Clever 100-Year-Old Life Hacks

Life hacks are a big thing these days. Maybe it’s because we’re all looking to make our complicated lives just a little bit easier, or maybe it’s because we are fascinated by simple bits of creativity that can have a practical impact on everyday life.

To me, life hacks can happen in the physical world with useful tidbits like the ones below, or even in the mental/spiritual world by learning more about how to navigate ourselves. Sure, you don’t have to call them life hacks on the mental/spiritual side, as they are simply new ways of thinking about things, but in some sense, they are accomplishing something similar. We are hacking our current way of being in order to find a “better,” more consistent way of living more freely, peacefully, and joyfully.

Old Life Hacks

Did you know that there was a time when Google and the internet didn’t exist? I know, tough to fathom. But before the age of instant gratification, we found different ways of learning and communicating with people all the time. Television was certainly an option, or displaying useful messages to people before screening a film at the cinema, but even before those things were super common it all had to happen live or through some written medium.

Galagher Cigarettes reached people by giving people interesting insight on how to do real life things by putting “How-To” cards on their cigarette packs to help with everyday emergency situations. Sure, the company needed a way to strengthen the containers that held their cigarettes, but nonetheless it was a cool way of sharing info.

Below is a list of the cards they had in their packs. You might find that some of these still are relevant today.

Reprinted with permission from Collective Evolution.