Don't Struggle With A Pickle Jar: Find Your Mouse Pad From The '90s Instead

At some point in your life, you've likely stood in front of the refrigerator, gripping and twisting a pickle jar, making a few grunting noises as you struggled to open it. If you were not home alone, you may have called for assistance from friends or family, hoping that someone with more strength or finesse could come and help you. Otherwise, you may have found yourself caught in quite a pickle.

There are a variety of hacks that you can use to make opening one of these jars much easier. Some tricks include slapping the bottom several times to relieve pressure, trying to carefully ease it open with a butter knife, or placing it upside-down in hot water and relying on the heat to expand the metal. But if opening a pickle jar becomes a dill-emma, there is another household item you can retrieve that may not have crossed your mind for a while: your mouse pad.

Now that many people rely on touch-based laptops, it almost feels as if the mouse pad has become obsolete. Whether you grew up with memories of ordering custom-based mouse pads with photos of your family or pet or not is beside the point. If you own one or have easy access to one, you're in luck. A mouse pad might just help you avoid wrestling with a pickle jar. The rubber on the bottom of the mouse pad should provide you with a better grip, making the lid easier to open.

Be careful, as this technique may ruin the mouse pad if you encounter a spill. If you are okay with a mess, this 1968 invention may make it easier to enjoy your next pickle. However, if you don't have a mouse pad at all, we have other options for you too. Those include putting on rubber gloves that you use to wash dishes or placing a rubber band around the lid to get the jar open.