THE GREAT UNTANGLING
Meet your earbuds
Hold the case and let the cable dangle freely. Don’t pull — just let gravity rat out where the knot is hiding.
Loosen, never tighten
Use your fingertips to coax the knot into a loose, lazy loop. Make it bigger, not smaller. Patience wins — brute force just makes a sadder knot.
Send an earbud through
Spot the loop your earbud is clearly trying to escape from, and gently guide it back through. Repeat until the cable remembers it’s meant to be straight.
Wrap it like you mean it
Loop the cable loosely around two fingers and tuck the ends into the case. Future-you will send a thank-you note — knot-free, obviously.