I’d be too embarrassed to admit I’ve never known what that springy coil at the base of my bedroom door does if I was alone ― but a recent TikTok proves I’m not.
“I was 29 years old when I figureed out how to use this,” app user@torid94 shared in a now-viral video.
In the clip, the user showed that the metal coil doesn’t just prevent the door from slamming against her wall and skirting boards, as I’d always assumed its sole job was.
What else does it do?
The app user tucked the plastic cap of the spring under the door ― using the spring as an effective doorstopper.
In her video, she used her toe to place the nub of the device under her door ― in a 2022 YouTube Shorts video, a man said “here’s something I wish I knew before I was in my 30s” before tucking the same part under his door with his hands.
When you look at the spring door stop’s 1957 patent, it was intended as “a door stop adapted for securement to a wall or other supporting surface cushioning or limiting the movement of a door.”
And a 1964 spring doorstop patent reads: “The original spring doorstop was designed to yield for the purpose of avoiding damaging impact with feet, vacuum cleaners, mops, etc.”
Both patents were filed as “Buffers or stops limiting opening of swinging wings, e.g. floor or wall stops” ― one YouTube commenter said “the ones in my current apartment are mounted to the doors instead of the wall,” meaning their ones in particular were almost certainly only intended as buffers.
Still, having tried the door-halting trick, I can confirm it works.
Commenters were impressed
“Are you serious? They’re actually doorstoppers?” one commenter asked.
“I mean that’s not what it’s for. But you can,” said another.
“I thought I was so smart when I figured that out as a teen and my mum was like, ‘it’s a doorstopper...’” yet another app user responded.
Well, stranger’s mum, you’re smarter than me.