Now that we have proffesions, we could try something else like "Where were your character before shit hitted the fan?"
For a few points, we could choose our start point
Example:
Shopping: Starts in a random shop (-# of skills/trait points)
In jail: Starts inside the nearest police station, inside a cell. When you break the door, an alarm will trigger and 2 manhacks will start hitting you (+#)
Camping trip: Start in the middle of the forest with MREs, water, a tent and a backpack (-#)
In a mine: You wake up in a mine, with tattered clothes and without supplies. (+#)
Etc…
About the other suggestion, what about an "E"xamine button (Instead of "E"ating) to examine an object further to discover things about it, like the damage/name of a gun, a bottle of quimical sustances, how much time does it take to read a book… The more damaged the weapon/bottle/books, the harder to identify the item’s properties