Most creative non-combat uses for Combat spells?

[Oramac]

Pretty much what the title says. What are some creative out-of-combat uses for spells that are typically only used in combat?

For example:

Heat Metal: use it to cook dinner by heating up the pots and pans.

Fireball: Shoot them high in the sky for a fantastic fireworks display!

[Ventruenox]

Tried Shocking Grasp to go fishing. DM ruled that I took damage as well.

[Sigreid]

Wasn't a spell but my silver dragonborn used his breath weapon to put out a warehouse fire.

[NecessaryWeevil]

This was in pathfinder, but the PCs used Ray of Frost to flash-freeze a shallow trough of acid, rendering it non-hazardous.

[Kane0]

I once witnessed a gnome attempt to develop a Flaming Sphere powered steam engine. Would have worked alright if it was more stable.

Lightning Bolt fishing has also come up.

Oh and Thunderwave to clear rubble that one time.

[nickl_2000]

Not sure if you would call it combat or not, but an enemy was trying to swim across a bay to escape a combat with us. I dropped a Tasha's Hideous Laughter on him.

Firebolt to light a door on fire and bring the enemy out.

Sleep to drop a guard at night long enough for me to infiltrate the castle walls

[sir_argo]

This raises a rules issue, of which I have my own opinion, on whether a spell can target something other than what it explicitly states in the spell description. Example, Acid Splash says, "Choose one creature within range..." So can you cast it at an object? Can I cast Acid Splash at a door? Could you cast Feather Fall on a vase that gets knocked off its pedestal? Many spells used out of combat require that you allow their use on targets that aren't specified in their description. A good example was given by a prior poster... Ray of Frost used to freeze a trough of acid. According to the spell description, it can only target creatures. My own opinion is I think this is fine. PHB says, "A typical spell requires you to pick one or more targets to be affected by the spell's magic." It doesn't say you can't target something else... it only insinuates that the spell will have no effect on those other things. So what happens if you cast Ray of Frost on a trough of acid? This is where we drift away from RAW... and I don't care. I'd completely allow it.

All of that being said...

An out house that has a horizontal shaft down in the cess pit, with a permanent Gust of Wind that vents odor away.

A room with a door that has no lock that can be picked. It only opens when a pressure plate inside the room itself is stepped on and the lever on the wall pulled. The room has a pile of bones in it. You open the door by casting Animate Dead and commanding the skeleton to go stand on the pressure plate and pull the lever.

And something that I've always thought about... in a world with magic, people would use magic for entertainment. They would duplicate the effects that modern people get from drugs and/or thrill rides. Quite literally, wealthy people could hire wizards to levitate party goers up really high, then let them fall (free falling) and cast Feather Fall when near the ground... all for the excitement of it. Some people would allow themselves to be Charmed or Feared just for the minding bending experience it would give them. Or Phantasmal Force as a hallucinogenic, creating whatever fantasy they want to experience.

Although not on topic, non-combat uses of combat spells, I always liked the idea of keeping my hair after a hair cut. Just ball it up and keep it in a pouch. If I want to have long hair again, just pull out the old hair and cast Mending.