Pieces :: Aluminum Issue :: Top Ten Uses for Aluminum/title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/pieces.ico" />  <style type="text/css">  </style>  </head> <body> <div id="navbar"> <ul id="navlinks"> <li><a href="../index.html">home</a></li> <li><a href="../about.html">about</a></li> <li><a href="../current_issue.html">current issue</a></li> <li><a href="../gallery.html">gallery</a></li> <li><a href="../archive.html">archive</a></li> <li><a href="../contact.html">contact</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="content"> <div id="logo"><img src="../images/pieces_logo.gif" alt="Pieces-Zine.com logo"></div>  <div align="center"><img src="../images/puzzles/puzzle_aluminum.png" alt="Aluminum Puzzle" width="481" height="192" border="0" usemap="#glass"/> <map name="glass" id="glass2"> <area shape="rect" coords="394,94,453,161" href="technology.html" "Invisible Aluminum" alt="Invisible Aluminum"> <area shape="rect" coords="330,93,394,161" href="dvd_review.html" title="Bug Review" alt="Bug Review"> <area shape="rect" coords="265,94,331,161" href="pop_culture.html" title="Aluminum in Pop Culture" alt="Aluminum in Pop Culture"> <area shape="rect" coords="205,94,267,161" href="environmental_article.html" title=Aluminum and the Deodorant Controversy" alt="Aluminum and the Deodorant Controversy"> <area shape="rect" coords="144,94,206,161" href="top_ten.html" title="Top ten Uses for Aluminum" alt="Top Ten Uses for Aluminum"> <area shape="rect" coords="86,94,146,161" href="home_garden.html" title="Aluminum for your Home and Garden" alt="Aluminum for your Home and Garden"> <area shape="rect" coords="22,94,86,161" href="open.html" title="What is Alcoa?" alt="What is Alcoa"> <area shape="rect" coords="22,27,86,94" href="current_issue.html" title="History of Aluminum" alt="History of Aluminum"> <area shape="rect" coords="205,28,267,95" href="indepth_article.html" title="History of the Aluminum Can" alt="History of the Aluminum Can"> <area shape="rect" coords="85,27,145,94" href="did_you_know.html" title="Did You Know?" alt="Did You Know?"> <area shape="rect" coords="394,27,453,94" href="fashion_article.html" title="Aluminum Arts and Crafts" alt="Aluminum Arts and Crafts"> <area shape="rect" coords="143,27,205,94" href="culture.html" title="Aluminum in Culture" alt="Aluminum in Culture"> <area shape="rect" coords="265,27,331,94" href="interview1.html" title="Interview with " alt="Interview with "> <area shape="rect" coords="331,27,395,95" href="fashion.html" title="Aluminum Fashion" alt="Aluminum Fashion"> </map> <br /> <span class="author style1">[ click on puzzle pieces to view each article ]</span> </div>  <h2 class="title">Top Ten Uses for Aluminum</h2> <p class="author">by Laura Kennicut</p> <p>Ah aluminum...so versatile, so bendable, so shiny. It's not hard to see why we use aluminum in our everyday lives. We here at Pieces bring you the top ways to use aluminum foil. Some you may know, some you may not. </p> <br /> <p><strong>Cooking</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/swan.jpg" width="100" height="75" align="left" class="left"><p>Baking, broiling, grilling, roasting, storing leftovers, you name it, aluminum foil can do it.</p> <p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <strong>Cleaning up rusty or tarnished metals</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/foil.jpg" width="75" height="75" align="right" class="right"><p> It seems like you can't read a household tips column without coming across at least one mention of using foil to de-rust or polish some kind of metal. Whether you?re cleaning metal pots or polishing silver jewelry, foil is a good tool to have on hand.</p> </p><strong></strong></p> <p><br /> <p><strong>Shielding oddly-shaped fixtures and details while painting</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/foil1.jpg" width="55" height="75" align="left" class="left"><p> Masking tape is all well and good, but how do you protect sconces, doorknobs, and other architectural details? With aluminum foil, of course. Tips from<a href="http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/new-uses-for-old-things/new-uses-aluminum-foil-10000001154386/page4.html" target="none"> Real Simple</a>.</p> <p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Thought security system</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/foilhat.jpg" width="110" height="75" align="right" class="right">If all those crackpots weren't onto something, why would this practice still exist to this day? Maybe because it's totally fun to make hats out of foil. </p> <p><br /> <p><strong>Five-second party trick</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/crumpledfoil.jpg" width="87" height="75" align="left" class="left"><p>Did you ever try biting down on a ball of aluminum foil to see if it actually gives your teeth a small electric shock? Your party guests probably haven?t either. It?s a good ice breaker, and completely harmless (probably). </p> <p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Making impromptu smoking devices and "tobacco water pipes"</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/waterpipe.jpg" width="108" height="75" align="right" class="right"><p>Not that we would endorse that sort of thing. But you can always Google it. </p> <p><br /><br /><br /> <p><strong>Sculpture</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/aluminumsculpture.jpg" width="55" height="75" align="left" class="left"><p>You can use foil to sculpt almost anything, from delicate mobiles to large figures (with a little bit of reinforcement). A great example is "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/elissacorsini/873242191/" target="none">Aluminum Foil Thing</a>" by Tom Friedman, pictured here.</p> <p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Sharpening dull scissors</strong></p> <img src="images/scissors.jpg" width="120" height="75" align="right" class="right"><p>This is an old housewife's trick. To revive a pair of scissors that's seen better days, just cut through a piece of foil that's been folded up a few times (go for 8-10 layers), and voila! </p> <p><br /> <p><strong>Lighting</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/lighting.jpg" width="60" height="75" align="left" class="left"><P>Why spend hundreds of dollars on fancy silver light reflecting panels when you can just slap some tin foil on a piece of cardboard (or even an umbrella) and be done with it? </p> <p><br /> <p><strong>Keeping pets off of furniture</strong></p> <p> <img src="images/furniture.jpg" width="88" height="75" align="right" class="right">If you've ever had a cat who couldn't keep his or her paws off your favorite couch, you might have already used this method to keep them away. Just secure strips of foil around the area where they concentrate their efforts, and they'll quickly learn to steer clear. Of course, then you're one of those crazy people with aluminum foil all over their furniture</p><br /><br /><br />  <div id="HCB_comment_box"><a href="http://www.htmlcommentbox.com">HTML Comment Box</a> is loading comments...</div> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" id="hcb"> (function(){s=document.createElement("script");s.setAttribute("type","text/javascript");s.setAttribute("src", "http://www.htmlcommentbox.com/jread?page="+escape(window.location)+"&opts=22&num=10");if (typeof s!="undefined") document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(s);})();</script>  </div> </body> </html>