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What's the "Greatest Life Hack" you ever saw?

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jkoenig

In Remembrance 2023
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
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Jim Koenig Halfway between Harvester, MO and Cadet, MO
My father used to call impressive things: "the greatest thing since sliced bread". Please list some of the things that have really impressed you?

Think things like sliced bread, a tennis ball hanging from a garage ceiling to indicate a parking spot, or swimming pool noodles on garage walls for padded car door bumpers, or...?

The jaw-dropping one that really stands out to me is a scuba tank for inflatables. I once witnessed a large (at least queen size) air mattress covering an entire tent floor inflated as fast as the guy could crack and shut the valve again.
 
The 20's-30's model a & t Ford owners.The innovative way they used the drive train to run belt saws,elevators,pull plows,wagons almost any kind o f farm equipment .tie small logs across the wheels to get out of mud and drove them across the U.S. with a monkey wrench,a shovel and axe for tools..Determined folks they were !!
 
Excellent example Gary. Thanks.
 
Microwave oven, home computer, light bulb (now LEDs), smart phone, space travel, satellite technology just a few come to mind...but to me the most miraculous thing I think of (this sounds corny I'm sure) is birth.
I grew up on a farm, grandparents lived next door, Grandfather was a physician. As a kid, he taught me the "facts of life". Born late 1800's so very much a Victorian outlook and from a doctor's perspective, but I was lucky having basically two Dads, two Mothers.
Grandad said women are superior to men: they have everything to create a child, man provides just one thing. So yes that's amazingly impressive, something I never forgot and probably why I've been married and with same girl half a century.
 
My 89 year old father in law has been visiting the last few days. He was telling my son about the "old" farmers using flat belts off a Model T for grinding feed, running saws etc. Most mechanically inclined man I ever met. Among his creations were a rain gage using a lever that moved down when 1/10 " of rain filled a small cup, which closed a set of automotive points, which activated a second hand of an old clock motor, which turned a hand cut sheet metal wheel which moved an old bicycle speedometer display .1. The trip lever was on a post in his back yard in what looked like a tree house, the "readout" motor was in his garage. Can't get wet looking at your rain Guage you know! Much later I helped him with a bird bath that drained and refilled itself hourly. Different method all together. Can't clean the bird poop out daily, way to much fun to spend 100 + hours on a Rube Goldberg device:cubwinker:
 
Flatbelt implements are pretty much all cool...from a safe distance and time frame. John, your FIL sounds like a treasure. You mentioned to me that even with his failing eyesight, that he could feel the robust build of your 122. He must still be pretty sharp mentally.

Thanks to all for sharing.
 
He talked to me more than his daughters. After he was drafted during the Korean War, he told me he was the only one in his company after basic training in Ft Leonard Wood that didn't go to Korea. He was given an A designation for Austria and worked on NATO heavy equipment. He told me most of the diesel engines had pony gas engines they had to start first, which then started the diesels. I found the old Bennett mechanical aptitude test the army used and used to give it to my high school tech students. Some things don't change...My dad was WW2, with 2+ years of college, worked in coding. Every one had their strengths...
 
That's what I think younger people today miss out on is inventing things. When my brother and I were kids he was interested in geology, me mechanical things so we made a stone polisher using a bicycle wheel. It had opened tin cans wired around edge with a large jar in middle on a wooden bracket we strapped to our lake overflow pipe. He put sand and different stones in it. In a few weeks of it turning 24/7 the stones were polished, it worked great.
A funny one my grandad had designed and built an electric garage door photocell mechanism so instead of blowing car horn every day having my grandmother push opener button all he had to do was flash his headlights and garage door would go up. He spent many hours on it and had just drilled hole through the cinder block wall for a pipe at headlight level and demonstrated it to me. I was just a kid and I said "Wow that's great. Now all a burglar has to do is shine his flashlight in that pipe to get into your house!".
He stopped working then started mixing cement patch. "What are you doing now?" I asked.
"I'm plugging up that #%&* hole!" he said. 😆
 
Great input here guys! You are deep thinkers. So far, we have had historical, biological, and comedic. So what do I add next? Drivel along the same lines as a scuba tank for inflatables:

A power washer to clean sports uniforms. Just be careful how aggressive you get

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Jim and all - these are some great stories. I always admired people that came up with home methods for resolving problems and making things worked. Never really had a knack for figuring out that kinda stuff myself - but was first in line to copy them. What really scares me tho is the younger generations. The ones that can't count change, everything requires a calculator or a phone. What's the world coming to? (which is a phrase I often heard all my grandparents say)
 
True about young people though. A couple years ago wife and I drove Virginia, down into Mexico, then up California staying with friends. Fellow in Palos Verdes is a college math professor so one day he has to teach, we ride with him. We wait in college office and a nice lady gives us a tour of the campus. "You must see our sandbox". "What's that?" I ask. She says "that's where students create and invent things!". WOW! We couldn't wait. I pictured students welding, wood working, at mills, lathes, gardening, tools everywhere.
We walk into this large room. Students everywhere...sitting on sofas, all working smart phones. "Ok...where's the sandbox?" I ask...
"This is it" she replies. "What are they doing?" Creating apps. Games, etc. For phones.🙄
 
One of my daughters(a teacher) educated me a bit.I noted not much mechanical inclination in grandsons...She replied " you don't get it.Everything they see in school is on a screen.Everything !! " Point made and excepted so I spent a lot more time pulling them toward anything mechanical. By the time they graduated they could do basic auto work and now continue living in both worlds..
 
Another of granddad's ideas. One day he bought six push reel-type grass mowers from hardware store. At home he removed handles then chained them together like a big triangle...one in front, two behind and either side, three out back.
He attacked it to his Farmall tractor and it was amazing, his lawn looked like a golf course since they floated independently cutting about a 12 ft swath at one pass.
Then it left streaks because a stick would lock one up, so after a few weeks he gave up.
We had lots of parts for Dad to make us a go cart powered by a Briggs motor for a washing machine.
My brother took the first ride. Dad throttled it wide open and steering was backwards, turn left it went right. Brother was all over the place until he ran into a tree. It had no brakes.
Brother was fine but never drove it again. 😃
 
Gary, my school district used that mower technique. They were store-bought Jacobsen machines with a bunch of reel mowers and many could be lifted to vertical to fit through narrow ways.
 
Using compressed air and a rag to start siphon hose! Put siphon hose in both gas cans, put air hose in supply can , then wrap rag around both hoses in supply can, press to release air and pressure starts siphoning....no gas in mouth!!
 
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