Sure, you already know that besides being an essential pre-cook seasoning for steaks, it also makes things float in water and works for de-icing the sidewalks in winter. But there are thousands of other things salt can do. That’s right. Thousands. According to the Salt Institute (does pepper know about this?), they have identified over 14,000 uses for salt. And while many of them involve seasoning food, there are other uses that can make your life easier. So grab the shaker and check out these 48 helpful and ingenious uses for common table salt:

CLEANING

1. Cleaning brass: Mix equal parts of salt, flour and vinegar to make a paste, then rub the paste on the brass. Leave it on for an hour or so, then clean with a soft cloth or brush and buff with a dry cloth. Works on silverware too.

2. Cleaning wicker: To prevent yellowing of your wicker furniture, indoor or out, scrub it with a stiff brush moistened with warm saltwater and allow to dry in the sun.

3. Cleaning grease spots on rugs: Some grease spots can be removed with a solution of one part salt and four parts alcohol and rubbing hard but carefully to avoid damage to the nap.

4. Extending broom life: In the shop or in the garage, brooms can get a workout and wear down quickly. New brooms will wear longer if soaked in hot saltwater before they are first used.

5. Removing wine stains: Get a little careless with the Cabernet? If wine is spilled on a tablecloth or rug, blot up as much as possible and immediately cover the wine with salt, which will absorb the remaining wine. Later rinse the tablecloth with cold water; scrape up the salt from the rug and then vacuum the spot.

6. Removing rings from tables: Did you ignore her nagging and forget to use a coaster? Now you’ve got rings on the good table? White rings left from wet or hot dishes or glasses can be removed by rubbing a thin paste of salad oil and salt on the spot with your fingers, letting it stand an hour or two, then wiping it off.

7. Stopping suds overload: Didn’t read the directions properly and your washing machine is bubbling over from too many suds? Sprinkle salt on the suds to reduce them.

8. Removing perspiration stains: Ruined more than your share of good dress shirts, sweating through client meetings? Add four tablespoons of salt to one quart of hot water and sponge the fabric with the solution until stains disappear.

9. Removing blood stains: Flag football get out of hand again? Soak the stained clothing or other cloth item in cold saltwater, then wash in warm, soapy water and boil after the wash. (Use only on cotton, linen or other natural fibers that can take high heat.)

10. Removing mildew or rust stains: Moisten stained spots with a mixture of lemon juice and salt, then spread the item in the sun for bleaching; and finally, rinse and dry.

11. Cleaning greasy pans: Even the greasiest iron pan will wash easily if you put a little salt in it and wipe with paper.

12. Cleaning stained cups: Did you stain the inside of the World’s Greatest Boyfriend mug she gave you? Rubbing with salt will remove stubborn tea or coffee stains.

13. Cleaning ovens: Did that lasagna you made last weekend drip down and make a burned mess on the bottom of your oven? Salt and cinnamon take the “burned food” odor away from ovens and stove burners. Sprinkle spills while oven and burners are still hot; when dry, remove the salted spots with a stiff brush or cloth.

14. Cleaning refrigerators: Salt and soda water will clean the inside of your refrigerator, and keep it from smelling foul. It won’t scratch enamel either.

15. Cleaning fish tanks: Rub the inside of fish tanks with salt to remove hard water deposits, then rinse well before returning the fish to the tank. Use only plain, not iodized, salt.

16. Deodorizing shoes: After a hard workout, sprinkling a little salt in canvas shoes occasionally will soak up the moisture and help remove odors.

INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

17. Extinguishing grease fires: Keep a box of salt handy around your stove and if a grease fire flares up, cover the flames with salt. Do not use water on grease fires; it will splatter the burning grease.

18. Keep barbecues from flaring: A handful of salt thrown on flames from meat dripping in barbecue grills will reduce the flames and deaden the smoke without cooling the coals as water does.

19. Drip-proofing candles: Soak new candles in a strong salt solution for a few hours, then dry them well. When burned they will not drip.

20. Keeping patios weed-free: If weeds or unwanted grass come up between patio bricks or blocks, carefully spread salt between the bricks and blocks, then sprinkle with water or wait for rain to wet it down.

21. Killing poison ivy: Mix three pounds of salt with a gallon of soapy water and apply to leaves and stems with a sprayer.

22. Keeping windows frost-free: Tired of not being able to watch your neighbors struggle with shoveling their driveways in the winter because your windows are frosted over? Rub the inside of your windows with a sponge dipped in a saltwater solution and rub dry. This will keep the windows from frosting up in sub-freezing weather.

23. Keep your windshield frost free: Rubbing a small cloth bag containing salt that has been moistened on your car’s windshield will keep snow and ice from collecting.

HEALTH AND GROOMING

24. Easing sore throats: When a cold or flu strikes, stir 1/2 teaspoon salt in an 8-ounce glass of warm water for use as a gargle for sore throats.

25. Cleaning teeth: Run out of toothpaste, or forget to pack it? Mix one part salt to two parts baking soda after pulverizing the salt in a blender or rolling it on a kitchen board with a tumbler before mixing. It whitens teeth, helps remove plaque and it is healthy for the gums.

26. As a mouth wash: To get rid of bad breath, mix equal parts of salt and baking soda as a mouth wash.

27. Reducing eye puffiness: Got a big meeting with the boss and you look like you just partied for three days straight? Mix one teaspoon of salt in a pint of hot water and apply pads soaked in the solution on the puffy areas.

28. Relieving tired feet: You don’t have to be a mail carrier to suffer from aching feet. Soak them in warm water to which a handful of salt has been added. Rinse in cool water.

29. Relieving bee stings: If stung, immediately wet the spot and cover with salt to relieve the pain.

30. Treating mosquito and chigger bites: Soak in saltwater, then apply a mixture of lard and salt.

31. Treating poison ivy: Didn’t watch where you were going on this weekend’s camping trip? Soaking the exposed part in hot saltwater helps speed the end to poison ivy irritation.

32. Relieving fatigue: Dog tired? Soak relaxed for at least ten minutes in a tub of water into which several handfuls of salt has been placed.

33. Removing dry skin: Big date and your skin feels like 40 grit? After showering, and while still wet, give yourself a massage with dry salt. It removes dead skin particles and aids the circulation.

COOKING

34. Boiling water: You’ve done this before, but did you know why? Salt added to water makes the water boil at a higher temperature, thus reducing cooking time. (It does not make the water boil faster).

35. Peeling eggs: Eggs boiled in salted water peel more easily.

36. Poaching eggs: Poaching eggs over salted water helps set the egg whites.

37. Testing egg freshness: Not sure if that egg is fresh, before cracking into your recipe? Place the egg in a cup of water with two teaspoonfuls of salt added. A fresh egg sinks; a doubter will float.

38. Preventing browning: Apples, pears and potatoes dropped in cold, lightly salted water as they are peeled will retain their color.

39. Shelling pecans: Soaking pecans in salt water for several hours before shelling will make nut meats easier to remove.

40. Preventing food from sticking: Pans don’t have a non-stick coating? Rub a pancake griddle with a small bag of salt to prevent sticking and smoking. Sprinkle a little salt in the skillet before frying fish to prevent the fish from sticking. Sprinkle salt on washed skillets, waffle iron plates or griddles, heat in a warm oven, dust off salt. When they are next used, foods will not stick.

41. Preventing moldy cheese: To prevent mold on cheese, wrap it in a cloth dampened with saltwater before refrigerating.

42. Keeping milk fresh: Adding a pinch of salt to milk will keep it fresh longer.

43. Cleaning coffee pots: That office coffee starting to get bitter from overuse and under cleaning? Remove bitterness from percolators and other coffee pots by filling with water, adding four tablespoons of salt and percolating or boiling as usual.

44. Improving coffee: A pinch of salt in coffee will enhance the flavor and remove the bitterness of over-cooked coffee.

45. Removing onion odors from hands: Still stinking after prepping for the barbecue? Rub fingers with salt moistened with vinegar.

46. “Sweetening” containers: Salt can “sweeten” and deodorize thermos bottles and jugs, decanters and other closed containers.

47. Cleaning sink drains: Pour a strong salt brine down the kitchen sink drain regularly to eliminate odors and keep grease from building up.

The Instant Brew is when baristas brew coffee directly into the cup and not into a giant vat of joe. It’s also known as a pour-over or single-drop. This trend is becoming more popular among small specialty coffee houses, and it produces a stronger brew similar to a French press, but without the grit.

There’s a few more items from Starbucks which may further piss off your local barista.


* The Short Cappuccino: A cheaper, better cappuccino served in a smaller eight-ounce cup. This is a more European-size portion of the drink without the extra milk most baristas use to fill the tall cups. Most foodies agree that a proper cappuccino should be one part espresso, one part steamed milk and one part foam.
* Biscotti Frappuccino: buy an individual biscotto and ask your barista to blend it into any Frappuccino drink for a crunchy treat.
* Red Eye: a shot of espresso in regular drip coffee
* Black Eye: two shots of espresso in regular drip coffee
* Green Eye: three shots of espresso in regular drip coffee (with a side of insomnia and serious heart palpitations)
* Poor Man’s Latte: order an Iced Americano with no water and half ice, then pour in your own half-and-half at the condiments station; the result is a Breve Latte for a fraction of the cost.
* Chocolate Cream Frappuccino: a Frappuccino made with chocolate syrup and chocolate Frappuccino base
* Cake Batter Frappuccino: a vanilla Frappuccino made with both vanilla bean and almond flavoring
* Crunch Berry Frappuccino: a strawberry-and-cream Frappuccino with hazelnut flavoring; it tastes just like Crunch Berries cereal.
* London Fog: Earl Grey tea blended with vanilla flavoring
* Zebra Mocha (aka Penguin Mocha): a combination white-chocolate/chocolate mocha
* Red-Tux Mocha (aka Bleeding Penguin): a Zebra Mocha plus raspberry flavoring

Starbucks is also testing new brewing methods in key markets. Their concept store, Roy Street Coffee and Tea, also serves beer and wine and creates little heart-shaped designs in their cappuccinos. More importantly they offer custom brew coffee using the elusive Clover coffee machine, an $11,000 device that auto-adjusts its temperature and brew time to the individual bean. If that isn’t expensive enough, there is still the $20,000 siphon coffee maker imported by Ueshima Coffee Company which Starbucks has yet to offer. To experience the siphon’s cold brew you must visit specialty shops like Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco.

9. Use men for free drinks
Some women go out never planning to spend any of their own money on drinks at the bar or club. Instead, they count on their feminine wiles to convince guys to shell out for their libations. While some of them might begin to get to know him, the cruel and heartless ones will take that drink, flirt a little and move on.

8. Use men as placeholders
If she is a decent person, she’ll just get it over with and dump the boy, but if she’s cruel, she’ll hold on to him for a while until somebody new comes along. These girls don’t like to be alone and without a relationship, so instead of putting you out of your misery and ending it, she’ll string you along until she meets someone to replace you.

7. Emotionally manipulate men
Men don’t like to see women cry and some cruel women take advantage of the fact and use it to get what they want. A few tears would make men do anything to get it to stop.

6. Use physical violence
While men hitting girls are often termed nasty, some cruel women feel it’s perfectly acceptable to hit their boyfriends, as he would never hit her back. This type of woman feels like she can inflict any kind physical pain on him without fear of repercussion.

5. Criticize their men in public
Cruel women criticize and humiliate their men in public places. They often poke fun at her man or even soundly debase him.

4. They don’t disclose their relationship status
It’s certainly not the worst thing a woman could do to a man, but it is annoying when she’s already in a relationship and lets you assume that she’s available so that she can enjoy the man’s flirtation and flattery.

3. They withhold sex
This is a time-tested, and frequently used, cruel thing for women to do to men. For most men, sex is as important as breathing, so withholding it in order to get something she wants or simply to punish her man for his transgressions is a pretty awful thing to do, even if it is effective.

2. They test their men
You’re all ready to go for a night out with your friends, when your girlfriend calls and asks you to change your plans to be with her instead. She doesn’t have any particular reason; she just wants to see you. She knows that you had plans to meet up with the guys, but if you really loved her, you’d come over to her place instead. If her request comes with an “if you really loved me,” then it’s a test. If you choose anything other than immediately rushing to her side, you’re going to fail. This kind of testing in a relationship is indeed cruel and petty.

1. They flirt to inspire jealousy
Maybe she’s feeling underappreciated, maybe you’ve just had a big fight or maybe she just enjoys the tortured look on your face. For whatever reason, girls who flirt obviously with other guys in front of their boyfriends are immature and manipulative.

1. Rubber Bands

Rubber bands were invented by Stephen Perry in 1845 under the banner of Messers Perry & Co, England. He invented rubber band through vulcanized rubber. Ever since that day it has become an integral part of our offices. Whenever we want to bind something the first solution we think of is rubber band.

2. Paper Clip

Other important things without which our office stationary cannot be completed are paper clips. This amazing invention is a brain child of John Vaaler a Norwegian patent clerk in 1890. He created one through having a paper clip of “two tongues” and thin spring-steel wire with two square ends. Vaaler originated his invention first in Germany and then later in USA in 1901. Although the current shape of paper clip was designed by William Middlebrook of Waterbury, USA in 1899.

3. Straws

This amazing piece of discovery came from Marvin Stone in 1888 AD. At first he winded a piece of paper around a pencil and glued it. Then he replaced the paper with paraffin-coated Manila paper so that straws do not become soggy. After several failed attempts he came to the conclusion that its length should be 8 inches and diameter just enough to avoid any seeds. Thanks to Marvin, we can now drink more conveniently.

4. Ropes

Ropes were first used by Ancient Egyptians somewhere around 3500BC. Ropes at that time was made from silk fibers, animal fur etc. Idea of making a rope came from vines. Twisting these vines made their way to the discovery of ropes. Today ropes are widely used in mountain climbing, construction and of course tighten stuff.

5. Shopping Bags

Shopping bags were invented by Mr.Walter H.Deubner, owner of a small grocery store in St. Paul, Minnesota. One day sitting behind the cash counter he noticed that people used to buy limited stuff so that they can carry them conveniently. He then invented prefabricated package, inexpensive that was strong enough to carry 75 pounds of grocery. Within three years he patented his product and it gained a quick popularity and he earned millions in a year.

Slang is defined as an informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

In other words, slang can be “a dope spin on a sick word that deserves props for being mad fly, yo.”

And yet, in the age of Twitter and instant messaging, it feels like today’s slang has lost some of its flair. Most of it is boiled down to quick-hit acronyms and shortened terms. Totes (totally), TTYL (Talk to You Later), ridonk (ridiculous)—fun, sure, but while it’s clever to be the force behind “LOL” (laughing out loud), it’s an entirely different level to create a whole dialect ending with “-izzle.” (Thank you, Snoop Dogg.)

Coining original jargon that’s able to catch on with the masses is a feat not just accomplished through popular and hip-hop culture. There are a slew of phrases that have become so commonplace, it’s easy to forget that they’re inherently slang. Here’s a look at some of these words, new and old, that have had an impact on our vernacular.

Dude
So popular it hardly seems like slang, Merriam-Webster defines “dude” as a city dweller unfamiliar with life on the range, an Easterner in the West, and a fellow or guy—sometimes used informally as a term of address. This jargon dates back to the 1880s, according to an article in the New York Times. The article, itself dating back to 1900, states, “Considering the number of German immigrants into the United States, we naturally suspect it to have been suggested by some German dialect. It can hardly be other than an abbreviated form of duden-pop, a blockhead, a common term of depreciation in many parts.”

Bling-Bling
Initially, it was little more than a written sound effect that reflected a shine. But the term was later born out of the hip-hop culture to represent garish jewelry worn in the late 1990s. Members of the Louisiana-based Cash Money Millionaires, a group of rappers from the same label known as Cash Money Records, were among the first to use the phrase in their music. Rapper B.G. used “bling-bling” in a song title as did Lil’ Wayne in the song “Millionaire Dream.” Lil’ Wayne also recorded with Cash Money Records. Since its acceptance, the term has arguably peaked in popularity. I mean, when Mitt Romney starts using “bling-bling,” it reeks of overexposure.

Yo
The phrase was made popular as a sailor’s or huntsman’s call circa 1420, according to Dictionary.com. It gained popularity during World War II as a common response at roll calls. Today, however, it’s more likely you’ll hear it in the following examples: “Yo, what’s up for tonight?” or “Yo, just do your homework, yo!” Ah, the beauty of versatile slang.

Hipster
Currently referring to a lifestyle usually defined by skinny jeans, ironic T-shirts, and some sort of artsy or nomadic background, the term itself actually sprang out of the 1940s in reference to those into the jazz scene. Nowadays you’d likely find hipsters hanging out in coffee shops feigning aloofness (especially in places like the Mission District in San Francisco, Silver Lake, California, and/or Brooklyn), though it wouldn’t be so surprising to find them in a jazz club either, for the cool factor and all.

Gnarly
Sean Penn’s “Jeff Spicoli” said it best in the 1980s classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High, bringing the term originally stemming from the word “gnarl”—meaning contorted or twisted—from the confines of surfer culture into the mainstream of pop culture. Its slang version now refers to something that’s cool or lame, depending on the user’s preference. The online etymology dictionary dates “gnarl” back to 1814, stating that the 19th century romantic poets picked it up and brought it into currency.

Geek
Another popular term derived from German, the slang version refers to an enthusiast or expert, particularly in a technological field or activity, according to Merriam-Webster, but it has since expanded to everyone from your comic book aficionado to that over-informed music lover. It originated in 1914, deriving its etymology from the English dialect geek, geck (fool) and “geck,” from Middle Low German. Of course, seeking the origin of such a word is, in fact, pretty geeky in itself, which is why it had to make the list!

Phat
Back in the 1990s, this slang phrase was all the rage as a way to point out something or someone who was “pretty hot and tempting.” Its origin is not entirely clear, though the online etymology dictionary says the hip-hop acronym used to express “great” or “excellent” goes back to the late 1980s, initially meaning “sexiness in a woman.” The spelling is attested as far back as 1678, as an erroneous form of fat (a classical over-correction). While it’s fallen out of favor in the new millennium, you might find yourself hearing it thrown around these days for kitsch sake, like “rad” or “fly.”

Groovy
In its heyday, “groovy” was the word. If it was cool, it was groovy. If it was fun, it was groovy. If it was excellent, it was groovy. Its popularity soared during the 1960s, only to lose its groove by the 1980s. Merriam-Webster’s dates it back to the 1930s. Supposedly, it came out of the Jazz culture where the word was used to describe the groove of the music.

Cheesy
Yes, the base of the word itself is derived from everyone’s favorite dairy product (sans you lactose-intolerant kids), but it refers to something that’s trite, cliché, or of poor quality. Example: “That romantic comedy was so cheesy; I saw the ending coming a mile away.” Its etymology stems from the Urdu word chiz, meaning “a thing.” By 1818, the British in India picked it up and used it in the sense of “a big thing,” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. By 1858, cheesy had evolved a slang meaning of “showy,” which led to the modern, ironic sense.

Schlock
It’s not just the hip-hop culture we tend to borrow from when it comes to our slang. There are lots of slang words that are little more than twists on Yiddish terms, and that includes schlock. Spelled “shlak” (meaning evil or nuisance) in American Yiddish, we have come to know it as meaning “of low quality.” Merriam-Webster dates it to 1916, but you’ll likely hear it these days when someone is referencing a B-movie or the latest by Quentin Tarantino, who actually strives to put schlock into his work for that cult classic effect.

Cracking into the cultural zeitgeist with the right slang word isn’t always easy, but when it hits, it can explode, as evidenced above. And if and when the sun finally sets on a favorite phrase, you can be sure there’s bound to be another “dawg” or “jiggy” right around the corner.

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Here are some other popular myths concerning Twinkies:

•Twinkies aren’t baked. The sponge cake instead is made from a chemical reaction that causes a cake-like material to foam up. It is then colored dark brown at the bottom to give the appearance of being baked. (This is of course false. Twinkies are in fact baked and their primary ingredients are flour, sugar, and eggs.)
•Contain a chemical used in embalming fluid which helps account for some of their extreme longevity. (wrong again!)
•The Twinkie will last longer than the cellophane wrapper they’re wrapped in (nope, 25 days and then they get stale and go bad in a similar fashion to any other bread)
Here’s some actual true information about Twinkies. Twinkies were created in 1930 as ladyfinger-shaped spongecakes. They were first thought up by James A. Dewar, the vice president of Continental Bakeries who sold under the Hostess brand. Dewar sought to put the machines used to make cream filled strawberry shortcake to good use when strawberrys were out of season and the machines normally sat idle. So he got an idea to create a banana cream filled cake. That’s right. Originally, Twinkies were filled with banana cream, which I suppose explains why they chose to make them look as they do.

During World War II however, bananas became scarce. Hostess then decided to switch to vanilla cream. This ended up being much more popular than the banana filled version; so when bananas became readily available again, they chose not to switch back.

The name “Twinkie” was also thought up by James Dewar. On the way to a marketing meeting, he saw a billboard advertising “Twinkle-Toes Shoes”, and thought up the name “Twinkies”.

When Twinkies first came out, they not only were banana filled, but they also had an incredibly low shelf life. This was due primarily to the dairy products contained in Twinkies giving them only a two day shelf life on average. This obviously cut into the profit margins.

With the need for longer shelf life, they started substituting ingredients in the original recipe with artificial ingredients. Among those are cellulose gum, which gives Twinkie cream its smooth feel. Another place you can find this cellulose gum is in rocket fuel.

But that’s not the only fuel based ingredient in a Twinkie. The chemicals that make up the artificial butter flavor are themselves derived from petroleum.

Another interesting ingredient is corn dextrin. This gives Twinkies their sticky crust. Another place you can find this wonderful ingredient is in various glues; for instance, the glue that you find on the back of envelopes.

Interestingly though, of the 39 ingredients that make up a Twinkie, only one of them is strictly a preservative or rather its only purpose in being included is because it’s a preservative. Some of the other chemicals have preserving side effects, but their use is primarily as substitutes for the dairy ingredients. The lack of these dairy ingredients and the air tight plastic wrap are the primary reason that the Twinkie can last the 25 days on the shelves and can out last so many of its other baked brethren in that respect.

Despite their slightly unhealthy nature (150 calories each; with quite a dose of fat included), Hostess now churns out more than 1000 Twinkies per minute or about 500 million per year. The cakes are each baked for 12 minutes; injected with cream; flipped over so the round bottom is now the top; then packaged for shipping.

Bonus fun fact: According to Hostess, it takes about 45 seconds to explode a Twinkie in a standard powered microwave. Try this at home kids… Seriously, anybody want to try this and report back on the results?