Most of us have plastic containers in our homes that we reuse on a regular basis. Of course, with constant use comes the issue of these containers getting stained as it is difficult to clean them thoroughly. This is where a grandma’s hack for getting discolorations out of plastic containers comes in handy. TikTok user @ariganja has uploaded a clip that shows a simple cleaning tip she learned from her friend’s grandma and the internet has hailed it as the “best hack ever.”

Representational Image Source : Pexels I Photo by  Nataliya Vaitkevich
Representational Image Source: Pexels I Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

Captioned “best hack I was ever taught,” the video takes us through the full process of the simple hack and also focuses on the usefulness of the method. It starts with @ariganja telling her audience that she learned a useful hack from her friend’s grandmother. 

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Kampus Production
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Kampus Production

As the video progresses, the woman first displays her stained plastic container, which she has thoroughly cleaned but still has orange stains on it. After that, she displays a paper towel and then tears it into pieces, and then fills the container halfway with hot water. After that, the woman adds a few drops of liquid dish soap and then seals the container.


via GIPHY


Right after sealing the container, the woman instructs her viewers to shake the container and she demonstrates the process. After a few minutes, the woman opens the container, showing that the stains are gone. The success of this simple yet effective hack helps the plastic container to remain sparkling clean.


via GIPHY


Since the release of the clip on TikTok, users have appreciated the hack and have talked about the effectiveness of the method, with many testifying about its success. User Pervy Kittkat (@pervykittkat) commented, “Can confirm this works. I don’t even use that much water. It’s so awesome!” Another user, Ali (@mahdlo_nosila), commented, “Literally just finished scrubbing a container with red pasta sauce stains and gave up … algorithm is algorithming.”


via GIPHY


Some even suggested new hacks for cleaning plastic containers. “Rub or spray a tiny amount of oil in the container before adding contents. Clean-up is a breeze and no stains!” wrote @jaxjamn and @jacquelynroz added: ”If you put a little salt in the hot water it will do the same thing.” @georgebrett3 shared: “Been doing this since my Mom sold Tupperware. That’s how they showed her how to clean their product. I’m 50 now. Clean bowls everywhere.” The next time you face trouble removing a stain, be sure to try this grandma’s hack. 




via GIPHY


You can follow @ariganja on TikTok for more insightful content and life hacks.

This article originally appeared 6 months ago.

  • Dog missing for 11 years ‘acts like he’s a puppy again’ after emotional reunion with owner
    A woman pets a pit bull. Photo credit: Canva
    ,

    Dog missing for 11 years ‘acts like he’s a puppy again’ after emotional reunion with owner

    She kept his microchip information up to date for over a decade after he went missing from her backyard.

    When Jourdyn Koziak got a phone call saying her lost dog had been found, she thought it was a sick joke. After all, her pit bull, Forty-Cal, had gone missing 11 years earlier, back when she lived in Philadelphia. Since then, she had gotten married, had another child, and moved to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Yet when she took a chance and drove to the Philly shelter, there he was.

    “I am overwhelmed. I am shocked. I am in disbelief,” Koziak told Fox 29 News. “I had tunnel vision of him walking down that hallway.”

    How the lost pit bull was found

    Back in 2015, Forty-Cal and another of Koziak’s dogs went missing from their backyard, presumably stolen. While the other dog was found, Forty-Cal never returned home. Despite this, Koziak never stopped putting up missing signs and kept Forty-Cal’s microchip information up to date.

    “I never gave up hope because, obviously, I’m relentless,” Koziak told CBC Radio.

    Apparently, Forty-Cal walked up to a little girl in Philadelphia and befriended her. The girl and her parents took him home, fed him hot dogs, and called Animal Control. The shelter then used the information from Forty-Cal’s microchip to contact Koziak and reunite them after more than a decade.

    The shelter warned Koziak and her family that Forty-Cal might be overwhelmed and that it could take time for him to recognize them. However, it took only moments for Forty-Cal to realize he was back home.

    “We put our hands out, he sniffed us, and then proceeded to pull us towards the door, like, ‘Let’s go,’” said Koziak.

    While what happened to Forty-Cal over the past eleven years remains a mystery, Koziak is just grateful that he appears to have been cared for. When Forty-Cal was found, he was clean and well-fed. He was also friendly enough to approach the young girl who found him.

    “He acts like he’s a puppy again,” she said. “He wants to go for a walk. He’s wagging his tail…I had other animals in the house, as well, that were family pets, but Forty was my dog. I paid for him with my own money at 16 years old.”

    Now that he’s back home, both Forty-Cal and Koziak are making up for lost time.

    “I’m over the moon,” she said. “It’s like Christmas morning every day.”

    Tips to prevent lost dogs

    This reunion wouldn’t have been possible if Koziak hadn’t had Forty-Cal microchipped and kept the information up to date. It’s important to have your dog microchipped and registered for this reason, among others.

    There are other ways to help prevent a dog from becoming lost, as well as simple ways to find them should the worst happen. When outdoors, keep your dog leashed and within your line of sight at all times. Make sure your pup is also well trained and responsive to your commands.

    @thehannahestelle

    ❤️‍🩹 with how common this apparently is, I wanted to share all the resources we used to find our girl. Relieved doesn’t even begin to cut it. Safe to say miss Fifi is never leaving our side again. #lostdog #dallaspets #lostpets #24petconnect #petcolovelost #dogsofdallas #dogsofinstagram #lostdogfound #dallaspetsalive

    ♬ original sound – hannahestelle

    Along with microchipping your dog and keeping their tags up to date, there are additional collar options to consider. A bright, vibrant collar can help your dog stand out in the dark and among trees and bushes. A Martingale collar is also recommended, as it stays secure on a dog’s neck without choking them. Lastly, there are collars with built-in GPS systems, as well as devices like the Apple AirTag, which you can attach to a collar to track and pinpoint your dog’s location.

    This story is a reminder that sometimes a reunion between a lost pet and its owner takes determination, community, and patience.

  • 10 boys and 10 girls were left alone in separate houses. The results were shockingly different.
    A girl plays with block while two young boys play a gamePhoto credit: Canva
    , , ,

    10 boys and 10 girls were left alone in separate houses. The results were shockingly different.

    Videos showed the children living normally for the first two days, but then the experiment took a chaotic turn.

    It sounds like the plot of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, but in the mid-2000s, it was a very real, and very controversial, reality television experiment. Footage from the UK Channel 4 documentary “Boys and Girls Alone” is captivating audiences all over again, offering a fascinating—and chaotic—look at what happens when you remove parents from the equation.

    The premise was simple but high-stakes: 20 children, aged 11 and 12, were split into two groups by gender. Ten boys and ten girls were placed in separate houses and told to live without adult supervision for five days.

    While there were safety nets in place—a camera crew was present (though instructed not to intervene unless safety was at risk), and children could ring a bell to speak to a nurse or psychiatrist—the day-to-day living was entirely up to them. The houses were fully stocked with food, cleaning supplies, toys, and paints.

    As the resurfaced footage shows, the results between the two houses could not have been more different.

    In the boys’ house, the unraveling was almost immediate. The newfound freedom triggered a rapid descent into high-energy chaos. They engaged in water pistol fights, threw cushions, and in one memorable instance, a boy named Michael covered the carpet in sticky popcorn kernels.

    The destruction escalated to the walls, which the boys covered in writing, drawing, and paint. But the euphoria of freedom eventually crashed into the reality of consequences.

    “We never expected to be like this, but I’m really upset that we trashed it so badly. We were trying to explore everything at once and got too carried away in ourselves,” one boy admitted in the footage.

    Their attempts to clean up were frantic and largely ineffective, involving scraping paint and messily mopping floors. Nutrition also took a hit; despite having completed a cooking course, the boys survived mostly on cereal, sugar, and the occasional frozen pizza. By the end of the week, the house was trashed, the garden was littered with garbage, and the group had fractured into opposing factions.

    The girls’ house, however, looked like a different planet.

    In stark contrast to the mayhem next door, the girls immediately established a functioning society. They organized a cooking roster, with a girl named Sherry preparing their first meal. They baked cakes, put on a fashion show, and drew up a scrupulous chores list to ensure the house stayed livable.

    While their stay wasn’t devoid of interpersonal drama, the experiment highlighted a fascinating divergence in socialization. Left to their own devices, the girls prioritized community and maintenance, while the boys tested the absolute limits of their environment until it broke.

    This article originally appeared last year.

  • A ‘Severance’ fan with Stage 4 cancer made a ‘bucket list’ request. Ben Stiller’s reply is perfect.
    Ban Stiller with a quote card overlayedPhoto credit: Frank Sun via Wikimedia Commons
    , , ,

    A ‘Severance’ fan with Stage 4 cancer made a ‘bucket list’ request. Ben Stiller’s reply is perfect.

    After a fan reached out with a “bucket list” wish to meet the cast, Stiller’s immediate response proved the internet can still be a force for good.

    Due to their serialized format, terrific TV shows can create a real sense of community, sparking our imaginations in ways other mediums simply cannot. The very best, like Apple TV+’s mind-bending dystopian mystery series Severance, can also offer a comforting form of escapism.

    Ben Stiller, the show’s primary director and executive producer, was reminded of that fact over X, when a hardcore fan reached out with a seemingly long-shot request:

    “Hi @BenStiller! Severance is the best show my husband and I have ever seen,” wrote Emily Powell-Heaton. “I have stage 4 cancer. A great bucket list item to check off would be to meet you and any of the cast and crew from the show. We can fly anywhere. We live near Toronto, Canada. Would this be possible? Thanks for your help!”

    Stiller, who has 5.3 million followers on the platform as of this writing, responded on the same day, asking for a DM. While we don’t know the specifics of their conversation, it appears they made plans to meet up in some fashion—potentially even with other people involved in the acclaimed show.

    “Thank you so much @BenStiller and team for making my wish come true!” they wrote. “My husband and I are over the moon about meeting you and the many other incredible people who work together to create #Severance! I am so happy.” The filmmaker replied, “Look forward to meeting you xx.”

    While social media can be a dark, depressing, divisive place, this connection highlights how it can be harnessed for good. Even the replies to their exchange were disarmingly positive, with strangers praising Stiller’s kind gesture and sending well wishes to Powell-Heaton.


    – “What a good guy. Prayers up for you, Emily!”

    – “YES!!! Fantastic… when the internet works well it really does. Xx”

    – “He is a legend! He’s made such an important dream come true!”

    – “You’re the man @BenStiller”

    – “Good on you, Ben. Emily, I hope you enjoy all things good and wish you wellness. XO”

    After the interaction with Stiller went viral, Powell-Heaton reposted an article about the news, writing, “He is a legend! He’s made such an important dream come true!”

    Powell-Heaton, who, according to their X profile, is 34 and has metastatic breast cancer, shared a health update shortly after the interaction with Stiller: “The spinal surgery is a go. No date set up yet but it’s likely to be in April. The spinal surgeon has to consult with some ENT specialists and I have to get a [CT] scan done on my face and neck area. This will determine if the surgery will be done from the back of the spinal cord or the front. A metal cage will be placed around the crumbling part of my spine to strengthen it.”

    Metastatic breast cancer, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a cancer “that’s spread from your breast to other areas of your body.” The article states that there is no cure, “but thanks to newer treatments, more people with metastatic breast cancer are living longer than ever before.”


    In a study published in February 2025 in Cancer Causes & Control, researchers from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health analyzed data from all 50 U.S. states, concluding that breast cancer cases are increasing for women under 40. “From 2001 to 2020, breast cancer incidence in women under 40 increased by more than 0.50 percent per year in 21 states, while remaining stable or decreasing in the other states,” according to a news release about the study. “Incidence was 32 percent higher in the five states with the highest rates compared to the five states with the lowest rates.”

    Rebecca Kehm, PhD, the study’s co-author and an assistant professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, wrote that these increases are “alarming” and cannot be solely explained by genetic factors or changes in screening practices.

    This article originally appeared earlier this year.

Explore More News Stories

Nation

10 boys and 10 girls were left alone in separate houses. The results were shockingly different.

Nation

A ‘Severance’ fan with Stage 4 cancer made a ‘bucket list’ request. Ben Stiller’s reply is perfect.

World

Aaron Paul recalls heartbreaking exchange with his daughter that made him rethink smartphone use

Local

Police pulled over an ’80s pop icon for speeding and it turned into a hilarious photo shoot