I used to think those 'noise cancelling' earbuds were just hype

I got a pair for my commute on the bus to work and was ready to be let down. But after one ride where I didn't hear a single engine rumble, I had to admit they actually work. What's something you were sure was a gimmick that turned out to be real?

I was gluing up a text block and a piece of scrap paper saved the whole thing

I was putting together a 200 page notebook last night and my glue brush was leaving thick, uneven lines on the spine. I almost panicked because the paste was starting to set. On a total whim, I grabbed a piece of scrap printer paper, folded it in half, and used the folded edge like a spreader. It gave me a perfectly thin, even coat in one pass and soaked up the extra glue. I've been binding for a couple years and never thought of that. Has anyone else found a weird household item that works better than the 'right' tool?

My thermal camera spotted a hot spot in a wall that saved a rewire job in Denver.

Was doing a panel upgrade in a 70s house and the camera showed one circuit running 20 degrees hotter than the rest, which turned out to be a single loose connection at an outlet that would've failed soon, so has anyone else had a small tool find a big problem like that?

My mom told me to stop using witch hazel on oily skin years ago

She was a nurse and said it would just dry me out and make things worse long-term. I didn't listen and kept using it after every cleanse for like two years. My skin got so much oilier and more reactive. Finally quit it six months ago and switched to a gentle toner, and my client with similar skin saw a huge change when I suggested she do the same. Anyone else have a product they swore by that was actually causing the problem?

Had a weird pressure spike on a 20-year-old Cleaver-Brooks unit yesterday

Was doing a routine check on a boiler at the old paper mill on 3rd Street and the pressure gauge jumped from 120 psi to almost 180 in like two seconds. The low water cutoff was clean, so I shut it down and found the feedwater regulator was totally stuck open, flooding the drum. Had to manually isolate it and call for a new part. Anyone run into a feedwater valve failing that fast before?

My shop had to choose between a new alignment rack or upgrading our scan tools

We went with the alignment rack because our old one was from 2005 and constantly needed recalibration. Anyone have a preferred brand for the newer 4-wheel systems?

I finally gave up on my old corded circular saw after trying a friend's brushless model on a deck job last month.

I keep seeing people put their fire pits right on the grass

I mean, maybe it's just me but I see this all the time in my neighborhood. Folks will just plop a metal fire pit bowl directly on their lawn for a summer evening. I did the same thing last year and killed a perfect 4-foot circle of my Kentucky bluegrass. It took almost six weeks and a lot of seed to fix it. The heat just cooks the roots, even if you don't see flames. Now I always put mine on a proper stone or gravel pad, or at the very least, on a couple of those big concrete patio slabs from the hardware store. It seems so obvious now, but I guess we all learn the hard way. Has anyone found a good looking, movable base that doesn't wreck the yard?

My friend saw my code and said it looked like alphabet soup

I was showing a friend my first Python script, a simple number guesser. He looked at it for a second and said, 'Dude, you need spaces. This is just a wall of text.' I had all my if and else statements squished together with no blank lines. The next day, I went back and added a line break after each block, and it was like night and day. I could actually see where one part ended and the next began. Has anyone else had a simple tip that made your code way easier to read?