From fixing wrong battery size to strengthen your mobile phone signal using paperclip. Here are the list of life hacks that are based on science!
Our life can be tough sometimes. But with some life hacks, life can become so much easier that we never thought before!
While some of the life hacks are pretty easy to explain, some of them are a bit more complicated which only can be explained by science and chemistry. To improve our knowledge, we’re going to give scientific explanation behind each of these science life hacks.
Hence, we have listed down 21 science life hacks that will solve your daily problem:
1. Fixing Wrong Battery Size
Few months ago, my friend helped me to buy a new battery set and it happen that the battery is a little bit smaller than it should fit.
One of the battery’s end has some small gap and ended up the device can’t utilize the battery. Luckily I know one life hack that can solve this.
To solve this battery size issue, all you need to do is get a small piece of aluminum foil and crumple it into a tiny ball.
Place it in between the battery and the terminal. As the result, you don’t need to buy another set of battery as replacement. Voila!
Why aluminum foil can fix the gap? The aluminum foil will transmit the energy from the battery to the terminal.
2. The Fastest and Proper Way to Cooling Car
When you first get into a hot car during a sunny day, you might want to just blast the air con. However, this is not the proper way to do it because in fact, you’re still keeping the hot air inside your car.
This is what you need to do:
- First thing you need to do is open all the car windows.
- Turn on the cooler air from outside first by pressing this function in your car.
- After a while (once it cool down inside), switch it to the recycle function button.
The air gets hot inside a parked car in the first place because of the green house effect.
Why Your Car Get Hot Inside – Green House Effect
When high energy light comes into the windows, it get absorbed by all the things inside your car such as the car seats and other stuff. Then, some low energy light is re-emitted but can’t get back out of the windows. So, let out the hot air first by opening your windows!
3. Chill The Beer Faster
Nobody like to drink a warm beer while a cold beer taste much better than warm! If you don’t like to wait for the cooling process, you can accelerate the chilling process with this trick.
Wrap a wet towel on your beer bottle and put it inside the freezer. Just for 10 minutes, your cold beer is ready to serve!
How Wet Towel Can Chill The Beer Faster?
The wet towel equilibrate the air of the freezer which caused the rapid cooling and evaporation. In addition, the surface areas in the towel that are covered in evaporating water performs as the highly efficient set of cooling fins.
4. Maintain the Pizza Crust from Getting Chewy on Microwave
Hate a Chewy Pizza? Everyone does! Leftover pizza is more likely to turn chewy after we heat it up on the microwave.
When you heat up the leftover pizza in microwave, put small amount of water in the glass. This will keep the pizza crust from getting chewy.
Why Water Can Make Pizza Not Chewy when Heating in Microwave?
The water that is put inside the microwave will absorb some of the microwave radiation to keep the pizza from overcooking. Then, the water also release steam which will keep the pizza from drying out.
5. Erase The Pen Mark Using Hair Straightener
If you consider to re-use the old note book without buying a new one, try this life hack! With a hair straightener, you can remove all the pen or pencil ink easily and look like a new one.
Alternatively, you also can use hair dryer or any heat source to remove any pen mark.
How Heat Erase Pen Marker?
The heat caused the ink molecule to change and turn into transparent. This also explained why some of the low quality print ink on the cheap shirt can mysteriously disappear after you iron it.
6. Strengthen Phone Signal Using Paper Clip
One of the annoying thing when you’re visiting an outskirt place is weak signal. This is because the outskirt place has lesser signal tower. How if there is some urgent matter that require you to use your phone?
Instead of being busy finding for a spot that has better signal strength, there is one science life hack that can save you from this issue.
All you need is paper clip! (make sure it is aluminum material)
Step by step:
- First, you need to straighten the paper clip into a straight line.
- Attach it to your phone. You might wanna place it behind your phone and stick it with a sellotape.
By doing this, your phone will get a stronger signal strength. It won’t turn your phone signal strength from 3G to 4G, but it will definitely boost the signal performance. It work!
The findings reported by TechRadar, the aluminum attached on your phone works same as the anthena radar.
7. Remove Permanent Marker From Your Skin
Ink from permanent marker is not something that you can remove by using water or tissue. Instead, there are several things that can help you to remove it easier:
- Alcohol Ingredient – you can use any hand sanitizer to remove the permanent mark from the skin. Scientifically, alcohol eats the ink adhesive.
- Liquid Glue – place a liquid glue into the permanent mark and let it dry. Now, peel the dry glue off your skin. It will remove the permanent ink mark together!
8. Identify a Bad Egg
Healthline explained that eggs normally have 3-5 weeks to stay fresh if you put them inside the fridge. However, some eggs turn bad faster than the others. This is why you still need to check on them because different egg has different lifespan even though you put them together in one place.
The easiest way to check it is by putting the egg on a glass of water and check whether it float or not. The fresh eggs will stay on the bottom while the bad eggs will float.
Why Bad Eggs Float and Fresh Eggs Stay on the Bottom of Water?
A fresh egg will stay on the bottom because the egg yolk, white, and gases has more mass than the density of the water. Or in simplified version, a fresh egg has more weight than the water.
Meanwhile, when an egg turn bad, it started to convert it mass into a gasses. The eggs then contain form of gas bubble inside so it will float. For more detail explanation, you can check here.
9. Fix Car’s Dent Without Going to Workshop
If your car has a minor dent, you can fix it by yourself using this science life hacks!
Step by Step:
- Prepare a boiling water (inside the water container) and a vacuum pump.
- Consistently pour the dent area in your car with water for like 10 to 15 seconds.
- When it still warm, suck the dent area with your vacuum pump.
How Hot Water Can Solve The Car’s Dent?
With the heat of water, it turn the plastic material of the car into more flexible. As the result, it is easier to put back into an original shape.
Now you can save the repairing cost!
10. Fix Small Shoes
If you accidentally bought a smaller size shoe, don’t sell it too quickly! With a simple life hack you can enlarge your shoe capacity.
Step by Step:
- Fill zip lock bag with water and close it tightly.
- Put the zip lock bag inside your shoe
- Put the shoe inside the freezer and wait it for approximately 24 hours.
Scientific Explanation:
The shoes will increase it capacity since the water capacity inside the zip lock also expanding.
11. Turn Your Shoe into a Waterproof Material
During rainy season, we don’t want our shoes became wet from all the water drop. Especially, if your shoes are made from fabric.
Grab a candle and rub it on all over your shoes. now, your shoe will become waterproof! you can try it by pour some water on it.
How Candle Can Turn Shoe into Waterproof?
Fabric made shoes have bunch of tiny pores that are unseen by bare eyes. By rubbing the candle to shoe, the candle will leave it particle that will cover your shoe’s pore. Hence, the water won’t able to go through it and it will just flow without going inside the pore anymore.
12. Fill in Balloon Using Mint and Coke
Another life hack from science that you can try is pumping balloon using mint and coke.
All you need to do is just cover the cover of the coke bottle with balloon before dropping the mint into the coke. You can do it by putting the mint inside the balloon and hold it first until you finish covering the coke bottle. For the step by step with picture, you can check here.
How Mint and Coke Can Pump Balloon?
When you put mint inside the coke, it will create an eruption caused by the gas released. The balloon then will capture all the gas that released from the eruption.
13. Paper Clip for Battery Replacement
When your device is dying and you only have one new battery left, you can try this science life hacks!
Step by Step:
- Straighten your paper clip into a line
- Bend the paperclip to fit the gadget’s battery size
- Place it into the battery’s place and make sure the paper clip connect into the plus and minus terminal. (it doesn’t matter which end)
Now your device will work even though it only has one out of two battery.
How Paper Clip can be a Replacement for One Battery?
The paper clip perform as the electrical circuit that able to transmit the power to the terminal.
Note: This life hack only work if you have at least one battery filled on the other side.
14. Fix The Mushy Rice With Bread
Do you often to put too much water on your rice cooker and ended up having mushy rice for your meal?
Take one piece of bread and put it on the mushy rice and leave it for a few minutes.
How Bread Fix Mushy Rice?
The bread will absorb the water from the rice and fix your mushy rice afterwards.
15. Get Rid of the Stubborn Sticker From a Product
We all know the annoying part of removing the label sticker when we just bought a new product. Rubbing it and peel it with your nail won’t remove all the sticker completely! You’ll need science life hacks for this!
There are 2 easiest way to remove this:
- Oil – putting the non-polar oil with the non-polar adhesive mixes the two likes together and allow you to easily wipe the sticker away.
- Alcohol – any alcohol ingredient will help you to remove the sticker easier because alcohol eats the adhesive glue.
16. Unclog Kitchen Sink Drain with This Formula
It can be a stressful feeling when your kitchen sink is stuck and not drain. Before you call the plumber, try this science formula life hacks!
Step by Step:
- Put equal amount of baking soda, vinegar, and salt into a cup and stir it.
- Run hot water and pour this formula together with the hot water.
How Baking Soda and Vinegar Able to Unclog Sink Drain?
The baking soda is a mineral compound that can dissolve mineral deposits such as grease (which is acidic in composition) and it also has disinfectant properties that combat odor causing fungi and bacteria.
When combined with vinegar, it will create a chemical reaction which provides agitation against the clog.
17. The Easiest Way to Peel Hard Boiled Egg
Peeling hot hard boiled eggs can leave you with burnt fingers and messy egg shell particles. If you find peeling the shell from hard boiled egg is a troublesome thing to do, try this science life hacks!
When boiling the egg, add one spoon of baking soda into the water. Or, you can put lemon wedge inside the water instead. Both ways will makes the egg shell will just about to fall of when you’re done boiling the eggs.
18. Turn Orange into Air Freshener and Perfume
The good smell from air perfume sprayer is only last for a while. With this hack, you can create a DIY air perfume and freshener that will make your living room smells great and last longer.
Step by Step:
- Cut an orange into half and peel the fruit out until left the orange skin itself. Remember to remain the middle part that originated from the orange fruit
- Put a bit of olive oil on the base.
- Lit the middle part of the orange with fire
Your room will have orange smell and fresh smell!
19. Fix Shrunken Shirt
If you have old shirt that is not fit anymore, you can try this science life hacks!
Put cold water inside a bucket and pour one cup of hair conditioner inside it. Now put your shrunken shirt inside and leave it for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Now your shirt will turn bigger!
Note: this trick might not worked for every shirt depending on the material.
20. Keep the Ice Cube Last Longer
If you’re bringing the ice cube cooler to enjoy it in the beach or some picnic, you might want to keep the ice cube as long as possible.
The life hack of this is by sprinkle salt on the ice so that the ice cube stay frozen longer.
Why Salt Can Keep Salt Longer?
Salt reduces the freezing point of water and this allows the ice to attain a temperature low.
21. Prevent Mosquito to Laid Egg in Your House
During rainy season, mosquito is everywhere! The mosquito need water in order for them to lay egg.
Hence, put some natural oil on every part of your house that contain water including bathroom container, any buckets that contain water. The example of natural oils are vegetable oil, cinnamon oil, and olive oil. You will need 1 teaspoon per 1 galloon of water as the measurement.
Note: Don’t use this trick on any pond that contain living creature such as fish.
How Oil Kill Mosquito?
With the oil inside the water, it will make mosquito drown into the water instead of able to float on it.
Bottom Line
What do you think of these science life hacks? Comment below if you have additional life hacks that are science-based and useful to solve daily issue.
