Is It Me Or Do Others Find The Same?

[Stargazer]

I have always been the person in my family who could unscrew any lid off anything but now I am having to resort to using a unscrewing gadget to turn the lid on a plastic milk bottle. I also had the same thing with a soft drinks bottle even though I have still got the grip of a strongman!!

[lankeela]

On occasions I've had to stand on the doorstep till someone walked past that looked strong enough to open something. I have discovered how to open a jar of picked onions by stabbing the lid with a sharp knife though. I also struggle using an old fashioned bog standard tin opener - I have to use a tea towel to turn it.

[Buenchico]

I think that nothing's really changed for me, in that respect, over the years. It's just that I would have been far too embarrassed to admit that I couldn't unscrew a lid when I was younger but I'm now happy to keep one of these (which I can highly recommend, BTW) close to hand. I wish that I'd bought one years earlier!
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[barry1010]

I have to administer eye drops to my oldster and the top is impossible to get off without nutcrackers.
I also have a jar opening gadget. I think the lid tightening machines are getting stronger, I'm certainly not getting weaker

[gness]

When I was a massage therapist I was asked by a friend to back massage her detective husband. Hours sitting in a car had ruined his back.
When I’d finished he said….Fantastic. I’ll bet you don’t have trouble getting the lid off a pickle jar. I don’t. My family is known for weirdly strong hands.
Dave never messes with me. ;-)

[sanmac]

Most people, when they are attempting to remove a screw-top from a container, concentrate only on turning the top. One "trick" is to also turn the container in the opposite direction while you are turning the top. Since the diameter of the container is usually larger than the top you get more leverage by turning the container...Hey, it doesn't always work, but try it.

[Barsel]

My hands are now incapable of unscrewing any tops and I can't use the device shown by Chris as you need to have some strength in your hands to squeeze it and turn, which I don't have.
However, I was given a tip a few years ago that actually works for me, but you have to be careful when you do it.
For glass jars as in pickles, honey, jam etc, bang the edge of the lid on a hard surface.
I use the tiled floor for this, and just turn it to bang all around the lid, and you should find it will come of easy after that.
For bottles I use one of these.
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[Hopkirk]

Try putting rubber gloves on to improve the grip.

[Hopkirk]

For a metal lid, run some hot water over it. The lid should expand a fraction.

[gness]

Exactly how I dealt with the detective, Sanmac. ;-)

[pastafreak]

I just opened a jar by banging it on the floor. Very satisfying. I did it all the time when I worked in a kitchen.

[Atheist]

A problem with metal lids on jars is that they are held tight by vacuum, and you need to break the seal to release the vacuum and therefore the tight grip of the cap. You can carefully use a blunt knife thrust gently upwards between jar and lid and then twisted (you won't hear a hissing release of air-lock, but it often results in an easy hand- removal of lid). My multi-sized lid-gripping device has a couple of pointy bits on the side which can be used to grab and prise the lid away from the glass; gives the same result.

[Hopkirk]

If I did that I would leave a dent in the floor, break the jar and the contents would spill - just as my wife walked in.

[sanmac]

I have one of these attached to the underside of an above the sink cupboard in the kitchen. Notice how it sort of uses the principle I mentioned in my previous thread.
https://www.amazon.ca/Grip-Jar-Opener-Hidden-Under-Cabinet-Effortlessly/dp/B07LFJ6RV4/ref=asc_df_B07LFJ6RV4/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&;linkCode=df0&hvadid=335157143702&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8333663050735948018&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000751&hvtargid=pla-810835629054&psc=1

[pastafreak]

And for those of us in the UK...

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[sanmac]

I notice that both of the illustrations above show the person only using one hand. From experience I've learned to use two hands. First, you get more leverage, second, you're not going to drop the jar when the lid suddenly pops loose...The best kitchen gadget I ever bought about 50 years ago!

[Gill1941]

I have the same as Chris. Opens all shapes and sizes. Excellent.

[dannyk13]

£5.99 from e-bay with free 2 day delivery.

[douglas9401]

I just get the maid to take it to either the butler or the gardener to open.
Haven't had a problem yet.

[1ozzy]

Hope it wasn't the gardener. What sort of *** was on their hands?

[tiggerblue10]

I've got what Barsel mentioned.
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

It opens all screw tops and jar lids for me.

Years ago I used to use a nut cracker for bottle tops but it was too small for anything else so invested in the above. It was a good investment ;o)