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A clever family's cake cutting hack will completely change your birthdays from now on

There's a reason it already has more than 460,000 likes.

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DHS Deputy Secretary John Tien Participates in Navy Birthd… | Flickr

There are a few types of people who always show up around the dining room table when the birthday cake arrives. There's the dutiful person who is nice enough to volunteer to cut and serve the cake for everyone.

There's the person who begs for the piece with the most frosting. Then there's the person who wants as little frosting as possible.

There's also the party-goer who asks for the little sliver of cake and the guy who has no problem taking a slice as big as his head. Let's not forget the cake pusher whose job it is to make sure you take some extra slices home.

"Please take some home so I don't eat it," they beg, patting their tummy.

Making everyone happy during the ceremonial cake cutting is no easy task.

But now, a game-changing video on TikTok has completely changed the cake-cutting conversation. It eliminates the cake server, long knife, serving plates, spatula, and replaces it with joyous anarchy.

A TikTok video with over 460,000 likes shows a family celebrating a woman's 20th birthday, and after she blows out the candles, each person takes out a wine glass and scoops up a mound of cake.

It's an easy, streamlined way to make sure everyone gets what they want without having to bother anyone to cut and distribute the pieces. Everyone gets to grab the slice they like and in the amount they desire, without having to negotiate.

It's also a fun way to do things as a group. It would be savage to have a bunch of people scooping up cake with spoons, but with wine glasses, it's fancy.

The only drawback is that this technique really favors the pro-frosting constituency.

@theroseperiod Happy 20th birthday to my Jules!#twenty #fyp #birthdaycake #wineglasses #tiktokmom
♬ Outro: Happy Birthday - Altered Images

Duff Goldman, "Ace of Cakes" star and executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop, told Bustle the idea is genius. "Each person can come in with their own cup and get their own serving — it's a nice communal experience where each person can interact with the cake and each other," he said.

"This is a game-changer," one person said on TikTok.

"This is blowing my mind. Why have I never thought of this?" said another woman, who called it "genius."

"A cake hack that I can get behind," another added. "I will never eat cake another way."

The cake hack is a great idea, but one has to be sure that the cake is at room temperature. This could get downright dangerous if used on an ice cream cake or one with a hard filling. Also, you probably want to avoid using super-expensive Tiffany wine glasses that could easily shatter or eating out of the glass with metal utensils.

Ok, TikTokkers that hack was brilliant, your next challenge is to figure out how to eat pie with a wine glass.

This article originally appeared on 12.21.20

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Community

Wondering what method keeps your Valentine's flowers lasting longer? One guy tried them all.

Some definitely worked better than others.

Representative image from Canva

Because who doesn't want to preserve the natural beauty of a bouquet for as long as possible?

With Valentine’s having just passed, many of us might be looking at beautiful bouquets bestowed by our sweethearts and wondering how to keep them fresh for as long as possible (the flowers, that is, but maybe your beau as well).

If the thought of experimenting with a ton of home remedies found online sounds exhausting, you’re in luck! Someone decided to test a whole handful of them to see which worked best for perfectly preserved petals.

In a 7-minute clip posted to TikTok, life-hack enthusiast and former circus clown “The Gooch” made his own little science project using multiple roses placed in vases of water, each with a different variable: a blend of sugar and bleach, Red Bull, pennies, popcorn kernels, 7 Up, alkaline batteries, denture tablets, aspirin and, naturally, the florist-provided flower food packet, which itself contains some kind of sugar, citric acid and biocide, such as bleach.

Some of these ingredients, like the sugar bleach, came at the recommendation of The Gooch’s “florist friend.” Others, like the alkaline batteries, were simply pulled from the almighty internet.

The Gooch let the roses sit for 7 days, each flower covered by a cylinder made of colored construction paper, before he gave the big reveal.

The results of the first couple of roses—the ones given Aspirin and 7 Up—wasn’t anything to write home about. In fact, The Gooch remarked that the 7 Up rose looked “sad.”

From there, the experiment had both unexpected losers, like the expert recommended sugar-bleach solution, and some surprising winners, like the denture tab solution which actually proved to be “ pretty amazing.”

One of the biggest surprises of all came from the alkaline batteries, which did keep the rose remarkably fresh, even if it made the water look like it came from a sewer.

In the end, the best result came from tablets, popcorn kernels, batteries, flower food and pennies, with the latter two being the best solutions overall.

@the_gooch Tasting what keeps flowers fresh longer #flowers #experiment #valentines #valentinesday #valentine #roses #fyp #foryou #foryourpage #longervideos #longvideo #longvideos #tipsandtricks ♬ original sound - The Gooch

After The Gooch’s video went viral, amassing nearly 22 million views, others began offering their own flower preserving tips.

“I do flower food, copper pennies (b4 1983) and ice cubes in the water. Replace water weekly. Flowers will last for 3-4 weeks,” one person wrote.

Another added, “when I was in school we were taught to cut our roses under water so that an air bubble isn’t created in the stem.”

Still, one florist noted that the real key is far more simple.

“The most impactful thing is to change the water every day (I’m a florist) — flower food has food (sugar) and a little bleach too to try and minimize bacteria, but clean water is the most helpful!” they wrote.

Adding onto that, the website Green Fresh Florals recommends to continue trimming the bouquets’ stems every few days, removing any leaves that would sit below the water line and not only changing of the water every couple of days, but putting the stems in warm water than slowly transitioning to cool water to prolong vibrancy.

Or you could follow this viewer's advice, who joked, “[The] ultimate trick is to leave them on the rose bushes, it’s hands down the best method.”

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human interest

Pop Culture

Woman converts her fridge into a salad bar to stick to her health goals

People are loving this nifty kitchen hack.

@makeitwithmicah/TikTok

Work smarter not harder

January is almost over, which means that nearly half of us who’ve made New Year’s resolutions have already given up.

But those who are still crushing their goals—yay for you—it’s probably due to that fact that a) they’ve made some changes to their everyday environment or daily routine to support those goals b) they’ve found a way to infuse a bit of joy or fun into those goals, or c) some combination of the two.

For content creator and home decor enthusiast Micah Enriquez, aka @makeitwithmicah on social media, her resolutions included eating at least one salad a day.

In order to stick to the goal, Enriquez came up with a kitchen hack that others are calling “the best idea ever”: she converted her fridge into a salad bar.

In a now-viral video posted to her TikTok, Enriquez opens up the bottom drawer of her GE Cafe Fridge to reveal all kinds of salad ingredients meticulously organized into individual drawers.

Everything from the basics, like lettuce, shaved carrots, and cucumbers, to fancier items like Babybel cheese and olive tapenade existing in colorful harmony, just like you’d see at a bona fide restaurant. So so so visually satisfying.

As to the effectiveness of the idea, Enriquez confirms with Upworthy that the system has not only helped her stick to her goals, but her husband as well. Even her daughter is eating more veggies.

@makeitwithmicah Replying to @Riana Anais “We have a salad bar at home” ☺️ Ome of my New Year’s resolutions was to eat at least one salad per day, this system has really helped and my husband has taken to eating more salads as well. What other items should I to it? #fridgeorganization #fridgerestock #restock #saladbar #foodie #organizedhome #kitchenorganization ♬ original sound - kardashianshulu

Which does make sense. The fact that people are more likely to go towards food with a pleasing aesthetic is something researchers (not to mention marketers) can confirm. Plus organizing your fridge in a way that makes the healthier foods both more visible and eye-catching is a hack widely suggested by dieticians. Enriquez just took that truism and ran with it.

Enriquez’s fridge hack video quickly garnered tons of views online, along with more than a few questions.

A few wondered if any of the items dried out due to being uncovered. So far, Enriquez has had no issues.

Another person was curious as to why she chose to refrigerate certain items that tend to do best in room temperature, like tomatoes and avocados.

For Enriquez, the reason was simple. “They stay longer for me.” Fair enough.

One commenter asked: “How long does your salad and other leaves stay fresh and not wilt?”

Enriquez responded “Usually 7-10 days but we finish it by then,” indicating nothing got wasted.

salad bar fridge hack, salad bar, salad, fridge hack

Any way you can fit a salad into your day is a win.

Canva

One last concern was the price of so much produce, with one viewer writing “That looks like my grocery bill in just one drawer — I need to win the lottery,” to which Enriquez assured “Trader Joe’s has the best prices on organic produce.”

And of course, many just chimed in to say what a brilliant health hack it was.

Though Enriquez’s fridge does have that handy pull out drawer, The Spruce Eats has a few tips that can help give any fridge the salad bar treatment, including:

Clearing out space—duh
Getting stackable, clear containers
Prepping/storing veggies and greens properly so that they last longer—covering moustier retaining leaves with a paper towel, for instance
Including a treat ingredient—for me, it’s usually Fritos. Not a fridge item, but the perfect salad treat

It’s amazing how little tweaks like these can make such a big difference in the long run, all while giving us a mood boost. Happy eating, everyone!

From Your Site Articles

life hacks

Joy

Woman's simple, drill-free garland hanging trick hailed the ultimate Christmas decor hack

All of the holiday magic, with zero of the fuss.

@thekwendy/TikTok

It all begins with a shower curtain rod

TikTok is a wonderful hub of ingenious hacks, and that goes double for holiday decorating.

With Christmas just around the corner—and plenty of folks already infusing that Christmas aesthetic into their homes—this viral tip for hanging garland might be a gamechanger for those who love to get festive but hate tedious labor.

Not only is this hack easy to do, it requires zero drilling, eliminating any potential damage to the walls (apartment dwellers, rejoice).

Home decor blogger @thekwendyhome explains.

“Here’s a Christmas decorating hack for you: Damage free garland hanging with a shower curtain rod,” she wrote in the caption of a video posted to her TikTok channel focused on all kinds of nifty home hacks.

“I took the shower curtain from our guest bathroom and tested this out for myself,” she continued. “It has held up really well! I even put my heavy Norfolk pine garlands on and it didn’t budge. This is perfect for renters and those who don’t want to put nails in their walls. And an added bonus is that you don’t get a crick in your neck or get tired arms from decorating.”

@thekwendyhome Here’s a Christmas decorating hack for you! Damage free garland hanging with a shower curtain rod! I had to try it for myself after seeing @Letneeutro do it! I took the shower curtain from our guest bathroom and tested this out for myself. It has held up really well! I even put my heavy Norfolk pine garlands on and it didn’t budge. This is perfect for renters and those who don’t want to put nails in their walls. And an added bonus is that you don’t get a crick in your neck or get tired arms from decorating 😅 I linked everything on my LTK in my bio. Now go forth and deck those halls. #deckthehalls #christmasdecorating #christmas #christmas2023 #christmasdecor #decorhack #decorhacks #christmashack #christmashacks #garland #christmasgarland #christmasgarlandhack #homedecor #damagefreedecor #rentalfriendlydecor ♬ Twinkling Lights (Reimagined) - Auni

Her suggestions are as follows:

Use a shower curtain rod and tighten at an entry. (Wayfair currently has an adjustable golden curtain rod for less than $20, with great reviews)
Drape and wrap your shower rod with a garland. You might need two for a fuller look.
Remember to fluff your garland.
Weave twinkle light into your garland.
Add your accent — whether that’s ornaments or an additional sparkly garland (or both).
Raise your shower rod to your desired height and tighten.
Then turn on your twinkle lights and enjoy the magic.

This tip quickly got millions of views, with people calling it a “genius” idea. And @thekwendyhome has even more brilliant, cost effective holiday decor tips where that came from.

Like this hack for creating the same gingerbread houses you see at Crate & Barrel for a fraction of the cost.

@thekwendyhome Let’s make these gingerbread houses on a budget! I shared this DIY last year but saw that PB is making selling them this year for $50-70 a pop so I figured I’ll share it again! You can snag these birdhouses from the dollar store or from Michaels. Spray paint them brown and the key is to use joint compound as frosting. It gives a much more realistic look and you can make those 3D drippy designs and icicles hanging off your gingerbread house roof tops! It’s super easy to make a budget friendly. This is the perfect diy for your next crafty party with friends and family. Plus you can display these year after year. #christmascrafts #christmas2023 #diychristmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorating #homemadechristmas #homemadedecor #homeadedecorations #deckthehalls #gingerbreadhouses #kidfriendlycrafts #kidcraft #kidcrafts ♬ Home Alone - Somewhere In My Memory - Theme - Geek Music

Or some Christmas garland using upcycled tomato paste tubes.

@thekwendyhome This upcycled garland is such a beautiful diy. Let’s give a tube of tomato paste a new lease on life! @_hausimwald_ on Insta captured my imagination with this beautiful diy and now I can’t stop! It is perfect for your autumnal decor, Thanksgiving and for Christmas. It gives me all the cozy cottagecore feelings. The possibilities are endless. Imagine cutting out your own Merry Christmas garland or any letter garland. You can do little moons 🌙 and stars ✨. Or even little mushrooms. In other words, I need more tomato or mustard tubes! What other packaging can we upcycle? #christmas2023 #diychristmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorating #diy #handmadedecor #homemadechristmas #homedecor #deckthehalls #garland #upcycle #upcycleddecor ♬ Twinkling Lights (Reimagined) - Auni

Christmas can be a time when people feel so pressured to spend money that they end up not fully enjoying the holiday. But there’s almost always a workaround, and sometimes it’s more fun to get creative than simply purchasing anyway. Bottom line: tis the season to be jolly, in whatever way feels best.

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life hacks

Education

Woman shares why the 'mystery button' on your rearview mirror could save your life

Most people have no idea what that button is for.

via Vishva Patel/Pexels and EverythingBrooklyn/TikTok

Ever get annoyed by super bright lights in your rearview mirror?

One of the most common complaints drivers have these days is that car headlights are too bright. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, a whopping 88% of drivers have noticed headlight glare, and about 31% of them described it as "disturbing."

The study also revealed that one out of every 100 drivers claimed that glare actually caused them to have a crash or a near miss.

How did the headlights get so bright? Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, headlights were made with halogen bulbs with a softer, warm yellow light. These days they’re made with LEDs that last longer but are much whiter and brighter.

Did you know that a button on your rearview mirror can tone down the headlight glare? Many people were blown away when TikTokker EverythingBrooklyn shared the simple tip on TikTok. Since being posted in March, it has received over 2 million views.

@everythingbrooklyn
my boyfriend is a genius. who knew! #fyp #todayyearsold #foryou #rearviewmirror

"I didn’t know about this either until a few weeks ago, and my life has been changed ever since," Nat wrote. "I LOVE YOU AND SO DOES MY ASTIGMATISM," Kaitlin Carroll added.

The text of the video read: "Me flipping the rearview mirror tab so the headlights don't blind me."

A Mazda dealership explained the button’s function: “When auto-dimming is turned on, your rearview mirror will automatically darken to reduce headlight glare,” Capistrano Mazda confirmed.

Good news for all of you who can't stand being dazzled by blinding headlines, the federal government has recently approved Adaptive Driving Beam headlights which shine more light onto the road instead of into your rearview window. But until they’re widely adopted, you can use this hack to keep yourself from being blinded by fellow drivers.

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tiktok hacks

A clever family's cake cutting hack will completely change your birthdays from now on

There's a reason it already has more than 460,000 likes.

Wondering what method keeps your Valentine's flowers lasting longer? One guy tried them all.

Some definitely worked better than others.

Woman converts her fridge into a salad bar to stick to her health goals

People are loving this nifty kitchen hack.

Woman's simple, drill-free garland hanging trick hailed the ultimate Christmas decor hack

All of the holiday magic, with zero of the fuss.

Woman shares why the 'mystery button' on your rearview mirror could save your life

Most people have no idea what that button is for.

Comedian's viral video perfectly nails how each generation arrives at someone's house

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

Man attempts to rescue stray kitten and quickly discovers he got more than he bargained for

5 things that made us smile this week