There are many things that we do on a daily basis that we’ve been doing our entire lives, like sleeping, brushing our teeth and even poopin’. But what if I told you that you’ve probably been doing those things wrong this entire time?
Many of the things that we do daily were taught to us at a young age, but as it turns out many of those things that we all seem to do the same way are actually not the right way to do them at all. Prepare to have your mind blown because here are 10 Things You Have Been Doing Wrong
Holding a drink
Any drink that comes in either a glass or a bottle. This whole time you’ve probably been holding your drink, like a beer, for example, by its body, which makes sense. It’s the most comfortable and that’s how you’ve seen all of your friends do it. But surprisingly, that’s not the right way to hold a drink.
Your hands conduct heat, therefore your hands affect the temperature of the beer, warming it much quicker than if you were to hold the bottle by the neck, which is what you’re actually supposed to do.
A similar rule exists for holding a glass of wine. It’s best to hold the glass by the stem, or flute, as it’s officially called, especially if you happen to be drinking sparkling wine or white wine. Don’t cup the bottom of a wine glass or squeeze the sides of a beer bottle, which most of us do instinctively. Warming wine or beer actually changes the flavor, so start drinking properly.
Peeling a banana
It’s surprising that more people don’t know this considering how many bananas are eaten every year, but if you’re like most people, you likely open your bananas from the stem.
Now while sometimes it might go totally smoothly, more often than not you probably struggle with it or end up mushing it up the top and bruising it.
But if you’ve ever watched a monkey open a banana, they don’t carefully pull on the top stem. No, in fact, they actually turn the banana upside down and open it.
The trick is to actually open bananas from the opposite end than your instincts tell you. To do this right is easy. You just pinch the bottom end of the banana where the hard bit is, make a quarter-turn and pull back to pull the skin away. It’s much easier.
Brushing your teeth
Now, of course, brushing your teeth seems wicked easy, but there is in fact a proper way of doing it that many people are unaware of.
One thing you might not realize is that you’re probably using way too much toothpaste. It only takes a small dab to get your chompers clean, like about the size of a pea.
Secondly, and most commonly, you’re probably brushing way too hard. You may think the harder that your brush the more stuff you get off your teeth, but you’re actually wearing away tooth enamel and that’s not good, so brush softer.
Also for a similar reason, never rush brushing. 30 seconds per quadrant or about two minutes is ideal.
Finally, despite what you may have learned growing up, brushing your teeth immediately before or after a meal will actually do more bad than good. Many foods weaken our enamel, and brushing right after can actually damage your teeth.
Cooling a bottled drink
On a hot day, when there’s nothing cold to drink, most people just throw some bottles of beer or soda in the freezer and wait. But this is actually a huge waste of time that you don’t have to do.
Yes, there’s a better way to get it cooler faster, and believe it or not, it involves paper towels. That’s right, just wet some paper towels and wrap them around the bottle that you’re cooling before popping it in the freezer. Doing this will usually cool your drink in less than 15 minutes. Compare that to half an hour or more without them.
Now, if there’s no freezer or paper towels around, but you do happen to have some ice in a cooler, for example, like at the beach or camping, just add some salt to it. Salt helps absorb heat, specifically from the submerged bottle that you’ve placed in it.
Wearing earbuds
Although the world seems to be going wireless, there are still many people who prefer wired earbuds, Chances are you’ve been wearing them incorrectly the whole time. You may have bought a pair only to realize that they don’t fit your ears properly, so maybe you stuff them deep in there to keep them in place, or if you’re like me, they just constantly fall out.
Well, I’m guessing you wear them the same way that most people do, straight up into your ears. But actually, that isn’t right. The best way to keep earbuds in your ear is to loop them from behind your hear and down, so that part of the cord runs over your ear. It may seem odd at first considering that this is your first time, but it will stop the cords from being pulled out of your ear when they sway too much or get snagged on something. It might feel odd, but trust me, the joy that you’ll feel from being able to run or go about your daily life without them falling out is so worth it.
Microwaving
We’ve all used the microwave probably more than once to heat up yesterday’s dinner leftovers, but as you guessed, there’s a good chance that you’ve been doing it wrong this whole time.
Though it sometimes seems like microwaves unevenly heat up food inside them, they’re actually designed to cook food evenly. The thing is, they can’t properly do that if you leave food in a huge pile in the middle of the plate. Instead, try spreading food around the rim of the plate in the shape of a doughnut. I know this sounds weird, but it will help heat everything evenly, letting the microwaves pass through all of the food. It’s a good idea to put leftovers in for one-minute intervals, stirring in-between to get a more even exposure.
In addition, when microwaving very dry foods, try putting a cup of water in with it. Since microwaves target water and dry foods obviously have very little, it will make the food more moist.
Cooking spaghetti
You’ve probably made this easy-to-cook dish more times than you can count, but I wonder how many times you actually made spaghetti properly.
I’m going to tell you about some tricks that can make you follow that recipe easier. First of all, it’s best to cook pasta in a large pot. Too many people wonder why they got a ball of noodles instead of a nice plate of them. The size of the pot is why. See, spaghetti needs space to move while it expands and softens.
Next, if you’ve ever had a disaster with a boiling-over pot, you need to fear no longer. Here’s a quick fix. Lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot to stop any bubbles from escaping.
Finally, have you ever wondered what that hole in the handle of your saucepan is for? Well, it’s actually meant to hold your spoon so that it doesn’t make a mess on the counter. Enjoy your noodles and less messy kitchen.
Sleeping
Do you ever wake up and still feel tired, even though you know that you got a whole night’s sleep? Well, if you’re one of those people that always gets tired, the problem’s likely not the amount of hours that you get, but how you sleep that’s wrong.
First off, the best position to sleep is on your back, with one pillow under your knees or, if that’s uncomfortable for you, on your side with a pillow between your legs so that your spine can stay aligned.
Secondly, keeping a specific bedtime will help your body learn when to shut down for the night and when to wake back up. Now if you’re between 18 to 64 years old, it’s healthy to get around seven to nine hours of sleep. But believe it or not, the younger that you are, the more that you’ll need.
Also, try to keep as little light in the room as possible, and although it’s tempting, don’t watch TV before bed and don’t go on your phone before bed, and certainly don’t go on your phone in bed. The blue light that’s emitted from these devices will actually mess up your sleep patterns. If anything, try to expose yourself to warm, dim light before bed. It’ll help you have sweet dreams.
Tying knots
How many times have you tried to untie something? Some string, the handle of a garbage bag, or anything else that knots, only to end up making the knot even more tight and unmanageable.
Well, lucky for you, there’s an easier way. Instead of pinching at the actual bond, take the end of the string or tie and twist it as much as you possibly can. Then simply push the twisted part towards the knot, keeping the end as straight as humanly possible.
Additionally, you can use a book or large spoon to press the knot as flat as you can, forcing the knot to loosen slightly before employing the twist-and-push method.
If all else fails, a corkscrew can actually be a great tool for untwisting tough knots, for example in shoelaces.
And make sure that while you’re doing any of these that you’ve taken as much weight off the tied part as possible.
If it’s a bag of garbage, for instance, lift the bag up off the floor and take the pressure off the knot. All of this will make knots way more manageable, though it may take you a few tries to get the hang of it.
Pooping
If you’re like most people, you sit perfectly on the ring of the toilet seat to do your business. But that position is not ideal. Our bodies are actually designed to go number two easier while squatting. If you think about it, it actually makes sense. Before the invention of the toilet, that’s how people went, essentially hugging their knees the way that you would if you had to go in the forest, kind of like bears.
Believe it or not, placing your feet on a stool with your knees higher while going will position your colon properly. Not only will this more natural stance make the movement faster and easier, but it will help prevent colon disease and hemorrhoids.
