One I didn’t see mentioned yet: a rice cooker.
Put in rice, add water, push start button, and you get perfect rice every time. I’m usually against single-purpose kitchen tools but a rice cooker is soo worth it.
Really only if you eat a lot of rice. For once a year or so, a pot on the stove works just fine. The actual benefit I’ve see for ricecookers is how well they can hold the rice for hours ready to go, but that’s more of a commercial benefit I think.
[…] but that’s more of a commercial benefit I think
For me, this is the primary benefit of a rice cooker. Having warm, cheap, filling food on demand at any time is fantastic. I am so lazy and my little rice buddies are always ready to go when I can’t be bothered.
“Rice is great if you’re really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something”
A rice cooker can serve as a cheaper instapot tho. I can steam rice and veggies without having to babysit a pot.
I also have kitchen anxiety, and in a roommate situation can keep a rice cooker in my room.
I eat a lot of ice and I still just make it in a pot.
I like to imagine you huddled over an ice field, stirring water in a pot until it turns to the perfect slushy consistency for your fresh homemade ice.
Living in Japan, this almost didn’t register to me. I have literally never met anybody that didn’t have one. When you move out, you use your family’s old one until you can buy a newer one.
Everyone should have one, absolutely.
When I did a homestay in Japan, my host dad was shocked my family didn’t have one. I do now though!
I know this will be a popular response, but I don’t get it.
I just use a pot and the rice is always perfect? Not hard at all? Am I just good?
I used to do that for years, but rice cookers really do some magic to get perfectly fluffy rice. I thought my technique was good, until I tried rice from a rice cooker.
Meanwhile, I’ve been disappointed by rice cooker rice and make it better the old fashioned way. :shrug:
You should look into Zojirushi. They make the best rice cookers
If you have a car get a dashcam. It’s more valuable than any insurance because it will definitively prove what happened when something goes wrong. Bonus: you can post videos of bad drivers doing stupid things on the internet for imaginary points.
If only there was actually a good car dashcam, but every time I go down that rabbit hole I give up frustrated. The quality (build, mounting, video, whatever) is shit in pretty much all of them, and the “passable” ones look like a web cam from 2005 still.
There’s a reason for that, Linus Tech Tips did a great video on it. You’re better off buying an old go pro and using that.
A pair of high fidelity earplugs (aka concert earplugs or filtering earplugs). You can get a good non-custom pair for $15–$40, and that’ll work well for the average person for a long time.
They’re excellent for live music, airplanes, and anytime you want the world to be quieter but still need to be able to understand speech. And for music specifically, they can bring the volume level down just enough to be safe without muffling the sound like traditional foam earplugs do. Protect your hearing, kids!
Protect your hearing, kids!
Seriously, PROTECT YOUR FUCKING HEARING. I was young and stupid (now I’m no longer young) and went to way too many raves, gigs etc. without any sort of hearing protection, and now I have a nice constant background track of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and can’t hear higher frequencies worth shit
3 dozen pairs of identical socks. Mine are black crew cut. I’ll wear them until the last few pairs are worn through and I’ll never have a sock without a mate.
A bike. Poor people in underdeveloped countries can use it to get access to education and markets, while people from developed countries can ise it to keep healthy and reduce their environmental footprint
I was going to say that, but out of the 6 bikes in the garage none of them are under $100 even second hand.
In fact I would advise against getting a cheap shitty bike that isn’t going to last. Spend the extra money, get something good. It’s better for the environment and your wallet in the long run.
A bidet. Fight me.
Fight me.
Okay, but I’m bringing my power washer.
PSA - Do not use a power washer on your parts.
“Bidet - the power washer for your parts”
Can I use it in others parts?
You sound like a man with experience.
The only people who would fight you about how great bidets are are people who have never actually used one
Love my bidet.
10/10 for squeaky clean buttholes.
Preach it brother. Enlighten the unwashed (m)asses.
A towel
As recommended by the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
99 bucks
99.99 would be more profitable:-D
A first aid kit
A bidet. You can install it yourself in 20 minutes and enjoy a lifetime of cleaner buttholes and save on tp.
I’ll never ‘go’ without one!
Seriously though, bidets rock. Try one, get a good one, and you’ll never go back.
Every time I’ve tried to use a bidet, I’ve hated it. The water feels uncomfortable and sudden, and then I feel like I either can’t get dry with toilet paper and get chapped later, or it breaks up from the water and leaves pieces everywhere. The air dry varieties seem to contribute to chapped butt too. I know some people use wash cloths, but frankly the idea of leaving butthole cloth out in the bathroom weirds me out also.
What is the secret to enjoying these things? Am I just too damn American for them?
When I use a bidet at home, I always do a few wipes first to avoid the breakup. Then I pat down with tp after to dry.
I get that some people want to save tp, but I just want to feel clean after I drop a bomb.
The key is to use a hose and not a fixed one. The fixed ones don’t really allow you to clean where you’d like whereas the hose ones let you aim wherever. At least that’s how it’s been in my experience.
You have to do the bidet dance with a fixed one, works just as well.
A water kettle. Doesn’t have to be any fancy one, but it really fucking rocks for anything you might think of : want hot water for tea? No problem. Need hot water to steep something? No problem.
Most mid-range ones are insanely power efficient too, often being alot better than just boiling water on a stovetop, or using a microwave. And, depending on insulation, heat can be stored for over 6! hours.
I’m going to guess you’re in the States? I’m from England and live in the Netherlands. I’ve never met anybody ever who didn’t own a kettle. Is it true that it’s really not that common in the States to own a kettle?
I would say 20 years ago almost no one had an electric kettle in the US. Now they are much more common, but still only in a minority of homes. Americans just don’t drink nearly as much tea as the English. The UK consumes 1.94kg of tea per person annually. The US is 0.23kg. (per wikipedia). You will find a coffee maker in most homes and hotel rooms though.
what do kids have with their breakfast then?
Cold milk usually
what about in wintertime?
A kettle is such a default kitchen item in the UK that I find it kinda crazy that it’s not standard somewhere like the US, though I know I’ve seen the difference in base voltage being a factor before.
The Haynes manual for your car. Even if you’re not a mechanic they are so detailed they will walk you through fixing almost anything, they’re made for the laymen. I’m a diesel mechanic and even i own one for my cars.
When friends buy a new car i buy them a Haynes manual.
They don’t do them for ever single car in the world and the coverage isn’t as great on later model stuff but if you own s car 5 years or more old they’re great.
A fire extinguisher can be found for less than 100 USD and is a must-have. A smoke detector is also a bare minimum in my opinion.
A smoke detector is also a bare minimum in my opinion.
In your opinion? You’re required to have one where I life
In the USA private homes are not usually required to have them. Rentals, yes, but that’s a responsibility of the landlord.
Toothbrush - brush your teeth, it’s the law!
A portable car tire inflator (with build in battery).
