A motley collection of ideas
Useful tweaks, repairs, and odd inventions for everyday life.
Different types of tea release their flavor compounds at different rates: delicate green teas reach their peak after about 3 minutes, while robust black teas often need closer to 5, and strong herbal infusions may benefit from the full 7. Steeping too briefly can leave the flavor underdeveloped, while leaving the leaves in too long … Read more
Who hasn’t come across that moment when a formerly leather-like, silky-smooth coating on your stuff suddenly turns sticky? If it’s just a ballpoint pen that ends up in the trash because it’s gooey, you shrug it off. But when the kitchen knife holder sticks to the tiles—or worse, your e-book reader or an expensive studio … Read more
This mixer did not fall victim to a teardown — it was repaired. The pictures show how it can be disassembled (not easy, but not impossible either). It was still manufactured at a time when the possibility was considered that someone might actually want to repair it. As can be seen in the pictures, the … Read more
Back in early 2020, the media was buzzing with what we could call the E10 panic. Article after article warned that “the new fuel will ruin your ride.” For some reason, people seem to love being scared—apparently Hitchcock just doesn’t cut it anymore, and EU bureaucrats are now scarier than The Birds. Under the Kyoto … Read more
The mildew stain is very ugly and does not come out of the clothes when washed. But things can be saved if you know how to do it!No need to throw away clothes with mould stains! Small mould stains can be removed at home, but if you have larger, stubborn stains, it’s worth going to a dry-cleaning specialist (if you can find one who still knows how). Be careful with the practices that are circulating on various gossip sites! The use of strong detergents in particular can easily lead to completely ruining an otherwise salvageable garment. And if the mould fungus has really got into the fibres of the cloth, there is no other way to help but with vinegar scissors…
My better half has a weakness for weather stations, and she especially likes this old piece. It’s not particularly smart, not particularly pretty, but it has a “frog”, which makes up for everything. It’s a cheap LIDL model — even the first one we bought didn’t pick up the signal from the external sensor. They replaced … Read more
The salad is an undeservedly neglected part of holiday lunch. Hungarians just eat something pickled with the meat and call it a day, while food bloggers throw together something from the leftovers. Yet there’s real science in salad, let me tell you! The word “salad” comes from the Latin expression herba salata (meaning “salted herb”). … Read more
A friend of mine recently asked me about a gadget called the Power Factor Saver. It’s a small plug, barely larger than a typical power adapter or an old mobile phone charger. According to the article I linked earlier, the price is now, just for you, 9800 HUF (around €25), and “the Power Factor Saver … Read more
I came across an article titled “Xylitol, the Unnatural Sweetener” by Sándor Meleg on a friend’s website. At first, I had the impression that this, too, was going to bash poor xylitol and take the dark-green side in the natural vs. artificial debate. I’ll admit, the thought even crossed my mind that the author, dietitian … Read more