Results tagged “tips” from The official blog of Vat19.com

I freely admit that I am quite the hypochondriac, and I have an overdeveloped fear of germs. Therefore, I hate this time of year - the dreaded cold and flu season. I wash my hands like a madwoman and do the best I can to avoid the many around me who are dropping like flies with sore throats, fevers, runny noses, and, uh, gastrointestinal issues. But my efforts failed me this season, and I caught what was pretty much a month-long cold. In the midst of my sneezing and coughing episodes, I searched online for a natural cure, finding everything from the usual - chicken soup, herbal tea, vitamin C - to the bizarre, as you'll see below.

You want me to do WHAT, now?

1. To ease a sore throat, suck on a salted kumquat. OK, I've never had a kumquat, but Wikipedia tells me that it tastes like very acidic orange. Wikipedia also tells me that salted kumquats can last several years. I don't even want to think what a 10-year-old salted kumquat tastes like, and I certainly don't want to suck on one.

2. To ease a sore throat and reduce phlegm, consume a mixture of one spoonful each of honey (fine), lemon essence (fine), and ketchup (WHAT?!).

3. Try a mustard plaster. Mix 1 tablespoon of dry mustard and 2-4 tablespoons of flour with an egg white and warm water to form a paste. Make a mustard plaster sandwich by spreading the paste onto a handkerchief and placing another handkerchief on top. Then dab the upper chest with olive oil and place the mustard plaster sandwich on top. Now, this sure seems like a lot of work for the 5 minutes you keep it on. Why only 5 minutes? Because it can burn if left on too long. Nice.

4. For body aches, rub chest and joints with paraffin and cover with greased baking paper. The website that listed this old Polish remedy says it's not recommended. Golly gee, I wonder why.

5. For a sore throat, put a sweaty sock around your neck. Um, no.

Click over to the next page to discover less bizarre-sounding flu remedies...

According to the Salt Institute, there are nearly 14,000 documented uses for salt. Personally, I was just tickled at the fact that something called the "Salt Institute" actually exists. The idea that it might have compiled a list of over 10,000 ways to use salt was just mind-boggling.

If you want to check out a fairly detailed list, you can visit the Salt Institute's page on consumer uses of salt. Their page was fairly long and the colors made it a little unpleasant to read, though, so I've posted some of the highlights here:


Testing egg freshness - Place the egg in a cup of water to which two teaspoonfuls of salt have been added. A fresh egg sinks; a doubter will float.

Cleaning stained cups - Rubbing with salt will remove stubborn tea or coffee stains from cups.

Reducing eye puffiness - Mix one teaspoon of salt in a pint of hot water and apply pads soaked in the solution on the puffy areas.

Removing dry skin - After bathing and while still wet give yourself a massage with dry salt. It removes dead skin particles and aids the circulation. Note: This is so much better than buying a Ped Egg.

Drip-proofing candles - Soak new candles in a strong salt solution for a few hours, then dry them well. When burned they will not drip.

If you're the stereotypical urban hipster or Abercrombie and Fitch-wearing, live in the suburbs and work in the city kind of guy, heading out to a rural dive bar can be a recipe for disaster. All the same, you might someday find yourself in need of a drink in an unfamiliar country setting, so you should be prepared. Having worked in a small-town bar, I can say with some authority that these tips will help.

Photo Credit: Ardvaark

1. If you pop your collar, you will almost definitely get punched. Unless you're wearing a black leather jacket and riding a Harley (remember that Japanese bikes don't count), there's no excuse. The motorcycle guys don't have an excuse, either, but they're usually scary enough that it doesn't matter.

2. Avoid eye contact with any man who appears to be wearing steel-toed construction boots.

Photo Credit: Sin_Agua

3. Ditto for guys wearing real spurs.

There are hundreds of uses for a simple paperclip. A list of over 100 uses (some realistic and useful, some creepy and ridiculous) can be seen here. Here's 10 interesting ways that someone might actually use a paperclip, other than to hold papers together.

• Lottery Ticket scratcher (Because coins or fingernails are hard to come by.)
• Substitute a lost Monopoly or Clue gamepiece (Who done it? I believe it was Colonel Mustard in the Billiard Room with the Paperclip.)
• Nose weight for paper airplanes (Add some extra zoom to that little guy, champ.)
• Ornament hook (Believe it or not, many ornaments do not come with a hook.)
• Unclog salt and pepper shakers (For those of you who don't love to intake large amounts of sodium, your shakers might actually have a chance to get clogged.)
• Tool to flick crumbs out of the keyboard (Who hasn't eaten while at their desk?)
• Mark pages in a book or catalog (Paperclip the pages with presents you want and "accidentally" leave it on the coffee table.)
• Unclog a bottle of glue (How can you make a construction paper masterpiece if the glue won't come out!?)
• Hair barrette (Since bobby pins or a pack of Goody's are SO expensive.)

When you ask a PC-user about the Windows key on their keyboard, you typically get one of 3 responses:

· Huh?
· What is that thing, anyway?
· Oh yeah, that thing that brings up the Start menu.

What they don’t know is that the Windows key is more than just another pretty key (or parrot chew toy, as seen to the left). We’ve outlined the most useful, relatively unknown functions below.



· Windows + E – Opens Internet Explorer. Although why you’d want to do that, we’re not sure.
· Windows + R – Brings up the Run prompt. If you don’t know what that means, you probably won’t care about this feature.
· Windows + F – This brings up the Search Windows window.
· Windows + D – This takes you straight to the desktop without the need to minimize everything you’re currently working on.
· Windows + M – This minimizes all windows currently open. Yes, the effect is the same – you’re back at the desktop.
· Windows + F1 – This brings up the Help feature.
· Windows + Pause/Break button – If you want to know what you’re working with, this is the easiest way to find out.
· Windows + L – This will log you off of Windows so that you can sign into a different user name.

If you’re like most people, you’ve scratched a CD or DVD on more than one occasion. CDs and DVDs have a lot of great qualities, but sturdiness isn’t one of them. Since Vat19 creates and sells a number of curiously awesome DVDs, we thought it only right that we share a few techniques that can bring damaged disks back to playable condition.

The Easy Stuff:

• Know Your Problem: First, make sure that the disk is the problem. This might seem obvious, but it’s easier to check now and save a little time. If your CD or DVD player functions perfectly for everything else, or if the disk acts up in other machines, you’ll know it’s the source of the problem.
• Clean It: Try wiping the disk with a soft cloth. Something like you’d use for eyeglasses would be perfect, as coarse fabric or paper could cause further damage. Most electronics stores also carry products for this purpose. When you’re wiping off the disk, be sure to move in straight lines from the inside to the outside of the disk. Circular motion is not recommended. For a more thorough cleaning, you can purchase professionally manufactured cleaning sprays.

The MacGuyver Stuff:

• Deep Cleaning: Even though rubbing alcohol is corrosive, plenty of people swear by it. If the problem with the disk is minor, we’d definitely recommend making a backup copy of the disk before you try this technique (or the next few, for that matter). In a pinch, many people have successfully used perfume, also.
• Fill in the Scratches: There are a number of common household items that have been known to fill in scratches on CDs and DVDs. Pledge and car wax are probably the most common. Just rub a bit over the affected surface (again, try to stick to rubbing in straight lines) and make sure you clean off all of the excess before attempting to use the disk.
• Rub It Out: This method involves removing the top layer of the CD’s surface where the scratch is found. On your own, you can do this by using plain white toothpaste. For more uniform results across the entire surface of the DVD, you can usually convince a helpful librarian or video store clerk to use their disk repair machine. The downside there is that they may charge a small fee (and no minty freshness).