THE VIDEO SHELF · paper towel waste
How to use one paper towel | Joe Smith | TEDxConcordiaUPortland
A short TEDx talk by Joe Smith teaching how to dry your hands with a single paper towel. It shows a simple technique for cutting waste.
Why HN readers recommended it
HN treats it as a tiny practical life hack some adopt for good, while others mock it as peak TED.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- TEDx Talks
- Topic
- paper towel waste
- Format
- talk
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 3
- HN mentions in dataset
- 5
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2016–2025
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
Best TED talk I’ve seen: [VIDEO] I think about this every time I wash my hands in a public restroom with paper towels.
snowwrestler on Hacker News · 2025-02
In Chris Anderson Is Giving Ted Away to Whoever Has the Best Idea for Its FutureTwo quick things from back when TED talks were actually interesting/useful: 1. How to tie your shoes the right way (so the knot doesn't come undone): [LINK] 2. How to dry your hands with a single paper towel (so that you prevent unnecessary waste): [VIDEO]
leto_ii on Hacker News · 2019-11
In Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?People are very negative about these kinds of TED talks, but I actually improved my hand drying technique after the TEDx on it: [VIDEO] That and using the back of my hand/arm to push off the water from my body after a shower keep our …
Someone1234 on Hacker News · 2021-04
In The “Granny Knot”
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.