There are tips and tricks all over the internet that claim to make people’s lives simpler and easier. We, Sydney Rossman and Madison Reeley, decided to test some of these tricks to see if they work. We created a video to track our progress. 

Life Hack #1: Separating the yolk

The first test we performed was based on a very popular kitchen hack. The idea is that you can separate an egg using a water bottle. For those who aren’t comfortable in the kitchen, or struggle separating eggs the classic way, this could be a helpful trick.

What you need: Two bowls, a water bottle, and an egg.

1. Crack the egg into one of the bowls.
2. Hovering over the egg, squeeze some of the air out of the bottle.
3. Place the lip of the water bottle opening on the yolk of the egg and release the pressure you put on the egg. This should allow the egg yolk to enter the bottle.
4. With the opening of the water bottle facing downwards, squeeze the water bottle again to allow the yolk to exit the water bottle.
5. In the end you should have an undamaged egg yolk separated from the egg white.

We tested this hack twice. The first time it worked perfectly. The second time, we had some troubles. We determined several variables that would make a difference in the success of this hack. Despite our success with this hack, it’d be more useful to learn how to separate the egg using its shell.

If you do decide to go for this hack, here are some things you should keep in mind:

• The angle of the bottle when removing the yolk from the egg white. Based on our repeated experiments, we found that it is easier to remove the egg if the water bottle is at more of a horizontal angle. If the bottle is vertical, the egg yolk will slide out of the water bottle, back into the egg white.
• The type of bottle you are using. Make sure the bottle is flexible, and has a small mouth. If the mouth of the bottle is too large you will take the egg white along with the egg yolk.

Life Hack #2: Coffee Stain vs. Baking Soda

The next hack we tried is supposed to remove a coffee stain from a lightly colored fabric. In theory you should be able to use baking soda as a substitute for stain remover, as a quick way to get a coffee stain out of a shirt.

What you need: Clothing with a fresh coffee stain and baking soda.

Removing the stain:

1. Place the stained clothing on a flat surface.
2. Sprinkle baking soda over the stain.
3. Rub the baking soda into the stain.
4. Let the baking soda sit on the stain for a minute.
5. Shake off the excess baking powder and rinse.

We tried this hack once and did not have much success. Unfortunately, we could not include this in the video. The stain was lightened by this trick, but it was still clearly visible. I would not recommend relying on this hack to fix your coffee mishaps. Instead, go for a classic stain remover like a Tide stick.

Life Hack #3:  DIY Slushy

For our next hack, we made our way back to the kitchen to try out a DIY soda slushy. In theory you could put a regular soda in the freezer and end up with a slushy.

What you need: A soda, still in its container. A freezer.

Freezing the soda:

1. Shake the soda of your choice.
2. Put the soda in the freezer.
3. Wait three hours and fifteen minutes.
4. Take the soda out of the freezer.
5. Transfer the slushy into a different container and enjoy.

When we tested out this hack, we did manage to make a slushy, but we were also left with a big mess.

For our experiment, we made one change to the original idea.When testing the experiment we used a can of soda instead of a bottle because that is what most people keep at their houses. When we opened the can, the extra carbonation from shaking the can earlier still made a mess. The iced part of the of the slushy also got caught in the can. We had to cut open the can to get the rest out. We had to put in a lot of effort and clean up a big mess.  We recommend you use a plastic bottle if you try this experiment yourself. It will have the same texture, but the slushy won’t get stuck in the bottle, like it did the can.

Life Hack #4: Blowing Up Balloons

Blowing up several balloons can be tiring and can leave you short of breath.  Instead of the classic method, you could try using a chemical reaction to blow up your balloon.

What you need: A plastic water bottle. Vinegar. Baking Soda. Balloons.

Blowing up the Balloon:

1. Fill the water bottle up with ½ cup of vinegar.
2. Add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda to the bottle.
3. Quickly pull the balloon over the mouth of the water bottle.
4. Once the fizzing in the water bottle has stopped, hold the end of the balloon tight and pull it off.
5. Tie the end of the balloon.

Note: Bigger balloons require more baking soda and vinegar than the small balloons we used. Make sure the balloon opening fits over the mouth of the bottle you are using.

When we tested this trick, we did successfully fill the balloon,  but you should probably get an air tank instead. This trick was time consuming, and the filled balloons did not have much pressure. While this trick was fun, it was not very practical, especially when you are under the pressure of planning a party.

When it comes to hacks, simple seems to be better. The next hacks are easy, short, and effective.

At some point everyone wants a speaker for their phone, but if you want a small speaker that has clear sound you have to spend a lot of money. Instead, you can make the speaker yourself.

Life Hack #5: DIY Speaker

What you need: A toilet paper roll, 4 push pins, a ruler, a pen and a pair of scissors.

Making the speaker:

1. Measure the width of your phone.
2. Draw a line on the toilet paper roll to match the width of the phone (the line should be horizontal on the round part of the roll).
3. Cut the line on the toilet paper roll (lightly fold the roll to assist you in cutting).
4. Cut slits perpendicular to the previous cut. This will create flaps that will hold your phone and allow you to slide the phone in and out with ease.
5. Insert 4 thumbtacks to the bottom of the roll to use as feet.
6. Insert your phone and enjoy your speaker.

This little speaker stays up on its own and amplifies the sound without muffling the words. In our experiment it worked great, and we were able to hear the music on our phones even with the classes around us. Its super cheap, and the best part is, it’s customization to your phone.

Life Hack #6: Perfect Manicure:

Sometimes you have to do your nails yourself. The problem is, not everyone is a nail artist. Sometimes once you finish, you are left with just as much polish on your skin as on your nails. This next hack is a simple way to keep your skin clean and your nails pretty.

What you need: Nail polish and white school glue.

Painting your nails:

1. Use the liquid school glue to trace the border around your nail. Be sure to wipe off any excess glue that gets on your nail.
2. Wait for the glue to dry, which takes about 6 minutes.
3. Paint your nail as you normally would.
4. Peel of the glue surrounding your nails to reveal your perfect manicure.

When we tried this hack, it worked perfectly. For this experiment, we got a little messy with our manicures. As soon as we pulled away the dried glue, it looked like we spent hours to make our nails perfect, but in reality we only spent about 5 minutes for the nails. Not only is this hack practical, but it’s fun, too.

Life Hack #7: Stop Clock

For all the iPhone users we have a hack for you!

What you need: iPhone that has the newest update

1. For this to work you need to start playing your music.
2. Once you selected your music of choice, go to your Clock app.
3. Go to your timer.
4. Select how long you want to listen to the music.
5. Go to “When Timer Ends.”
6. Scroll all the way to the bottom and hit “Stop Playing” and then set it.

This is proper one of the coolest feature on the iPhone because you can fall to sleep to music and not wake up to it. We showed this hack to other users, and their minds were blown. If you are exercising, you can have the music stop for when it is break time or even switch to a workout. There are endless possibilities for reason why you need to use this cool hack.

Life Hack #8: Dead or Alive Batteries

When you are cleaning up, you find all sorts of things. One of those things is batteries. You don’t want to throw away a perfectly good battery, but how can you know if it’s good or not? This next hack can keep you from wasting a perfectly good battery.

What you need: Questionable batteries and a table.

Testing the batteries:

1. Hold the battery 6 inches above the table.
2. Release the battery.
3. Count how many times the battery bounces.

If the battery bounces once, the battery is still good. If the battery bounces twice, it is almost dead. If the battery bounces more than twice it is dead.

We tested this first with some controls, and got the results that were expected. Then we tested some batteries with an unknown amount of charge to see the results. We determine that this test does work, and is a very simple way to keep track of the status of your batteries.