c/ask-anything

My garage door spring snapped at 6 AM on a Saturday

I was heading out to grab coffee and the whole thing came crashing down. The tension cable whipped around and took out a plastic storage bin full of christmas decorations. I ended up calling a guy from Tulsa who fixed it in 45 minutes for $220, but now I'm paranoid every time I open it. Has anyone else had a spring fail at the worst possible time?

1 comments

piper_reed•15h ago

Did you know that octopuses have three hearts and two of them stop beating when they swim?

I was reading a random article on deep sea creatures while waiting for paint to dry on a job and that fact blew my mind, has anyone else hit a weird knowledge rabbit hole like that?

2 comments

the_wren•22h ago

My best foraging day ever - found 8 pounds of chanterelles in one patch near Portland

I was just hiking a trail I've walked maybe 20 times before and decided to go off path a bit. Found a whole hillside of chanterelles tucked under some ferns. Filled my whole bag and had to use my shirt as a second bag. Never had a single day like that before or since. Has anyone else stumbled onto a crazy big find like that?

2 comments

james_kim•1d ago

Comparison check: I tried cheap quick connects vs brass ones and the cheap ones leaked after 3 days

Bought a pack of 4 brass quick connects for $18 after the $6 steel ones from Home Depot started dripping on day 2, anyone else notice the cheap fittings just don't hold up?

2 comments

uma685•2d ago

That sign at the laundromat about fabric softener got me thinking

I was folding clothes at Suds & Duds on 5th Ave and saw a note saying fabric softener ruins towels. After 10 years of using the stuff, I googled it and found out it coats the fibers so they can't absorb water. Anyone else find out they've been doing something basic wrong their whole adult life?

2 comments

grant.nina•3d ago

Used to hate fermented foods until I tried kimchi from H Mart in Chicago

I always thought fermented stuff was just sour or gross. My coworker Sarah brought in a jar from H Mart last Tuesday and made me try a bite. The crunch and the spicy kick totally changed my mind. Has anyone else had a food they avoided suddenly click after one real taste?

2 comments

the_cole•5d ago

Always thought digital photo storage was basically free until I did the math

I was cleaning out my phone last week and realized I have something like 14,000 photos going back to 2016. Google told me I'm using 65GB just on pictures and videos. That got me thinking about all the cloud subscriptions I pay for - iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox. Add it up and I'm spending $22 a month just to keep my digital junk around. That's $264 a year for stuff I rarely scroll through. Anyone else feel like they're paying rent on their own memories?

2 comments

spencerm46•9d ago

Hot take: Is it rude to ask someone their salary on a first date?

I went out with this girl in Austin last month, and about 20 minutes in she flat out asked what I make a year. I was kinda thrown off but told her around 65k. She didn't say much after that and the date fizzled. On one hand I get wanting to know if someone is financially stable, but on the other it felt like a job interview. Has anyone else dealt with that kind of question early on?

2 comments

patb12•13d ago

Guy at the hardware store asked me why I was buying 3 different types of caulk

I was at Lowe's grabbing stuff for a bathroom remodel and this old dude just walks up and asks what I'm sealing. Turns out I had latex, silicone, and hybrid all in my cart for one window trim job. He told me stick with one type per project or you'll get adhesion failures, and he was right about my last job cracking in 6 months. Any of you ever messed up by mixing caulk types?

3 comments

vera_campbell•14d ago

TIL a random guy at a gas station gave me better advice than my dad ever did

I was filling up my van outside of Toledo around 3 AM after a long flooring job, dead tired. An older guy pulled up in a beat up F-150 and asked if I was alright, just from the look on my face. He said 'Mister, the floor don't care how fast you lay it, but your back sure will.' Then he just drove off. Has anyone else had a total stranger drop some wisdom on them out of nowhere?

2 comments

jordan_anderson90•14d ago

Got locked in a Home Depot bathroom for 45 minutes last Tuesday

I was grabbing some deck screws and nature called, so I hit the restroom near lumber. The door handle just straight up broke off in my hand after I shut the stall. Took 3 guys from plumbing 45 minutes to get me out with a screwdriver and a coat hanger. The worst part was my phone had 5% battery and I had to text my foreman "trapped in stall" like a weirdo. A kid in the next stall kept asking his dad why the man was knocking on the door. Now I always check the handle before I go in any public bathroom. Has anyone else gotten trapped somewhere dumb like that?

2 comments

the_rowan•18d ago

That $400 SEO course from a guy in Ohio taught me nothing

Paid for a whole course back in 2021. Thought I'd learn real secrets. Guy just read Google's own help pages out loud. I could've just watched free YouTube videos for the same info. Anyone else get burned by a hyped up online course?

2 comments

simonl11•20d ago

Vent: realized I was hanging pictures by eye for 15 years...

I finally bought a laser level from Lowe's last week for $30, just to hang a shelf in my hallway. After 3 tries, I noticed the shelf was still crooked, so I checked the level itself against my old bubble level from my toolbox... turns out the laser was fine but I was holding it at a tilt every single time. My neighbor came over to borrow a drill and pointed out I was standing too far to one side, so the beam was hitting the wall at an angle the whole time. Has anyone else had a simple tool show them they were doing a basic job wrong for way longer than they want to admit?

2 comments

jennysullivan•20d ago

Just realized I hit 1,000 miles on my bike this year...

I started tracking my rides back in March as a way to get out of the house more, and yesterday my app showed I passed the 1,000 mile mark. I honestly didn't think I'd make it that far since I only ride a few times a week around the local park. Has anyone else hit a fitness milestone they didn't see coming?

2 comments

jakeb25•21d ago

My ancient washing machine finally gave up mid-cycle last Tuesday, soaked the whole basement floor

I was just trying to finish a load of towels and the thing started making this grinding noise, then water just poured out from under it. Turns out the drum seal blew apart on a 15 year old Whirlpool model. I spent the whole evening with a wet vac and a mop, and now my wife wants me to just buy a new one from Lowe's for around $700. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden flood like this and found a decent brand that won't die in a few years?

2 comments

logan205•22d ago

Found out my tap water has 14 different contaminants from a local report

I was just looking up our city water quality after that bad taste last week. Turns out the annual report from our utility shows trace amounts of lead and a bunch of other stuff I can't even pronounce. I had no idea my drinking water had that much junk in it. Has anyone else looked into their local water report and been shocked at what's in there?

2 comments

nina_johnson86•24d ago

That time at the state fair in Ohio changed how I pay for everything now

I was at the Ohio State Fair last August and bought a hot dog from a cart. The guy handed me this janky card reader and I swiped my card without thinking. Two days later I saw $240 in charges from places I never went to. The bank refunded it but it took 3 weeks and a ton of paperwork. Now I only use cash at any event or place with those portable readers. Has anyone else gotten burned at a fair or festival like that?

3 comments

jamie_smith•25d ago

A retiree at the hardware store told me something about concrete that keeps me up at night

He said most slab cracks come from bad dirt prep, not bad mix, and then he showed me a photo of a foundation he poured 40 years ago that still looks new. Has anyone else had an old-timer drop knowledge that made you second-guess everything you learned on the job?

2 comments

cameron538•26d ago

Had a cashier in Wichita tell me something that still bugs me 2 years later

She said 'you look too tired to be shopping this late' and then handed me the wrong change on purpose. Has anyone else caught a worker just messing with people out of boredom?

2 comments

tarag28•27d ago

TIL that fixing a leaky faucet can take 6 hours if you don't own a basin wrench

Was replacing a cartridge in my bathroom sink last weekend. Ended up spending almost 2 hours just trying to get the old nut off because my channel locks couldn't reach. Anyone else run into a simple job that snowballed like that?

2 comments

elizabethn56•27d ago

Spent $250 on a fancy keyboard and now my wrists hurt worse than before

I got that ergonomic split keyboard everyone raves about last month thinking it would fix my typing pain. Turns out learning to type again from scratch is a nightmare and I'm just as sore. Has anyone actually gotten used to one of these things or did I just throw my money away?

3 comments

ryan_ellis•29d ago

Serious question, why did nobody tell me about using a garden hose to clean gutters from the ground?

I spent like 4 hours last fall hauling a ladder around my house and scooping leaves out by hand. My back was killing me for days. Then my neighbor Matt came over with this curved PVC pipe attachment for his hose and sprayed all the gunk out in like 20 minutes standing on the lawn. I felt like an idiot lol. Has anyone else found a random household tool that made a chore way easier than doing it the hard way?

2 comments

hayes.jake•1mo ago

Warning: That "quick fix" for clogged drains with baking soda and vinegar is a total myth

I tried the baking soda and vinegar trick on my kitchen sink last week after it slowed to a crawl. Let it sit for 30 minutes like all the blogs say, then flushed with hot water. Nothing changed, water still backed up. Called a plumber friend and he told me it's just fizzy water, it can't dissolve grease or hair. He showed me how to take apart the trap under the sink, cleared out a solid clump of gunk in 10 minutes flat. Has anyone else found this hack to be useless or did I do it wrong?

2 comments

felix824•1mo ago

Finally compared my gas stove to an induction burner after 6 months of debating

I've been arguing with my buddy about gas vs induction for forever. He kept saying induction sucks but I finally got a cheap single burner from Amazon for $40 last week. Ran a boil test with 2 quarts of water. Induction boiled it in 3 minutes flat. Gas took over 7 minutes. No contest. My electric bill jumped like $8 but honestly worth it for the speed. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in cooking time?

4 comments

parker_park8•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: smart home stuff is just not reliable enough yet

I spent around $400 on a full set of smart bulbs and a hub about 3 months ago. Everything worked great for the first month, then the hub just disconnected randomly one night. I spent 2 hours trying to reset it and get everything paired again, only for it to happen again 4 days later. Ended up just replacing them all with regular dimmer switches from the hardware store. Has anyone else had a similar experience with smart home gear just failing for no reason?

3 comments