What Can You Do With These Household Items? Quiz

This is a hand-crank music box. You turn the lever, which moves a marked cylinder, which brushes against pins to play a little tune. This one is clear so you can see its inner gears.

According to the Smithsonian Museum, the music box was probably invented in Switzerland in 1770. It was the first device that could play a musical tune mechanically; previously, you could only hear music if there were a musician playing an instrument.

Let's say you are only supposed to take a half dose of prescribed medicine. How are you supposed to break a pill in half? Fortunately, this gadget can help. You would put the pill in the top of the triangle space, then bring down the top. A small blade in the top will slice the pill in half.

Be sure to following doctor's orders with all of your medications.

If your crayon is getting a little flat on top, turn the crayon box around and find this little sharpener in the back. I can't say it's particularly effective but it'll sharpen your crayon a bit.

In 1903. the Crayola company released its first box of coloring crayons. In 1958, they released what became their signature product: the 64-color assortment with a built-in sharpener.

Some cake recipes call for flour to be sifted before mixing with the rest of the ingredients: sifting can remove lumps and adds air to the flour, which can make the resulting cake lighter and fluffier.

The flour sifter in the picture was invented by American entrepreneur Jacob Bromwell in 1819.

If you don't have a sifter, you can use a strainer and a spoon as a substitute. Just put the strainer over a bowl, add the flour, and stir with a spoon. The flour will be sifted through the strainer and ready for measuring.

This roller is a rather old-fashioned piece of exercise equipment. Imagine you are on the floor as if you were doing a push up, only you're holding on to this roller. You roll forward and back, which stretches and strengthens the abdominal muscles in the stomach area.

This is a wool ball that you can throw into the dryer when you're drying clothes. They bounce around and keep your clothes from clumping together, which makes the drying more efficient. You'll want to use 3-4 per load. They also make for good juggling items, as they won't break anything when you drop them.

When you order a pizza from a restaurant, it will usually arrive pre-sliced. But if you're making one from scratch, then you will need to slice it yourself. A knife is one way to go, but the pizza cutter you see here is easier to use for this task. You can slice across the whole pizza, making slices as large as you'd like.

But it's sharp, so make sure it's tucked away or wrapped in cloth when you store it.

A basic set of dishes includes the usual plates, bowls, and cups, but the full set has more items than you can imagine! One of them is called a gravy boat, which is designed to hold gravy and make it easy to pour over your food. They are often brought out for Thanksgiving dinner when turkey with gravy is standard fare. They are also referred to as sauceboats.

A fundamental part of making coffee is the step where the ground beans are strained, or filtered, with hot water. This is a coffee filter, a thin cup-shaped piece of paper you put into a coffee maker and fill with ground coffee. You can also replace them with reusable coffee filters made out of metal or plastic.

Paper coffee filters can have other uses around the house, too. They can act as a container for snacks, a duster for screens, and a protective top in the microwave. Have a drippy popsicle? Pierce a filter with the stick and have an instant drip-catcher.

Before batteries, before electricity, clocks had to be wound regularly. Some have little attached tabs to turn; others, like cuckoo-cuckoo clocks, have chains to pull; and many require a key to twist, like this one.

The first mechanical clock was invented in England in 1275. There's a wind-up clock at Salisbury Cathedral that has been working since 1386!