There's probably no better tool in the gadgeteer's box than a roll of Gaffer Tape (or duct tape, if you don't mind sticky or crumbly residues). But what about its humble household cousin, Scotch Tape? Traditionally used for wrapping gifts or taping broken spectacles back together, it has another amazing talent. It can let you see through solid objects.

If those solid objects are in fact sheets of frosted glass. If you have a frosted window that you need to take a peek through, tear off a strip of tape and press it down firmly onto the pane. The roughened, opaque surface is transformed into a smooth, shiny one, and the light that was previously scattered into vague suggestions of shape and color now comes through sharp and clear:

I'm amazed we never saw this trick in a MacGyver episode.

Weird Tape Effect [YouTube via Core77]

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