Random things that I have learned recently #1

Here are some things that I have learned recently. Maybe I'll post about stuff like that more regularly because it happens a lot and I think its interesting. Also, writing about it might help me remember things.

Preheating pans without oil massively improves non-stick properties

I've heard about this a lot over the years but for some reason I never really gave it a try — maybe because I couldn't think of a reason why it would work? Anyway, I think it was J. Kenji Lopez-Alt who talked about it and finally giving some sort of explanation; I think it was like the tiniest vapor barrier or something along those lines, I can't quite remember. I finally started to make it a habit and the difference it makes is astounding.

Drying things with wet microfiber towels makes them dry enough

When I tried it before, I noticed that there still were water droplets on stuff, so I just thought “hey this isn't dry, it's useless”. I only recently understood that it might not be fully dry, but it is certainly much more dry than it was — enough for a bike to let the rest dry the rest on its own and for large food containers, I can just go over it with a dry linen towel after the microfiber towel. This way I don't need to change linen towels when I'm cleaning after making large amounts of dough.

There are in fact two different ways that TRRS headsets can be wired

The mic and ground pin can be connected to the sleeve or the second ring depending on the standard. It's strange that I only came across this now after decades of using all kinds of headsets with all kinds of devices.

Cleaning products need time. Cling film helps!

For stuff like oven cleaner, degreaser or descaler, it really help to give them more time than they would have if you just sprayed stuff and let it sit — something like 5 hours, or even better overnight. Spraying things with cleaner, then using cling film to wrap them so the cleaner doesn't dry out or run off and then wiping and rinsing the next day works wonders. Super good for things like glass oven doors, baking sheets, glass in the bathroom.