7 Hacks to Save Your Day When Trouble Strikes

Knowledge is power indeed and it can get you out of trouble that may seem dead-end at first sight. Imagine getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken-down car, or being left without drinking water in the wild. Even though you may think that these situations are worth panicking about, there are ways you can learn to be prepared for them.

We at Bright Side collected some good hacks for you that can be really helpful for different life troubles.

1. If you are out of drinking water in the wild

One of the safest and easiest ways to get water in the wild is to collect dew. All you need to do is:

• Find an area where there will be enough dew, preferably a field. The best time for collection is in the morning.
• Wipe up the dew with an absorbent material like a cotton towel or a T-shirt.
• Wring it out into a container.

This way, you can collect a decent amount of drinking water very quickly.

2. If your pan is on fire

The worst thing you can do in this case is to pour water on the fire. The water hitting the hot grease or even oil will create an explosion which could cause burns. Instead, you need to cover it, preferably with a lid. Be very careful, don’t move the pan, and let it cool down.

3. If you need to build a fire on a windy day

This situation may seem rather challenging, but with these steps, you can build a sustainable fire:

• Try to find a place that is out of the wind, rain, or snow.
• Search the local area for dead dry plant materials to act as tinder, kindling, and firewood for your fire.
• Make a fist-sized mound of your tinder materials. Place your skinniest dead twigs over it. Build a cone-shaped structure with these materials, and then add sticks that are about a finger in diameter.
• Light it up using oily paper on the side that the wind is coming from.

4. If your car suddenly breaks down

If this happens to you when you are far from home or if it’s in the middle of the night, you still can do something to improve your situation:

• Check to see if you have call reception and call a tow service — they’ll come to you and take both you and your car to the nearest town where you can get it repaired.
• If not, be prepared to spend a night in your car: close your doors and roll up your windows, so that the warmth stays inside.
• Wait until the morning to attract other drivers’ attention. Stay close to the road the whole time.
• In the morning, if you know where you are, try to walk to the nearest town or gas station to get help.

5. If you forgot a fishing rod

You can create a trap out of a plastic bottle:

• Cut the top off a big plastic bottle.
• Tie a line on the bottle so that you can be sure it won’t sink.
• Put the funnel part upside down in the cylindrical part.
• Place bait and stones in the bottle to sink it.
• Drop the bottle in the water so that it will lay flat on the bottom.
• Pull the bottle up after few hours and see if any fish are trapped inside.

6. If you get a stain on your clothes

You can remove common stains from food right away this way:

• Soak the stain with water immediately.
• Apply an absorbent like salt, baking soda, talcum powder, or cornstarch on the stain.
• Let it sit for 15 minutes.
• Remove and rinse.

7. If you lose power

If you suddenly lose electricity and no candles are around, you can easily make some emergency candles with household materials. For instance, you can make one from butter:

• Cut off a rectangle of butter.
• Insert a wick.
• Light it up. Make sure to place it in a glass and you should get about one hour of light per tablespoon.

Or from an orange:

• Slice the orange to remove just the top part of the peel.
• Pour a little oil on the center pith.
• Light it up.

Have you ever tried any of these hacks? What other tips for emergency situations do you know of?