After reading about these tricks you'll have a new understanding of society!
Incognito
“Browse incognito to get past a paywall news website. Only works where you are allowed ‘x’ articles per week. Incognito is the new stealing your neighbors paper off his driveway and then throwing it in the trash.” Source
I’m Going To Try This
“If you want to cancel your hotel room last minute, but there’s a cancellation fee, call and change your reservation to a few weeks later. Then call later and cancel it.” Source
Shoplifting
“Many stores have rules that prohibit employees from confronting someone they think to be a shoplifter. I’ve never shoplifted but I had friends who took advantage of this.
Don’t do this by the way, my friends eventually got arrested.” Source
Speed Limits
“Speed limits – many of them are arbitrarily set without an engineered speed study, and are un-enforceable as a result. This is very state specific. If you get a ticket, print out your state’s laws on setting speed limits. Many of them have a maximum speed for different types of roads, and then require an engineered speed study for lower posted limits. If the posted limit was set without an engineered speed study, it may be unenforceable and you can argue this in court. Essentially, the agency posting the sign may have broken the law, and you broke their law, but only because they broke the higher law first. Then go to your local road agency governing that stretch of road (city, county, state transportation dept, etc) and file a public records request for the engineered speed study on that road. They’ll have to respond in writing if they don’t have one.
Chances are they won’t have one. Take the law and their admission they don’t have one with you to court and show the judge that the speed limit is un-enforceable and that you were driving a reasonable and prudent speed, regardless of what was arbitrarily posted. Source – I’m the engineer for the road dept that would do said speed studies, and we don’t do them because then we’d have to raise the speed limits and the politicians don’t want us to.” Source
The Dulling Of Blades
“Most of the dulling that occurs with cartridge razor blades is NOT a result of shaving, but rather water being left to evaporate on the blades. I’ve been using the same cartridge for the past 8 months by running the blades upwards (I.E. – opposite the direction you would when shaving) on a towel 15 times after rinsing it off, then blowing on it for a few seconds. 8 months later this blade still barely pulls at all. I have a small mason jar half filled with rubbing alcohol that I swish the blade in after I shave. That drives the water off the blades and when I put the shaver down, the alcohol then evaporates. Didn’t reach your record, but I had a blade cartridge last 5 months.” Source
Interesting
“I once lost the ticket I had received when parking my car at the airport. Upon leaving, I was told that without the ticket, they’d have to charge me for a full day. Which was fine, since I’d been parked there for a week. This was in Denver, and it was several years ago. I discovered it by accident, haven’t attempted to do it on purpose since, and have no idea if it would still work now.” Source
Allergy Meds AND Sleep-Aids
“These two drugs are the exact same thing. But the allergy medicine on the left costs 1/2 as much and has twice as many doses as the sleep aid on the right. And yes they are both 25mg.” Source
HR
“The HR department at work is there to protect THE COMPANY, not you. Be very wary of information disclosed to them.” Source
FCC Complaints
“You can file a complaint with the FCC if a telecom company jerks you around, and you’ll get the results you should have to begin with: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us I used this when AT&T charged me local taxes & fees for a state I hadn’t set foot in for 14 months. I painstakingly crafted a google doc of every single penny and called them and asked for a refund. They told me that they ‘can’t refund taxes’ and that there was no one I could escalate to, and offered me a ‘one time refund of $25’. I told filed a complaint with the FCC and a few days later got a voicemail from a ‘executive customer support’ asking for a call back. I didn’t even bother and got another phone call where they told me ‘they were calling about my letter to the FCC’ and refunded me every goddamn penny and fixed my account. AT&T are lying f_*king scum, but they’re still the FCC’s b_tch.” Source
The Magic Eraser
“Mr. Clean ‘magic erasers’ are just melamine sponges. You can buy them like ten for a dollar on ebay.” Source
Debt Collectors
“(In the U.S.): if you’re ever pursued for a debt, especially if you are taken to court over it, demand that they produce documentation verifying that you owe the debt and the amount. Quite often, they won’t be able to and the case will be dismissed. Most debt collectors aren’t the party you originally owed the money to but rather companies that purchase debts in bulk for pennies on the dollar. Very often, all they have on you is your name on a spreadsheet and they’re banking on the fact that you won’t contest it.
Yes, I got this from a recent episode of This American Life, although I’ve heard this before and I’m generally aware of the requirement to prove up a debt in order to obtain a court judgment. I’m not giving legal advice here though; I’m simply repeating the gist of the episode. The specific example they used took place in a courtroom when the debtor had actually been sued. I don’t know what effect this would have on a collection agency’s calls – they’re typically not the owner of the debt but a third party service, I believe, but I think if you request documentation you might be able to make some headway there as well. I don’t know if the type of debt matters – a couple of people asked about student debt, but I’d imagine that sort of thing remains well-documented when it changes hands. Point is, I’m not suggesting people use this as a loophole to weasel out of legitimate debts, but if someone is trying to hold you legally liable for something, you should request evidence.” Source
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“You don’t actually have to pay the asking price for entry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. They make it seem like it’s the price of admission but it’s really just a suggested donation. They make more money than they need from wealthy donors. When you go to pay ‘admission’ just give them a dollar.” Source
Buying A Car
“Buying a car – always, always always do negotiating via email or phone and bounce offers back and forth against competing dealers. Will always get you the best possible deal. It will also probably make multiple salespeople miserable, haha. My manager gave me so much sh_t if I had a customer doing this (as it was my fault for not being able to get them through the door). To be honest, he rarely would play ball. No quotes over the phone or email. When he did, the customer usually got a great deal. Just keep trying different dealerships until one of them cracks! Oh, and be nice to your salesperson is you do because they’re probably having to go to bat for you like whoa.
Another car buying tip, if you have USAA, use their car buying service!! Super hassle free and they consistently got the lower prices than anyone else no matter how much negotiating went on.” Source