Screws and screwdrivers - like tin openers, scissors, corkscrews, card machines, and mobile phone apps - are designed for 90% of the population: right-handed people.

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Tightening a screw (clockwise) with your right hand requires supination (palm up) at the elbow, and external rotation at the shoulder. This outward turning motion aligns with how we naturally apply force.

For left-handers, though, tightening a screw requires pronation at the elbow and internal rotation at the shoulder. This turning inward motion is an inherently weaker movement pattern, and provides less stability at the wrist.

Left-handers do, however, recapture an advantage when loosening screws, as rotating counterclockwise aligns with their natural biomechanics.

As for the 1% blessed with ambidexterity, they get the best of both worlds: tighten with the right, loosen with the left.

At school, they told us to pursue a career that suits our natural talents and dispositions. My only talents were a strong right wrist and a superhuman tolerance for endless screwing. Fast forward 12 years and over a million screws later, I have most certainly mastered the art of screwing, and could do it drunk, blind, upside-down, in my sleep.

Fixing the loose screws in my head, though... not so easy.

Are you reading this while sitting on the toilet?

If so, you're not alone. 57% of Brits and 85% of under 30s admit to using their phone on the throne. Goodness knows what the others distract their minds with - a bottle of shampoo, bleach, or air freshener perhaps? Solvent abuse can kill instantly, by the way.

It's no surprise, then, that the majority of our liquid damage repairs we see aren't due to sudden downpours or washing-up mishaps, but from poor tech-toilet coordination.

For some reason, women’s clothing (front pockets) still hasn’t evolved to accommodate modern smartphones. Therefore, women are more likely to stash their phones in their back pocket, which leaves it vulnerable to the dreaded double backflip splash entry at the start of descent. When we get a girls phone in, we know that 9 times out of 10, it was a "clean" toilet.

Guys on the other hand... Most of their accidents come from using their phone while peeing - often after a few drinks, which might also explain their apparent inability to aim. Then there's the odd occasion (and odd bloke) who attempts a creative photo or video for the boys group chat, only to be met with karmic justice.

Your phone goes everywhere you go, plus the bottom of bags, pockets, kitchen tops, dirty floors, and public toilets. Hopefully you wash your hands after you use the toilet, but when was the last time you cleaned your phone?

With about 400,000 bacteria on it, your phone is 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat and likely the filthiest object you touch daily—around 2,500 times a day, to be exact.

In a lab study of everyday mobile phones, researchers found:

Many of the pathogens found on phones are antibiotic resistant, meaning they can cause infections that are harder to treat - whether they affect the skin, gut, or respiratory system.

So be mindful of how and where you handle your phone. Give it a clean once in a while. And please, for the love of God, stop letting your baby suck on it in the supermarket will you!

Short answer:

No.

Longer answer:

Over the long-term, your battery may degrade slightly more than if you were to use regular, "slow" charging.

The reason:

Charging and discharging a battery causes lithium to accumulate around graphite inside the cell, which causes it to break down over time. Fast-charging accelerates chemical reactions and increases temperature, which exacerbates this break down.

The solution:

Phones are designed with effective heat dissipation systems which keep the battery and other components cool. They are are also programmed to automatically adjust the charging rate as the battery level increases. When the battery is at a low level, the charging rate goes all out, but as the battery nears full capacity, the charging rate gradually tapers off to prevent overheating and overcharging. This increases the battery's longevity.

What you need to do:

Phones also have adaptive charging features that "learn" the user's charging habits and optimises the charging schedule accordingly. The phone will hold off on charging until about an hour before the user's typical wake-up time, ensuring that it's fully charged when needed without overcharging. Go into Settings > Battery, and make sure this is turned on.

The golden rule:

Use a genuine mains charger most of the time. The car charger from Home Bargains which sizzles your finger like a sausage is equally unkind to your phones battery. 

The conclusion:

Fast-charging can be extremely useful when your Uber is on its way and you've only just realised that your phone's on 8%. With the clever internal designs, built-in battery management software, and the fact that we're dealing with relatively small amounts of power, there's no need to worry about it. Disabling fast-charging altogether will, at best, result in a negligible increase to your battery's lifespan.

Leave the battery replacements to us:

TL;DR:

Less time charging, more time partying.