@Pavlov@sammydog01@Star2236 Can opener or jar opener? Back when the Black Friday store chain was a thing I bought up a 50 cent electric jar opener that was on a table. I think people had no idea what the hell it was. It actually worked remarkably well. I gave it to Mom.
@Pavlov turn the jar upside down and bang the lid, flat and with some conviction - not a gentle tap - on the counter top. Almost always works to loosen the lid and I haven’t yet broken a jar.
More gentle: Upside down, hit the bottom with your palm so the lid bends out. This is often enough to break the seal.
More aggressive: Pry one corner of the lid up to let air in. Careful, this might brake a chip off the glass. Don’t use a flathead screwdriver, but something that works against the top of the lid like the bottle- or can-opener on a swiss army knife .
More gadgety:
Get a “Rubber Strap Wrench” at HongkongFakeTools for leverage on the lid and a rubber band or similar for the jar to hold it in place. ($5 or less with coupon, not really much cheaper directly from “Tshaynah”)
@Pavlov@Star2236
…and to twist other sticking or troublesome things that have low-friction surfaces and thus overpower my failing grip strength…
Ours is one of the “big pharma” promotional items given me by one of my pet pharma reps- in days long gone by when we needed to court them [the reps] in order to get free samples for our uninsured patients.
I don’t even know which [now very likely only available as a generic] medication it was hawking…
Hey, @Pavlov!!
I sometimes found myself craving something like pickles or applesauce, then gazing sadly at a jar I couldn’t open. I recently found the greatest invention in my life - the Jarkey.
Works like magic on vacuum sealed jars. One little pop releases the lid without bending or harming it. I’m really excited about this, I sent one to many of my friends and family.
*Bonus - the original from Brix is not made in China.
You’re welcome.
@Star2236 - Haven’t tried it on those jars with threaded lids, but it possibly would bend them. Is that what you’re asking? I don’t seem to have as much trouble opening those, though.
The only threaded metal one I can think I have at the moment is kimchi. I think most of those type of lids are plastic these days.
@ergomeh@kdemo@Kidsandliz@Pavlov@PhysAssist@Star2236 I mounted one of the fixed-in-place jar lid grabbers under one of the cabinets, and it works really well. It has a v-shaped opening with sharp grabby teeth along one side, and it allows using two hands on the jar. No lid has resisted it.
@ergomeh@Kidsandliz@Pavlov@PhysAssist@Star2236@werehatrack -
My friend has one of those under-counter sawtooth things, it doesn’t work as well as yours.
It wouldn’t work for me as I have lost strength in my R arm and the twisting motion is painful.
Trust me, releasing the vacuum with the Jarkey is magical. It works like an old fashioned beer bottle opener, but the dimensions are larger for jars.
If you’re curious, do yourself a favor and check out the reviews.
@Pavlov@sammydog01 If the discussion is moving to can openers I strongly recommend ditching any opener that leaves a sharp edge on the lid after removal. I have no idea why can opener of the sharp-lid style are still available (and do they carry a warning label).
@ergomeh@Pavlov@sammydog01 we routinely use a regular can opener on cans that have a pull tab. For the ones where the lid is deep, we use one of the side cutter styles that completely eliminates sharp edges. I rather like those.
Over 25 years ago, I bought a good quality, very long shoehorn… Over 2 feet long. Even to me, it seemed semi-pointless when I bought it. But man, if I don’t use it all the time now, with all different kinds of shoes.
@haydesigner I recently got some rubber galoshes to wear for quick trips outside. They are nice, except there is just a very small tab at the back for pulling them on over my heel and they are a snug fit. The long handled shoe horn I bought makes it simple.
Stupidly cheap dishwasher safe steak knives that I got from either here or morning save years ago. I have good ones but I end up using these because I just toss them in the dishwasher
@Cerridwyn@jouest it’s not always the metal part of the knife, but the handles.
I’ve got this cleaver with a black plastic handle where the metal notches of the blade can be secured… But a few hot washes and sure enough the plastic starts crumbling (and those notches are actually buttons; there is nothing “securing” the cleaver blade to the handle because there’s only a short metal nub instead of a long metal outcrop that needs a handle/wrap)
@Cerridwyn@jouest@lichen@pakopako Also a history of knives at a dinner table starts with the man (sorry, ladies) always having his own knife/dagger. And a true gentleman would offer to cut the serving for the woman he was with, or even an unaccompanied (oh, the shame!) woman.
Also in the golden days of air travel, some services of airplane meals used to come with a full set of metal “silverware” but the metal knife was removed later.
Good pair of slanted tweezer, letter opener
***good kitchen towels and dishcloths that can be washed easily, don’t fray, soaks up water and dries quickly and are plain in color (no lines, designs or multicolors).
@Star2236
Not the crappy kitchen towels and dishcloths that are water repellent and have large holes in the center?
Refers to an old George Carlin bit about the “good scissors” and/or the “good tape measure” as opposed to the non-functional ones missing a blade or 64-inches out of the middle respectively…
@PhysAssist@Star2236 I will have to look that up. I loved George Carlin stuff. He and Robin Williams helped influence my understanding of the world. Maybe not in a good way, but the cynicism turned out to be accurate 40 years later.
My mother’s obsession with the good scissors always scared me a bit. It implied that somewhere in the house there lurked: the evil scissors. - Tony Martin
@Kyeh@PhysAssist@Star2236 The thing about evil scissors is weird because the previous owner of the house I am in (bought a few years ago) was named Evilcisor. No joke!
I’m not sure I want to count up my knives, but they include some or all of the following features: assisted opening, ball bearings, frame lock, liner lock, back lock, button lock, crossbar lock, tip lock (to prevent accidental deployment), titanium nitride (rainbow finish), 24K gold, black, stonewashed (that’s what they call it, I thought that was for jeans), OTF (Out The Front), sideways opening, skeletonized, butterfly trainer, various plastic handles, aluminum handles, steel handles, wood handles, various blade steels, ceramic blades, damascus blades, etc.
@blaineg@lichen I must be deprived. I have none from there. Actually that isn’t entirely true. I got a set with colored handles in an fuko and sent them to someone during an exchange as they were complaining on here they needed kitchen knives, when were they going to be sold next.
@blaineg@jouest@pakopako “Fanny pack” is inappropriate in Oz and NZ as well, for the same reason. There have been (in)famous incidents of belt packs getting mislabeled that way before shipment from China in the past.
@blaineg@jouest@pakopako@werehatrack My family lived in New Zealand for several years. My older sister was in her mid-teens while there and picked up some of the slang. Unfortunately, she misinterpreted “shag your fanny” to mean something like “move your butt” and innocently used the term in that vein for years when back in the USA, until I learned the actual meaning and explained it to her. (Much retroactive embarrassment ensued.)
@blaineg@jouest@macromeh@pakopako@werehatrack About 20 years ago I worked with a guy from Northern England. He actually came and stayed in my house while we worked on a project (I was already WFH and had work equipment in a home office) sorry long story.
He explained the “fanny” reference.
Also had a fun time going to a place called Wanker’s Corner Pub, and made sure to take pictures to send back to friends in England.
@blaineg@jouest@pakopako
My knowledge of Brit idiom came from the G.B. foreign exchange students I knew in college- one of whom roomed with my then-GF.
It includes: “Have you got a rubber I can borrow- I’ll give it back tomorrow” [asking for an eraser.]
“Will you please come by and knock me up half-eight tomorrow?” [wake me up at 8:30 AM]
The use of fanny as a semi-polite euphemism for vagina was one I learned when we were discussing our disparate idiomata.
@blaineg@jouest@pakopako@PhysAssist I worked in the UK (NW England and NW Scotland). Plenty of terms I had to learn what they meant and at times not use their term in the USA - for example fag for cigarette.
@blaineg@jouest@Kidsandliz@pakopako@PhysAssist My mom’s parents emigrated from England to USA, plus my family unit lived in New Zealand for several years. So I grew up in a household that was chockablock with British idioms.
I have a USB label maker connected to a Raspberry Pi which I can use from my phone. I could probably be on a Progressive “young homeowner turning into your parents” ad with how much I label. Most recently, I have been labeling my electrical panel.
@Sompom Label Makers are goofy but handy, absolutely. Mine gets used maybe twice a year but, like my laminator, it’s always the perfect solution for the thing that needs doing.
@Chefmongoose@Sompom I have multiple Brother P-Touch label makers because they’re friendly with cheap third-party cartridges. Going back further, a Dymo embossing one from … hey, the 1970s wasn’t that long ago, was it?
@Chefmongoose@narfcake@Sompom Occasionally you find pictures of vintage electronics used for possibly-important stuff like missile launch control and they have Dymo labels.
@Chefmongoose@narfcake@pmarin@Sompom I have a dymo embossing label maker I bought a couple years ago. A small child at my volunteer job took my water bottle because we had the same one with dinosaurs. Now I have an adult bottle with ugly flowers and a fancy label with my name.
@Chefmongoose@Sompom And your laminator would be a perfect solution to the paper medicare cards. My sister laminated my mom’s medicare card (she is OCD on labeling which contributed to making accounting a good career for her). Why on earth the government doesn’t send people plastic ones is beyond me.
@Sompom But then you know ahead of time what’s in that container you pull from the freezer - no fun at all. As impoverished students, we’d buy cans from the grocery store that had lost their label. Dirt cheap, and then you have the task of figuring out dinner based on whatever you happened to have bought. Sometimes it would work as an accompaniment to what you already had planned. But we never figured out what to do with the sauerkraut juice that we got one time…
A three-way tie between:
The toilet paper roll holder with a cell phone / wipes shelf over it;
Rubber can covers to put atop the half- eaten cat food cans (or theoretically human food, but they have a little paw so c’mon);
And a magnetic knife rack that sticks on the kitchen wall and holds my knives, can opener, micro plane grater, and Y-peeler.
@Chefmongoose The only thing I find with the silicone cat food can covers is that if the can falls they don’t always stay on. I have a plastic one (Hills science diet white one back from a previous cat who was supposed to eat that expensive stuff) that finally bit the dust. That one actually stayed on when the can fell out of the fridge (yeah I know don’t put the can where it will fall). Didn’t know they made rubber ones too. Maybe that won’t happen with those.
@jouest@Kyeh@tinamarie1974
I’ve bought them a few times. I love the unsimply stitched women’s socks they had years ago, those were my favorite. I love the cotton in them. I wish they would offer more designs. Then there were some kids sock (I think) that you could reverse and have fuzzy on the outside or inside, they were either blue and yellow or green and yellow. Also the hemp socks that had a marijuana leaf on them, those are really warm for this time of year when you’re transitioning out of crew socks. So yeah, I guess I do buy a lot of socks from meh. I’ve bought multiple packs of them and have the extras stashed in my closet bc I didn’t know if they were cheaply made but all of them have held up really well, way better than some other socks I’ve bought.
@jouest@Star2236@tinamarie1974 I got some of those kids socks in an Irk and like them; they actually fit me. I usually buy the largest sized kids socks because with standard women’s socks the heel part pooches out at my ankle.
@jouest@Kyeh@tinamarie1974
I have some of the men’s socks too, it depends of the brand, the unstitched simply or whatever they’re called sometimes fit me. Those are my favorite
@jouest@Kyeh@Star2236 no because they are not “cute” thats ok though I dont wear socks THAT often. I ryn around in ballet flats w my jeans or some type of slide heel. In the summer it is some sort of sandal so a handful of pairs has me covered.
I have found some sz 9-12 no show socks for my ballet flats recently. Made me a v happy girly
@jouest@Star2236@tinamarie1974 Oh, good.
I went for a walk in sandals today and ran into two sets of neighbors who were also walking. Both couples exclaimed about me being in sandals already, but it was definitely warm enough!
@jouest@Kyeh@Star2236@tinamarie1974 I wear my boating shoe sandals all winter down here. Wear socks with them if it is too cold. I posted a photo in Nov? with me up north wearing them while standing in the snow. The actual blame should have been forgetting to bring other shoes and boots rather than blame for the snow.
@jouest@Kidsandliz@Kyeh@tinamarie1974
I wear my socks and sandal to run out all the time. Some guy was just taking a pic of me in the gas station today bc it’s only 34 degrees
@jouest@Kidsandliz@Kyeh@Star2236@tinamarie1974 I buy Birks directly from their website because there are so many counterfeits on Amazon and other places. That means I occasionally get ads or mailers from them. I opened the last mailer to a picture of a young model wearing Birks Arizona - with white socks. Now I can tell the Fashion Police that Birkenstock officially approves my socks’n’sandals, and I have proof.
@jouest@Kyeh@rockblossom@Star2236@tinamarie1974 I bought my first Birks in 1984 when I worked in Germany. Bought more once I was home. Still have some of them. i found the cork and sole wore out well before the straps. It was as expensive to fix that as it was to buy new ones on sale. Too bad for that.
Eh, I guess I’m not TOO embarrassed to have my iPhone SE in one of those Meh charging protector cases. It was a pain to charge for a long time but eventually I found a micro cable that works if the cased phone stands upside down between the fence and cow of a reproduction Book of Knowledge #52 Cast Iron Mechanical Bank.
@aetris@jouest That is what I have too. I like small phones. I have a laptop if I need something more like a computer (my kid has a big phone but then again she has neither tablet or laptop so that makes more sense). And it fits in my jeans back pockets so it is entirely covered by your jeans which protects the phone even better. And I don’t have to carry it in my hands when it isn’t in use.
I know this thread is running out. But the cat theme persists. Last night a cat came to the front door. I wasn’t sure but welcomed it. It had a collar and looked healthy. Greeted it, let it explore, then it took a nap for a while.
I don’t really have anything I use daily or even occasionally that is embarrassing.
What I wish you’d sell cheap is Georgia-Pacific coreless 2 ply toilet paper #19378 (18 rolls) #19375 (36 rolls). Nice, soft, thick enough, and doesn’t shred when using, toilet paper, compact rolls, but can’t use on a regular toilet paper holder (I keep mine on the back of the toilet). 1000 squares a roll. Takes up far less space than 1000 squares on a roll you’d put on a home toilet paper holder. As I have cats I can’t use toilet paper holders anyway because then toilet paper becomes a spinning cat toy. In the end it is usually less expensive (per sheet) than “regular” toilet paper but I want it at meh prices so it is even cheaper.
@Kidsandliz Landlord issues probably would prevent you from using the cat-proof bog roll holders we’ve got. They have a hinged lid that hides the entire interior so that questing claws can’t get to the spinny entertainment dispenser. (They’re actually designed for the Chinese market, where bathrooms are typically small and have a shower that sprays pretty much everything. This necessitates a waterproof bog roll holder. And the result is also cat-proof.)
@Kidsandliz Funny you mention Georgia Pacific; I live ( most of the year ) in a paper mill town. In the old days it was built for making newsprint paper. And a bunch of other products. It’s still operating but on much reduced staff. My previous neighbor was a manager there but at later age retired to a ranch in Montana.
From the net: The Camas paper mill in downtown Camas is owned and operated by Georgia-Pacific.
As far as I know it does paper towel and toilet paper now.
@Kidsandliz@pmarin Since we get something like 80 percent of our newsprint from Canada, it’s going to get awfully expensive with a 25 percent tariff, so maybe they’ll convert the plant back to making newsprint.
My grabbing device with the dinosaur head comes in handy more often than I care to admit.
@jouest Are you unstoppable?
@jouest
This? Sell this!
@jouest
@jouest
We have one with clacky dentures that gets used tres frequently.
Source: https://sciplus.com/
@PhysAssist clackiness is key
@jouest @PhysAssist Now I imagine the T-Rex a little differently.
STOMP!!
ROAR!!!
clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky! clacky!
As I age, more options in my kitchen appear for assistance in opening jars than I’d like to admit.
@Pavlov
I use those rubber grabby things all the time to open jars.
@Pavlov @Star2236 I broke down and bought an electric can opener a few months ago. Worth it.
@Pavlov @sammydog01 @Star2236
Can opener or jar opener? Back when the Black Friday store chain was a thing I bought up a 50 cent electric jar opener that was on a table. I think people had no idea what the hell it was. It actually worked remarkably well. I gave it to Mom.
@chienfou @Pavlov @sammydog01 @Star2236 …50 cents?
@Pavlov turn the jar upside down and bang the lid, flat and with some conviction - not a gentle tap - on the counter top. Almost always works to loosen the lid and I haven’t yet broken a jar.
@ergomeh @Pavlov
More gentle: Upside down, hit the bottom with your palm so the lid bends out. This is often enough to break the seal.
More aggressive: Pry one corner of the lid up to let air in. Careful, this might brake a chip off the glass. Don’t use a flathead screwdriver, but something that works against the top of the lid like the bottle- or can-opener on a swiss army knife .
More gadgety:
Get a “Rubber Strap Wrench” at HongkongFakeTools for leverage on the lid and a rubber band or similar for the jar to hold it in place. ($5 or less with coupon, not really much cheaper directly from “Tshaynah”)
Tshaynah, Dshaynah, I love to say “Dshaynah”
@Pavlov @Star2236
…and to twist other sticking or troublesome things that have low-friction surfaces and thus overpower my failing grip strength…
Ours is one of the “big pharma” promotional items given me by one of my pet pharma reps- in days long gone by when we needed to court them [the reps] in order to get free samples for our uninsured patients.
I don’t even know which [now very likely only available as a generic] medication it was hawking…
@ergomeh @Pavlov
If all else fails, I whack the edge of the lid with the back of a butter knife or the edge of a spoon or fork handle in 1 or 2 places.
By concentrating the force so that it makes a small dent, this very effectively breaks the seal.
Sometimes running hot water from the tap over it can help if the issue is sticky residue in the threads.
Also no jars broken at our house this way.
Hey, @Pavlov!!
I sometimes found myself craving something like pickles or applesauce, then gazing sadly at a jar I couldn’t open. I recently found the greatest invention in my life - the Jarkey.
Works like magic on vacuum sealed jars. One little pop releases the lid without bending or harming it. I’m really excited about this, I sent one to many of my friends and family.
*Bonus - the original from Brix is not made in China.
You’re welcome.
@kdemo @Pavlov
Does it work on twist off jars?
@Pavlov Can opener. I can still get jars open with the upside down slapping technique but opening three cans to make spaghetti sauce made me cry.
@Star2236 - Haven’t tried it on those jars with threaded lids, but it possibly would bend them. Is that what you’re asking? I don’t seem to have as much trouble opening those, though.
The only threaded metal one I can think I have at the moment is kimchi. I think most of those type of lids are plastic these days.
@ergomeh @Pavlov @PhysAssist @Star2236 @kdemo
Or run the metal lid under hot water. It expands faster than the glass and you can often open it that way. Use a dish towel to turn the wet lid.
@ergomeh @kdemo @Kidsandliz @Pavlov @PhysAssist @Star2236 I mounted one of the fixed-in-place jar lid grabbers under one of the cabinets, and it works really well. It has a v-shaped opening with sharp grabby teeth along one side, and it allows using two hands on the jar. No lid has resisted it.
@ergomeh @Kidsandliz @Pavlov @PhysAssist @Star2236 @werehatrack -
My friend has one of those under-counter sawtooth things, it doesn’t work as well as yours.
It wouldn’t work for me as I have lost strength in my R arm and the twisting motion is painful.
Trust me, releasing the vacuum with the Jarkey is magical. It works like an old fashioned beer bottle opener, but the dimensions are larger for jars.
If you’re curious, do yourself a favor and check out the reviews.
@Pavlov @sammydog01 If the discussion is moving to can openers I strongly recommend ditching any opener that leaves a sharp edge on the lid after removal. I have no idea why can opener of the sharp-lid style are still available (and do they carry a warning label).
@ergomeh @Pavlov The classic can of tuna episode from Everybody Loves Raymond springs to mind.
@ergomeh @Pavlov @sammydog01 we routinely use a regular can opener on cans that have a pull tab. For the ones where the lid is deep, we use one of the side cutter styles that completely eliminates sharp edges. I rather like those.
@Pavlov hammer
Over 25 years ago, I bought a good quality, very long shoehorn… Over 2 feet long. Even to me, it seemed semi-pointless when I bought it. But man, if I don’t use it all the time now, with all different kinds of shoes.
@haydesigner I long for a shoehorn. sometimes I just skip shoes
@haydesigner I recently got some rubber galoshes to wear for quick trips outside. They are nice, except there is just a very small tab at the back for pulling them on over my heel and they are a snug fit. The long handled shoe horn I bought makes it simple.
Stupidly cheap dishwasher safe steak knives that I got from either here or morning save years ago. I have good ones but I end up using these because I just toss them in the dishwasher
@Cerridwyn and here I thought all steak knives were dishwasher safe…
@Cerridwyn @jouest it’s not always the metal part of the knife, but the handles.
I’ve got this cleaver with a black plastic handle where the metal notches of the blade can be secured… But a few hot washes and sure enough the plastic starts crumbling (and those notches are actually buttons; there is nothing “securing” the cleaver blade to the handle because there’s only a short metal nub instead of a long metal outcrop that needs a handle/wrap)
@jouest @pakopako i have a very nice German steel set that i rarely use. but they cut steak like butter. they do not go in the dishwasher
@Cerridwyn @jouest @pakopako
Thank youfor subscribing to knife facts!
Did you know the bit inside the handle is called the tang? It can range from a full tang to a partial tang and everything in between!
@Cerridwyn @jouest @lichen @pakopako Also a history of knives at a dinner table starts with the man (sorry, ladies) always having his own knife/dagger. And a true gentleman would offer to cut the serving for the woman he was with, or even an unaccompanied (oh, the shame!) woman.
Also in the golden days of air travel, some services of airplane meals used to come with a full set of metal “silverware” but the metal knife was removed later.
@jouest @lichen @pakopako @pmarin beware, I have a bodice knife
@Cerridwyn @jouest @lichen @pakopako The bodice knife often leads to some of the best story lines…
@Cerridwyn But do you also have a bodice bottle?
@ItalianScallion no but I do have this very cute little necklace that holds essential oils and hangs around your neck
@Cerridwyn @jouest @lichen @pakopako @pmarin Oh cool. Does this mean meh is going to sell more knives?
Good pair of slanted tweezer, letter opener
***good kitchen towels and dishcloths that can be washed easily, don’t fray, soaks up water and dries quickly and are plain in color (no lines, designs or multicolors).
@Star2236
Not the crappy kitchen towels and dishcloths that are water repellent and have large holes in the center?
Refers to an old George Carlin bit about the “good scissors” and/or the “good tape measure” as opposed to the non-functional ones missing a blade or 64-inches out of the middle respectively…
Sorry- I had to…
@PhysAssist @Star2236 I will have to look that up. I loved George Carlin stuff. He and Robin Williams helped influence my understanding of the world. Maybe not in a good way, but the cynicism turned out to be accurate 40 years later.
@PhysAssist @pmarin @Star2236
@pmarin @Star2236
Yes, and some of their routines still play through my head on the slightest trigger.
@PhysAssist @pmarin @Kyeh @Star2236
Carlin was the best.
@Kyeh @PhysAssist @Star2236 The thing about evil scissors is weird because the previous owner of the house I am in (bought a few years ago) was named Evilcisor. No joke!
@PhysAssist @pmarin @Star2236 What a bizarre name!
I’m not embarrassed, but I have almost as many pocket knives as I have t-shirts.*
*Definite exaggeration.
@blaineg How many are from Meh?
@blaineg
Same- and I have a lot of t’s [too many in fact…]
@blaineg can’t tell if this says more about your knives or your t-shirts
@lichen
I just checked: 5. That’s more than I thought.
@jouest Both. I have way too many t-shirts.
I’m not sure I want to count up my knives, but they include some or all of the following features: assisted opening, ball bearings, frame lock, liner lock, back lock, button lock, crossbar lock, tip lock (to prevent accidental deployment), titanium nitride (rainbow finish), 24K gold, black, stonewashed (that’s what they call it, I thought that was for jeans), OTF (Out The Front), sideways opening, skeletonized, butterfly trainer, various plastic handles, aluminum handles, steel handles, wood handles, various blade steels, ceramic blades, damascus blades, etc.
OK, nothing actually has all of the above.
@blaineg Dang! I only have one from here.
@blaineg @lichen I must be deprived. I have none from there. Actually that isn’t entirely true. I got a set with colored handles in an fuko and sent them to someone during an exchange as they were complaining on here they needed kitchen knives, when were they going to be sold next.
I don’t really consider anything embarrassing, but I also don’t have anything I use daily
I guess socks & underwear (because I leave them on for four days before tossing them into the hamper). Maybe an electric blanket these days.
Oh, fanny pack. Most people consider extras pockets embarrassing (idiots).
@pakopako
“I don’t really consider anything embarrassing.”
@jouest @pakopako Use the term fanny pack in England, and someone will be embarrassed.
@jouest @pakopako
Not even this one?
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako “Fanny pack” is inappropriate in Oz and NZ as well, for the same reason. There have been (in)famous incidents of belt packs getting mislabeled that way before shipment from China in the past.
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako I dont think its common in most of europe. My German/French colleauges call it a banana bag
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako @tinamarie1974 Dare we ask what they call a banana hammock?
@jouest @pakopako @tinamarie1974 It’s a bum bag in England.
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako @tinamarie1974 Same in New Zealand.
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako @werehatrack My family lived in New Zealand for several years. My older sister was in her mid-teens while there and picked up some of the slang. Unfortunately, she misinterpreted “shag your fanny” to mean something like “move your butt” and innocently used the term in that vein for years when back in the USA, until I learned the actual meaning and explained it to her. (Much retroactive embarrassment ensued.)
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako I HAVE THAT EXACT FANNY PACK!
@jouest @pakopako @sammydog01
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako
They do have some very different idioms/idioma.
@blaineg @jouest @macromeh @pakopako @werehatrack About 20 years ago I worked with a guy from Northern England. He actually came and stayed in my house while we worked on a project (I was already WFH and had work equipment in a home office) sorry long story.
He explained the “fanny” reference.
Also had a fun time going to a place called Wanker’s Corner Pub, and made sure to take pictures to send back to friends in England.
@pmarin There used to be a place in S Philly called Booger’s Beef and Beer. I should’a taken a picture.
Of the sign.
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako
My knowledge of Brit idiom came from the G.B. foreign exchange students I knew in college- one of whom roomed with my then-GF.
It includes: “Have you got a rubber I can borrow- I’ll give it back tomorrow” [asking for an eraser.]
“Will you please come by and knock me up half-eight tomorrow?” [wake me up at 8:30 AM]
The use of fanny as a semi-polite euphemism for vagina was one I learned when we were discussing our disparate idiomata.
@blaineg @jouest @pakopako @PhysAssist I worked in the UK (NW England and NW Scotland). Plenty of terms I had to learn what they meant and at times not use their term in the USA - for example fag for cigarette.
@blaineg @jouest @Kidsandliz @pakopako @PhysAssist My mom’s parents emigrated from England to USA, plus my family unit lived in New Zealand for several years. So I grew up in a household that was chockablock with British idioms.
Floor stand tablet holder, reading glasses, and remote page turner for my Kindle. It’s dorky but immensely improves my reading experience
@shirlema
I’m heading that way because of arthritis and nerve issues…
I have a USB label maker connected to a Raspberry Pi which I can use from my phone. I could probably be on a Progressive “young homeowner turning into your parents” ad with how much I label. Most recently, I have been labeling my electrical panel.
@Sompom Label Makers are goofy but handy, absolutely. Mine gets used maybe twice a year but, like my laminator, it’s always the perfect solution for the thing that needs doing.
@Chefmongoose @Sompom I have multiple Brother P-Touch label makers because they’re friendly with cheap third-party cartridges. Going back further, a Dymo embossing one from … hey, the 1970s wasn’t that long ago, was it?
@Chefmongoose @narfcake @Sompom Occasionally you find pictures of vintage electronics used for possibly-important stuff like missile launch control and they have Dymo labels.
@Sompom I actually use my label maker to put dates on longer lasting fridge condiments
@Chefmongoose @narfcake @pmarin @Sompom I have a dymo embossing label maker I bought a couple years ago. A small child at my volunteer job took my water bottle because we had the same one with dinosaurs. Now I have an adult bottle with ugly flowers and a fancy label with my name.
@Chefmongoose @narfcake @sammydog01 @Sompom I think in order of priority the small child gets the one with dinosaurs.
@Chefmongoose @Sompom And your laminator would be a perfect solution to the paper medicare cards. My sister laminated my mom’s medicare card (she is OCD on labeling which contributed to making accounting a good career for her). Why on earth the government doesn’t send people plastic ones is beyond me.
@Sompom But then you know ahead of time what’s in that container you pull from the freezer - no fun at all. As impoverished students, we’d buy cans from the grocery store that had lost their label. Dirt cheap, and then you have the task of figuring out dinner based on whatever you happened to have bought. Sometimes it would work as an accompaniment to what you already had planned. But we never figured out what to do with the sauerkraut juice that we got one time…
A three-way tie between:
The toilet paper roll holder with a cell phone / wipes shelf over it;
Rubber can covers to put atop the half- eaten cat food cans (or theoretically human food, but they have a little paw so c’mon);
And a magnetic knife rack that sticks on the kitchen wall and holds my knives, can opener, micro plane grater, and Y-peeler.
@Chefmongoose My magnetic knife rack is right next to the door. Makes it easy to grab one when I answer the door and it’s somebody selling something.
@Chefmongoose The only thing I find with the silicone cat food can covers is that if the can falls they don’t always stay on. I have a plastic one (Hills science diet white one back from a previous cat who was supposed to eat that expensive stuff) that finally bit the dust. That one actually stayed on when the can fell out of the fridge (yeah I know don’t put the can where it will fall). Didn’t know they made rubber ones too. Maybe that won’t happen with those.
Catshirts.
@narfcake i think that’s always the best answer.
Except for actual cats in boxes.
Why are there so many boxes in your house?
No worries, it’s just the some of the cats.
It’s a cat-shaped backscratcher someone gave me a couple of decades ago as a joke. I love it. It looks a lot like this:
@rockblossom it’s perfect
@jouest @rockblossom I have that!
I don’t think it’s so great as a backscratcher, but it’s cute!
Funny socks for women, you always sell men’s socks.
@Star2236 women have feet
@jouest @Star2236 But we need smaller socks!
@jouest @Kyeh @Star2236 sadly, not all of us
@jouest @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 Do you buy their fun socks then?
@jouest @Kyeh @tinamarie1974
I’ve bought them a few times. I love the unsimply stitched women’s socks they had years ago, those were my favorite. I love the cotton in them. I wish they would offer more designs. Then there were some kids sock (I think) that you could reverse and have fuzzy on the outside or inside, they were either blue and yellow or green and yellow. Also the hemp socks that had a marijuana leaf on them, those are really warm for this time of year when you’re transitioning out of crew socks. So yeah, I guess I do buy a lot of socks from meh. I’ve bought multiple packs of them and have the extras stashed in my closet bc I didn’t know if they were cheaply made but all of them have held up really well, way better than some other socks I’ve bought.
@jouest @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 I got some of those kids socks in an Irk and like them; they actually fit me. I usually buy the largest sized kids socks because with standard women’s socks the heel part pooches out at my ankle.
@jouest @Kyeh @Star2236 not for myself, I wear an 11 and most womens socks go to size 10. I can “get them on” but they dont usually fit well.
@jouest @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 Yeah, I was wondering if you’d bought the men’s socks they’ve sold several times.
@jouest @Kyeh @tinamarie1974
I have some of the men’s socks too, it depends of the brand, the unstitched simply or whatever they’re called sometimes fit me. Those are my favorite
@jouest @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 I hear they’re well made.
@jouest @Kyeh @Star2236 no because they are not “cute” thats ok though I dont wear socks THAT often. I ryn around in ballet flats w my jeans or some type of slide heel. In the summer it is some sort of sandal so a handful of pairs has me covered.
I have found some sz 9-12 no show socks for my ballet flats recently. Made me a v happy girly
@jouest @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 Oh, good.
I went for a walk in sandals today and ran into two sets of neighbors who were also walking. Both couples exclaimed about me being in sandals already, but it was definitely warm enough!
@jouest @Kyeh @Star2236 I had to run Charlie to the groomer yesterday and threw on my birkenstocks. You are in good company!
@jouest @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 Yay spring!
🪻
@jouest @Kyeh @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 I wear my boating shoe sandals all winter down here. Wear socks with them if it is too cold. I posted a photo in Nov? with me up north wearing them while standing in the snow. The actual blame should have been forgetting to bring other shoes and boots rather than blame for the snow.
@jouest @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @tinamarie1974
I wear my socks and sandal to run out all the time. Some guy was just taking a pic of me in the gas station today bc it’s only 34 degrees
@jouest @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 I buy Birks directly from their website because there are so many counterfeits on Amazon and other places. That means I occasionally get ads or mailers from them. I opened the last mailer to a picture of a young model wearing Birks Arizona - with white socks. Now I can tell the Fashion Police that Birkenstock officially approves my socks’n’sandals, and I have proof.
@jouest @Kidsandliz @rockblossom @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 Evidently it’s become cool bigtime with Gen Z.
@jouest @Kyeh @rockblossom @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 I bought my first Birks in 1984 when I worked in Germany. Bought more once I was home. Still have some of them. i found the cork and sole wore out well before the straps. It was as expensive to fix that as it was to buy new ones on sale. Too bad for that.
Eh, I guess I’m not TOO embarrassed to have my iPhone SE in one of those Meh charging protector cases. It was a pain to charge for a long time but eventually I found a micro cable that works if the cased phone stands upside down between the fence and cow of a reproduction Book of Knowledge #52 Cast Iron Mechanical Bank.
@aetris yooooo. I just quit expensive Apple phones for an SE. It’s the best. so small. delightful.
@aetris @jouest That is what I have too. I like small phones. I have a laptop if I need something more like a computer (my kid has a big phone but then again she has neither tablet or laptop so that makes more sense). And it fits in my jeans back pockets so it is entirely covered by your jeans which protects the phone even better. And I don’t have to carry it in my hands when it isn’t in use.
I know this thread is running out. But the cat theme persists. Last night a cat came to the front door. I wasn’t sure but welcomed it. It had a collar and looked healthy. Greeted it, let it explore, then it took a nap for a while.
@pmarin Sweet kitty. Looks like you have a new friend. Owner was smart to have a collar on it so you knew it had a home.
I don’t really have anything I use daily or even occasionally that is embarrassing.
What I wish you’d sell cheap is Georgia-Pacific coreless 2 ply toilet paper #19378 (18 rolls) #19375 (36 rolls). Nice, soft, thick enough, and doesn’t shred when using, toilet paper, compact rolls, but can’t use on a regular toilet paper holder (I keep mine on the back of the toilet). 1000 squares a roll. Takes up far less space than 1000 squares on a roll you’d put on a home toilet paper holder. As I have cats I can’t use toilet paper holders anyway because then toilet paper becomes a spinning cat toy. In the end it is usually less expensive (per sheet) than “regular” toilet paper but I want it at meh prices so it is even cheaper.
@Kidsandliz Landlord issues probably would prevent you from using the cat-proof bog roll holders we’ve got. They have a hinged lid that hides the entire interior so that questing claws can’t get to the spinny entertainment dispenser. (They’re actually designed for the Chinese market, where bathrooms are typically small and have a shower that sprays pretty much everything. This necessitates a waterproof bog roll holder. And the result is also cat-proof.)
@Kidsandliz @werehatrack sounds like a cat puzzle
@Kidsandliz Funny you mention Georgia Pacific; I live ( most of the year ) in a paper mill town. In the old days it was built for making newsprint paper. And a bunch of other products. It’s still operating but on much reduced staff. My previous neighbor was a manager there but at later age retired to a ranch in Montana.
From the net: The Camas paper mill in downtown Camas is owned and operated by Georgia-Pacific.
As far as I know it does paper towel and toilet paper now.
@Kidsandliz @pmarin Since we get something like 80 percent of our newsprint from Canada, it’s going to get awfully expensive with a 25 percent tariff, so maybe they’ll convert the plant back to making newsprint.