this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023

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What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn't work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver.

Need something flat to put a laptop on? Throw it on the foam. Going to be doing something that requires you to be on your knees for a while? Get the foam!

It went from stupid purchase to something I'd gladly replace if it broke.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A set of small neodymium magnets. Didn't have a plan, only they looked "super cool and strong wow".

Used for:

Locating needles in the carpet.
Fishing keychains out from behind sofas, gap between garden deck and house, and so many other places.
Makeshift fix for an old cabinet door that tended to glide open.
Holding nails and screws while fixin' stuff.
Attaching a soda bottle to the office lamp in a way that is easy to undo while still pissing off HR.
Slapping it on a screwdriver to make it magnetic.
Fidget toy.
Regular ol' fridge magnet.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Mechanical keyboard. Almost had no money back then, but wanted to treat myself. It costed 100$, and I regretted it the next morning. Felt like shit, but it was so cool to type on.

After 5 years, this metal-frame keyboard managed to survive many outside gigs, long travels, literal war, and it's still with me. And I still love typing on it. Sometimes I code just to type. You can guess why I don't use code completion tools.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Pizza bag. A really good one

Didn't think it would be a big deal but it's a game changer for takeout pizza. Hell, it's usually warmer than deliveries since I don't make any other stops

Massive difference even for a place 8 minutes away, and gets me warm great pizza for the places 20 or so away

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nice! Do you have a link or model?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sure

First off, there's plenty, but AVOID this type at all costs

https://www.amazon.com/Insulated-Deliveries-Delivery-Personal-Professional/dp/B09H14HJJX/

It's thin and sucks. Look at the sides, and the flap. Thin thin. It's the type of bag DoorDash has and there's a reason pizza shops have way better ones. I have one like it (out of my 2 bags). It's not worth it considering you'll probably have it for years. Don't save $10 just to be disappointed

Something like this, you can see the difference. Much thicker

https://www.amazon.com/DEAYOU-Insulated-Delivery-Professional-Transport/dp/B09FLFL5BT/

I believe this is the one I have, which is like the thicker second link, but it doesn't seem to be available as a single bag purchase

https://incrediblebags.com/products/fabric-12-and-14?variant=31670265577541

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Double Edge Razor. I used to shave with an electric shaver but now I can shave faster, better and cheaper. The razor gives a super smooth shave and the soap/aftershave is a kind of wellness routine now that I really enjoy. The blades are extremely cheap so I change them every second shave. There are tons of different types of razors and blades to try out and I really enjoy trying out the shaving soaps and varying them from shave to shave.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Pizza stone

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Reusable zip ties.

Tons of mini magnets and metal clothes pins (infinite bag closing clamps for near free).

My victorinox signature with a pocket clip (keysmart nano clip). It's a tiny swiss army knife with a built in pen. Comes in handy almost daily an never leaves my waistband otherwise.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Pizza Scissors. Great for frozen pizzas so you can cut it up right out of the oven without waiting for the cheese to cool off. It's also great for cutting dough and just having a 2nd pair of kitchen shears if your normal pair was used to cut raw meat.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Big chefs knife is what I use for pizza. Though having a couple sets of scissors around wouldn't be a bad idea.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I've worked in a few different pizza places in my day. Most used the circular roller cutter but pizza hut had my favourite cutter. It was a long rocker blade (curved so that it's taller in the middle then you place it and "rock" it from one side to the other to make the cut).

Rollers or anything that slides the blade along the pizza will pull cheese and toppings along with it and will only cut as straight as you keep it. Plus, if you realize halfway through a cut that your line isn't very good (like you're about to cut some pepperonis in half and probably drag at least one part off the slice entirely when a slightly different angle would have gone between two pepperonis), you're kinda committed to it already, while a rocker blade allows you to see the whole line easier before you start the cut.

I don't have one at home though because it's not very practical to store and only really worth having if you're cutting a lot of pizzas and flat breads. It could work for cake, too, though it depends on how high the cake is.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A Potato Ricer. My wife thought it was dumb as hell, until she made the best mashed potatoes we've ever had. It's like a massive garlic press for potatoes

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

An Aeropress Go.

I'm far from a coffee snob, but figured I'd give this $25 piece of plastic a try because a good friend was raving about it. In the year since, it's been my favorite way to make myself a cup of coffee-- the ritual of it helps me structure my Saturday morning, the coffee tastes better than I thought coffee could taste, and I'm more excited to look at the flavors and whatnot from locally ground coffee.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ember mug. I saw James Hoffmann’s review and went, “how good could it be?”

It’s the only mug I can drink from now.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can 100% see this. Had no idea what it was, went to look it up and my exact thought was "Shit that looks dumb but i bet its amazing."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Absolutely is. It’s a great gift for a coffee drinker if you’ve got the budget.

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