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30 Cheap, Mass-Produced Items That Are Stupendously Well Engineered, According To Folks In This Online Thread
I fondly remember George Carlin giving a 5-minute monologue as part of his stand-up act talking about stuff. And I will always remember his iconic quote about it: “have you ever noticed how everyone else’s stuff is [crap] and all your [crap] is stuff?”
And when you think about it, it’s true. And on several levels. Not only because you care about your stuff more than you do about others’ but also because some stuff can really be bad. But it can be seemingly bad but surprisingly good.
This is what Reddit has been talking about lately—the things that are cheap, mass-produced, and seemingly crap, but absolutely stupendously well designed and engineered.
The now-viral AskReddit post found its way under our radar, so there you have it, the best responses of stuff that isn’t crap, though it costs as much. Scroll down, check it out, vote, comment, all that jazz.
More Info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
throwaway-boxer said:
The humble corrugated cardboard box.
It's lightweight, strong, splash resistant, somewhat padded, doesn't break down in heat/cold, scratch resistant, recyclable, biodegradeable and able to be assembled cheaply into any size.
The basic design has existed for over 150 years. The retail shipping industry runs on cardboard boxes.
XYZ2ABC replied:
The Corrugated Fiberboard Association of America would like to remind you that it’s the humble Corrugated Fiberboard box you’re referring to; a cardboard box is what your shoes come in.
Seabeast 3 years ago
Well designed, built to last, comes with a good assortment of sharp pointy things.
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A. 3 years ago
Raise your hand if you ever made a spaceship or fort out of an old refrigerator box.
TheElderNom 3 years ago
My cat has a few things to say about "scratch resistant", but other than that he thinks it's the best invention since food.
Terry Tobias 3 years ago
I am constantly picking strips of my cats favorite box up off the floor. Definitely NOT scratch resistant.
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Lou Cam 3 years ago
One Christmas we happened to get new mattresses for our kids which arrived the day before Christmas. They did not play with a single present or toy for at least 2 weeks as the 6 foot high and 3 foot wide cardboard boxes satisfied their every playtime need. My kids were gutted when I decided to eventually throw them out.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago (edited)
That cat looks rather miffed! EDIT: As is nearly always the case, it’s in the ears…
RELATED:
#2
Raptorscars said:
The ballpoint pen, clearly
Calphrick replied:
Give credit to the inventor, Laszlo Biro. He escaped the Nazis, invented the pen, then got ripped off and never made money.
Elea Bell 3 years ago
Fountain pen. Fountain pens came before the ballpoint, after the quill.
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Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I like blue Precise V5 Pilot Pens; I’m also willing to use other colors, but not black.
Tenacious Squirrel 3 years ago
What would be better is if they weren’t so single use. You can get recycled ones, and refillables, but the vast majority aren’t and people don’t/can’t recycle them. They need to start making it law that plastic items must not be single use (as in, they must be made from recycled and recyclable plastic, complete with recycling schemes for them, or avoid plastic!).
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Agreed! I have begun using them to make jewelry though
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jon gilbertson 3 years ago
NASA spent 5 years and 20 million dollars to develop a pen that can write in zero gravity. the Russians simply used a pencil. (old joke)
Melia Janssen 3 years ago
I just read up the story about him and a few sources say that it was another man, John J Loud, who had invented it but never got to commercialise it as the patent expired. 22 years after Loud's death, Laszlo picked up the invention and mass produced it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Loud
Banana Vic 3 years ago
I didn't know that's who invented it. In Argentina the word for "pen" is "birome"
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
That's funny, I can remember stick pens that were labeled Biro back in the 60s
#3
ohz0pants said:
Toilets. They use nothing more than gravity to reliably flush. Doesn't use power at all.
i-d-p replied:
And if you’ve ever used a poorly engineered toilet, you really learn to appreciate the well engineered ones.
Thee8thsense 3 years ago (edited)
We have Ismail al-Jazari, John Harrington and Joseph Bramah to thank. Of course, there was also Thomas Crapper who invented the ballcock.
A. 3 years ago
Old ones can be found being repurposed as planters in front of redneck homes worldwide.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
They have become 'chic' as planters in many non-redneck homes too, often alongside gumboot planters
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Debbie 3 years ago
Toilets do produce a lot of waste - drinking water to flush, toilet paper. An eco toilet is better for the environment (but tbh I wouldn't want one at my house either). Or a toilet with a shower so you can clean yourself with water instead of tp. Also using water to clean is good in case of more hoarding/pandemics...
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
Living in drought-plagued California, I capture unused water from waiting while the water heater does its thing, and then when it’s time to flush (In this land of drought and sun, we don’t flush for number one…words I live by), I simply pour my captured water into the toilet bowl and away it goes.
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Marco Conti 3 years ago
There is power involved in moving the water uphill in some places and moving and treating the waste. But the potty, poor thing, takes a lot of s**t for the absolutely genius invention it is.
#4
Paranomorte said:
Screws, can you imagine what would happen if all the screws suddenly disappeared from world? Everything would fall apart
FarmerMKultra replied:
We would be screwed.
Dahhhkness replied:
Tool puns, everyone, you know the drill.
ihlaking replied:
> "you know the drill."
I mean, I know a bit.
UndercoverFBIAgent9 replied:
Time to ratchet up the laughter.
RiverShenismydad replied:
Y'all are nuts.
teeebax replied:
This is absolutely riveting.
Shonnyboy500 replied:
I find it boring.
olioli86 replied:
Too plane for you I guess.
BreakfastBright1999 replied:
Nah, just hammered.
Mary Ryan 3 years ago
Server in a restaurant asks the owner to make a customer a Screwdriver and he responds by asking "Regular or Phillips?" A Phillips Screwdriver has Milk of magnesia added :D
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#5
Torvaun said:
LEGO. When's the last time you got two bricks that didn't fit, or that were loose?
DneSokas replied:
TBF LEGO is actually quite expensive as far as toys go, but IIRC their manufacturing tolerance is literally tighter than some components used by NASA and in theory the first ever brick manufactured would work with one manufactured today.
HoraceBenbow replied:
> "in theory the first ever brick manufactured would work with one manufactured today."
Can confirm. My son inherited some of his grandfather's bricks from the 1960s. They fit today's bricks perfectly.
Shannon Hawks 3 years ago
lego has great people running it. Absolutely know how to flow with the times. video games and movies made them stronger than ever
Philler Space 3 years ago
I have a theory that when society collapses Legos will become currency. They're ubiquitous, near-indestructible, fungible, and you can even use smaller ones to make change.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Don't bother with the knock-off bricks, they are never quite 'right'. I'm looking forward to trying the bamboo/wooden one Lego are supposedly making though.
Little king trash mouth 3 years ago
Knock off Lego bricks are absolute trash
Load More Replies... Teampandas GF 3 years ago (edited)
I don't know about Lego. But we inherited a box of Lego Duplo and most of these bricks are rather loose. Perhaps the last mom washed them too often or too hot - they are impossible to assemble.
MiriPanda 3 years ago
Duplo is for very small kids who lack the strength and skill yet to pull bricks apart that stick together like the small ones. They are supposed to come of easily.
Load More Replies... Gary Geracci 1 year ago
It's just sad they are so expensive ,retirees now have to decide a LEGO set and or Dinner!
#6
wanderingsoul825 said:
The zipper. It’s a very cheap mechanism that secures objects in a very neat fashion. No wonder it’s used in most objects that need to be opened and closed such as luggage and jackets.
DonatellaVerpsyche replied:
Sewing person here adding: not all zippers are created equal. There is a big difference in quality. Those zippers in the top of a purse or a great jacket that just move smoothly like butter: yep, great quality. The cheap ones are the ones that will drive you nuts and get stuck. I always get the best quality for what I’m making. Huge difference. And those top quality zippers are also a lot more expensive, like $5-7/ each. (Vs Very roughly, a cheaper zipper can go for like $0.50-2.50/ ea.)
Added fun fact that includes zippers: (often) the most expensive part of a handbag is the hardware and this includes all the zippers.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
Zippers really found their sweet spot when manufacturers began making easy-gliding plastic zips rather than the sturdier but problematic metal ones.
Ozzie Ogawa 3 years ago
Good zipper = good pants, the most well known zipper brand here is YKK
#7
Tough question, I'd say stainless steel cutlery.
How many other things in life are used almost every day, then machine washed, thrown haphazardly into a drawer & regularly survive in a working condition for much more than a century.
#8
-This-Whomps- said:
Metal pencil sharpeners (the manual kind, not electric).
Don't buy the plastic ones in the school supply section. Go to the art section. Those metal sharpeners are CHOICE.
normopathy replied:
I have a blackwing two-stage sharpener, I could do surgery with a pencil sharpened with it.
nether_wallop replied:
Please don't.
A Random Demon Spawns 3 years ago
This! As an art student, those little metal ones are the best. I have used the fancy ones that pencil companies try to sell you like prismacolors and fabrer-castelle, they stink. Electric pencil sharpeners are the only thing that comes close to how well those little metal ones sharpen.
phil blanque 3 years ago
Well...and pencils. What a well designed marking instrument. Simple, and elegant. One can make a masterpiece with a pencil from Walgreens. With a sharpener.
Ana Ferreira 3 years ago
I have a "graphite tattoo" in the palm of my hand caused by a friend trying to show me how sharp her pencil was after using one of these.
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
I will definitely look for one of those. I draw a lot! The Blackwing sounds perfect
#9
As a new parent... diapers. Disposable diapers in particular.
Imagine being told as an engineer, you need to design a device to contain the vilest, grossest materials known to man. Both liquids and goopy solids. This device must have 3 tight seals against a constantly moving and wiggling life form of inconsistent size. Said life form has notoriously delicate skin, so the materials you can use are drastically limited. It must be able to be removed and installed in seconds by amateurs running on approximately 14 minutes of sleep...
... and it has to cost about 30 cents a unit.
Lady Goldberry 3 years ago
Dunno why you got down voted for that, its true
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Jef Bateman 3 years ago
There are compostable bamboo diapers now. I don't know how easily they break down. They're a little more expensive, but might be worth a try (unless you live with a panda, in which case you might have a hard time keeping him away from your baby).
Teampandas GF 3 years ago
They still exist. But they have evolved. (My kids get skin problems with disposable diapers) I really like my cloth diapers.
Load More Replies... phil blanque 3 years ago
Nope, nope, nope. Plastic bags on a baby's body do not compare, even remotely, with a warm, dry, soft, cotton diaper. For traveling....disposable diapers. For home....soft, warm cotton.
iseefractals 3 years ago
Yeah, truly a marvel. "diapers may contain different pollutants including polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), organically active compounds of ethylene benzene, xylene and toluene, polyacrylates or phthalates. Some of them may be risky for children's health" Environmental poison, wrapped in plastic, filled with human waste that is than sealed in yet more plastic before making it's way to a dump. Sure, people could be using the reusable, washable nappies (which the majority of people did until the 1980's) but hey, these are just so convenient. Yet another needlessly destructive product.
suzanne van Doorn 3 years ago
Very happy with my cloth diapers. My eldest as well as my youngest have worn them. Saves you a fortune as well!
Gigi 3 years ago
the babies struggled with a lot of infections and rashes before the disposable diapers appeared, their loins rubbed against the various diaper holders. in this case, all other aspects of this need to be overwritten, especially since we used several times more textile diapers than these well-functioning products
Carl Watson 3 years ago
Cloth "diapers", nappies to us, bought in 1962 for first of our 2 kids, did for the kids, then used as surgery towels for many years, then as darkroom towels for longer, ended up as cleaning cloths in the garage, still around after 60 years.
#10
HuntertheGoose said:
Batteries are marvels of engineering packed tightly into a minuscule canister, even AA batteries are incredibly sophisticated internally.
Toboloroner replied:
I saw a video of someone take apart a lithium energizer battery the other day - and it looks like cotton balls and folded foil just all jammed together.
Like, someone figured out how to harness so much energy into that thing???
It's me admitting that I can barely tie my shoes, and here are people just casually throwing atoms together to make my car go zoom.
Anna Banana 3 years ago
I remember finding physics classes really boring until in 7th grade the teacher made us memorize how a battery works (we had to write detailed descriptions on tests, like whole-page long descriptions). It was suddenly fascinating, probably because it moved from abstract theory into the real world.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Don't take apart a NiMH battery though, the contents will spontaneously combust.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Never store batteries this way. It's a good way to burn your house down.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Even more important in my opinion is when they managed to make rechargeable batteries- I can't remember the last time I had to buy a AA
neil jagurdo 3 years ago
I guess so, but I'm sure still using a lot of batteries that are the same as I used 50 years ago.They're just resting on their laurels. Come on batteries, step it up.
Nimues Child 3 years ago
A Danelectro battery! It would have come with the guitar effects box.
Marco Conti 3 years ago
I have that same Danelectro battery. It came with a pedal. Sadly the guitar was stolen.
#11
larryb78 said:
Zip ties. Such a simple piece of plastic but so versatile. I have one of the old fashioned chain link fences, some of the fasteners on the middle poles broke and in high winds the fence was swaying like crazy. A half dozen zip ties on the three posts and it doesn’t budge and nobody even knows they’re there.
loverlyone replied:
My son rebuilt the front of his car with them time and again. He’s a genius with a zip tie. With not hitting the car in front of him, not so much.
Teampandas GF 3 years ago
One can even reuse them sometimes. When it's a long zip tie and one cuts the right side, one can use it again. I started a small collection from shipped goods in a drawer and rarely use a new one since.
CLG 3 years ago
They also make reusable ones, with a tiny lip on the piece holding the tie so you can release the cable and open it up. Very handy to keep in a toolbox.
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David Brown 3 years ago
I wholeheartedly agree with this one. These little jewels are used in tons of stuff you probably don't even realize. Your tv, refrigerator, microwave, and most other electric and electronic devices in your home have these being used inside them to tidy up the wires. Police officers use a modified version of them. All types of race teams use them on their highspeed vehicles. And in a pinch as mentioned can hold your car together temporarily after minor accidents. I.t. and networking professionals use them to keep all their wiring and patch cables nice and neat. I can promise you that if they suddenly disappeared the world would be poorer for it.
Wintermute 3 years ago
Quality matters here. I bought some cheapo Harbor Freight ties once. Brittle and easily loosened. You get what you pay for with zip ties.
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
I use Zip ties for stairways in odd scale Paper(Card) shipmodels, they look great when painted.
Chris Longski 3 years ago
Those zip ties are not rated for outdoor use. Colors are wrong for outdoor use...
eff the haters 3 years ago (edited)
I guess you don't do very many jobs around the house? I don't even know how much of my stuff is held together with zip ties
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#12
the27thQuestioner said:
Matches.
SultanOfSwave replied:
Matches are underappreciated because people don't really understand how complex a match and striker are.
From the Encyclopedia Britannica....
"The head of a match uses antimony trisulfide for fuel. Potassium chlorate helps that fuel burn and is basically the key to ignition, while ammonium phosphate prevents the match from smoking too much when it's extinguished. Wax helps the flame travel down the matchstick and glue holds all the stuff together. The dye-- well, that just makes it look pretty. On the striking surface, there's powdered glass for friction and red phosphorus to ignite the flame.
Now, the fun stuff-- striking a match against the powdered glass on the matchbox creates friction. Heat from this friction converts the red phosphorus into white phosphorus. That white phosphorus is extremely volatile and reacts with oxygen in the air, causing it to ignite. All this heat ignites the potassium chlorate, creating the flame you see here.
Oxidizers, like potassium chlorate, help fuels burn by giving them more oxygen. This oxygen combines with antimony trisulfide to produce a long-lasting flame so you have enough time to light a candle. The whole thing is coated with paraffin wax, which helps the flame travel down the match. Just don't burn the house down.
As antimony oxidizes, sulfur oxides form, creating that burnt-match scent. The smoke you're seeing is actually tiny unburned particles resulting from an incomplete combustion. Individually, they're a little bit too small to see but grouped together, they form smoke. There's also some water vapor in there.
By the way, all the stuff that we're explaining in 90 seconds, it all happens within tenths of a second. Chemistry's fast."
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
Ooh... as a nerd, I love watching nerds fight about science. Upvotes all around!
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Glenn M 3 years ago
Did you know they aren't making matches any longer......they are long enough.....
Terry Butler 3 years ago
Told my 99-year-old father-in-law that one. Made him chuckle. Good one!
Load More Replies... Marco Conti 3 years ago
More trivia: that White Phosphorus that gets created by friction from Red Phosphorus, is the same thing many militaries use for a variety of things. It's called a WP round, affectionately known as "Willie Pete". It's not supposed to be used as an antipersonnel weapon, but all militaries, including the US, use it anyway because it creates a dense fog/smoke that can be used to mark targets. In reality, a WP round will send small fragments of White Phosphorus that if they hit a soldier's skin, uniform or even armor, will burn through until it's extinguished. I am told it's not pleasant and water won't put it out. Nothing will put it out.
Melanie Filmer 3 years ago
My tiny town (Stockton-on-Tees) is where John Walker was from (inventor of the friction match)
#13
Yoink_Tactics said:
Glass bottles. Let's melt this rock into a clear, brittle material and turn it into what? Windows? Decorations? Screens? No, we're making pressure vessels, baby!
DisownedByMother replied:
Glass in general. There is a Museum of Glass in Corning NY. It's pretty interesting and there are some very old pieces there with information on some of the ancient glass making techniques.
Troux 3 years ago (edited)
There's a historical what-if theory which focuses on how China - renowned for being fantastically prolific inventors - invented ceramics for themselves, which covered all of their drinking and containing needs. Had they instead stumbled upon glass, it would have eventually led to all of the historically monumental inventions such as the microscope, telescope, light bulb, television, etc. and would have changed the script of worldwide innovation and industrial dominance entirely.
Kevin Teng 3 years ago
I've been to Corning and would recommend it. Really cool building with really nice displays, and it's also not far from Niagara falls. It's also very kid-friendly. 10/10 would go again.
phil blanque 3 years ago
Glass is amazing. It does not corrode, as most metals do....even chromium metals. It is so inert, that it does not react with other chemicals. That is why so much laboratory equipment is glass.
Bored Retsuko 3 years ago
And that's why it's safe for storing food, too.
Load More Replies... Jef Bateman 3 years ago
I studied how glass is made for a lesson I was teaching on early modern history. Most people think it is just heated sand, but the process is actually quite complex. It's a miracle we ever figured it out.
Terry Tobias 3 years ago
The Corning Museum of Glass also has demonstrations of glass blowing. It's pretty amazing!
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
Some of San Francisco’s old Victorians still have their original windows, and it makes it easy to see the liquid aspect of glass because the bottom of the pane is so thick and the top is very thin.
#14
notanotherbreach said:
LEDs. Cheap diodes. Even colours. Ok, I dislike the blue ones but tint them and you get warm white.
Tactical_Moonstone replied:
Blue LEDs are a Nobel Prize-winning invention for how revolutionary they have been in lighting.
David Brown 3 years ago
It's hard to imagine not having led flashlights if you've ever had to use a crappy incandescent style flashlight.
Maria Mendez 3 years ago
Yes, but try driving at night with them in your rear-view mirror-I swear I heard my eyeballs sizzle!
Josh Tall 3 years ago
but constant exposure to the light from Blue LEDs can cause eye issues, like severe dryness!
#15
XG2L5TM3WK said:
A red brick
DjangoVanTango replied:
Great Answer. There’s a great book called At Home by Bill Bryson which explains the history behind the way we live in our homes. Things like why it’s salt and pepper on our tables, why forks have four tines (a word I learned on the book) m and it includes a whole chapter (admittedly not the highlight of the book) on the history of bricks and how the humble brick literally shaped the way we lived from building our houses to the manufacturing process. The sort of thing that is both utterly fascinating and painfully dull at the same time.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I love, love, love “At Home.” Fascinating and educational! This book also convinced me to always put down the toilet seat lid when I flush…I had never really considered the whole “everything that’s in there sprays into the air and gets all over stuff.” TOOTHBRUSH!!!
Anna Banana 3 years ago
I love Bill Bryson but I remember the Myth Busters doing an experiment about it, and they've found that after a month of regular use, toothbrushes standing over open toilets had exactly the same amount of poop and bacteria as the ones standing over toilets which had their lids closed while flushing. And the amount wasn't "none".
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censor 3 years ago
I am always amazed that romans used bricks and cement and that stuff is still standing.
Megan O'Neill 3 years ago
Ancient Roman cement (concrete) is fascinating. It used a specific volcanic ash (Pozzolana) that prevents cracks from spreading.
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Michelle Carlson 3 years ago
I love almost any book by Bill Bryson. One of the best is One Summer 1927. I was amazed at how much history happened in that one year and he just details it in such a great way.
#16
OurLadyOfWalsingham said:
Road reflectors. Countless lives saved.
Rit_Zien replied:
Similarly, rumble strips. On the shoulders and in the center. I'm sure they've saved my Dad's life many times over.
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
Ever see the YouTube video of the European town (sorry to be so nonspecific) that designed rumble strips that produce a tune when you drive over them?
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GFSTaylor 3 years ago
Cat's eyes should be more common outside the UK. They are cheap, very low maintentance, and so valuable on country roads.
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Jerry Mathers 3 years ago
It funny that reflectors and rumble strips are mentioned, but I think the paved roads themselves are an amazing invention. Granted the materials are not eco friendly, but the benefit is outstanding. What once took weeks and much wear tear on your car can now be done in days. If you push it back just a bit farther in time, that same journey was months and a low survival rate.
Guacamole Boy 3 years ago
I remember the delegation of Norway being very proud of such invention.
#17
Much_Committee_9355 said:
Those thermic isolated cups you see construction workers drinking from, you can’t say Stanley or Yeti is just junk after trying it out.
MaxDamage1 replied:
I bought the Stanley granpa-going-fishing thermos. If you follow the instructions, it's ungodly how well it works. I actually started using their method with my cold yeti can thingy and it's amazing.
For those unfamiliar with how to use a thermos properly, you fill the thermos with boiling water for about 15 minutes, dump that water out, and then put in your coffee/tea. By preheating your thermos, it will keep that drink hotter than hell for hours beyond the already long heat containment you get using a room temp thermos. If you fill a can with water, freeze it, and put it in your yeti can cooler for a bit before you put your drink in it, it will extend its cooling abilities too.
Secondary fun fact: you can also use a thermos as a slow cooker. I'd preheat my thermos, put my stew ingredients in a pan and bring it to a boil, dump it all into my thermos, and leave it in my lunch box for the 5-6 hours until lunch. It's still steaming hot and all the ingredients have cooked down. It even worked with those ultra tough beef stew chunks and raw barley. Both were soft and slow cooked to perfection.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I love ice-cold water, so I have a multitude of thermoses that I fill half-full and put in the freezer…when my current thermos loses its ice, I partially refill it and take the next one from the freezer. It’s absolutely wonderful!
DuchessDegu 3 years ago
Can you put thermos in the freezer??? You've just changed my life!!!!!!!
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Robert Trebor 3 years ago
I have a Stanley thermos I bought in the 1970's. Once it got knocked into a drydock in a shipyard. When I retrieved it, the tea was just fine. Actually well mixed. 😁
David Brown 3 years ago
People can say what they want about yeti products but I've yet to find anything that works remotely as well as their stuff does. My big yeti tumbler will keep ice in it all day long no matter how hot it is outside. Only draw back is if it's left in the sun for very long it'll damn near blister your hand when you pick it up.
#18
Hugh_JaRod said:
Velcro
Pinkbeans1 replied:
This made my kids’ shoes so much easier to deal with!
Of course, Dad (Grandpa) insisted on teaching them to tie shoelaces anyway. My kids were tying everyone else’s shoelaces for them in kindergarten.
Robert Trebor 3 years ago
I had someone almost convinced that the furry Velcro came from Slovenia and the hooky stuff from Slovakia, and it was a happy chance that they came together.
#19
LefterisLegend said:
The lighter. Spontaneously ignite fire basically whenever you want.
raitalin replied:
Specifically, Bic lighters are incredibly reliable. You can find one on the ground that's been outside for months and they still work. Cheaper disposables break in a million ways and more expensive refillable lighters will leave you disappointed if you store them, but you can always keep a Bic handy and know it'll work when you need it.
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
And when they die you can turn them into tiny motorcycles. (Instructions on Twisted Sifter" https://twistedsifter.com/2011/01/how-to-turn-a-lighter-into-a-motorcycle/ Screen-Sho...70-png.jpg 
jon gilbertson 3 years ago
i bought a usb rechargeable lighter, absolutely love it . charge lasts for thousands of lights and is waterproof
Miss Ann Thrope 3 years ago
Saw Surviorman find a bic lighter on the washed up on a beach. Worked like a charm.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
You can refill most butane lighters, even the cheap ones. Nearly all use the same style of fill port and a new can of butane usually comes with a wide variety of adapters.
Featherytoad 3 years ago (edited)
I've put Bic lighters through the washer. Once they dry out, they still work. The cheap ones (Scripto) the wheels always break and they worthless.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I use matches for all of my lighting needs…no plastic, plus I kinda like that phosphorus smell.
#20
TriggeredSnake said:
Hinges! I had to [do] a study on them for my engineering class.
MagnusBruce replied:
I bet that bit of work opened some doors for you.
GreatPlagiarist replied:
I always get a laugh when you swing by.
[But in all seriousness...]
DonatellaVerpsyche replied:
Are we talking only metal hinges or are we talking bookbinding / box hinges, like the 2 hinges holding a 3 ring binder together? I did a massive project of recycling 3 ring binders and made all my own fabric and leather hinges. FASCINATING STUFF! How flexible/ not flexible the fabric had to be +how much glue to both create and hold the shape of the binder while letting it open completely like a plastic hinge. It was honestly fascinating nerdy stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for hinges (the wrap around and displacement of the main panels).
Lady Goldberry 3 years ago
First urchin: when is a door not a door? Second urchin: when its ajar! (Urchins supplied by T.Pratchett ;))
#21
The intermodal shipping container, a/k/a the Connex box. There are millions of the damned things all over the world, in use every single day. They are stackable, can be locked together, attach readily to ships, truck trailer frames, and rail cars, and can bear enormous loads.
The cost of their manufacture compared to their economic use value over their useful lives is next to nothing.
Arthur Waite 3 years ago
And they can be turned into housing units, quite comfortable and efficient. Low-cost housing is becoming a modern quest.
B 🇺🇦🇨🇦 3 years ago (edited)
I make an above-minimum-wage decent salary but with rent prices these days, I’m left with like $600-$1000 a month to pay for my own food and groceries, laundry detergent etc/cat food and litter and vet stuff/utilities like heat and internet/bills like credit card and loan payment/car insurance and gas (I’m selling my car because I can’t afford this atm)/medication/savings for the future or emergencies/building a pet fund for my cats so I have emergency money for them just in case/saving for retirement/having a tiny bit of fun like going out for a birthday dinner once in a while (because what’s the point of working if you can’t use your wages to enjoy your life just a tiny bit once in a while?) And the worst part is - I’m luckier than so many people with how much I happen to make! It’s actually a fairly average salary! There are people struggling to do all this on much less money than I have. This system is unsustainable and honestly, kind of cruel.
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Bill Stout 3 years ago
They were originally made by a gentleman from Maxton NC a small town in Robeson County about 25 miles from Lumberton NC
#22
The_Gene_Genie replied:
Computer processors, they're rocks we tricked into thinking.
waywardclip replied:
Little [munchkins] keep asking me to prove I'm not a robot.
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
Well, see that's the thing. The primary cost of the chip is the construction of the chipmaker. Once that chipmaker is made, they're fantastically cheap to make additional chips. But old chipmakers make obsolete chips (although they are very useful as components in other machines, like cars, hence, the car-chip crisis). So the chip-makers can't AFFORD to offer cheap chips in end-user products. They have to charge money to continue to make new chip-makers, which cost BILLIONS of DOLLARS EACH!!!! (A single component manufacturing machine can cost well over a hundred million dollars, and a typical, modern chip can include dozens of components.)
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#23
Tarps. A million tasks for them; they're incredibly versatile. Make a shelter, make a floor, make a carriage vessel, make a weather-proof housing for firewood or anything outdoors you want protected. Use it at a picnic; it's better than a blanket on the ground. Because of the threading they're still mostly effective even when a tear develops. And because of that same threading they can distribute weight and hold up against snow and rain buildup. Then you can just take it down, spray it with a hose if needed; it's good as new. Fold it up to a compact form, and toss it in a corner until you need it next. You are never far from a store or gas station that sells them for cheap. Always keep one in your trunk.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
Thanks…I’ll get one for my trunk, plus I’ll toss my sleeping bag back there so that if I need to spend the night in my car, I can spend it near my car instead.
#24
LucyVialli said:
Paper clip.
aMiracleAtJordanHare replied:
My industrial design professors said the paper clip may be the most perfectly-designed product in existence.
#25
HermitAndHound said:
Clothespins/-pegs, the wooden ones. People keep on trying to find some other way to do the job but never come up with something this durable and reliable.
carl84 replied:
The missus keeps buying plastic ones which degrade in the sun and shatter left, right, and centre all over the garden
Cheryl Ramsay 3 years ago
The very best clothespins were made in Montpelier, Vermont at the Montpelier clothespin factory. Don't know if they're still in business, but I have enough to hang all my wash 3 times over and I bought them in the 80's. They never get "moldy" and the springs never. wear. out.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I found a more sturdy plastic type that won't leave marks like wooden ones tend to do on white clothes. As long as you don't leave them out for weeks at a time they last for years and years.
Cat Palmer 3 years ago
And if broken in two can be used to 'lock' a bathroom door at a pub which offers pink Himalayan salt for your chips but apparently can't afford actual locks for its bathroom doors. (I went there last week and it's still low-key bugging me!)
#26
karmicbreath said:
Rubber bands.
thehogdog replied:
Stretch one over a tough to unscrew screw so you dont strip the screw head.
twoduvs replied:
How does this help?
InShortSight replied:
Putting the rubber between the metal of the screw and the screwdriver can increase traction and make tougher screws come easier.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I use them on the end of clothes hangers for dresses that have a wider cut and fall off otherwise.
pink_panda 3 years ago
Great for unscrewing a stuck jar lid too. Wrap a rubber band around the lid and one or two around the jar to give yourself much better grip!
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦 3 years ago
I remember launching those at my brother back and forth. Those things (especially the thicker ones) would leave a welt
#27
BL1860B said:
Hard drives. F*****g spinning glass disks that hold terabytes of data.
implicitpharmakoi replied:
Yeah, this is the one where I really think "they engineered that to hell ". The heads fly microns above the platters on a cushion of air (in newer drives, helium). The precision of the voice coils in aligning the heads. The dsp circuitry to process the signal that should be noise. And modern hard disks have to warm the area they write with a laser so it'll hold the magnetic charge. They spin for years, and are surprisingly fast.
Absolutely incredible.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
My first exposure to any type of computer came in the form of a Magcard machine. After that came IBM’s System 6, and then it moved off of strips and small tapes to large, computer disks that were flexible and easy to ruin but held heaps o’ stuff, relatively speaking. And then the floppy disk got smaller, and then it stopped being floppy. I worked as a Word Processor from 1975 until I switched from office work to video store employee…just burnt out from twenty years in a chair. And while I was doing that, Bill Gates released his first Mac, and my old job just disappeared.
Rob Chapman 3 years ago
The first hard disk drive was the IBM 350. It held only 3.75 megabytes (and required 52 24-inch disks to do it) and was held in a computer cabinet that weighed 1 ton.
#28
SuperFerno317 said: Carabiners, cheap, easy to use, super useful for just about anything, and the higher grade ones (30-ish USD) can hold up a truck. What else needs to be said? samx3i replied: > "super useful for just about anything" Like what? I'm genuinely baffled as to what they're for but I see them sold everywhere. SuperFerno317 replied: They’re essentially used for clipping two objects together securely while still being simple to unclip. They can be used for things as minor as connecting your water bottle to a backpack or connecting a dog leash to their harness to more critical things such as ensuring that a construction worker doesn’t fall off a 200 foot skyscraper or securing a hot air balloon to the ground.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
I use a carabiner as a keyring. Each key is on its own split ring, then threaded onto the carabiner. This makes it easy to hand off my car key to a valet or mechanic. Plus, I can clip the carabiner right onto my purse (or belt loop or bra strap) and not worry about losing my keys.
AnxietyRiddenMom 3 years ago
I have the cutest carabiner key chain. It's a big one with a series of little ones attached to it that holds individual keys. It's adorable. Lol
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D20 Games 3 years ago
I have my work badge on a janitors clip, on my carabiner. Clipped to my belt loop. Along with a small knife. It's out without me having to carry it in my hand. I use another one for my YMCA bag. Keeps everything together, lock, bag, and membership fob. I always have a few extras around for various jobs.
#29
Reaganson said: The Wonderbar. It’s a crowbar. DaveTheRave1nonly replied: Yes! I use them all the time. Combined with a hammer, most precisely destructive handheld piece of metal you could ask for. ButternutSasquatch replied: The Wonder bra. Provides equally important leverage.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
Re the last one: Now that I’m retired, I let my wonders live an uncaged life!
Jo Johannsen 3 years ago (edited)
Me, too. Day I retired, got home, took bra off, never looked back. If you don't like the look, don't look.
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#30
CrassChris76 said: Plungers. gsfgf replied: And make sure you have the right kind. The red ones are for flat drains like sinks and tubs. The black one with the extra bit is for the [poopier] because it can actually get a seal.
A Random Demon Spawns 3 years ago
Ah yes, poopier, the common phrase that every human being uses.
Robert Trebor 3 years ago
If you have seals in your poopier you have bigger problems than poop.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I have them both. When I’ve moved, I’ve left the toilet one behind, resting on a large-sized yogurt container lid and I start anew in my new apartment.
Kenny Kulbiski 3 years ago
Unfortunately in most cases they just confirm the fact that you need to call a plumber.
#31
Anonymous said:
Manual can opener.
CrossXFir3 replied:
Which came out like a hundred years after the can. What a bitch it must've been eating canned food.
Pseudonymico replied:
Well it would’ve been pretty weird if it was the other way round.
dont_disturb_the_cat replied:
Alternatively, pop-top cans. Who needs a can opener when you can break your thumbnail and open your cat food and alphabet soup without them?
M O'Connell 3 years ago
It was impossible to make a twist-handle can opener for the first hundred years or so because can lidding methods hadn't been standardized in such a way that a universal can opener would be possible. Cans were either punched and drained, levered open with something like a US P-38, or torn open with a can key.
iseefractals 3 years ago
My wife, having lived her entire life in romania, first experienced one of these can openers....6 months ago. To be fair, most cans here have pull tabs (which often fail) but this type of opener didn't seem to even exist in stores here until about 2 years ago. She is mesmerized by it, and it is adorable.
Tim Douglass 3 years ago
Love can openers over the pop tops that always leave a rim that catches some of the food and has a razor sharp edge to help you check how well your blood clots.
#32
wet-paint said:
The transistor.
chriswaco replied:
I remember how amazed we were in 1985 to see a chip with 68,000 transistors. Now they’re at 68 billion.
giritrobbins replied:
My favorite part was in school my professor talking about how they used to do the layouts on transparencies by hand.
Or how during Apollo the guidance aspect of the program was buying up a significant portion of the national production capacity of transistors.
Billy Maguire 3 years ago
I remember when we were mazed by a single transistor in a tiny black case with 3 wires attached.
Wintermute 3 years ago
Studied transistors a bit in college. Outwardly the difference between tubes and solid state transistors seems like the difference between biplanes and jet engines, but functionally it's more like the difference between paper airplanes and the space shuttle. Unfortunately, they were pioneered by a total racist douchebag, so... yay progress?
#33
Die_woofer said:
Soda/beer cans. The design has existed for decades with few changes.
It’s a way of using a relatively small amount of cheap metal to withstand the pressure of carbonated beverages with a reliable opening mechanism.
During pandemic I also noticed that some companies stopped using thicker material on the upper ‘ridge’ of the can, probably due to supply shortages. They instead used a sort of stepped system that appeared to be almost as strong.
dmukya replied:
Every few years you will see the can design change as they find additional areas to reduce the use of aluminum. You can still find newly manufactured cans in the old designs in some of the more remote areas with less demand, like Hawaii. It's cheaper to create and fill cans on the island than import them, but the payback from updating to the newest can forming machines isn't quite there for the volume of cans they manufacture. So they get hand me downs and cast offs.
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
You can use the bottom of an aluminum (aluminium if you're in the UK) and a chocolate bar to start a fire. You use the chocolate (which has tiny bits of the cacao shell in it) to polish the bottom until it shines like a mirror and use that parabolic shape as a reflector to focus sunlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipMd5A7eUsc
Everything is fascinating. 3 years ago
I ive in North England, what's "sunlight"?
Load More Replies... Kenny Kulbiski 3 years ago
The metal has changed. I remember when you had to be a " real man" to crush one single handed. Also the panic that set in when the church key was lost.
#34
noping_dafuq_out said:
Ball bearings.
Sullypants1 replied:
Even the cheapest ball bearings with the loosest tolerances are still made in the 10~50 micron range of tolerance. It only gets better from there. (Abec spec anyways).
When I say ‘ball bearings” I’m loosely referring to the races and rolling elements of any roller element bearing. (ball, taper, needle, cylinder , etc, two races, one race no race!, etc).
Kenny Kulbiski 3 years ago
I've always wondered how they manufacture so many with such exacting tolerances.
Kendra Miller 3 years ago
I work in shipping for a percison machine shop. We have big fancy machines that will take a raw piece of metal material and carve it according to specs our programmers programed based on drawing provided by our customers. The first off is taken and checked by quality assurance and if it's good, they will load it up with as much material as it can que and let it run on auto pilot until we have our quantity or it needs reloading.
Load More Replies... willi santiago 3 years ago
Until a couple years ago, China was unable to manufacture ball bearings.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
The Swedes had the market cornered for a long while.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Every time I hear the word ball bearing I think of the 'shaggy dog tale' my granddad told about the 'glook'. I don't remember exactly how it goes (like so many things he entertained us with I wish I wrote it down when I could) but the glook was the sound of ball bearings falling off the side of a ship.
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
Yes...bearings are a wonderful, labor saving thing. So much easier to install than babbitt bearings.
#35
Those containers used to store Chinese Food. They are durable, compact, keep the food hot, and don't really leak. They also collapse into a plate if you choose too. My favorite thing might be they don't take up much space in the rubbish bin either. Great product, and must cost less than a cent.
Kookamunga 3 years ago (edited)
The collapse into a plate thing was unknown to me until recently.... takeout-bo...68f52c.jpg 
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago (edited)
Is this a new feature or have I just been missing out?
Load More Replies... Fat Harry 3 years ago
We don't use that style in the UK, or at least I've never seen them. We have tinfoil trays with plastic-coated cardboard lids.
James016 3 years ago
Can confirm as I finished eating a Chinese takeaway about 10 mins ago.
Load More Replies... Sinkvenice 3 years ago
I'm English and have always been deeply jealous of how America use these boxes and not the shitty plastic/foil with a cardboard lid that doesn't get all soggy, containers.
percysowner 3 years ago
I wish more takeout places would use these instead of plastic containers.
#36
EIephants said:
A doorknob and a lock. Not that they don’t have their flaws, but I’d have a hard time making something that works that reliably that frequently.
Arch____Stanton replied:
I install them by the thousand over the last decade+.
The build and material quality has consistently been getting worse. There is a noticeable difference between a door knob made 15 years ago and one made recently (Chinese efficiency).
At one point they were being shipped with screws with little to no metal content. They lasted about a month before switching back up one step to some metal content.
The knobs themselves are so cheap they will dent when dropped on carpet.
So I would say though the system design has remained adequate the knobs and deadbolts have seriously declined in quality.
eff the haters 3 years ago
I read this as cockscrew and was really confused for a minute
Load More Replies... Sofie 3 years ago (edited)
I see door knobs in America on TV and wonder why I have never seen them here in Sweden. Door handles everywhere here 🤔 And another thing, I have read that door knobs were made out of a material that would naturally repell bacteria/viruset. Maybe brass? I think that's really smart!
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Yeah brass is essentially self cleaning. In Australia most of our exterior doors have knobs, but there is more variety for interior ones. You are just as likely to have handles as knobs. I remember as a kid thinking how, when I had a house of my own I wanted one of the 'fancy' solid wood doors with groove decorations in the wood and silver handles. Now I have my own house I realise how much difference the price is!
Load More Replies... #37
randomreuben said: Mechanical pencils and their leads. Consistent size of the most fragile thing you’ve ever seen, shipped all over the world. Mizar97 replied: Graphite is a lot easier on cutting tools than steel, I'm betting the machinery that makes the graphite sticks requires very little maintenance.
Ludwig Michiel 3 years ago
Every time I change strings on a guitar, I lubricate the string saddles and the nut with a mechanical pencil. It really improves tuning stability.
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
I have an old rubber squeeze bulb from the 40s-50s that contains graphite for spraying into locks. Unlike WD-40 or other spray lubricants, dust or other particulates don't stick to it. You can use a pencil on the teeth and grooves of a key to do the same thing.
#38
FadeToOne said:
Not exactly cheap, but I'm impressed that I can have a ceiling fan run on high for 15 years straight and not have it explode on me.
No-Confusion1544 replied:
I seriously startled myself when I realized the only time my ceiling fan had been off since I moved in was when the power went out.
Autumn_Sweater replied:
You should turn it off to clean it once in a while. It gets sticky dust on it.
einulfr replied:
And to switch direction for summer/winter.
'Winter' mode is also useful in the summer if you have a second floor and open all of the upstairs windows as it will help push the heat out. I do this for the evenings, then shut the windows early in the morning and flip the fan back to normal.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I thought it was so cool, when we moved into the house my grandad built, my parents had a ceiling fan in their room! Unfortunately now that climate change is making summers more unpredictable using just a fan doesn't always cut it :(
Sebastián Morales 3 years ago
i have a still perfectly working ceiling fan from 1996. I wasn't even born when the ceiling fan was made
#39
lallen said:
Injection molded stuff like plastic ball valves. Stuff we don't think about, but is amazingly good and cheap.
SuperHuman64 replied:
We actually make those at work. They are very simple. There are several EPDM o-rings used, along with polyethylene seats for the balls. Although they are for use with water, they hold up easily under 80psi of air used in testing.
The IRS 3 years ago
Air conditioning Antibiotic Banking Barbed Wire Barcode Battery Billy Bookcase Clock Cold Chain Compiler Concrete Contraceptive Pill Cuneiform Department Store Diesel Engine Disposable Razor Double-entry Bookkeeping Dynamo Elevator Google Gramophone Haber-Bosch Process Index Fund Infant formula Insurance Intellectual Property iPhone Leaded Petrol Lightbulb Limited Liability Company M-Pesa Management Consulting Market Research Paper Paper money Passport Plastic Plough Property Register Public key cryptography Radar Robot S-Bend Seller Feedback Shipping Container Tally stick Tax Haven TV Dinner Video Game Welfare State
What do you think ?
Uber Mensch 3 years ago
The humble pencil - the wooden one, not mechanical. Cheap, efficient, can be sharpened anywhere (even by pinching off bits of wood with fingernails!), the writing lasts as long as whatever is written on.
TeaDude 3 years ago
An invention missing here is the humble British electrical plug. It holds all three cables in a simple arrangement that every UK child learns before the age of 11. It disconnects the live prongs before the earthing prong is disconnected making it impossible to electrocute yourself when taking it out, and you can easily change the fuse from 3Amps all the way to 13Amps in seconds. It's such a shame so few countries use it.
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
I was baffled about why they were so great because they look functionally similar to an American 3-prong (type B) plug. But it's the female end (sorry, that's the technical term) that's unique: you have to penetrate the ground line first to allow the live lines to be penetrated.
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
Well, all the seven simple machines should be included. (The wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, screw, wedge and lever.)
Load More Replies... Disgruntled Panda 3 years ago
I like this, gave me more appreciation for things I generally take for granted
Arthur Waite 3 years ago
I would suggest the Percussion cap, to ignite gunpowder for firearms. Evolved into the modern primer, two basic types (European = Berdan; American = Boxer). Still in use for about 150 years, despite various attempts to replace them with electronics. And Who Knows how many cartridges there are in the world?
Mistiekim 3 years ago
I don’t know if they are the greatest inventions ever, but it’s always a random fact that I enjoy. White out and the post-it note were both invented by Michael Nesmith’s (of the Monkees) mom. And you know what didn’t work? Elizabeth Holmes’s Edison machine.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I thought Romy and Michelle invented Post-its lol
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
In general, anything using the principles of leverage to increase force, from a crowbar to a hammer to a jack.
Uber Mensch 3 years ago
The humble pencil - the wooden one, not mechanical. Cheap, efficient, can be sharpened anywhere (even by pinching off bits of wood with fingernails!), the writing lasts as long as whatever is written on.
TeaDude 3 years ago
An invention missing here is the humble British electrical plug. It holds all three cables in a simple arrangement that every UK child learns before the age of 11. It disconnects the live prongs before the earthing prong is disconnected making it impossible to electrocute yourself when taking it out, and you can easily change the fuse from 3Amps all the way to 13Amps in seconds. It's such a shame so few countries use it.
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
I was baffled about why they were so great because they look functionally similar to an American 3-prong (type B) plug. But it's the female end (sorry, that's the technical term) that's unique: you have to penetrate the ground line first to allow the live lines to be penetrated.
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
Well, all the seven simple machines should be included. (The wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, screw, wedge and lever.)
Load More Replies... Disgruntled Panda 3 years ago
I like this, gave me more appreciation for things I generally take for granted
Arthur Waite 3 years ago
I would suggest the Percussion cap, to ignite gunpowder for firearms. Evolved into the modern primer, two basic types (European = Berdan; American = Boxer). Still in use for about 150 years, despite various attempts to replace them with electronics. And Who Knows how many cartridges there are in the world?
Mistiekim 3 years ago
I don’t know if they are the greatest inventions ever, but it’s always a random fact that I enjoy. White out and the post-it note were both invented by Michael Nesmith’s (of the Monkees) mom. And you know what didn’t work? Elizabeth Holmes’s Edison machine.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I thought Romy and Michelle invented Post-its lol
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
In general, anything using the principles of leverage to increase force, from a crowbar to a hammer to a jack.
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