100 Fun Facts About Life Skills

Which of these foods do US food-safety charts say must be cooked to 165 °F (74 °C)?

Chicken breast, like all poultry, must reach 165 °F (74 °C), while steaks, pork chops and fish are done at 145 °F; leftovers of any kind should be reheated to that same 165 °F.

US food-safety guidance says perishable food left out for over two hours should be what?

Thrown away, because reheating cannot be trusted: bacteria such as staph multiply fast at room temperature and leave a toxin that cooking does not destroy. On days above 90 °F the limit drops to one hour.

Which part of a refrigerator do US food-safety agencies call too warm for storing eggs?

The door: its bins warm up every time the fridge is opened, so their temperature swings more than the shelves'. The FDA and USDA both say to keep eggs in their carton on a shelf instead.

A grey-green ring around a hard-boiled egg's yolk is usually a harmless sign of what?

Overcooking makes sulfur and iron compounds in the egg react at the yolk's surface, leaving a thin layer of iron sulfide. It looks odd but is safe to eat.

Water boils at 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level; where does it boil at a cooler temperature?

On a high mountain thinner air presses less on the water, so its boiling point drops about 1 °F for every 500 feet climbed. Food boils cooler and takes longer, and turning up the heat does not help.

Pasta cooked "al dente" is cooked how?

Firm to the bite is what the Italian phrase, literally "to the tooth", asks for, and it is more than taste: pasta boiled until soft has a higher glycemic index, so it pushes blood sugar up faster.

In US recipe measures, three teaspoons make one what?

A US tablespoon holds three teaspoons, but Australia's is 20 ml and holds four, so a spoon-for-spoon swap quietly changes an Australian recipe.

US fire-safety officials say a small grease fire in a pan is best put out how?

Slide a lid over it and leave it there, since covering the pan puts the fire out; water does the opposite, making burning oil erupt in a fireball that throws flaming oil out of the pan.

What does baking soda do in a cake batter?

Baking soda releases carbon dioxide so the mixture rises, but only once an acid sets it off, which is why recipes pair it with buttermilk or yogurt; baking powder comes with its own acid already mixed in.

Which two household chemicals should never be mixed because together they give off a toxic gas?

Bleach and ammonia react to give off chloramine gases that burn the throat and lungs, and bleach is no safer with acids: mixed with vinegar or a toilet-bowl cleaner it releases chlorine gas instead.

Most of the Americas dial 911 in an emergency; which number works across the whole European Union?

112 works everywhere in the EU, free of charge and alongside the old national numbers, and mobile networks worldwide recognise it too, so dialling it on a phone in the US puts you through to 911.

First-aid trainers tell people to time CPR to the beat of which Bee Gees hit?

Stayin' Alive has a beat that falls inside the 100 to 120 pushes a minute adult CPR calls for, which is why the British Heart Foundation tells rescuers to press along to it.

What is pressing sharply below a choking person's diaphragm from behind called?

The Heimlich maneuver carries the name of American surgeon Henry Heimlich, but most first-aid protocols now say to try five sharp back blows first and move on to the thrusts only if those fail.

How should an unconscious person who is still breathing be placed?

On their side, head tilted back is the recovery position: it keeps the airway open and lets any vomit drain away instead of being breathed in, the danger of leaving someone flat on their back.

What is the right first aid for a nosebleed?

Lean forward and pinch the nostrils shut for 10 to 15 minutes, breathing through the mouth; tilting the head back, the old advice, only sends the blood down the throat, where it can make you choke or vomit.

An AED, the defibrillator found in airports and gyms, is designed to be used by whom?

Untrained bystanders are exactly who an AED is built for: it talks the user through each step, reads the heart rhythm itself and tells you to shock only if one is needed, so it cannot be set off by mistake.

Why is carbon monoxide called the "silent killer"?

It is colorless, odorless and tasteless, and the early symptoms (headache, dizziness, nausea) are so often described as flu-like that victims rarely suspect the air, which is why homes need a CO alarm as well as a smoke alarm.

The CDC and NHS both say to wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing which song twice?

Happy Birthday sung twice lasts about 20 seconds, the scrubbing time both agencies ask for; the water doesn't have to be warm, since the CDC says cold running water does the job too.

Alcohol hand sanitizer works poorly against which stomach bug, known for sweeping through cruise ships?

Norovirus shrugs off alcohol, so the CDC says sanitizer does not work well against it and only washing with soap and water will do; against most other germs a gel needs at least 60 percent alcohol.

What does the SPF number on a bottle of sunscreen rate?

Protection against sunburn is what the number rates, so it mainly reflects UVB, the burning rays; to be covered against the deeper-reaching UVA rays that age skin, look for the words broad spectrum as well.

Which factor counts most toward a FICO credit score?

Payment history makes up about 35 percent of a FICO score, ahead of amounts owed at 30, so paying every bill on time does more for the 300-to-850 number than anything else; income is not counted at all.

What sets compound interest apart from simple interest?

It earns interest on past interest: $1,000 at 5 percent earns $50 in its first year but $52.50 in its second, because that first $50 is now earning too, and the gap widens every year after.

The "rule of 72" is a quick way to estimate what?

How long an investment takes to double: divide 72 by the yearly rate, so money at 6 percent doubles in about 12 years, and the same sum shows a card charging 24 percent doubling a debt in just three.

In the popular 50/30/20 budget, what does the 20 percent go to?

Savings get the 20 percent, a share that also covers paying debt down faster than the minimum; needs such as rent and groceries take 50 percent of take-home pay and wants take 30.

What does APR on a loan or credit card stand for?

Annual percentage rate states the cost of borrowing per year, and on a loan it rolls the lender's fees in with the interest; the US Truth in Lending Act makes lenders quote it so offers can be compared like for like.

How does a debit card differ from a credit card?

It spends money you already have, straight from your bank account, so a thief is draining your own cash: US law caps the loss at $50 if you report the card within two business days, but the cap jumps to $500 after that.

Which US tax form does your employer send you early each year showing your pay and the tax taken out?

The W-2, or Wage and Tax Statement, is due to employees around the end of January, and the employer files a copy with the Social Security Administration too, so the government already holds the same figures when you file.

Starting a US job, you fill out a W-4 to tell your employer what?

How much tax to withhold from each paycheck is what the W-4 settles: too little and you will owe at tax time, perhaps with a penalty, while a big refund only means you overpaid all year.

On a check, what is the person or company it is made out to called?

The payee is whoever is named on the "Pay to the order of" line; write "Cash" there instead and the check names nobody, which makes it payable to the bearer, so anyone who picks it up can cash it.

In most US states, which cost must a landlord absorb rather than deduct from a tenant's security deposit?

Normal wear and tear, such as worn carpet or small tack holes, is the landlord's own cost; in California a landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can be ordered to pay the tenant twice its amount on top.

On a laundry care label, the triangle symbol covers the use of what?

Bleach is the triangle's business: an empty one allows any kind, two diagonal stripes inside allow only non-chlorine (oxygen) bleach, and a cross through it means no bleaching at all.

Which fabric needs water or steam to iron out wrinkles properly?

Cotton holds its creases until moisture loosens the fibres, so care-label guidance is to iron it while still damp, on the hottest three-dot setting; permanent-press shirts blend in polyester to cut the ironing down.

Jumper cables are color-coded; which clamp goes on the battery's positive terminal?

The red one goes on positive, and the order matters as much as the colour: the last black clamp belongs on bare metal on the dead car, away from the battery, so the final spark stays clear of any hydrogen gas it gives off.

The skinny temporary spare tire in many car trunks is nicknamed after which food?

Donut spares are smaller than the car's other tires and grip the road less, so they should stay under about 50 mph (80 km/h) and carry you only as far as a tire shop.

How should you tighten the lug nuts when putting a wheel back on?

Alternating in a star pattern spreads the clamping force evenly so the wheel seats flat against the hub; start every nut by hand first, which keeps the threads from crossing, and only then bring out the wrench.

Unlike a fuse, what can you do with a household circuit breaker after it trips?

Reset it and restore power with a flick of its lever, where a blown fuse has to be replaced; a breaker that keeps tripping, though, is warning of an overloaded circuit or a short, and that is a job for an electrician.

What does a GFCI outlet, the kind with two small buttons fitted near sinks, do?

It cuts the power when current leaks to ground, sensing that slightly less is coming back than went out: a leak of just a few thousandths of an amp, such as through a person, shuts it off within a fraction of a second.

If a plunger will not clear a stubborn toilet clog, what is the usual next thing to reach for?

A plumber's snake is a flexible cable cranked into the drain to break up the clog or hook it out; the toilet version, a closet auger, feeds through a curved tube with a rubber boot that keeps it from scratching the porcelain.

Which time-management method is built on 25-minute bursts of work?

The Pomodoro Technique takes the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped timer its inventor Francesco Cirillo used as a university student; short breaks separate the bursts, and a longer rest follows every few rounds.

The Eisenhower matrix sorts tasks by which two qualities?

Urgent and important are the two tests, drawn from a line in a 1954 Eisenhower speech: the urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent, a remark he credited to a former college president.

What does RSVP on an invitation ask you to do?

Respond, whether or not you are coming: the letters abbreviate the French répondez s'il vous plaît, literally respond if it pleases you, so the host is owed an answer even when it is a no.

At a formal place setting with several forks, which one do you pick up first?

The outermost one: utensils are laid in the order they will be used, so with each new course you simply work from the outside in, toward the plate.

A CV is a curriculum vitae, a Latin phrase meaning what?

Course of life is the literal Latin, and an academic CV can live up to it, often running past three pages; an American résumé is kept much shorter, usually to a page or two.

Which of these hiring methods do studies find best predicts job performance?

A structured interview with set questions puts the same questions to every candidate in the same order and scores the answers on one scale, which research finds more valid than a free-flowing chat, however friendly that feels.

Which of these countries drives on the left, even though it was never part of the British Empire?

Japan keeps left, yet one corner of it had to relearn the habit: Okinawa drove on the right for decades after the Second World War and switched back to the left only in July 1978.

In the first-aid mnemonic RICE for soft-tissue injuries, what does the 'C' stand for?

Compression joins rest, ice and elevation in the acronym Dr Gabe Mirkin coined in a 1978 book; he has since changed his mind, writing that ice and complete rest may delay healing rather than help it.

When you use a fire extinguisher, where should you aim the nozzle?

At the base of the fire, because that is where it is fed and blasting the flames above does little; trainers teach the routine as PASS: pull the pin, aim low, squeeze the handle and sweep from side to side.

Americium, a man-made radioactive metal, sits inside which common household device?

A smoke detector of the ionization type holds a speck of americium-241, whose radiation charges the air between two plates so a tiny current flows; smoke breaks that flow, and the break is what trips the alarm.

In which room of a home is a heat detector considered more suitable than a smoke detector?

The kitchen, where cooking would keep setting off a smoke alarm, which is why Scottish law asks for a heat alarm there; US fire officials say the same of garages, where dust and fumes cause false alarms.

The 'stop, drop and roll' technique is meant for what situation?

Your clothing catches fire, and running only fans the flames: stop, drop to the ground with your hands over your face, and roll, which cuts off the air and puts the fire out.

On most car fuel gauges since the 1990s, the small arrow beside the pump icon points toward what?

The side with the filler cap is what the arrow marks, an idea Ford designer Jim Moylan proposed in 1986 that first reached drivers on the 1989 Ford Escort.

In the US penny test for worn tire tread, whose head goes into the groove upside down?

Abraham Lincoln goes in head first: if the tread hides the top of his head the tire has more than 2/32 of an inch left, and if his whole head shows it is worn out.

Swimmers caught in a rip current, a narrow flow heading out to sea, should swim in which direction?

Parallel to the shore is the way out, because a rip is narrow: swimming against it exhausts people, while a short sideways swim leaves the flow behind.

Britain's NHS says the first treatment for a fresh burn or scald is 20 minutes of what?

Cool running water for 20 minutes comes first; the NHS then suggests laying cling film over the burn, and warns against creams, oils and butter.

What does the CDC recommend using to remove a tick that has latched onto the skin?

Fine-tipped tweezers and a steady, even pull do the job; the CDC warns that petroleum jelly, heat and nail polish should never be used to make a tick let go.

Which scam uses fake emails posing as a bank or employer to trick people out of their logins?

Phishing was already recorded on AOL in 1995, where impostors posing as staff sent instant messages asking members to hand over their passwords.

US laws that make carmakers buy back new cars they cannot fix are nicknamed after which fruit?

Lemon laws exist in every US state and the District of Columbia, and they make a manufacturer repurchase a car it cannot repair within a reasonable time.

USDA guidance lists the refrigerator, cold water and which appliance as the safe ways to thaw meat?

The microwave is the third safe method, but food thawed in it must be cooked straight away, because some parts warm up enough to start cooking.

US fire officials blame 'failure to clean' for a third of the home fires started by which appliance?

The clothes dryer sheds lint that clogs its filter and vent, and one federal study counted about 2,900 dryer fires in American homes every year.

Emergency agencies teach the drill Drop, Cover and Hold On as the response to which natural hazard?

An earthquake calls for dropping to hands and knees, shielding the head and neck, and gripping your shelter until the shaking stops.

Which US agency, created during the Great Depression, pays depositors back if their bank fails?

The FDIC covers up to $250,000 per depositor at each insured bank, and says nobody has lost a cent of insured money since it started in 1933.

Which US retirement account, funded straight from each paycheck, often carries an employer match?

A 401(k) is named after the subsection of the tax code that created it in 1978, and many employers add matching money on top of what the worker puts in.

On which date are US income tax returns normally due, a deadline that sat in March until 1955?

April 15 has been the usual deadline since 1955, though it moves when it lands on a weekend or a holiday such as Emancipation Day.

Which company joins Equifax and Experian as one of the Big Three US credit bureaus?

TransUnion is the smallest of the Big Three, and it began in 1968 as a holding company for a railroad tank car business descended from Standard Oil.

Called the excess in Britain, what must a policyholder pay before the insurer covers a claim?

The deductible helps set the cost of a policy too: premiums are typically cheaper on plans where the holder agrees to pay more before cover begins.

On a wage slip, which figure is what the employee takes home after taxes and other withholdings?

Net pay is what is left once income tax and items such as pension contributions and garnishments have come out of the gross amount.

What is the legal claim that a lender or tax authority holds over property until a debt is paid?

A lien takes its name from the Latin for 'to bind', and one kind, the mechanic's lien, makes sure work done on a building or land gets paid for.

Which figure on a grocery shelf tag lets shoppers compare the cost per ounce across package sizes?

The unit price gives the cost per pound, quart or other measure, so a big box can be judged fairly against a small one; it usually sits on the shelf below the food.

Which loan, named from the medieval French for 'death pledge', do most people use to buy a home?

A mortgage is a pledge that 'dies' in one of two ways: when the debt is paid off, or when the lender takes the property through foreclosure.

Which IRS form is the main individual income tax return, only two pages long before attachments?

Form 1040 is the main return for US residents, and anyone who needs more time can get an automatic extension to October 15 by sending in Form 4868.

Which car insurance, required by most US states, pays for the damage a driver does to other people?

Liability cover pays for the injuries and property damage an insured driver is responsible for, which is why most states make it the legal minimum.

Which form do US college students file to see whether they qualify for federal financial aid?

The FAFSA costs nothing to file, unlike the CSS Profile, a fee-based form the College Board runs for colleges handing out their own money.

Which official validates signatures on deeds and affidavits and marks the documents with a seal?

A notary public in most of the US is a layperson rather than a lawyer, which is one reason the country has millions of notaries while England and Wales have only a few hundred.

In a web address that starts HTTPS rather than plain HTTP, what does the extra S stand for?

Secure is the S: the connection is encrypted, which protects whatever you send from eavesdropping and tampering along the way.

Which email field, a holdover from paper letters, hides one recipient's address from all the others?

Bcc stands for blind carbon copy, and it is the usual choice for a long mailing list whose members should not see each other's addresses.

Which service do individuals use to encrypt their internet traffic and try to stay anonymous online?

A VPN is also the standard way organizations give off-site staff protected access to an office network over the internet.

In the goal-setting acronym SMART, coined in a 1981 management article, what does the S stand for?

Specific leads the list that George T. Doran proposed in Management Review, where the remaining letters set out goals that are measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related.

Which note-taking system, devised by an Ivy League professor in the 1950s, adds a narrow cue column?

Cornell notes were devised by education professor Walter Pauk: the wide main column holds the notes and the narrow one beside it holds questions for review.

Which court process proves a dead person's will is valid and appoints the executor to carry it out?

Probate goes ahead even when there is no will at all: the court then settles the estate under the intestacy laws of wherever the person lived.

Bacteria in food multiply fastest between about 40 and 140 °F, a range food agencies call what?

The danger zone should be crossed as few times as possible, which is why food-safety rules frown on reheating and cooling the same dish again and again.

On British food packaging, which date label is about safety rather than quality?

Use by is the safety date, though food can still be eaten later if it was cooked or frozen by that day; best before only marks when quality may start to dip.

Which cooking term means holding a liquid just below a boil, hotter than poaching?

Simmering treats food more gently than boiling, which keeps it from toughening or breaking up; cooks get there by boiling first, then turning the heat down.

Which French culinary phrase means arranging every ingredient a cook needs before cooking starts?

Mise en place means 'putting into place', and cooks use the phrase as a noun, a verb and even a state of mind.

What is the baked-on fat layer called that stops a cast-iron pan rusting and food sticking?

Seasoning is polymerized fat, built up by wiping on extremely thin coats of oil and heating each one; raw cast iron rusts rapidly without it.

On a US Nutrition Facts label, the calories and nutrients listed refer to what amount of the food?

One serving is the amount people typically eat, not a recommendation, so anyone who eats two takes in twice every calorie and nutrient figure on the label.

Which handheld device locates the wooden framing hidden behind drywall before a heavy shelf is hung?

A stud finder comes in two kinds: magnetic ones detect the nails or screws fixing the wallboard, while electronic ones sense changes in wall density.

On a light bulb box, watts show power use and kelvins color; which measure gives the light output?

Lumens count the light a bulb gives off, which is why LED packaging often adds the wattage of an incandescent lamp delivering the same output.

Which rubber part in a toilet tank, when worn, can silently leak thousands of gallons a year?

The flapper holds water in the tank until the flush, and the EPA's test for a worn one is a few drops of food coloring in the tank.

The U-shaped bend in the pipe under a sink holds a little water to keep what out of the home?

Sewer gas is blocked by the plug of water sitting in the trap, a design known as the U-bend since Thomas Crapper introduced his U-shaped version in 1880.

Which phone number do US homeowners call before digging so that buried utility lines can be marked?

811 became the single national call-before-you-dig line after the FCC set it aside in 2005; before then, each regional utility-locating service had its own toll-free number.

Which natural fiber shrinks in the wash because tiny scales on each strand lock together?

Wool sold as superwash has had those scales stripped in an acid bath or coated in polymer, which is why it can go through a machine cycle unharmed.

When two cars on crossing streets reach a US four-way stop at the same moment, which one goes first?

The car on the right wins a tie; otherwise an all-way stop runs on arrival order, with the first driver to stop being the first to leave.

Which code stamped on every modern car skips the letters I, O and Q to avoid confusion with numbers?

The VIN has followed one 17-character format since 1981, when US regulators standardized it, and each one identifies a single vehicle.

Which detail tops the list that US 911 guidance says every caller should be ready to give?

Your location comes first, street address included, and the guidance adds that callers should not hang up until the call-taker says so.

Which US coin is the smallest and thinnest of all those minted for circulation?

The dime takes its name from the Old French disme, meaning a tenth part, and the 1792 law that created the coin still spelled it that way.

Which US law, named for a 1985 budget act, lets workers keep a former employer's health plan?

COBRA cover lasts up to 18 months in most cases, and the rule was one small part of a huge budget law that also dealt with tobacco, railroads and the postal service.

Which rating on home insulation measures resistance to heat flow, a higher number being better?

R-value pays off in both seasons: a higher figure can cut heating bills in cold weather and cooling bills in hot weather.

What is the process called of paying down a loan through regular installments set out in a schedule?

Amortization splits every installment between the lender's charge and the balance owed, and the share that goes to the balance changes each time.

Which long metal rod under a car's hood is pulled out and wiped to check the engine oil level?

The dipstick is such a simple gauge that the same idea is used to measure how much beer is left in an ale cask.

Which arm of the US government, led by the country's top diplomat, issues every American passport?

The State Department issues every US passport, whether as a booklet or as a limited-use passport card subject to the same requirements.