Anyone have any old useless knowledge they’ve been able to repurpose? (AKA how I remember how to hard reboot my iPhone)

Posted by yellapolkadotbikini@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 30 comments

You know we all have memories/knowledge with no current use, and we’ll probably remember them till the day we die. I lucked upon one of these that I was able to repurpose, and thought I’d share…

For those who:

- have an iPhone

- played Contra on Nintendo

- can’t remember how to hard reboot your iPhone without the home button

That cheat code (you know the one), repurposed:

volume UP, volume DOWN

(and then hold the power button until the screen goes black and the Apple logo pops up)

Doesn’t help with the last part of that, but I could never remember which order to press the volume buttons without multiple trials and errors until I made that connection. Silly, but it helps me

Anyone else able to repurpose some random old knowledge in a similar way that could maybe possibly help someone else? I’m curious, please share!

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Okra-Tomatoes@reddit

During college I worked at the library splicing microfilm. I might as well say I sent trans-Atlantic telegraphs.

When I was a paperboy the newspapers used to be bound with plastic straps that were crimped together. The way to snap them open was to flip the strap, peel an overlapping end, then pop the strap with a finger pull. I frequently use this technique at work for packages strapped to pallets. Everyone else goes off to find scissors.

jawshoeaw@reddit

still use that trick

Kiethblacklion@reddit

In the office that I work in, we get boxes of printer paper that use those plastic straps. I use the same trick and it amazes my younger coworkers every time.

doctor48@reddit

That is super helpful knowledge for opening an MRE box without a blade.

mentul77@reddit

Paper boxes use those same straps. Easy peasy.

Pretend-Menu-8660@reddit

Sega- ABACABB blood code for mortal combat

MeButSecret@reddit

"ABACABB(a) you my only friend"

How about this one: using a pencil eraser as an emergency ear ring backing.

When I started my current job as an admin assistant in 2016, the VP of our department came to me at the end of the day because she had an important event to go to and she had lost the backing on her ear ring. She asked if I had anything that might work as a replacement. I use mechanical pencils that have the twist out eraser, so I extended the eraser out a bit, cut it off with a pencil and handed it to her. She blinked in amazement and said she never would have thought of that. I told her that I grew up with two younger sisters who had pierced ears and so I picked up a few tricks here and there.

kl1n60n3mp0r3r@reddit

When I was a boy/young teenager - my grandfather taught me how to use a slide rule. Totally useless in the days of calculators…but still cool to know.

dontletyourcrownslip@reddit

There was the Donkey Kong country cheat code for 50 lives: b a r r a l
I had minimal video game knowledge or skill except for this game and felt really cool I knew about the cheat code.

For some reason I think about it often.

Yo you got anything for Paperboy? 👀

denali1@reddit

Sadly, all my old useless knowledge is 30 year old tech knowledge. So... no.

router rip

May I interest you in r/cyberDeck? 🤓

Remember those bead lizards we used to make out of point breads and cord?

I make them out of tiny little seed beads now and give them to people as "emotional support lizards"

yellapolkadotbikini@reddit (OP)

I love that :) 🤍

delldarlin@reddit

As a lad, I went out of my way to memorize the McDonald's Menu Song. I remain convinced that it will someday come in handy.

Nuttybunny42@reddit

Big Mac, Mcblt, a quarter pounder with some cheese….

robboppotamus@reddit

filet o fish, a hamburger. a cheeseburger. a happy meal...

MartinMerten@reddit

McNuggets, Tasty golden French fries, Regular and larger sizes…

BUZZER SOUND

Oh, so close! The answer we were looking was McDLT

kanakamaoli@reddit

Editing batch files in windows to automate tasks. Not just for win 95/98.

Hand coding html in notepad instead of launching a horrible wysiwyg editor.

Gaping spark plugs and cleaning plugs/points in cars with distributors. Bonus points for adjusting timing with a strobe light.