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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2586 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 9, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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In this thread we post objects that make our daily lives better.

I'll start. My leather wrist watch. It has a date of the month indicator. I used to always forget the date, now I can tell without looking at my phone. The battery never dies, unlike my phone. The second hand is more convenient for timing short things than starting a timer.

I occasionally find stupid cheap gadgets on amazon that I buy sort of on impulse and they turn out to be awesome. Or items I pick up in a random store as I browse for something else. Some of the items, no particular order:

  1. plastic potato masher utensil. So much better than trying to use a fork. doesn't damage pots or pans since it is plastic. usually i dislike single use kitchen gadgets, but if you make mashed potatoes ever you want this.
  2. lemon squeezer. its awesome, works great. old concept, still perfect. Again, usually i dislike single use kitchen gadgets, but squeezing lemons and limes is a common thing. I'd say we use it every other week.
  3. small magnetic kitchen timer. lightweight, simple. attaches to anything vaguely magnetic. sound is loud enough to be heard in the same room no matter the noise level, or across the house if things are generally quiet. found a whole bunch of non kitchen cooking uses for it with the kids "ok try to take a shower in just ten minutes ... rather than thirty minutes, here is a timer"
  4. canvas print photos. they really decorate the room really well. cheap to order a bunch of them, no frames needed (since they come with an internal wooden frame). easy to hang cuz of the existing frame and their light weight.
  5. yeti water bottles. keep things cold or hot forever, very good longevity on the product. still works great after almost a decade of use.

I think I could walk around my house and find more. Ill add one dumb thing as a bonus: tungsten cubes. These were apparently a fad among crypto bros for a little while. I bought mine before then. They just feel so cool. Very heavy for a small object. Denser than lead.

Why get a disposable plastic potato masher? Just get one in stainless steel. They're like 8$ and I've made mashed potatoes for decades and I've never damaged a pot with one. You're not scraping the pot, you're just mashing.

Even better, get large ricer. Makes superior, absolutely lump-free mashed potatoes and can be used for other things, like mashing egg yolks for deviled eggs or avocados for guac.

I like the lumps though ;)

I think the ricer produced stuff often is too smooth, unless it specifically should be that way for some dish.

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