How to Open Things

Here are a few things that can be tough to open, and ways I've discovered that work for me:

This works best on a jar which has never been opened, and which has a metal lid:

If this doesn't work, try this method:

fill a bowl or big mug with boiling water
turn jar upside down & put into water until water covers (or almost covers) the lid
hold the jar upside down in the hot water for 1 - 2 minutes
take jar out of water and wipe lid to make it as dry as possible
try opening it again

If this still doesn't work, try last method one more time, with even hotter water, if possible.

These instructions are for a bottle with a traditional champagne cork; if your bottle of bubbly has a screw top, you're on your own!

place the bottle on a table or counter and carefully remove the foil
now undo the wire "twist" and carefully remove the wire "basket" which holds down the cork
let the bottle sit on the table for 3 or 4 minutes; during this time the pressure inside the bottle will start to loosen the cork
make sure your hands are very dry
hold the bottle in one hand and with the other hand slowly start twisting the cork
as you twist the cork, start to gradually ease it upwards, out of the bottle
after several twists, the cork will come out of the bottle easily and gently
now pour!

A brand new plastic bag (one of those that's straight off the roller, for example) can be hard to pull apart. Here's a great way to do it:

locate the bag opening
hold the bag in one hand, near the opening of the bag
lick the thumb and index (pointing) finger of your other hand; this gives your fingers a bit of "traction"
place your thumb and index finger on the outsides of the bag and rub the fingers back and forth
the two sides of the bag should now come apart
hold one side of the bag in each hand and make a quick, snapping movement up and down &mdash like cracking a whip
the bag should now be completely open