5 Secret Features of Things We Use Everyday That We Only Learned Recently

The world is full of surprises and secrets. Even our most common household items have secret features and hidden talents that most of us don’t know about. Some of these secret features are hard to discover, while others are so common sense that it’s surprising they’re not common knowledge. People took to the Internet to share their favorite secret features of common objects. From the power of baking soda to secret keyboards, ironic driving hacks, and microwave capabilities, here are our favorite secret features you probably don’t know about.

#1: Save For Later

There are so many secret hacks on our smartphones. To be honest, most of us aren’t using our phones to their full potential. Someone shared a really handy hack that lets you schedule a text message for a later time. We’ve all had moments when we wanted to send a message but knew it was not the right time. This hack solves that modern-day problem!

This person has an Android phone that lets them schedule a text by holding down the “send” icon. If you hold the “send” button down on a modern iPhone, you get a ton of options. Unfortunately, “send later” isn’t one of those options. IPhone users have to use the “Shortcuts” app. That seems like an awful lot of work for a shortcut. Android users have the upper hand with this secret feature.

This must be one of the weirdest secret features we’ve ever heard. If you search “Barilla” on Spotify, you’ll find a treasure trove of playlists. Most of them are timed to help you cook the perfect pot of pasta. Everyone knows that under or overcooked pasta can completely ruin a meal. The internet is a truly wonderful place sometimes.

We don’t think any of these playlists are made by Barilla, though. Regular people have taken it upon themselves to bless the world with musical pasta timers. For example, there’s a “Cooking Rigatoni” playlist that’s a solid 12 minutes long. “Bucatini (pasta timer)” is a convenient nine minutes long. Some of the playlists are misleading, so watch out. We have a feeling that the three-hour-long playlist “Barilla Macaroni” is a joke.

This secret feature is probably already known by sewing enthusiasts. However, most people who don’t have deep sewing knowledge probably don’t know this valuable information. The little fabric pepper thing hanging off most traditional pin cushions actually has a function. It’s full of emery powder to help sharpen and clean pins and needles.

If you have no idea what we’re talking about, just Google it. We promise you’ve probably seen the little pepper at some point or another. As a society, we’re obsessed with everything new and shiny. However, this secret feature just goes to show that you don’t need advanced technology and shiny buttons for something to work well.

Instead of Netflix and chill, how about Netflix and cardio? There’s a little-known genre on Netflix that can help you create your own at-home gym with just a TV and some workout clothes. You can browse a ton of workout videos on Netflix’s fitness genre. If you take a look around, there’s bound to be something that fits what you’re looking for.

You can find everything from beginner yoga to 30-minute cardio sessions. If Netflix isn’t your thing, you can also search for free videos on YouTube. These workout videos are so easy to access, and they’re way cheaper than a full-on gym membership. The only thing you need is some motivation to get started!

We don’t know about you, but we’re always on the lookout for new web browser hacks that make our lives easier. Someone shared a simple yet effective way to search for things that catch your eye while browsing. According to this secret feature, you can highlight a piece of text and drag it to the tab area to search.

There’s no reason to highlight, copy, and paste. You also don’t need to right-click on the highlighted text. We just tried it out ourselves to avoid spreading misinformation, and it totally works. Doing the old-fashioned copy-and-paste method doesn’t take that much time, so who knows if this secret feature will ever catch on, but it’s nice to know it exists.