16 Hidden Purposes Of Everyday Objects

By Diply/Evelyne Wareh

We take so much of our lives for granted, and for the most part, we have to. You can’t operate on a day-to-day basis if you can’t count on the everyday objects that surround you to act like they should, and do what you want them to. If you can’t count on your keys to start your car, you’re never going to go anywhere.

But the people who design our tools and our clothes and our soda bottles don’t always share their genius insights with us. They think we’ll just discover what they had in mind as the need arises. And we all know that is seldom the case. If it’s not obvious, we’ll overlook it. However, a few detectives have figured out the purposes behind some everyday objects that were hidden from us. You’ll never look at a pot handle the same way again.

1. The end of a tape measure

   

Every home has a tape measure, but not everybody knows how to use it as it was intended. The end of the tape measure can make your life much easier when you’re trying to wrestle with it. There’s a hole in it that you can hook around the top of a nail or screw to hold it in place, and the serrated edge can mark a spot on whatever surface you’re trying to measure.

2. The holes in Converse shoes

   

They’re classic shoes that almost everyone has owned a pair of at one point in their lives. But, what are those two holes near the sole about? Have you ever seen anyone wearing Converse with laces through those holes? Well, the holes help your feet breathe, and, as it happens, lacing those strangely-placed holes can make for a closer fit!

3. The little holes in airplane windows

   

What is it with things having mysterious holes in them? For airplanes, the holes in the windows are a critical way to keep the cabin pressure safe and steady. The ventilation also keeps the window from fogging.

4. The hole in the pot handle

   

Once again, there’s a hole with a hidden purpose. Yes, you can use the hole to hang your pot when it’s not full of delicious sauce, but you can also keep the sauce on your spoon from dripping and splattering all over the place.

Seriously, there are a lot of purposeful holes in things…

5. The hole in the pasta spoon

Obviously the hole allows your pasta to drain, but it’s useful before you even start cooking, too. That hole solves the pasta serving size riddle we’ve all struggled with – it’s about the same as a single serving of spaghetti.

6. The arrow on the

   

Especially useful for rentals, the little arrow on the gas gauge points out which side of the car the gas cap is on.

7. The fifth pocket on your jeans

   

Maybe you cram guitar picks or thumb drives into your fifth pocket or maybe you’ve given up and let the dryer lint take it over. But originally, that fifth pocket had a singular purpose: pocket watches. Levi’s debuted their 501 jeans back in 1873, which predates wristwatches by about 40 years. Oh, and the rivets on your Levi’s? They strengthened the seams and helped miners and tradesmen get more life out of their hard-worn clothes.

But really, there are more holes designed into things than you would think…

8. The hole in a pen lid

   

It’s not there to keep the pen from drying out or make the cap go on and off with ease – it’s to help keep kids from choking on the lids.

9. The cylinder on your charger cord

   

Your laptop’s charging cable – along with many other cables on your electronics – have a weird cylinder on them. What’s it for? Well, it’s called a ferrite bead, and it’s a chunk of metal that prevents interference from messing with your electronics.

10. The bumps on the “F” and “J” keys

    

Why would only two keys on the keyboard have little bumps on them? Weird, right? Well, for people who type without looking, the bumps tell them where they are on the keyboard, bringing their index fingers back to the home row.

11. The hole next to the camera on the iPhone

    

When you’re taking a video, you might want to record sound as well as motion – so hole holds a microphone.

12. The piece of fabric you get with new clothes

    

When you buy fancy new clothes, sometimes you’ll find a small plastic bag with a couple of spare buttons and a piece of fabric. The buttons are clearly replacements for the inevitable moment you lose one, but the fabric? Are you supposed to patch holes with that little thing? Nope. It’s to test out detergents to make sure they won’t harm your fancy threads.

13. The blue part of the eraser

    

We were all told the blue part of the eraser was for ink. And it sort of worked – the ink went away, but so did the paper. The blue part contains pumice, which helps them rub out darker mistakes on heavier grades of paper that are too much for the pink eraser to handle.

14. The little hole in the bottom of a padlock

    

Seems odd to have any hold other than the one used to open the lock, right? But this little hole allows water to drain so the lock won’t rust in the rain or burst in the winter, and you can also use it to oil the lock.

15. The plastic bit under the soda lid

    

Anybody else remember prying the plastic bit out from under the bottle cap to try to win free stuff? The lid went back on just fine, so why even have that disc under there, right? Well, that piece of plastic keeps a tight seal on your soda, preventing it from going flat.

16. The indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle

    

Some say a flat-bottomed wine is for drinking and a hollow-bottomed wine is for cooking, but that’s not the case. The hollow-bottomed bottles are of most use for sparkling wine and Champagne because it helps the glass stand up to the pressure of the carbonation. For wines that aren’t carbonated, the hollow bottom makes the bottle look a bit bigger and more expensive.