15 Witty Folks Who Know How to Hack This Life

All of us has our own little life hacks. Besides, we tend to obtain useful skills over the years that help us to get out of tricky situations. We've compiled these tips from online users together. Who knows when they might come in handy, life is so unpredictable.

• I (female, 26) live alone. Once at midnight, I was already in bed and heard the doorbell ringing. I looked for my dressing gown for a long time, and when I came up to the door, I realized that someone was picking the lock. I panicked and froze, not knowing what to do.
  And then I got a brilliant idea: I quickly went online from my phone and turned on the barking dog at full volume. You won't believe it, but the potential robbers left instantly. © Overheard / Ideer
• On the lawn of our building, I began to notice a young man with a beautiful cat. He walks his Maine Coon every evening, and the cat is like a little dog fidgeting around him. People walk around, look at it, wonder. It's almost a landmark.
  Especially young women are interested, they come up, look at the cat, ask something. I look at all this and think the guy is smart: he has invented a way to get acquainted with girls, using his pet. © Overheard / Ideer

• I smile as little as Wednesday Addams, so I have my own life hack. At the first opportunity, I find out a person's name and don't just say hello to them afterwards, but say, "Hello, Helen" or "Hello, Michael." And then my colleagues wonder why security guards or cleaning ladies are always nice to me. © shanghai48 / ADME
• If unwanted guests or the mother-in-law decide to pay you an unexpected visit, go to the bathroom, tear off a strip of toilet paper, moisten it with drops of water from wet fingers and instantly remove all the stains from the mirror with it. With the same lump of paper you scrub the sink, the tap, and collect dust from the floor, and then flush this horrible piece of paper full of dirt and hair down the toilet. Voilà, you have a crystal clear bathroom and no rags to wash! © Overheard / Ideer
• My lifehack: if in a classroom/meeting setting, and you suspect someone is watching you, yawn,
  then turn to see if they yawn too. If they do, they've been watching you closely. © TrailerParkPrepper / Reddit
• At work, they used to give out a phone with a corporate SIM card. So as soon as the work day was over, I would turn off the phone and leave it at work. In the morning, I would turn it on again.
  When my manager asked me why I did that, I said, "It's a working phone, right? I don't take it home because I don't want to lose the company's property." Some of my coworkers began to do the same. © Usb0 / Pikabu

• This is entirely anecdotal, but it's worked for me for years: while walking through bad neighborhoods, people seem less likely to bother you if you're eating something. I think a lot of it has to do with appearing calm, but I've never had anyone give me a hard time while I'm munching on an apple or banana or whatever. Much safer than fiddling with one's smartphone, anyway. © Delia_Dunn / Reddit
• I was on my way home from a cafe after midnight. I decided to walk straight through the park. Suddenly I hear men's voices and realize that these are apparently not athletes coming toward me. So what I do is I speed up and run to meet the gang with wild eyes, yelling, "Run! It's right after me!"
  Judging by the sounds, some of the men rushed through the bushes, 2 of them followed me and overtook me almost immediately. I even started screaming. It all looked very realistic. The runners went into another yard, and I turned into mine. So, I got home safe and sound. © Overheard / Ideer
• Have you ever peeled a bucket or even more than 3 buckets of garlic? It's not the most pleasant experience, I must tell you, even if you have to peel a single head, especially when the garlic is no longer fresh. In my childhood, we could spend the entire summer doing this for homemade sauces and pickles. And it was real torture.
  But this stopped being torture when one day Grandma Vera came into our yard and advised to soak garlic cloves in water for a couple of hours, or preferably overnight. We couldn't believe our luck. Now we just took a clove in the hands, and it popped out of the peel itself. © Ckooms / Pikabu
• My daughter was about 14 years old - the age of transition, rebellion. Every time I came home from work, the sink was full of dirty dishes. I would come in at 7 p.m. sharp, so at this very moment, my daughter would get up and run to do the dishes. And I would start yelling, like, "No need to do it now. I'll wash them myself."
  A therapist's trick helped. She said, "Call her in advance and tell her you'll be there in 5 to 10 minutes. I assure you, the dishes will be washed." And it worked. At the same time, I revised my parenting methods, worked on myself and the relationship with my daughter gradually improved. We became friends again. © IraLira / ADME

• My secret of a happy marriage is that I never perceive my spouse as part of the interior. My husband always charges my phone or takes the garbage out of our bathroom, and I always notice it and say, "Thank you, how thoughtful of you." It always makes a person feel good, so they keep doing things for their loved ones. My husband also notices my efforts and doesn't take for granted everything I do for him. © MissB / ADME
• Trading and bartering is fantastic! I prefer it over exchanging money for things. You’d be surprised how many professionals would love to trade services! And also, ask for things you need.
  I’m 8 months pregnant and haven’t had good luck finding flowy summery maternity dresses to get me through the summer, so I posted online that I was looking for some. My sister-in-law gave me 4 adorable dresses today, and I’m buying 5 for $20 from a friend tomorrow! So basically 9 dresses for $20, when buying new would’ve costed me double on just one. And both people were thrilled to get them out of their home. © cupcaketeatime / Reddit
• My daughter was born in September, so we had a full winter with her as a newborn. Whenever she was inconsolable, we used to open the back door, step outside for just 30 seconds or whatever, and she would calm down immediately after the cold air hit her. Every time. © sl1241a / Reddit

• If you don't want to cry while cutting onions, hold an ordinary match in your teeth. I always do like this and it works. © Tatiana Pisareva / ADME
• In a bank, they have introduced a robot that receives calls and is very reluctant to pass the call to a representative. Yesterday I called on a fraud attempt, so our intellectual duel lasted 3 to 4 minutes.
  - Connect me to a representative.
  - You have a question about your card?
  - Put me through to a representative.
  - Ask me, I can help.
  - Put me through to a representative.
  Eventually, the robot said:
  - Ask me if I can't answer your question, I'll connect you to a representative.
  - What is the half-life of radium?
  - I'm connecting you to a representative. © Radrigosen / Pikabu

And here are some viral life hacks that we proved to actually work.