Dear Heloise: The letter from Jan M. purports to end all the toothpaste drama. However, there's one more thing that nobody has mentioned. Because of my curiosity, I cut open the tube after thinking I'd effectively removed all the toothpaste within - only to discover that no matter how one chooses to empty the tube, it still has lots of toothpaste remaining.

I cut the end of the tube, then cut along the creases of each side, and found that not only is there still toothpaste along the length of the tube, but there is also a significant amount at the end where the toothpaste exits the tube. It is impossible to fully squeeze this out, so several applications of toothpaste sit there unused.

So, if one really wants to fully use up a tube of toothpaste, it must be cut open to access the remaining amount, which will then be good for several brushings. And this is what should end the toothpaste drama!

-- Rick B., in Portland, Oregon

COTTON SWAB TRICK

Dear Heloise: I use a viscous liquid cleaner to clean my sinks. After a few uses, the bottle clogs up, and the opening has to be cleaned out until the next few uses. So, I decided to cut off one end of a cotton swab and put masking tape around the other end. I inserted the non-taped end into the bottle, and the taped end on top prevents the cotton swab from sliding all the way down into the bottle. When I'm done, I reinsert the cotton swab until the next time I have to clean the sinks.

-- Linda in Roanoke, Virginia

THE WORD "LIKE"

Dear Heloise: Thank you very much for mentioning that "like" is now used instead of taking a breath or pausing for a second or two to collect one's thoughts. People who use "like" in this way have never been taught how to diagram sentences. Diagramming forces the student to recognize the function of each word. It's boring but very helpful. Thanks for your column.

-John S., Via Email

John, the overuse of the word "like" annoys me, too. When it's used frequently by the speaker, it sounds as though their vocabulary is very limited. I try very hard to eliminate this word as often as I can when speaking to someone.

-Heloise

ANTI-FATIGUE MAT

Dear Heloise: A kitchen anti-fatigue mat works perfectly as a kneeling/sitting mat for the garden. The larger size gives you a softer, cleaner place to work from.

-- Carolyn D., in New York

PANIC BUTTON ON KEY FOB

Dear Heloise: I just read the letter about the person using their key fob to find their car in a parking lot. I have another great use for a key fob: Keep it handy at night. I've used mine twice over the past five years to scare off trespassers.

I heard a noise in my driveway and saw a prowler. Another time, someone was trying to break into my car. I just pressed my key fob and set off the alarm. Boy, you should have seen them run like the dickens! It scared the heck out of them! It can scare off a coyote, too.

-Ann M., in Gardena

Send a great hint to Heloise@Heloise.com.