Fir tree sap and maple syrup are not the same sort of sticky. One is resinous the other sugary. Don't drag or rub the bread, blot with it, dab dab dab.... It is intended to get the smallest splinters before they find human skin. And I suggest it works better with glass ornaments, shattered goblets. Use it after the larger pieces have been collected. NOT a fail if done correctly. And that is a "holiday hat" as long as it's a winter holiday. Bet it's lovely and warm.
Whoever thinks of doing the wine-glass-candle-holder hack: DON'T!!! Wine glasses are not made at all to withstand the stresses the heat of a candle produces. Given the quality of your glass, it might crack or even burst. So, get something that's thick and doesn't burn. Or metal. Metal is mostly a good solution. Or earthware.
Agreed, I won't even turn my wine glasses upside down. The rims will chip, but an ordinary drinking glass that goes in the dishwasher might become a candle holder some day.
You missed the point of the toilet paper thing around the roll of wrapping paper. Yes a rubber band can do the job just as well if the intention is just to keep it from unraveling. Which it isnt. With the toilet paper thing, you keep it from unraveling while at the same time you are able to pull paper from it through the slit in the toilet paper thing, effectively making it a dispenser.
Maple syrup was a really bad surrogate for tree sap. Tree sap sticks to you, quite literally, like superglue. Simply washing your hands won't get it off.
If you are using a condiment bottle for frosting, I recommend heating up some water and letting the bottle of frosting sit in it for about five minutes. Makes it about a hundred times easier. At the store I work at, this is what we do.
John, you continue to do injustice to some of these hacks- I cannot tell if they really fail or your implementation is intentionally poor- who washes their hands without water? I suppose the toothpaste is intended to act as an abrasive and it needs a surfactant in order to properly be tested- don't you agree?
in what world is maple syrup the same as fir tree resin?? that's like saying "LIFEHACK: put salt in a mason jar to look like snow. but we don't have any salt, so let's use paprika! wait a minute, red snow???? FAIL."
As far as Broken Glass is concerned. use duct tape. It's easy. strips of duct tape will pick up absolutely all the glass on the floor. much safer than trusting bread or a vacuum.
if you're gonna use garbage as wrapping paper how about newspaper. works like a charm and seems to make people laugh when the one dude turns up with newspaper wrapped gifts. Least he went through the trouble. instead of turning a Doritos bag inside out.
how can there be 150 likes when assuming the mass of ordinary matter is about 1.45×1053 kg (reference previous section) and assuming all atoms are hydrogen atoms (which in reality make up about 74% of all atoms in our galaxy by mass, see Abundance of the chemical elements), calculating the estimated total number of atoms in the universe is straight forward. Divide the mass of ordinary matter by the mass of a hydrogen atom (1.45×1053kg divided by 1.67×10−27 kg). The result is approximately 1080 hydrogen atoms. So I'm assuming this video was hacked.
Ive seen this shit several times now, you're not being very original. Why not just say the reason there are that many likes is because that many youtube accounts clicked the like button...
Ohhhh. I get it. Because people ask how there are more likes than views when the view count is less than or equal to 301. People say it is hacked but TH-cam has an evaluation period of videos once it passes 301. Funny -___-
Sam Atwell heh... how do Americans differentiate what we call chips and what we call French Fries? Sounds like you just called them all French Fries?!?
wacka here chips mean chips and French fries French fries. I don't think anyone calls one the other. I guess it's one of those thing that are country specific
Bass M. I spoke to an American and he clarified... you call crisps - chips, you call french fries - french fries... and you call chips - steak fries ... in English we just have:- new4.fjcdn.com/comments/3345395+_4074b95525b3405986d8f301fa95f32b.jpg
I wrap our Christmas tree lights around a folded-up newspaper as we take them down. It keeps them from tangling and is a lot easier to store than a coffee can would be!
John, you're too funny. I've used the bread life hack before and it works, you're supposed to press down on the bread, not use it like a broom :) Also, the candle holder life hack is an idea I found earlier this year, I'm thinking of using them as centerpieces in my wedding!
I'm not sure if I'm just deliriously tired from staying up writing essays but... I completely lost it for this video. There was an honest to goodness giggle fest over here.
I work as a wedding stylist and the whole candles and wine glass thing is hugely popular, so many couples are requesting them as centrepieces and candle holders. Also the mason jars with sand and candles are just as popular but not for snow, mostly beach weddings, its crazy lol :)
A better way to decorate cookies or cakes is to use the decorating tips available in any bakery craft section (and on baking aisles). There's usually a small pack of three tips that can be found as cheap as the squeeze bottles would be. Instead of using the expensive pastry bags, cut a small hole in the corner of any ziploc type bag and insert the tip. 🎄
Honestly, with the candles and wine glasses, I'd probably opt to put the candle IN the glass instead of on top of it. Maybe even add salt or whatever to it - like with the Mason jars - to create a nice, stable base for the candle. But, to each their own. I use ribbon when I wrap gifts. (I don't just slap a bow on and call it done!) So, I just tie some of that around the rolls to keep the paper from unraveling. Even yarn or twine would work. And, as suggested, I am sure a rubber band would be fine, too. No reason to start a minor craft project just to hold your paper in place unless you're really desperate and have nothing else available. The lights on the coffee can technically work. But, yeah, I am sure it's a bigger pain in the butt than it's worth. One year, I used old bits of cardboard for wrapping/storing lights. I even cut notches into the sides of the cardboard to help hold the lights in place. That worked well enough. But, the following year, I went out and just bought a bunch of small extension cord reels. They're really durable, they work much better than cardboard, and they were less than $2 each.
I like how he was initially really close to pinning the nose correctly at the end but then he immediately screws up and overlaps one of his previous attempts. :P
I so like the concept of these videos and I like John, but he just does some of those so poorly that when HE tests them, they don't pass, although they actually DO work, if you do them properly. Wrapping your lights around something, maybe also a can CAN work and wont take even close to as long as it does for him when you do it right. Just pick the can up and wrap it! It's painful to watch him turn the can around on the desk... Also: don't Americans have those plastic hangers the lights come with? Wrap them around those - they even have a fastening for the beginning and the end built in! It might not LOOK neat, but it will be easy to unwrap them again next year.
i use rolled up newspapers for Christmas lights. put the blunt plug end in the end of the roll and reel it in. the roll is long enough that you can actually hold the roll when you reel it in. does not work as well with icicle lights. (they are evil)
Felix Boothby You could probably also use the cardboard tubes of finished wrapping paper rolls instead of newspaper for something a little more solid. Also probably easier to deal with taking it off a tree or wall with such methods than from a box or loose mess
The proper way to store Christmas lights is to wrap them around a piece of cardboard. Cut off the side of a box to make a flat rectangle. Holding the rectangle in landscape mode, cut a notch along the top no more than 2 inches from one corner (the upper left corner). Put one of the ends into the notch to hold it in place. Coil the string of lights around the board toward the other side (the right side) as snugly as you can, but not so tight that you bend the cardboard. Space each new loop around the box close enough so that you can prevent tangling. When you run out of lights, make another notch to hold the other end. Voila.
The coffee can and light string thing totally has merit. I put the plug end inside. I did that last year (with a large cardboard tube I got from the recycle bin at work), and my lights unrolled perfectly this year. I was able to unroll it around the tree by myself, too. I'd call it a 100% pass. A little patience to take it off the tree and roll it up as you go more than pays for itself when you are setting up for the next year.
John, I'm a preschool teacher, and we call the borax mixture Gak. You have to be careful about the age group playing with it, as borax is toxic. I'm sure that you as a parent are aware that babies and toddlers put everything in their mouths. Because you know, sensory.
For the icing, just sit the bottle in a glass of hot water for a few minutes first, it'll soften up the icing. I use it for decorating with chocolate fondant all the time at work.
I have done a lot of outdoor activities, and i've never understood the dilemma of tree sap. Literally all you have to do is rub some dirt on it, then rub it of, and tada no more sticky hands.
It's two in the morning and I am watching a bestselling author rub maple syrup into his hands.
I love the internet.
I miss shows hosted by this extraordinary man
I feel like Life hacks should become its own show. That would be neat.
I'm sure the recipient would be thrilled when they realise you used a chips bag to wrap their present.
For the tape isn't it just easier to fold a bit of the tape back on itself making a little tape flap.
You lose a bit of tape every time you do that though.
DragonSneeze But I don't want to waste my bread tabs on tape!
PajamaMan
I would like to know what you're doing with your bread tabs when the bread is gone. Do you have a craft project going?
chitheatergirl01 i.imgur.com/2fPxh1X.jpg I wouldn't exactly call it a craft project
PajamaMan Why....?
In response to life hack I prefer to store my cookies in my stomach.
Well said sir
Fir tree sap and maple syrup are not the same sort of sticky. One is resinous the other sugary.
Don't drag or rub the bread, blot with it, dab dab dab.... It is intended to get the smallest splinters before they find human skin. And I suggest it works better with glass ornaments, shattered goblets. Use it after the larger pieces have been collected. NOT a fail if done correctly.
And that is a "holiday hat" as long as it's a winter holiday. Bet it's lovely and warm.
Whoever thinks of doing the wine-glass-candle-holder hack: DON'T!!!
Wine glasses are not made at all to withstand the stresses the heat of a candle produces. Given the quality of your glass, it might crack or even burst.
So, get something that's thick and doesn't burn. Or metal. Metal is mostly a good solution.
Or earthware.
Agreed, I won't even turn my wine glasses upside down. The rims will chip, but an ordinary drinking glass that goes in the dishwasher might become a candle holder some day.
one day we will see the mythical creature that is Meradith
I just love all of John's reactions to things. Like his face when he's putting cookies in the box.
Priceless.
You missed the point of the toilet paper thing around the roll of wrapping paper. Yes a rubber band can do the job just as well if the intention is just to keep it from unraveling. Which it isnt. With the toilet paper thing, you keep it from unraveling while at the same time you are able to pull paper from it through the slit in the toilet paper thing, effectively making it a dispenser.
true and also rubber bands tend to tear the paper
I can hear TheWife(tm) now: "Did, did you wrap my gift in an old chip bag? What makes you think it is OK to wrap gifts in trash?"
Maple syrup was a really bad surrogate for tree sap.
Tree sap sticks to you, quite literally, like superglue. Simply washing your hands won't get it off.
Maple syrup is not a substitute for tree sap, maple syrup IS tree sap.
If you are using a condiment bottle for frosting, I recommend heating up some water and letting the bottle of frosting sit in it for about five minutes. Makes it about a hundred times easier. At the store I work at, this is what we do.
John, you continue to do injustice to some of these hacks- I cannot tell if they really fail or your implementation is intentionally poor- who washes their hands without water? I suppose the toothpaste is intended to act as an abrasive and it needs a surfactant in order to properly be tested- don't you agree?
Hmm surfactantant... Yes i most indubitably agree
totally agree, many he marks fail are that way because of him or poor planning
Even if that would have worked the way he did it, maple syrup is nowhere near as sticky as tree sap.
*****
and tree sap is much more viscous than syrup- almost bordering on a solid depending on temperature.
Yes, and it also dries. If it's been on your hands for a while, it's pretty much solid.
I always wanted to receive a present covered in salt and chip grease. :p
John went full out Canadian with his fur tuque and maple syrup moisturizer!
i thought a tuque was one of those knit caps with a wool koosh on top
+Timothy Creighton toques are anything that's not a baseball cap.
Woot, I'm more canadian than I was before I read that
i had so much hope for the ping pong christmas lights
Freddy T Me too. I was so dissapointed.
John seems 100% done with the holidays and life hacks, which made this hilarious
in what world is maple syrup the same as fir tree resin??
that's like saying "LIFEHACK: put salt in a mason jar to look like snow. but we don't have any salt, so let's use paprika! wait a minute, red snow???? FAIL."
I love these doofy life hack episodes more than anything else. It's sad but wonderful.
awwww look at john getting all crafty. you go john
Holy crap, he's so hammered... Best job ever.
I love watching John try life hacks! These videos are the best!
As far as Broken Glass is concerned.
use duct tape. It's easy.
strips of duct tape will pick up absolutely all the glass on the floor. much safer than trusting bread or a vacuum.
turn inside a greasy potato chip bag? yeah...how the heck is that a "pass"?
well he did say clean it out first
if you're gonna use garbage as wrapping paper how about newspaper. works like a charm and seems to make people laugh when the one dude turns up with newspaper wrapped gifts. Least he went through the trouble. instead of turning a Doritos bag inside out.
wouldn't a zip-lock bag with a corner cut off by a few millimeters make a better icing dispenser?
yes
1:38 the original Dalek's dome lights were made the exact same way. Just a fun fact.
Apparently
Though I suspect the BBC used brighter bulbs than John's Christmas lights.
***** Exactly! I heard that they used christmas lights but evidently not; either that or they were *way* brighter back in '63.
TheRecreator There are different types. They could have been Christmas lights.
This resulted in me laughing harder than I have in a very long time. Thank you John.
"This was a pass but my personal work was a fail."
This is the perfect way to end every Mental Floss Life Hack video.
John's disappointed face at the end with the scarf over his mouth and the hat on his head made my day...
I really liked the way John presented it, made my day! thanks !
John Green is my favorite person to watch on TH-cam and Life Hacks is my favorite program to watch on TH-cam.
John, you're supposed to squash the bread onto the glass.
He's so freaking adorable.
My new favourite mental floss video
Whahaha, I died several times during this video, but the genuine "Where did I put it" made it irreversible.
"Of all the life hacks,this is the worst"he only said that because he hadn't done the watermelon one yet
how can there be 150 likes when assuming the mass of ordinary matter is about 1.45×1053 kg (reference previous section) and assuming all atoms are hydrogen atoms (which in reality make up about 74% of all atoms in our galaxy by mass, see Abundance of the chemical elements), calculating the estimated total number of atoms in the universe is straight forward. Divide the mass of ordinary matter by the mass of a hydrogen atom (1.45×1053kg divided by 1.67×10−27 kg). The result is approximately 1080 hydrogen atoms. So I'm assuming this video was hacked.
Ive seen this shit several times now, you're not being very original. Why not just say the reason there are that many likes is because that many youtube accounts clicked the like button...
Those are random numbers. Atoms have nothing to do with likes😒
Good job copying and pasting dipshit.
half life 3 confirmed
Ohhhh. I get it. Because people ask how there are more likes than views when the view count is less than or equal to 301. People say it is hacked but TH-cam has an evaluation period of videos once it passes 301. Funny -___-
Life hack 1 had a part 2... put the crisps from the crisp packet, back in reversed packet... present sorted!
American translation:
Life hack 1 had a part 2... put the chips from the chip bag back into the inside-out bag... there is your present!
Sam Atwell heh... how do Americans differentiate what we call chips and what we call French Fries? Sounds like you just called them all French Fries?!?
wacka here chips mean chips and French fries French fries. I don't think anyone calls one the other. I guess it's one of those thing that are country specific
Bass M. I spoke to an American and he clarified... you call crisps - chips, you call french fries - french fries... and you call chips - steak fries ... in English we just have:- new4.fjcdn.com/comments/3345395+_4074b95525b3405986d8f301fa95f32b.jpg
wacka What you call chips are alternatively potato wedges if you're in the South.
Love the Christmas themed- mental floss theme haha
Love the channeling of fellow Hoosier David Letterman at :57.
I miss these so much! These kind of videos are the reason I subscribed! Please do many many more 😀
I wrap our Christmas tree lights around a folded-up newspaper as we take them down. It keeps them from tangling and is a lot easier to store than a coffee can would be!
John Green on TH-cam a cure to any bad day.
Happy Holidays and thank you.
Cranberry garland? is this a thing somewhere?
John, you're too funny. I've used the bread life hack before and it works, you're supposed to press down on the bread, not use it like a broom :)
Also, the candle holder life hack is an idea I found earlier this year, I'm thinking of using them as centerpieces in my wedding!
I'm watching in around August and I'm already getting a lot of ideas for Christmas decorations.
These life hack videos are my favorite. You've gotten make more of them John
John, rubber band/hair tie on wrapping paper rolls can easily leave marks. The LED bulbs for the ping pongs have to be bright and multi-color.
I love you John. Haha you are so funny. Keep being yourself. He's awesome. The crew is also awesome for the great clean video!
your lifehack videos are my absolute favourite, pleasepleaseplease do lots and lots more of those!
I love these life hack videos. But in my head it's called: "John Tries To Do Things: Holiday Edition".
I'm not sure if I'm just deliriously tired from staying up writing essays but... I completely lost it for this video. There was an honest to goodness giggle fest over here.
I work as a wedding stylist and the whole candles and wine glass thing is hugely popular, so many couples are requesting them as centrepieces and candle holders. Also the mason jars with sand and candles are just as popular but not for snow, mostly beach weddings, its crazy lol :)
I don't know what it is in this video, but John has never been funnier. Absolutely hilarious, I laughed the entire time.
Do more life hacks, they're some of my favorite videos
A better way to decorate cookies or cakes is to use the decorating tips available in any bakery craft section (and on baking aisles). There's usually a small pack of three tips that can be found as cheap as the squeeze bottles would be. Instead of using the expensive pastry bags, cut a small hole in the corner of any ziploc type bag and insert the tip. 🎄
I laughed at the part with the maple syrup and tooth paste. :D Made my day. :)
I'm literally laughing hysterically at his confusion when he can't find his nose on the reindeer.
Best life hack test video so far, John!! Very entertaining while still being informative. (I laughed most of the way thru it!) ;)
I feel like John had a bit of the egg nog before this video. love you guys at mental floss
One of my favorite series John Green life hack test :)
Honestly, with the candles and wine glasses, I'd probably opt to put the candle IN the glass instead of on top of it. Maybe even add salt or whatever to it - like with the Mason jars - to create a nice, stable base for the candle. But, to each their own.
I use ribbon when I wrap gifts. (I don't just slap a bow on and call it done!) So, I just tie some of that around the rolls to keep the paper from unraveling. Even yarn or twine would work. And, as suggested, I am sure a rubber band would be fine, too. No reason to start a minor craft project just to hold your paper in place unless you're really desperate and have nothing else available.
The lights on the coffee can technically work. But, yeah, I am sure it's a bigger pain in the butt than it's worth. One year, I used old bits of cardboard for wrapping/storing lights. I even cut notches into the sides of the cardboard to help hold the lights in place. That worked well enough. But, the following year, I went out and just bought a bunch of small extension cord reels. They're really durable, they work much better than cardboard, and they were less than $2 each.
The reindeer pin was fantastic.
I like how he was initially really close to pinning the nose correctly at the end but then he immediately screws up and overlaps one of his previous attempts. :P
I so like the concept of these videos and I like John, but he just does some of those so poorly that when HE tests them, they don't pass, although they actually DO work, if you do them properly.
Wrapping your lights around something, maybe also a can CAN work and wont take even close to as long as it does for him when you do it right. Just pick the can up and wrap it! It's painful to watch him turn the can around on the desk...
Also: don't Americans have those plastic hangers the lights come with? Wrap them around those - they even have a fastening for the beginning and the end built in! It might not LOOK neat, but it will be easy to unwrap them again next year.
i use rolled up newspapers for Christmas lights. put the blunt plug end in the end of the roll and reel it in. the roll is long enough that you can actually hold the roll when you reel it in. does not work as well with icicle lights. (they are evil)
Felix Boothby You could probably also use the cardboard tubes of finished wrapping paper rolls instead of newspaper for something a little more solid. Also probably easier to deal with taking it off a tree or wall with such methods than from a box or loose mess
The silliness is part of the fun.
You seemed a little... tipsy in the video. I like your calm host version more, though.
I thought he sounded a little sick, with a cold or something.
Maybe he took some NyQuil. Let's go with that. Tired.
For the cookie icing, try microwaving the icing for like 5-10 seconds before piping it. Makes it a lot easier on your hands.
The proper way to store Christmas lights is to wrap them around a piece of cardboard. Cut off the side of a box to make a flat rectangle. Holding the rectangle in landscape mode, cut a notch along the top no more than 2 inches from one corner (the upper left corner). Put one of the ends into the notch to hold it in place. Coil the string of lights around the board toward the other side (the right side) as snugly as you can, but not so tight that you bend the cardboard. Space each new loop around the box close enough so that you can prevent tangling. When you run out of lights, make another notch to hold the other end.
Voila.
Exactly how I do it to.:-)
John sounded like he had the sniffles.
I thought the ping pong balls one was fine o.O
Lol no that looked like shit, there was almost no light being luminated
I love this guy.
for Christmas lights I just get one of those extension cord spools
2:45
if you had one more candle, it would have been fork handles
Terrible. Terrible, terrible pun. *shakes head sadly*
+Kishore Shenoy i just facepalmed so hard, my hand went through my skull
Both people seem to think you're just making a bad pun rather than a reference to a brilliant two Ronnies sketch
There is something wrong with the link to make the gooey snow thing 😔
www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/12/slime28.html
Chico Eastridge Thanks.
The coffee can and light string thing totally has merit. I put the plug end inside. I did that last year (with a large cardboard tube I got from the recycle bin at work), and my lights unrolled perfectly this year. I was able to unroll it around the tree by myself, too. I'd call it a 100% pass. A little patience to take it off the tree and roll it up as you go more than pays for itself when you are setting up for the next year.
John is definitely a few drinks down in this video.
Great video, I thoroughly enjoyed it
Nothing says: "I care about you" as wrapping a gift in something that was pulled out of a garbage bin.
John, I'm a preschool teacher, and we call the borax mixture Gak. You have to be careful about the age group playing with it, as borax is toxic. I'm sure that you as a parent are aware that babies and toddlers put everything in their mouths. Because you know, sensory.
I think maybe pushing the bread INTO the light bits would've worked better instead of trying to sweep the bread over them. Maybe?
For the icing, just sit the bottle in a glass of hot water for a few minutes first, it'll soften up the icing. I use it for decorating with chocolate fondant all the time at work.
i had some INTEL on this episode
AW MAN! GREAT BILL TULL REFERENCE!!!
4:25. Not sure if this counts, because the sugar and artificial syrups might change its content enough for it to no longer work.
A history focused video next time? Sweet!
Anyone else think John dropped an f bomb when he said "It's just a funny hat?"
It's all so Christmasy 🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄
yes more lifehacks please
such a good episode :)
It rubs the Maple Syrup on its skin or else it gets the hose again...
this was the funniest episode in a while, many thanks my friend
Haha he totally seems half cut in this video! It is in keeping with the christmas spirit
I love that your version of holiday cookies is Chips Ahoy
I like how some are just fails because he doesn't like them. lol. So fun.
For those xmas lights, it's easier getting those cheap extension cord things for keeping them organized to wrap the xmas lights on
I have done a lot of outdoor activities, and i've never understood the dilemma of tree sap. Literally all you have to do is rub some dirt on it, then rub it of, and tada no more sticky hands.
John was so close initially but then he had to go for where the other noses were. Nice.