Eliza - I can't possibly press the things down while turning them, my finger joints would scream! I also jab a hole in the tops of jam and honey jars, removing the vacuum.

I've found some Rx bottles where the person who filled them screwed the cap down so tightly that the "cogs" the outer cap is supposed to engage are damaged, and the lid won't come of regardless of how hard you "press down to open." I have an old "filet knife" and a hammer, and drive the knife through both parts of the lid to lock them together and then use fairly large channel-lock pliers to twist the knife. You do need to be VERY CAREFUL to hit the knife squarely so it doesn't fly off and remove body parts.

On some honey jars and the like, an old fashioned "bottle cap remover" (a.k.a. "church key") can get a grip on the rim of the cap enough to lift it slightly and break the vacuum, after which the cap can be removed (maybe with a pair of small strap wrenches). For the ones with a glass "bead" immediately under the cap so that you can't get the key into the crack, the "bowl end" of an old spoon sometimes will get in to where a twist will break the suck. It's best to pry the rim outward, away from the jar rather than upward, since usually the cap is more "flexible" in that direction. And sometimes just running hot water over the jar will expand the contents enough so that they're less sucky. Of course these methods still require some strength/dexterity, so you have to choose what you can do to do.

A problem with honey/syrup jars that aren't air-tight is that the honey is more likely to "sugar" and glue the cap back on later. This seems to happen less frequently if you don't have to make holes in the cap.

Steve S - In washrooms where paper towels are available, you can assume that a fresh towel is as clean as necessary. After your hands are dried, wrap the towel around the knob/handle and open the door. Prop the door with your toe, and compress the towel into a fairly tight ball that you can throw straight and go for a three pointer into the trash bin.

Where there aren't any paper towels, at least in the US there's always a bit of fresh arse-wipe somewhere that will suffice.

John