In my family, I am always tasked with corn-husking duties. And I can't say that I mind it. There's something so satisfying about peeling back the husks. But the silks are another story. They get all over the floor and never seem to fully get off the corn cob, no matter how many silks I pull off.

Enter the toothbrush. I stole this trick from the Real Simple vault: Before cooking the corn, run an unused toothbrush in between kernels to dig out stray silk threads. It really works.

What's your clever new use for an old thing? Share them with us and it might appear in a future issue of the magazine.

photo: James Baigrie