You live and learn. This expression, it seems, can be justifiably used about virtually all aspects of life. You can live any number of years or decades and never realise, for instance, that you’ve been opening packets of cream incorrectly.

Here are nine food products which you can open more easily and efficiently than we realised. Well, know we know!

Packets of sugar

The design for these ubiquitous packets of sugar was developed by Benjamin Eisenstadt. The idea behind them is very simple: you’re meant to break the packet in half rather than tear off the top. If you do it this way, all the sugar will end up in your cup, and you’ll have only the wrapper left in your hand.

Pringles potato chips

Eating Pringles becomes much easier when you place a folded piece of A4 paper inside the tube.

Ordinary potato chips

Cut out the central part of the packet using scissors or any other sharp object.

Boiled potatoes

Make an incision all the way around the middle of the potatoes. Boil them, then bathe them in cold water. You should now be able to peel of the skin with your hands with little effort.

Tic tacs

All you have to do here is turn the box on its side, and the individual tic tacs should fall out onto the special tab in the lid (no, we had no idea about this either!)

Individual portions of cream

Pull the part of the wrapper located above the tab (in the right-hand photo, at the bottom of the image) crosswise across the top of the container to create a triangular hole. Now you should be able to pour the coffee into your cup without any spills.

McDonald’s Coffee

You don’t have to force open the coffee lid and risk an explosion or a spill. McDonald’s as well as other companies now use lids with special catch which can be fixed open, or alternatively torn off to make a small hole.

Toblerone

Push the triangle towards the rest of the bar. You can do it with only one finger or thumb.

Juice cartons

The opening on a juice carton is usually located closer to one side than the other. If you pour the juice with that side closer to the glass, air can’t get into the carton, and it will splash out unsteadily. The correct way to do it is, in fact, to hold the carton with the opening at the top. Then the juice will flow out smoothly.

Coconuts

Look for three black spots on the coconut located close together. Puncture the skin at one of these spots using a screwdriver or a sharp knife, then insert a straw and…drink! If you want to cut open the coconut, trace a circle along the surface at a level slightly closer to the black spots than to the middle. Tap against this line all the way around, and it should begin to crack open.

Canned food

Holding onto the can tightly, cut into the top using the can opener whilst moving it in a direction towards yourself, turning it as you go. You should end up with a neat cut without any sharp edges.