Author Reveals Tips, Tidbits To Make Your Life Easier

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- If you have ever been perplexed and thought, "There has to be a better way," well there just might be. Only, no one told you about it.

That's what's behind these life tips and tidbits that leave you wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?"

The source of our list comes from "Pogue's Basics: Life: Essential Tips and Shortcuts."

David Pogue is a regular contributor to "CBS Sunday Morning," a prolific author, the founder of Yahoo Tech, and has more than 1.5 million followers on Twitter.

He tells KDKA, "One of my favorite things to do is to reveal hidden tips and tricks that designers put there for us, but the word never got out."

So we've gone through the book and picked out our favorites, enjoy:

1) When you are driving down the highway and come to an exit, look at the little sign on top that tells you the exit number. If the sign if flush right on the bigger sign, it means the exit is to the right; if it's flush left, you will be exiting left.

2) Ever walk too far from your car and then turn around and try to use your key fob to lock the doors?

KDKA tested Pogue's theory and found out he's right when he says, "Hold the key fob against your head. Anywhere there's fleshy, gooey liquid, not bone. The liquid of your body acts as an antenna amplifier. I got about 70 to 80 more feet range when I held the key fob to my face. It actually works."

KDKA got the same results; although, you look pretty goofy doing it.

3) Anyone who has ever forgotten where they parked their car will want to download the "Find My Car" app. When you park, you mark the location of your car, and when you can't find it, you use the app.

Pogue says, "It puts a big compass arrow on your screen that points you back to your car. It actually leads you though the parking area back to your car."

4) A single match is fine for birthday candles if your child is 4, but when they get to 8, you could end up with crispy finger syndrome.

Pogue says, "Take a piece of uncooked spaghetti and light it, it will burn slowly and steadily and will last you for six minutes."

It's also good for lighting a fireplace or an outdoor grill.

5) Have you ever tried to read your iPad or tablet in the bright sun wearing sunglasses? The polarization in your glasses and the tablet screen will cancel each other out and all you see is black.

"The solution is - turn the iPad 90 degrees and the picture suddenly reappears even though you are still wearing the sunglasses," Pogue says.

6) Those clear, plastic-sealed containers so many items come in these days are a royal pain to open.

But during his summer of trying alternatives to conventional wisdom, Pogue says he discovered using "a regular can opener, put it on the edge of the hard plastic, and it will crank it right open."

KDKA did, and it worked like a charm. Not so much with an electric can opener though.

7) Does the inside of your microwave look like a biology experiment? Crud stuck to the walls and ceiling of the box.

"Just put a bowl of water in there and blast it," Pogue says. "A half bowl of water on high for five minutes, and what it does is, it turns to steam, super-heated steam, and it loosens everything that's on the walls of the microwave."

We tried it, and it worked like a charm.

8) When you try to lift your trash bag out of your tall kitchen trashcan, does the entire can lift too? The problem is suction, and Pogue says the answer is, poke holes in the side of the can.

We used a drill with a 3/8ths bit and put the holes about five inches from the bottom of the can (in case something leaks into the bottom), and it worked.

9) Where do you store your butter? If it's in the refrigerator, you know how difficult it can be to slice and spread when you need it. Pogue says leave it out on the counter so it will remain soft.

"Even the FDA website says it's okay to leave your butter out for a period of weeks. Butter is fat and resistant to bacteria. So basically, it can't rot, it won't rot. This is a life changer right here," says Pogue.

10) Here's another life changer. How do you get the last ketchup out of the bottom of the bottle?

Pogue told us pleadingly, "Please do not be one of those people who bangs the bottom of the bottle, or hits the 57, that's old school."

Instead, hold the bottle by the bottom and quickly rotate your arm in a 360-degree circle. Centrifugal force will send all the ketchup to the cap end of the bottle ready to use.

It feels a bit spastic, but it works, and Pogue says it can be used for more than just ketchup.

"Mustard, children's tooth paste, it's brilliant. You'll never bang a bottle again," Pogue says.

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Those are our favorites from Pogue's summer of testing. His book "Pogue's Basics: Life" is in the local bookstores and available online.

Pogue can also be seen on a regular basis contributing in his unique way to "CBS Sunday Morning" on KDKA-TV.