Online Insights on fiveAA, Sunday, June 17, 2007

June 17, 2007

Wacky Uses
This is an engrossing site that any brand-name shopaholic will love. It explores hundreds of alternative uses for everyday supermarket items.
This site has a mad scientist section where you can make fake blood, stink bombs and exploding life savers, etc.
But it is the wacky uses of everyday products that I think is most delightful.
Alberto VO5 Hair Conditioner

  • Make cleaning up after painting or doing a messy auto grease job easy. Lightly coating your hands with Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing before painting or fixing the car, allows you to clean them off afterward without harsh solvents. 

  • Soften your feet. Before going to bed, coat your feet with Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing and put on a pair of socks. 

  • Remove a band-aid painlessly. Rub in a little Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing into the bandage wings, wait a few minutes, then peel off. 

  • Soothe chapped lips and skin. Rub in a small amount of Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing. 

  • Make zippers glide easily. Rub a little Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing into the teeth of the zipper. 

  • Make golf clubs shine. Clean the shafts with a dab of Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing on a clean cloth. 

 

Coca Cola 

  • Clean a toilet bowl. Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl. Let the real thing sit for one hour, then brush and flush clean. The phosphoric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china, according to household-hints columnist Heloise. 

  • Remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers. Rubbing the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola will help remove rust spots, according to household-hints columnist Mary Ellen. 

  • Remove grease from clothes. Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy work clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular wash cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains, according to Mary Ellen. 

  • Make barbecue sauce. Make an excellent barbecue sauce by mixing Coca-Cola with Heinz Ketchup. Brush the mixture on chicken or ribs while grilling. 

  • Prevent diarrhea. When traveling through developing countries where the risk of getting diarrhea is high, drinking Coca-Cola helps minimize your chances of getting the trots, according to The Doctor’s Book of Home Remedies. The acids in Coca Cola help reduce the amount of E. Coli bacteria in your intestines, inhibiting the production of toxins that would otherwise prevent your intestines from absorbing water. 

  • Condition hair. To give your hair a great shine, pour a can of Coca Cola into your hair, working it in well, then rinse your hair with water. 

  • Fertilize azaleas or gardenias. Watering azaleas or gardenias with Classic Coke increases the acidity in the soil, which azaleas love, and boosts plant performance. The sugar in the Coke feeds microorganisms in the soil, increasing the organic matter in the soil. 

 

Colgate regular flavour toothpaste 

  • Dry up acne pimples. Dab Colgate on pimples as you would use Clearasil. 

  • Remove crayon from walls. Brush the marks with Colgate on an old toothbrush. 

  • Remove scratches on glassware. Polish with a dollop of Colgate. 

Peanut Butter 

  • Shave. Former senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona once shaved with peanut butter while on a camping trip. (For best results, avoid shaving with Jif Extra Crunchy.) 

  • Remove bubblegum from hair. Rub a dollop of Jif peanut butter into the bubblegum. 

  • Trap mice or rats. Bait a mouse or rat trap with Jif Peanut Butter. Mice actually prefer peanut butter over cheese. 

 

Guerilla Mail
Guerrilla Mail provides you with disposable e-mail addresses which expire after 15 Minutes. You can read and reply to e-mails that are sent to the temporary e-mail address within the given time frame.
When I clicked on it, I was given [email protected] and then sent some test emails and they arrived. I then replied to the test mails and all worked well.
This would be great for one-off visits to sites that need to confirm that you are who you say you are upon your first visit. 

Dreamopedia
Dreamopedia is an online database that distils common dream interpretation understandings, grouped together by keyword.
Our Dream was to make to make the first online social community based on people’s dreams. A place where people could view real-time interpretation using our Dreamopedia and interact with others.
It is like a social network blog for your dreams –
The inspiration for Dreamcrowd came from the countless times the founders heard their friends and family sharing and trying to make sense of their dreams. ‘We were inspired to develop Dreamcrowd to answer to all the people that want to share, explore and understand dreams – to develop an online community like MySpace for the very specific world of dreams,’ said Crowdspin’s founder, Ruben Dua, ‘Everyone dreams so its very exciting to be offering something that everyone can use.’ 

16 across
Here’s something to occupy people on cold winter nights.
This is a very challenging and creative crossword puzzle based on Adelaide’s City Centre. Holly Gramazio is the Creative Writing PhD from Flinders who launched this site just over a year ago and still nobody has claimed the prize for getting the answers all right.
Basically, it is a crossword but each of the clues is a short story. You need to read the short story and then answer the question.
Examples of questions include: Where’s he gone? What is a cemetery, anyway? How do you get a colour like that?
It is too cryptic for me – but I am not a crossword fan. 

Budgies
Ever wanted a budgie? The Me and my budgie site features all sorts of budgie information. Everything from taking care of your budgie and training tips to crafts and even cross stitch budgie patterns. Its a very comprehensive site.
Budgie play shirts:
These playshirts are for wearing over your regular clothes to protect yourself, and your wardrobe, from budgie poops. 

  • Start by picking out a shirt. Any shirt will do, but make sure that it is big enough to wear over your regular clothes. 

  • If it is too hot, feel free to cut the sleeves short 

  • Pin on shoe strings, beads, leather and beads, ribbons, bells, etc. 

  • rip medium sized strips of a t-shirt, then tear smaller strips almost all of the way up the medium sized strips and pin or sew them onto the playshirt 

Budgie buying checklist: 

  • Don’t buy a budgie on impulse. Before buying a budgie, do some research. Visit the library or a book store and pick up some books and magazines about budgies and their care. Do searches on the Internet for budgies, and talk to other budgie owners. 

  • Make sure that your budgie purchases come with a written guarantee of health where you have the option of returning the budgie if any health problem is discovered by your veterinarian. 

  • Count the toes. A normal, healthy budgies should not be missing any toes. Also watch to see the bird perching, grasping, climbing, and basically making good use of its toes. 

  • If you are shopping for a young budgie, look for the horizontal bars on the forehead of the bird. After the first molt, (at about 3 or 4 months) these bars will disappear. 

  • Look for clean, clear nostrils. Avoid buying a bird with caked on mucous on its beak or nostrils. This is a clear indication of a respiratory problem. 

  • Listen to the bird breathe. If you can hear ‘clicking’ sounds this may be a sign of air sac mites or other respiratory problems. A wheezing budgie is not a healthy budgie. 

  • Look for a budgie with good socialization skills. A socially happy budgie will be playful with other budgies and even humans if someone has taken the time to tame them.