I also never use chemistry knowledge for anything, ever. But I find it quite interesting to know a little bit about how matter works, and how it combines into things that make up my body and (hey, let's go there) mind. I had to take an intro class in college to learn to appreciate all that, though; high school chemistry class was pretty dull and useless for me.

I find that hearing about how stuff works and how that directly relates to daily life is easy for me (and probably most people) to internalize and retain.

For example something that has stuck with me since high school was hearing that H20 expanding when it freezes into a solid is what makes ice skating possible. Pressure exerted by the skate blade forces the surface of the ice into a liquid state which makes it slippery.

Where educational curriculum tend to lose people is by overemphasizing the canon/trivia. Ironically that seems to be a result of needing to develop additional, obscure, test questions to deter students memorizing rote information or last years final exams.

In regards to computer science I think there is more to gain for students by learning the history and development of particular CS solutions and discoveries as they are more likely to encounter those situations in their careers than a particular need for a CS technique.

Play Omnifactory or any modpack with gregtech. It's not 100% realistic but you're doing practical chemistry all the time.