i could tell you but i'd have to kill you dept.

Apparently, all professions have tricks. The Morning News rounds up these little wonders, for professions as diverse as lawyer and balloon-twister. This is my favorite piece in forever. Someone should do a book of these. For instance:

Botanist

When working in the field, stick a strip of duct tape to your pants. You can take it off while working to quickly remove large masses of ticks, biting ants, and thorns.

If you know the length of each of your fingers as well as your handbreadth in centimeters, you can measure the leaves of most plants without having to pull the ruler out of your backpack.

And when doing botanical work in South America, steer clear of the monkeys: They will throw sticks at you with surprising accuracy.

And who knew that Australian butchers have a secret language?

(Via Jim Hanas guest blogging at Moorish Girl.)

worm "Into the White," Pixies

namecheck Gavin "HP" Grant