting it on That causes air bubbles in the polish If you need to mix it up before applying you should be rolling it in your hands Let finish up with some miscellaneous tips If you have a ceiling fan that you leaving off all winter you are missing out You can turn it on low and set it
7:06
to clockwise, which will help circulate warm air around the room. You probably know that hot air
7:11
rises, so this makes sense when you think about it. You're keeping that warm air for your room
7:15
rather than letting it drift away. Some estimates say this will save you 15% on your monthly utility
7:20
bill. When I use a dustpan, I spend so long trying to sweep those last bits of dirt into the pan
7:25
It turns out I'm doing it wrong and wasting my time. What I need to do is grab a wet paper towel
7:30
then sweep what's remaining onto the towel. The wetness will hold that hard-to-get residual dirt
7:35
and I can just fold over the towel and toss it out. If you get a cut in the middle of your finger
7:40
and are just wrapping a band-aid around the area, it's not exactly wrong, but you could be more
7:44
effective. If you cut slits on either end of the band-aid, then wrap those around your finger
7:48
outside of the knuckle area the band-aid will be more secure and last longer you know when you put
7:53
a post-it note on your desk and that little top corner stays flipped up a bit it can kind of drive
7:58
you nuts well the problem is you're removing your sticky note from the pad by pulling it from the
8:03
bottom if you slide your finger along the underside of the sticky note and remove it by pulling from
8:08
the top straight across it will stay flatter on surfaces and finally as we get ready to put this
8:15
episode to bed, if you're not applying your antiperspirant before bed, you're making a mistake
8:20
You sweat less at night, so wearing it then will allow the antiperspirant to plug up your sweat
8:24
glands and lessen perspiration more effectively. Even if you shower in the morning, this is the way
8:29
to go. So that's it. You've been breathing wrong, using the bathroom wrong, and even finding a way
8:34
to sweat wrong. Luckily, we were here to help. That's it for the wackiest episode of The List
8:39
Show we've ever done. Let us know which of these you've been doing wrong and if you'll be trying
8:43
better methods. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time. There's a right and a wrong way to brush your hair
9:01
See you next time. That was perfect
#education