You Never Knew How Clever Those Packages Are

If you’re a coffee addict, like us, you may be under the impression that those little holes in packaged ground coffee bags are for people like us who appreciate a good strong whiff of that coffee aroma before we make the decision to purchase the bag (along with 10 others). However, in truth, the hole is there in order to prevent the bag from exploding. Fun fact, when coffee is roasted it tends to let off carbon dioxide.

Once packaged, the carbon dioxide can cause the bag to inflate and explode. Nevertheless, oxygen can cause coffee to turn stale. That’s why some clever genius had to come up with the idea of a tiny hole that will let the CO2 out, but won’t let oxygen in. Thanks to whomever it was, now we can all smell our favorite blends at the store.

Some take-out containers are much more user-friendly than others. In fact, lousy take-out options make all the difference when you’re facing a take-out night (you know, those nights when you get home so exhausted that you know you will be ordering in). Well, while they have been serving us chopsticks for centuries, Chinese restaurant take-out containers are far more practical than we have been giving them credit for.

Next time you order in your favorite fried rice dish, instead of dirtying an extra plate, try this out: once you eat the first few bites, and the rest gets a little difficult to get at, simply unfold all sides of your take-out container and watch how it easily unfolds, creating a flat plate for you to eat off of. Pretty crafty!

If you also used to open the aluminum foil box from the outside, grab a piece and watch helplessly as the entire roll rolls onto the floor and unravels like a sad, less than majestic, aluminum carpet, then this one will be your lifesaver. Did you know there were arrows at the sides of your aluminum foil box?

They’re there to indicate that you must push your finger down on them, and by doing so, the outer piece of the box clutches onto the inside of the foil roll and prevents it from slipping out of the box. They function as end locks, keeping the aluminum roll locked in tight.