I bought this Sortkwik fingertip moisturizer so I could do card tricks better, but it turns out to be excellent for separating sheets of paper and turning book pages, too. If you have dry fingers, give this stuff a try. It’s not greasy or sticky, it just adds a little extra grip. — MF

This made a huge difference to our family when we discovered them: you can get swim goggles and snorkeling masks with corrective lenses. Same price, see better! — KK

My daughter is funding her next trip to Japan by selling a wide variety of stuff on eBay. She’s been doing well and is committed to the project, so I did my part by getting her this $20 digital postal scale. It weighs packages up to 11lbs. — MF

Sunshine.fyi is a simple webpage that tells you how many hours, minutes and seconds of sunlight are left in your day. I keep it in my bookmark bar, but it’s now available as a chrome extension, so that every new tab serves as a reminder to go outside and make the most of your day. — CD

Lately, I’ve been listening to cassette tapes from the 1980s and 1990s on archive.org. I was able to download the entire collection of tapes by using a Google Chrome extension called Archive Downloader. Once it was installed, I went to the page at archive.org and clicked the Archive Downloader extension icon on my browser. Then I selected the mp3 files from a pop-up list and downloaded them. — MF

A good Reddit thread I learned a lot from, and one I hope will keep going: “What are some recent scientific breakthroughs/discoveries that aren’t getting enough attention?” — KK

My cat is a side pee-er so the best litter box for her is the Modkat Litter Box with top entry. There’s less litter on the floor, it’s easier to clean and it looks great. My favorite litter to use is the Fresh Step Clumping Litter with Febreeze. I often forget to clean out the litter box because it rarely smells. — CD

I use superglue (cyanoacrylate) to close small cuts and stop them bleeding. Dab it dry, apply glue, hold together. You can use any kind of “krazy glue” occasionally for first aid; it’s really handy in a workshop. Sometimes instead of stitches doctors use an expensive variant of cyanoacrylate called Dermabond, which is medical grade glue. Second best is cheaper vet-grade glue, Vetbond, which some also use to heal skin cracks. — KK

This four-pack of colorful, Bellemain 15" x 11" cutting mats is only $11. The bottom is textured so the mat doesn’t slip when you use it. I’ve run them through the bottom rack of the dishwasher several times with no noticeable effect. — MF

I like this free tool created by Erik Rood that calculates all the free time you have left in your life. Just input your age and the hours per week you spend on things like sleep, work, commuting, eating, etc. Apparently I have 34 free hours per week. It really makes me rethink what I want to do with it. — CD

We live in an area where you must bring your own bag to the store. That usually meant recycled paper bags, or floppy cloth bags. At the suggestion of a guest on our Cool Tools podcast, we started using these fantastic Planet E collapsible “bags” that unfold into a rigid cloth box. They are roomier, much easier to pack and unpack, and can carry a lot of weight without distorting their shape. They are lower and wider, more stable so they won’t fall over, easier to move into the car. They fold flat, and seem indestructible, made of recycled plastic bottles. We’ll never go back to other kinds of bags. — KK

I started a “stress note” in my Notes app where I keep a list of whatever I’m anxious about. Anytime I add something new I reread my past worries and if they no longer matter (which is usually the case), instead of deleting them I apply the strikethrough style. There is something very calming and self-affirming in doing this, and as the list grows I actually find it very beautiful to look at. — CD

I spent 45 minutes interacting with the sliders and buttons at Learning Synths and now I understand concepts like envelope, attack, decay, sustain, and release. I was having so much fun I didn’t realize I was being taught a lesson, either. — MF

For the past 8 years Sci-Hub has been the Napster of academic papers. It’s a pirate site that serves up scholarly journal articles usually stashed behind paywalls. You copy and paste the link from the official journal site (or its DOI) into the Sci-Hub website and it immediately gives you the PDF. I have no qualms using it. Many researchers who have legitimate access to the journals prefer to use Sci-Hub because its interface is easier, consistent, and better designed. — KK

We have a new weekly newsletter called What’s in my bag? Each week, one interesting person shares four favorite things they carry in their bag. Last week Mark shared the four things he always travels with, which he keeps in Japanese see-through zipper bags. Check it out! — CD

My 16-year-old daughter and I are interested in learning about artificial intelligence, and we found a YouTube series produced by Google that has easy-to-understand examples that you can program yourself using the Python programming language. The first program we wrote was only 6 lines long, but it can tell the difference between an apple and an orange. — MF

My friend Rob gave me the ThruNite Archer LED Flashlight ($30) and it is the best small flashlight I’ve ever owned. It throws a bright beam, and because it’s made from aluminum, it feels solid. Importantly, it uses AA batteries instead of less-common batteries often required in bright flashlights. I bought one for my father for Father’s Day because I knew he’d appreciate it. — MF

I am often frustrated when trying to fly from one obscure place to another obscure place with as few stops in between. Most flight sites want you to keep the journey on the same airline. What I want is “show me ALL the flights from this airport,” and I’ll figure out a route on my own. No surprise, there’s a site for that, called appropriately enough FlightsFrom.com. I can assemble a route, sometimes with obscure airlines, that won’t show up elsewhere. — KK

I have multiple Gmail accounts that I use throughout the day and I developed a bad habit of keeping them open and constantly clicking through tabs to check the status of my inbox even though I know nothing’s changed. Checker Plus is a chrome extension that lets you preview, delete, star and archive email without opening up Gmail or leaving your current window, and it works with multiple accounts. Since I’ve been using it, I have definitely been more productive. — CD

I enjoy the way Adam Savage, formerly Mythbuster co-host, builds complicated things. He has a new show, Savage Builds, running on Discovery Channel. In the first episode he made a “real” bullet-proof, flying Ironman suit, which is inspiring. For the next 7 days only, that episode is streaming for free on the internet. — KK