Pennies are everywhere, and they seem like useless, unwanted change that provide no purpose to your life other than making your wallet heavier than it should be.
Lucky for you, people have come up with interesting ways to use these coins to make their life easier.
Here are 10 brilliant uses for pennies that'll make you want to collect all that chump change.
1. Make a functional screwdriver
Sometimes you need a screwdriver but you have no idea where you last left it, or you don't feel like going to the basement or garage to look for it. This is where a penny comes in handy. Press the penny's edge into the grooves to tighten or loosen the job you need to get done.
2. Check your tires
This hack will come in handy on long road trips where there are no good places to stop and check your tire treads. To see if your tires are worn down or not, put a penny between the grooves of your car tire with Lincoln's head upside-down. If you can see all of his head above the tread, you need to replace your tire, but if most of his forehead disappears, you're in the clear.
3. Add it to your stale wine
Saving your expensive bottle of wine that's starting to smell like rotten eggs will only cost you a penny. Drop a clean copper penny into your glass, stir for a few seconds, then remove it. The copper reacts with the sulfur compounds to remove the smell. Make sure the penny you use is copper though. To figure this out, look at the date on the penny, if it's dated 1909 to 1982, that means the coin will be 95% copper.
4. Add weight to your curtains
If your curtains don't hang straight because they are lightweight, make an opening in the hem, place your pennies, and sew the hem shut. The pennies will give your curtains just enough weight to hold them down. If you don't want to do all that sewing, glue pennies on a paper clip and fasten them behind the fabric.
5. Stabilize your furniture
Eliminate that wobble using a couple of pennies! Glue the problematic table or chair leg with a stack of pennies so you can have some peace of mind.
6. Get rid of garden bugs
Burying copper pennies in your soil will keep the slugs away. According to science, copper produces an unpleasant smell when it reacts with the slime produced by snails and slugs, so that's what keeps them away.
7. Open a soda can
Pry open the top of your soda can by sliding a coin underneath the tab. No more chipped nails!
8. Make your own ice pack
If you've left change in your car during the winter, you know that those pennies can get as cold as ice. Fill pennies in a sock, tie the end, and put it in the freezer to make your own ice pack.
9. Keep flowers fresh for longer
You're probably spending somewhere between $10 to $20 on a supermarket bouquet, and they tend to wither away in only a week. Drop a clean copper penny and a sugar cube in a vase filled with water to stop the growth of bacteria and keep your roses beautiful longer.
10. Collect them!
Some pennies are worth a fortune, and you might have these mini lottery tickets in your coin jar, wallet, underneath your cushions, or in your car. Check out the article "These Pennies Are Worth A Fortune And You Might Have Them In Your Wallet" to see if you own expensive chump change.
