If you have a medicine cabinet in your bathroom, you may notice a small slit set in the back wall. You likely pay this little slit no mind, since you’re busy getting bandages, grabbing some painkiller, or whatever else you need. This tiny slit was used back when disposable razors were more oft-used, and once you were done taming the whiskers, you could deposit the blade into the slit.
Where would it go? Well, nowhere: There might still be some old razors back there. You may want to investigate, but be careful – there’s nothing so bad as getting a rusty razor cut.
House Bees Have Been Around for Ages
If you live in (or are renovating) an old home, there's a chance you'll find a surprising beehive behind one of the walls. This is actually on purpose since close bees mean close, fresh honey. Settled behind the walls, bees used special pipes and openings to keep the living spaces buzz-free.
First discovered in homes that date back to around 60 AD, homeowners have been encouraging house bees for almost two thousand years. Homeowners would sometimes even uproot old hives to encourage bees to move in. The bees usually ended up staying, since walls provided warmth in the winter and shade during the summer. At least it isn't a wasp nest.
Bombs Away!
It's likely you've seen a home with one of these laundry chutes, even if it's nailed shut for the protection of little ones. Some homes still even use them to reduce clean-up time – and if you're young, there's nothing so fun as dropping something down into the laundry basket waiting at the bottom.
Newspapers first described linen chutes back in the 1890s, but no one is really sure when they started popping up. They're usually in central locations such as hallways or main rooms, but they can sometimes appear in bedrooms or bathrooms. If you have one, your laundry is sure to be a breeze.
Secret Staircases and Hidden Rooms
If you have the chance to tour old mansions – or you happen to live in one – hidden doors may contain secret passages, cramped staircases, and even entire rooms. These served as servant's quarters, since for a while servants often lived in the same buildings as their masters, and these rooms and passages were built so that servants could move quickly, and stay out of sight when appropriate.
The twentieth century saw a reduction in servants, but some homes built in the era still have these features, which changed to spiral staircases and smaller rooms.
Button Light Switches Didn't Last Long
Between the advent and wide use of technology, and the adoption of the toggle switches we still see in nearly every home today, people used button switches to turn on the lights. And they came with a number of problems, too, which explains why the better option was so quick in coming. These buttons would often get stuck, and require extra work just to turn things off.
Once modern wiring and mechanical standards caught up, these buttons have become a little bit more in vogue – if this kind of look interests you, there are ways to get it.