MARK RARE, MEDIUM, AND WELL DONE STEAKS • When guests want their steaks done differently at a barbecue, how do you keep track of who gets what? Easy. Just use different-colored toothpicks to mark them rare, medium, and well done, and get ready for the accolades.
KEEP SAUCEPANS FROM BOILING OVER • It seems as though all you have to do is turn around for a minute and the saucepan is boiling over, making a mess on the stovetop. Next time, just stick a toothpick, laid flat, between the saucepan and lid. The little space will allow enough steam to escape to prevent the saucepan from boiling over. This also works with a casserole dish that’s cooking in the oven.
MICROWAVE POTATOES FASTER • The next time you microwave a potato, stick four toothpick ‘legs’ in one side. The suspended potato will cook much faster because the microwaves will reach the bottom as well as the top and sides.
STICK THROUGH A GARLIC CLOVE FOR MARINADE • If you marinate foods with garlic cloves, stick a toothpick through the clove so you can remove it easily when you are ready to serve the food.
CONTROL YOUR USE OF SALAD DRESSING • Restrict your intake of carbohydrates and calories from salad dressing by removing the foil seal when you open the bottle and punching several holes in the foil, using a toothpick. This will help prevent overuse of the dressing and make it last longer.
KEEP SAUSAGES FROM ROLLING AROUND • When cooking sausages, insert toothpicks between pairs to make turning them over easy and keep them from rolling around in the pan. They’ll cook more evenly and only need to be turned over once.
MARK THE START OF A TAPE ROLL • Instead of wasting time trying to find the beginning of a tape roll, just wrap it around a toothpick whenever you have finished using the tape and the start of the roll will always be easy to find. No more frustration, and you can use the time you just saved to attack something else on your to-do list.
APPLY GLUE TO SEQUINS • If you’re working on a project that calls for gluing on sequins or buttons, squirt a little bit of glue onto a piece of paper and dip in a toothpick to apply small dabs of the glue. That way, you won’t make a mess and you won’t waste the glue.
MAKE SEWING EASIER • Make sewing projects easier and complete them faster, by using a round toothpick to push fabrics, lace, or gatherings under the presser foot as you sew.
Buddhist monks used toothpicks as far back as the 8th century, and researchers have even found toothpick grooves in the teeth of prehistoric humans.
Toothpicks were first used in the U.S. at the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in Boston, which opened in 1826.
In 1872, Silas Noble and J.P. Cooley patented the first toothpick-manufacturing machine.
One cord of white birch wood (known as the toothpick tree) can make up to 7.5 million toothpicks.
CLEAN CRACKS AND CREVICES • To get rid of dirt, grime, and cobwebs in hard-to-reach cracks or crevices, dip an ordinary toothpick in some alcohol and run it through the affected area. You can also use this to clean the keys on your computer.
TOUCH UP FURNITURE CREVICES • The secret to a good touch-up paint job is to use as little paint as possible, because even if you do have the right paint, the stuff in the can may not exactly match the sun-faded or dirty paint on the furniture. The solution is to dip the end of a toothpick in the paint and use it to touch up just the crevice. Unlike a brush, the toothpick won’t apply more paint than you need and you won’t have a brush to clean.
REPAIR SMALL HOLES IN WOOD • Did you drive a finish nail or brad into the wrong spot in your pine project? Don’t panic. Dip the tip of a toothpick into white or yellow glue. Stick the toothpick in the hole and break it off. Sand the toothpick flush to the surface and you will never notice the repair.
If your garden hose springs a leak, don’t go out and buy another one. Just find the hole and insert a toothpick into it. Cut off the excess part of the toothpick. The water will make the wood swell, plugging up the leak every time.
USE THEM TO LIGHT CANDLES • When a candle has burned down and the wick is hard to reach, don’t burn your fingers trying to use a small match to light it. Instead, light a wooden toothpick and use it to light the burned-down wick.
GET RID OF CUTWORMS • Cutworms kill seedlings by encircling the stem and severing it. To protect your seedlings, stick a toothpick in the soil about 1/4 inch (6 mm) from each stem. This prevents a cutworm from encircling it.
FIX A LOOSE HINGE SCREW • If you take a door off and remove the hinges before you paint it, you may find the screw just turns without tightening when you reattach the hinges, and that the hole is stripped. It’s an easy problem to fix. Just put some glue on the end of a toothpick, stick it in the hole, and break it off. Add one or two more toothpicks with glue until the hole is tightly filled, breaking each one off. Re-drill the hole and you’re ready to screw the hinge in place.
REPAIR A BENT PLANT STEM • If the stem of your favorite plant has folded over, it doesn’t mean the plant is doomed. Straighten the stem and support it by placing a toothpick against the stem and wrapping the toothpick on with tape. Water the plant and keep an eye on it—depending on how fast it grows, the stem will regain its strength and you’ll need to remove the splint so you don’t strangle the stem.