12. Turn Cocaine into Crack

mix with vinegar and blow stuff up!

Book odors?

13) Fend off an intruder
14) Cure what ails ya

vinegar and baking soda... hmm what about if we try lye and lemon concentrate... that might boil of your face

Why does the baking soda story keep bubbling to the top of my front page?

In college, whenever December and May rolled around, stores would be out of baking soda because students bought large quantities to clean out their fridges and desperately try to get rid of the 'mystery crisper' smell they could no longer keep locked in by shutting the door.

@RandoX: It was entirely taken down for a while earlier. When I tried to go to it again, it sent me to the front page.

15. Clean silver using paste made from baking soda and water.

Can't you brush your teeth with baking soda?

I like the roach tidbit. Living in an apartment, surrounded by filthy people, it's very difficult to keep them out. I'm going to try this.

if you have a slow drain in your house, put a bit of baking soda down it and pour some vinegar in afterwards. It's a cheap and environmentally friendly drain cleaner. It won't work for really nasty clogs, but it helps if the drain is just a bit slow.

@freshyill: Right? Is that a problem some people have?

@MissPeacock: Yes you can brush with it, I grew up mighty poor and we used this all the time. I am proud to say that I have never had a cavity in my life.

@MissPeacock: Yeah, it works, just tastes gawdawful... We went hiking once and totally forgot to bring toothpaste, we used baking soda (we had brought it for our little cooler).

16) Baking
17) Throwing into the air to create a cloud for a ninja escape.

Oh, and it kills more than just roaches. All sorts of bugs die from baking soda. It's really quite awesome stuff.

They make baking soda toothpaste now that is minty fresh(ish) and makes me gag when I use it.

Is "book odor" a euphemism for "feminine odor"?

@m4ximusprim3: Good call on 17. Never know when you need to make those quick escapes!

Oh, Baking Soda. Is there anything you can't do?

I remember hearing once that musty book odors are caused by a mold that is slightly hallucinogenic, which is I guess is why some people enjoy reading so much.

I also suspect baking soda wouldn't kill it.

Here is a link to a story from the Chicago Tribune:
[palimpsest.stanford.edu]

I use it antiperspirant/deodorant--I put a little lotion under my arms first (to hold the baking soda), and then brush it on. Much safer/healthier than all the aluminum-packed antiperspirant, and it does a lot better job than all the eco-natural etc versions on the market.

lemon juice and baking soda with a scrub brush!

I got the scary mystery gray bath tub grunge that was in the tub texture when we moved in with it. We tried everything, comet, various noxious scrubbing type cleaners and nothing removed it.

Dumped baking soda on it, poured enough lemon juice to make a foamy paste and scrubbed with a grout brush.

If you have a wooden cutting board that needs to be cleaned, wet it down and sprinkle on a nice layer of baking soda, then let it sit a few hours, then rinse off. It gets rid of odors and nastiness.

For cleaning, vinegar and baking soda (separately!) are outstanding, often outperforming the nasty stuff you'd use, instead.

Oh, and yeah, baking. Biscuits, one of the greatest foods ever, needs baking soda.

I've used it for years as an exfoliant. After washing with regular cleanser/soap. Take a scant handful and add a bit of warm water to make a paste. I use it on my face, neck, and chest (elbows too cause I have dark patches)

It's much gentler than the store bought types and is so much cheaper.

BUNNYMEN : Oh, Baking Soda. Is there anything you can't do?

"Give me enough duct tape, WD-40, and baking soda and a fulcrum on which to place them, and I shall move the world."

@freshyill: Was thinking the same thing. I personally LOVE the smell of old books. Especially a warehouse-sized room of them. :)

Heartburn or acid indigestion. Tablespoon or so in a cup of water, and instant, cheap relief!

@Ssscorpion: Give me enough baking soda, vinegar, and a giant plastic bottle with a neck just slightly smaller than the earth, and i'll REALLY move the fucker.

Did McGuyver ever use baking soda?

@UpsetPanda: No, because it would have made his job look too easy.

Protip: the baking soda will help you get rid of blood stains if you stab someone and the blood gets all over. Guess that tip wouldve helped OJ out?

@balthisar:
I second this recommendation. Nothing makes a better, faster BURP and then tummy relief than baking soda in water.

Somewhat more obscurely on the medical front, the same solution can help relieve bladder pain for people (usually women) suffering from interstitial cystitis and bladder infections. I forget why. Maybe it neutralizes acidic urine that irritates the lining?

Hey, I like musty book smell. Well, to an extent.

The nurse at our pediatrician recommended adding it to warm bath water to soothe diaper rash/other rashes - it's much cheaper than Aveno - and much easier to clean off the tub/tub toys/baby.

and for the mold comment for books - try putting them in the freezer overnight first. that will probably work better at killing the mold/removing dampness than dousing it with baking soda.

You mentioned book odor and moisture absorber, but baking soda is also known for odor absorbing in general. people play it in refrigerators and freezers to absorb odor. ARM & HAMMER even sells baking soda in specially designed boxes for refrigerators: [www.armhammer.com]

My foot stinks! I guess I can use it there too eh?

Kind of off topic but I learned that soda water mixed with some bitters and chugged is a cure for the hiccups. I couldn't believe how well it worked as I'd tried every other remedy I could come up with. Also works on a sour stomach/heartburn. It does something to the digestive system.

Baking soda and lemon juice also works to get tea and coffee stains out of your mugs.

@D3Anon: Coke works wonders for blood too...

@privatejoker75: We're totally on like 18) or 19) by now. get with it.

Which leads us to:

20) Making Chuck Norris look like a weak sissy. Man, the soda does it all.

21) Cleaning the disgusting stains out of your coffee cup. Baking soda + a little water, rub around with your finger. Go ahead, get up from your computer and go try it. I'll wait.

It also makes a great contact lens cleaner. Mix a little in your palm with your contact solution and gently rub your contact lens back and forth in your palm. But rinse it VERY well before disinfecting the lens- there's no pain quite like the pain of baking soda in the eyes!

(This tip was given to me by my eye doctor when I first started wearing contacts in 1985 and was having a lot of trouble getting them to come clean.)

@M4XIMUSPRIM3

I LOL'd

@JMH: That will scratch silver if you don't get it perfectly dissolved. An alternative that works surprisingly well is a cornstarch paste.

    I suspect it's not possible to kill off ALL of the cockroaches in a house in the Deep South, but if I did, whatever would my cats play with?

@ARPRINCE: For those foot-stink, fungus foot-problems, the solution is to scratch it like-crazy-raw, then pour rubbing alcohol on it. Feel the burn! Keeps the rotting-corpse smell down, too...

#20. World Peace!

1) Baking soda
2) ???
3) Profit!

@TWinter: Baking soda and vinegar should never be combined in closed spaces, unless of course, you're trying to destroy your pipes.

Vinegar and baking soda are each good cleaners on their own. Mixed they release some energy (in a confined space this is called a bomb), and make carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is also a good cleaner, often called club soda.

I cleaned my 2-year-old's crayon masterpiece off of our living room wall with baking soda and a slight bit of water on a paper towel.

Baking soda is about the only thing that will remove purple hair dye (and other colores, I am sure) quickly and effectively from all kinds of surfaces, including tiles and counter tops!

@sixsnowflakes: [Re. mixing baking soda and vinegar to clean slow drains:] your comment "should never be combined in closed spaces, unless of course, you're trying to destroy your pipes" would only make sense if you were talking about a 100%-stopped drain. And then, after pouring in the soda and vinegar, proceeded to cap off the drain end completely and weld it closed.

I, like a lot of folks, have used this tip to clean my slow-draining tub, and it has helped. The reason nothing has gone "Boom!" yet is that you're not dealing with a closed system: the downstream end is vented (per code), and upstream (my side) ends up releasing some pressure, even when I do place a stopper over the drain (which is the recommended practice, to force the bubbling mix to work towards the soam scum and hair that is lining the walls of the pipes).

@freshyill:
Book odors? Yes, books that have been stored in damp places (basements, garages, etc.) have that less than appealing mildew aroma. I haven't tried the baking soda remedy but seems likely it would work.