This document outlines 11 practical, resourceful hacks developed in prison settings that can be adapted for everyday use:
-
Dental Floss Hacksaw: Braided dental floss can be used for sewing, creating dummy props, or cutting through materials. Adding toothpaste enhances its abrasive properties for cutting, though it requires significant effort.
-
Instant Screwdriver: Hollow plastic pen tubes heated with a lighter can be shaped into temporary screwdrivers by pressing them into screw heads and allowing them to cool.
-
Forever Stamp: Stamps can be uncanceled by placing them face-down on antiperspirant and waiting 24 hours, potentially restoring their monetary value in prison economies.
-
Eco-Friendly Roach Trap: Plastic jar lids filled with water placed under table legs prevent insects from accessing food by creating barriers they cannot cross.
-
Pencil Cigarette Lighter: Connecting battery poles with a thin wire generates heat to light cigarettes. Alternatively, flint from lighters can be ground into powder and used to create sparks.
-
Workplace Insights: Includes advice on social dynamics, information trading, and detecting lies through behavioral cues.
-
Magazine Multi-Use: Glossy magazines can be used as protective gear, cash concealment, or repurposed into fishing rods by rolling pages into tubes.
-
Walkman Tattoo Gun: Battery-powered devices made from computer fans, cassette players, and Walkman motors can be used to create tattooing tools, though they require careful assembly.
-
Chess-Piece Ink: Burning plastic/rubber items like chess pieces and collecting carbon ash mixed with shampoo and urine creates homemade tattoo ink.
-
Toothpaste Shoe Polish: Using toothpaste and a toothbrush can whiten shoes, leveraging the same whitening agents used for teeth.
-
Head Luggage: Dreadlocks or hair structures can be used to conceal items, though this method requires specific grooming practices.