When you’re going camping, it’s always a great idea to know a few helpful hacks, but nowadays, the hacks we commonly see involve modern things like downloading a compass to your smartphone or bringing spare batteries to put into your flashlight.

What sort of camping hacks did people use when technology, gadgets, and 21st-century items weren’t around? Well, we’ve done a bit of research and found some surprisingly good camping hacks from back in the day that actually work. Check them out below:

Removing a Splinter

When you get a splinter embedded into your hand or another part of your body, it can often be quite difficult and painful to remove. To extract the piece, fill a wide-mouthed bottle nearly up to the brim with hot water.

Press the affected part of your hand or body up to the mouth of the bottle tightly and allow it to suction onto your skin. The flesh will be pulled down, and the steam will draw the splinter from your skin.

Lighting a Match in The Wind

Attempting to light a match for your campfire while it’s windy can often prove difficult. Use a pen knife to cut some thin shavings into the top of the matchstick, just under its striking head. When you light the match, the curled shavings will catch fire resulting in the flame being stronger.

Treating a Sprain

If you’ve gone for a hike while on a camping trip and you’ve come back with a sprain from going over on your ankle, the first thing you should do is elevate the injury. Grab some cloths and ring them out with cold water, then wrap these around the joint.

To keep the cloth wet, place a jug or bucket of cold water higher than your injury and put one end of the fabric strip in the water and the other end over your wrapped joint.

Making a Fire Extinguisher

Before you go camping, create this DIY fire extinguisher in case a spark from your campfire sets nearby trees, shrubbery or a tent alight. Dissolve one pound of salt and half and pound of sal ammoniac with two quarts of water. Put the mixture into bottles and in the event of a fire, throw this concoction onto the flames to put it out.

Cleaning Greasy Dishes

If you’ve cooked yourself up a delicious breakfast, you may find it difficult to wash away the grease from the dishes, especially if you have no hot water. Get a tuft of grass that still has earth attached to it and use it as a scrubber by rubbing it all over the dishes that have grease on them. Throw any of the loose dirt from the dishes into your campfire or onto the ground away from your campsite, then rinse them off in cold water and the dishes will be grease free.

Making a Candle Light

If you want to light up the area in which you’re camping, you can do so by using candles and glass bottles. Create a small hole in the ground to plant the bottom of the candle into; then break off the bottom of the bottle by hitting it against a hard piece of ground. Light the candle, then place the glass bottle over it, pressing it firmly into the earth. Make sure that the bottle doesn’t have a cork or lid as the flame will receive no oxygen and go out.

Prevent Glass for Cracking

When you pour hot liquid into a glass tumbler or bowl, it’s quite likely to crack. To prevent the glass from smashing when you pour hot liquid into it, you first need to place a metal spoon in the bowl or tumbler. When you’re pouring the water, allow it to run down the metal, and this will take away the heat from the glass.

Cooling Drinks Without Ice

If you have no ice but want to chill your drinks, there’s an easy method to do so. Whether it’s wine, beer, soda or another type of drink, this technique works for them all as long as you have access to a faucet on the campsite.

Wrap the bottle, can or carton in a flannel or towel then place it into a bowl or bucket underneath a faucet. Turn the faucet on and allow the cold water to run over the drink. After around ten minutes, your drink will be cold enough to serve.