Science and life little tricks collection. Little tricks. Well, how much can you pollute the planet with these plastic bags when there is simply a brilliant solution?

Vladimir BEREZIN, especially for “Kashin”

For some reason, my easily excitable compatriots, crying out poverty and hunger, began to remember the famous column “Little Tricks” in the excellent magazine “Science and Life” and consider it a symbol of Soviet poverty and backwardness.

I grew up on the files of Science and Life and will rise in its defense. Many of the ideas there did not come from poverty at all, but from healthy pragmatism. (No wonder the legend said that the Japanese translated and republished these tips). Why run to the store for a dowel if there is a piece of wire braid under your feet?

Undoubted scarcity is in itself, cunning is in itself, and human habits are in itself.

The fact is that there are at least three groups of councils here - some are really built on poverty, others, on the thriftiness characteristic of all nations (both British and Russian citizens sometimes want to make something out of waste themselves). Moreover, there is also the use of all kinds of garbage for small devices instead - these devices are in stores in all countries, but this thing was suddenly needed right at this moment - and that an American in America has to drive an hour to the store, that we have the same amount of time to the market trolleybus. Besides, daily possession of this thing is necessary for a professional, but for you - only once in your life.

This phenomenon is international. The witty Briton Jerome K. Jerome wrote about the little tricks of his time like this: “I remember a lot, including something that dates back to the distant past. Of course, I do not hope that you, kind reader, who is just entering the blooming time of life, at that age that careless youth calls middle age, will remember with me the time when a certain magazine called “The Amateur Master” was in greater demand. His goal was noble. He sought to preach a high idea of independence, to spread an excellent doctrine of self-help. One chapter showed the reader how to turn Australian meat cans into flower pots; in another chapter, how to turn an oil tub into a swivel piano stool; in the third - how to use old hat boxes to make blinds - the principle of the whole system was to make anything from things that were not intended for this and could not be more inappropriate.<…>Picture frames could be made from ginger beer corks. We hit the traffic jams, found the painting, and it was done. The amount of ginger beer that was required to be drunk before starting to make each frame, as well as the effect this drink had on the physical, mental and moral state of the manufacturer, were not of interest to the magazine. By my calculations, an average-sized painting would require sixteen dozen bottles. It remains to be seen whether a person will still have the slightest desire to make a frame for a picture after drinking sixteen dozen bottles, and whether he will stop liking the picture itself. But this, of course, is a secondary issue.”

Even the irony about home advice is international.

And, finally, there were tips for the home craftsman, which consisted of techniques for working with tools and some working techniques in general.. They are still relevant now, outside the quality of the industry, because they are connected specifically with working techniques.

But these tips are also an indicator of the development of civilization.

The share of disposable items around us has increased - on the one hand, we have stopped repairing some simple things (who, who refills pen refills?), on the other hand, household items that have died in our hands can serve as building material for literally everything.

Household chemicals have made great strides forward, from paints and adhesives to building mixtures. Nobody stores brushes until the next repair.

They suggest making a powder scoop out of a baby skittle because in the sixties a baby skittle was easier to find than a plastic bottle. And in our times there are a lot of tips on how to make funnels, feeders and a house for a hamster out of bottles. By the way, the bloodthirsty attitude towards children's toys - all these cut off heads of baby dolls on tow bars and the necks of gas tanks, jumping hares stuffed with nuts and bolts - is eternal.

Previously, plastic bags were in short supply, but now they don’t know how to get rid of them. What was reusable becomes disposable.

For example, repairing televisions - I was once taught how to repair radar units of an anti-aircraft missile system. A comrade told me that one cadet had all the legs bitten off on an electronic lamp, except for the power legs, and it glowed with a red light, but did not output anything to the circuit. It took a lot of luck to figure this out and fix the problem. But different times have come, and the very ideology of repair has changed - in fact, they don’t fix anything (especially in a combat situation) - they take out the block by the handle and replace it with another.

I’ll die like a man of the old world, with his everyday habits - it’s still hard for me to throw away packaging, all sorts of clean jars and boxes.

There are already ballpoint pens, but repairing the writing unit on the refill and refilling the refill with paste have become obsolete. The phrase “He who deals with drawings on tracing paper...” is particularly nostalgic.

Through "Little Tricks" the material culture of Atlantis is visible - radios and televisions with a lens. “Electronics-302” type tape recorders! My good friend remarked: “We finished tape recorders en masse, since not everyone could hold the tight rewind key with their finger. During the finishing process, many discovered the reason why the keys were not fixed at the factory - the grooves in the shaped plate must be very precise, otherwise the key gets stuck or spontaneously snaps off.” And the old newspapers! What has been lost is the culture of recycling old newspapers. And there were no more newspapers - huge banners of Pravda, because they once hung everywhere in the toilets - neatly cut for intellectuals, on a nail for ordinary people. They used to prime walls and peel potatoes in them. Newspapers crumpled well into boots saved us from the winter cold.

Here’s what’s interesting: here there are standard tips that have been decided by the industry during this time - wheels on a suitcase. The same advice included diagrams of a TV remote control on wires (not a radio remote control, but a wired switch that switched four programs). That is, the object still exists, but the industry has flooded the market with IR remote controls.

Here is another tip about paint brushes (extending their service life or replacing them is perhaps the most common topic of advice), and a wonderful battery on a motorcycle, which, if nothing is done, corrodes the shiny surfaces of the iron horse and your clothes.

In one of the collections, the advice began with the words: “If the lid of a porcelain teapot breaks, or the dish breaks, don’t be too upset,” writes R. Arkadyev (Moscow). I should stop this speech here.

But the main pathos of this still existing column is that a simple man with pliers conquers everything. He stops wars and repairs what was destroyed. He takes off his wife's tights and replaces them with the fan belt in the car engine and takes his wife to the airport - without tights, but on time.

Half a century ago he was no more stupid than us today. No one can destroy or humiliate him. And, no matter what happens, he will turn around, fix everything and come up with three new ways to roll cucumbers.

By the way, if you need glass jars for canning, you can pick them up from me.

The column “For the Home Craftsman: Little Tricks,” published in the magazine “Science and Life” since the 60s, had little to do with science, but was very close to the life of a Soviet person. The eternal shortage of everything forced people to remake old things and invent new ones. The column was so popular that in the USSR there was even a legend about a Japanese businessman who became a millionaire thanks to the advice that he insidiously borrowed from a Soviet magazine...

The Soviet magazine Science and Life was very popular. For example, the circulation of the issue for March 1977 was 3 million copies with a volume of 160 pages. Now not a single Russian media outlet can even dream of such a circulation. And, in fact, even today many of the articles in this old magazine are quite interesting.

The name of the magazine reflected its structure. Part of the issue was always devoted to certain problems of science and technology, and part to the notorious life. And, therefore, this very section “For the home handyman. Tips" was published in every issue. And although it occupied only one page, it was one of the most popular sections of this magazine. What was so interesting about her?

The genre that can be called “Advice from the Master” is generally quite popular. Today, with the advent of the Internet, you can easily find a lot of materials (both in text and video format), in which masters of their craft share their experiences and give useful advice. How to change a door lock, how to change a socket, how to lay tiles or glue wallpaper correctly.

People have a lot of needs and a lot of advice. But they have one definite property - usually these are tips that are actually given by masters of their craft. That is, let’s say a professional electrician tells you how to hang a chandelier correctly. A professional builder tells how to build a house correctly. Well, etc.

Category “For the home handyman. Tips” of the journal “Science and Life” also partially contained such advice from professionals. Adjusted for Soviet times, of course (i.e. there was no advice like: “how to choose the best one from the many faucets in the store”), but there were tips, like in the scan above - how to “bring to mind” the glass guides in a cupboard or how to determine the polarity of a DC source. There were also more professional tips, for example, how to make the job of drilling a hole in a concrete load-bearing wall easier.

One of the slogans of the Soviet people is that there is no need to throw away something that has already served its useful life, because it may be useful for something else. Below is a selection of “tips and tricks” (often aimed at women) taken from Science and Life magazine. All clippings are taken from magazines for the period 1975 – 1980.

The name of the magazine reflected its structure. Part of the issue was always devoted to one or another problem of science and technology, and part to the notorious life. And, therefore, this very section “For the home handyman. Tips" was published in every issue. And although it occupied only one page, it was one of the most popular sections of this magazine. What was so interesting about her?

Category “For the home handyman. Tips” of the journal “Science and Life” also partially contained such advice from professionals. Adjusted for Soviet times, of course (i.e. there was no advice like: “how to choose the best one from the many faucets in the store”), but there were tips, like in the scan above - how to “bring to mind” guides for glass in a cupboard or how to determine the polarity of a DC source. There were also more professional tips, for example, how to make the job of drilling a hole in a concrete load-bearing wall easier.

The modern generation looks with bewilderment and even genuine horror in its eyes at many things that were considered the norm for a person born in the USSR.

But really, how can we explain to a child today that in the era of total shortages, our grandmother knew at least 10 ways to use old nylon tights, and our grandfather could easily convert a milking machine into an elegant floor lamp?

So, every such trick, or as they say today – “life hack”, was worth its weight in gold. And even more - the favorite magazine of the Soviet people, “Science and Life,” set aside a special section for him, for which he collected the most useful advice from readers, and published the best!

You won’t believe it, but the popularity of the “Homemaker: Little Tricks” section was so incredible that there was even a legend in the country about a businessman from Japan who became a millionaire only because he used advice from the magazine in life.

In a word, we have prepared you to get to know them as best we could!

1. Today you can watch TV programs from any mobile gadget or move your home “plasma” to where it is more convenient for you, but in the era of stagnation, comfortable watching TV turned into a small problem, which the advice from the magazine “Science and Life” proposed to solve here in this manner!

2. During icy conditions, do you usually sit at home or, at the risk of falling and breaking an arm or leg, do you slowly walk to work? Weaklings!

3. Nowadays, anyone can buy a lightweight stroller or use an elevator, but try making an “all-terrain stroller”!

4. What kind of habit is this - buying new slippers when the old ones have become unusable? Here's a life hack for you, and don't thank me!

5. So, if you are now packing your suitcases for a vacation in hot countries, then do not forget to put a piece of plastic film and KLT adhesive tape there. And don’t ask why, just read!

6. Well, how much can you pollute the planet with these plastic bags when there is simply a brilliant solution!

8. Promise that you won’t spill anything from today!

10. While you are opening the calendar on your smartphone, the Soviet man has already made a note on the desired date!

11. Well, what if one day you come across a jar of shoe polish, and you don’t even know how to open it, stubbornly?

12. And in general, nylon in the USSR was, after all, a strategic material!

13. And you lazy people keep using the microwave!

14. Well, let's set a new trend?

15. And if your psyche has steadfastly endured all the previous points, then this will be the “last straw” for it...

Well, don’t rush to throw away these little tricks from old issues of Science and Life magazine. They will definitely come in handy for you, at least to remember how exciting and fun this time was!

Useful tips
Don't rush to throw away the rusty metal mattress from your old bed. Throw it away slowly, with pleasure.
Do not leave home on a long journey in new, unworn shoes. First, walk around the apartment in it for a while - first with crutches, then with a cane and, finally, along the wall.
Oil paint stains won't be as noticeable on your clothes if you don't wear them again.
Immediately treat freshly planted fruit spots with a 3% solution of heteroauxin in perchloroethane. Then, after a year or two, they will retain their original taste, color, aroma and vitamins.
If after sanding the parquet flooring in your apartment becomes slippery, sprinkle it with coarse salt or river sand. In the most dangerous places, cover with rough planks or use a crowbar.
To prevent the flowers in the kitchen from wilting when leaving on a business trip or vacation, open all the taps in the bathroom and kitchen, having previously plugged the sinks. Then your green friends will be waiting for you when you return - from all the lower floors.
If your closet filled with outerwear feels crowded, try hiding somewhere else!
To prepare kulebyaka from yeast dough, take:
100 g flour
5 g yeast
1 glass of milk
2 egg yolks
teaspoon salt
tablespoon sugar
Eat it all, carefully alternating. In an hour the kulebyaka will be ready.
If your glasses slide off the bridge of your nose when laughing, walking or making sudden movements, sit quietly with your glasses on at home and don’t let anyone in.
Migratory birds have flown away, the autumn cold has set in, but they still haven’t started heating? Take a hammer in your hands and start hitting it hard on the cold battery. In an hour, the whole house will join you, in two, migratory birds will return, and in a week you will understand that until it gets warmer outside, they won’t start drowning.
One thin book can serve as an excellent stand for a hot kettle, if you haven’t read another in your entire life.
Connect a doorbell to the telephone. Then, by looking through the door peephole, you can find out who is calling you on the phone.
An ordinary handkerchief will serve you for many years without washing, remaining practically clean if it is the size of a ship's sail
Did you know that aquarium fish will take root well in a drain tank, and you can hide from the rain by folding your ears.
Did you know that vermicelli can be inserted into the holes of pasta, and moths never eat a live sheep because it does not smell like mothballs?
Sew a chicken head to the pillow. Ready? Now try to explain why you did it.
If you want life to pass by, read useful tips.