21 Hidden Purposes You Never Knew Were There

Various types of cheese have holes for a reason. For example, Swiss cheese is made with special bacteria that produce carbon dioxide. As the CO2 is emitted, it blows like bubble gum, leaving tiny craters, also known as cheese eyes. Then the cheese is cooled down, but the holes stay in place.

Over 40 billion Oreos are made every single year. It’s the world’s most popular manufactured cookie. The geometric design stamped onto these cookies has the Nabisco logo——the symbol of European quality —— surrounding the word Oreo. William Turnier created the chocolate cookie design we see today back in 1952.

If you use reusable bottles, you probably know that sometimes they smell. Even if you only use it for regular water, it still smells. But it’s not the water that smells; it’s the microorganisms in it. If you drink water from a bottle, the particles of your saliva and sweat stay in there. Those bacteria start to build up in the bottle, causing the smell. So, if you choose reusable bottles, make sure to wash them every day to prevent those bacteria from building up. After washing, let it dry completely before using it again.

Not only are the jeans blue, but the police officers’ uniforms, as well. The first official police officers appeared in the 19th century in London. They were given a blue uniform to contrast with the red-and-white uniform that military workers had already been wearing. Two decades afterward, the police force was adopted in the USA, and they followed the patterns. The uniform is still blue nowadays because it proved to be a good color: it’s not that visible in dark hours, and police officers can observe things and people, staying unnoticed. Also, stains aren’t that visible on dark material. And, well, everyone knows that police officers wear blue, and they’re recognized by it, so why change that?

Baby carrots are tiny and, unlike regular carrots, wet. Not unlike baby humans. Baby carrots aren’t some special sort of carrots — they’re actually made of regular carrots by cutting off the skin and outer layers and then polishing them to look that pretty. The problem is they can’t retain moisture. A regular carrot retains some water inside because of the layers that lock it in. Once they’re chopped out, baby carrots can dry out easily. So, they usually sell them in bags with some water inside.

Jeans have metal rivets, and they are there from the very beginning. Jacob Davis, the man who made the first pair of jeans, added copper rivets to spots where pants are more likely to rip — flies and pockets — to make them stronger. Today, they have more of a decorative purpose since they are distinctive and traditional for jeans.

Another special thing about jeans is those tiny pockets they have that seemingly serve no purpose. Well, maybe it’s true now. But years ago, when many cowboys were wearing jeans, the pocket was made specifically to keep a pocket watch there. Also, back then, a pair of jeans had just four pockets: that tiny pocket — the watch pocket, two big pockets in front, and just one pocket on the back.

Car headrests are all about comfort, and detachable headrests are all about safety. If you pull the headrest out, you’ll see two sturdy metal bars. If you ever get locked or trapped in a car, you can use the bars to smash the window and get out.

Those little red spots you sometimes see after you crack an egg are nothing to be worried about. Tiny blood spots can be caused by a small rupture in a blood vessel of the hen as it was laying the egg. Eggs with these blood spots are safe to eat, but that spot can be removed if you want. It won’t affect the taste of the egg. (That’s comforting.)

Hidden within the Toblerone logo of the mountain is the image of a bear standing on its hind legs (about to eat that yodeler over there. No not really. This is because Bears are a big part of Bern, one of the biggest cities in Switzerland, where the Founder created the triangular chocolate treat. Toblerone is also a play on the Founder’s family name “Tobler” and the Italian word “Torrone” for honey and almond nougat.

The space below a cup of noodles is there to protect the noodles during transport. This technique is called a middle suspension. Not only are they protected better in their Styrofoam cup, but it also helps those noodles soften more evenly and quickly.

Even though you might’ve thought that the hole on the barrel of ballpoint pens had no purpose, it does. It’s called a “venting system,” which helps the ink flow more smoothly. This way, an even amount of air pressure is created inside and outside the pen, allowing the ink to flow into the point easily.

It’s not an accident that soy sauce bottles have two spouts. The sauce is liquid and it flows out of the bottle pretty quickly once you turn it over. Most Asian food lovers will admit they have spilled it at least once in a lifetime. That’s why nowadays restaurants prefer serving soy sauce in special bottles that have two spouts. This design allows you to control when and how much sauce will come out. Just put your finger on one spout while you pour the sauce through another. If you press your finger tightly to the spout, the sauce will stop flowing, and if you remove your finger, it will flow again. And please do not remove your finger in a restaurant. It will freak everybody out.

You’ve probably noticed that train and bus seats are covered in fabrics with weird patterns. Have any idea why? They use these patterns to cover any germs and stains on the seats. Oh boy. The brighter the color and the more patterned it is, the harder it will be for a passenger to notice any stains and get grossed out. Also, the patterns are usually so ugly that no one even wants to look at them for long enough to spot any stains. So yeah, the pattern is there to make you look away, and if you look, to make it less noticeable. No bus will ever have plain white seats, that’s a guarantee!

The metal tab on soda cans can be flipped around. You can slip a straw in place, so you don’t have to hold it up to your mouth. This stay-on tab replaced the pull-ring tab created in the early sixties. You remember those, don’t you? Those could be quite sharp and easily discarded where they could be a menace for others. Now you can pop your straw straight into one! Also means you can produce some bubbles and make a mess like a 3-year-old.

Sometimes when you purchase an article of clothing, you receive a plastic baggie with an extra button and a swatch of fabric. While the fabric is clearly used to patch holes, it can also be used to test the effects of various cleaners on certain surfaces. It’s handy, too, to test wash cycles before using them to wash the whole garment.

Escalators have those fluffy black brushes for a similar reason that some have yellow lines on their steps. To try and deter people from getting too close to dangerous places. People don’t always take notice, and sometimes clothing can drape close to the point where the step meets the edge or ‘skirt.’ The brush is a little barrier to help prevent this from happening. They can also catch bits of fluff and prevent other small things from falling down into the gaps.

Those takeaway containers most associated with Chinese restaurants are designed to not only carry your food home but to store it in the fridge. They double as a plate as you can eat straight out of them and don’t have to worry about dirty dishes. Yea! They were actually patented way back in 1894 to transport freshly shucked oysters and were known as oyster pails. They were later adapted to use as leakproof containers for food.

Ever wondered why coins have those little ridges along the edge? It’s a leftover from earlier times when they were worth more. Counterfeiters could easily file the edges off to sell as gold or silver coins to make some profit. The ridges were created so it was much easier to tell which of the coins had been altered. It’s not needed today, but the coins still have that altered style.

All crackers and some cookies have holes to make sure the final product has the right texture. These teeny-tiny holes allow steam to escape so your crackers and cookies wouldn’t snap. If it weren’t for these holes also known as “dockers”, steam would build up inside the treat, and the final result might have been scrumptious, but it would have been rather oddly shaped.

Dogs like to walk in circles before snoozing because they inherited this behavior pattern from their ancestors. There were no special doggie beds back then, so most pooches would have to push down tall grass to make a sort of a snoozing spot; plus, as a bonus, those movements scared off all the critters lurking in the vegetation.

Donuts are ring-shaped for a similar reason — if they hadn’t had holes right in the center, the dough there would have always been undercooked. By the way, they’re often associated with the police because back in the 1950s, donut shops were among the only few places open late. They were a perfect place for police officers to grab something to eat and even deal with some paperwork during the night shift.

Your jeans are blue on the outside and white on the inside because of a smart way to weave the fabric. The warp thread is dyed, while the weft thread has no color; it’s just white. This way, manufacturers reduce the amount of dye needed for each piece of clothing. And, they’re still dying to make the jeans.