40 Times People Thought Of Stupid Solutions That Actually Work, As Shared On ‘Redneck Engineering’ (New Pics)
The only limit to accomplishing anything in life is your imagination. However, creativity and inventions don’t have to be overly complicated or all that original. You can make everyone’s lives far easier with small changes in how something is designed. Intrigued? Well then, welcome to the weird and wonderful world of ‘Redneck Engineering.’
A popular online community, r/redneckengineering is dedicated to slightly peculiar, sometimes even hilarious, but genuinely genius feats of jury-rigging. From self-feeding fires to mounts for your remote, we’ve collected some of the coolest feats of impromptu engineering. Scroll down to check out the pics that prove that there’s no problem that humankind can’t solve with whatever’s at hand!
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All Terrain Wheelchair I Built For My Wife
Redneck Shed Lock
Self Feeding Fire That Lasts 14 Hours
Genius doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it often isn’t! Often, the very best product designs are the ones that solve the problems that consumers have, whether they’re consciously aware of them or just sure that something is wrong.
The reality is that far from every product designer is in tune with what the end user actually needs or wants. Sometimes, their vision is at odds with practicality.
My Coworker Made A Magnetic Broom To Pick Up Metal From Our Parking Lot, After Another Coworker Got A Nail In Her Tire. Have To Say, It Works Very Well
"Huh, So This Works. Toothbrush Sander!" This Has Useful Implications For Those Hard To Reach Finishing Places
at first i was thinking "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR TEETH" then i realized
The solutions themselves don’t have to be marvelous feats of engineering that would wow and dazzle the entire world. All it can take is a slight change to the design: altering the shape, angles, and lines of the item in question to make it more user-friendly.
At the core of ‘Redneck Engineering’ lies simplicity. Redneck engineers (who don’t actually have to be rednecks or even engineers at all) are big fans of Occam’s razor. They take the most straightforward and obvious approach when solving a problem.
Wait Till Dem Kids Get A Load Of This
Went to high school with a kid who broke his arm playing mailbox baseball. Parents tried to sue and the judge referred the case to the feds (crime up to 3 years in prison and/or $25K for vandalizing a mailbox). Kid ended up getting probation and community service. Community service was repainting mailboxes.
My dad lived on a country road where this was a common occurence. He and a friend created a mail BOX made out of 1/4" plate steel welded together. Never had an issue after that. He sold the house and gave the mailbox to me and it was all I could do to lift it up to install it on the post (a railroad tie). It must weigh 60 lbs.
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This always has and always will bug me. You get hurt doing something you shouldn't be, it's your own fault. Take some responsibility. Those arguing otherwise are the reason we have some of the problems with today's youth having zero respect.
When I was a kid, there was a bunch of jerks at the beach, who just loved knocking down sandcastles children were building. Built one around the rock. Ouch...
My dad has one made from a section of a crane boom it made of thick heavy duty steel. Postmaster said as log as it can come out of the ground (not set in concrete) if hit by a vehicle it was fine.
I cannot love this more! Obviously live in the country where mailbox bashing is a Saturday night tradition......doing this this weekend!
I knew some kids in high school who would drive around and throw a grappling hook at mailboxes and rip them off of the posts. One time the grappling hook came flying back at the car. Another version of this "game" is kids putting fireworks in the mailboxes to cause them to explode.
Mine has been hit with a car, twice. One was off duty cop driving drunk. His car scoured the rural ditch, hit the mailbox, rolled sideways and slid into neighbor's yard. No injuries.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is mail box baseball? (I'm from England and we don't play baseball or have mailboxes like this?)
My grandfather did something like this after somebody kept hitting his mailbox with their car. Grandpa made his new mailbox out of a heavy ammo container, put it on a post so that it could swing back and forth, and then filled the post with concrete so it couldn't be knocked over. That way, when someone hit it, the big heavy ammo container would swing back and knock a massive dent in their car! It only got hit one more time after that...
looks like someone might have tested it out? dent on the right side.
BIL's box was mowed down twice. His neighborhood rules only allow only wood posts. To fix the box for the second time, he dug a deep hole and set a steel post into a concrete footing, then put a wood sleeve over the steel to conceal it. Now if someone tries to knock it down they might total their car.
My mother had a problem with people playing mailbox baseball quite regularly (I had to replace her mailbox 3-4 times a year). One time I bought metal tubing and put those in the ground next to the mailbox and painted them to match. In the dark, they were invisible against the mailbox. That fixed the problem for several years. Then one day the mailbox got completely destroyed. Obviously hit from the top down many many times. When I saw the broken glass nearby, it was apparent that someone broke their window, then stopped and destroyed the mailbox as revenge. I was OK with it, I knew that I had gotten the better of those idiots!
Everyone used stones, cement, and other sturdy methods to keep their mailboxes in one piece where I grew up. Eventually the boys knew to leave us hill people alone.
Thank goodness I was never into loud and crazy activities like mailbox baseball. I was a do-gooder boy.
We finally adapted our mailbox to make it break away when knocked. Easier to put it back on that way and a lot less damage to the mailbox.
Depending on the judge (and political affiliations of the county), the mailbox owner could end up paying for injuries to the delinquent. I personally don’t GAF about the perpetrator, but trying to protect the citizen who is tired of having their mailbox damaged. Our world is so backwards.
We had a kid in our rural town with a full baseball scholarship. He went and played this one night. It was like the one shown. Whelp, he broke his shoulder and and arm so badly, he now works at a gas station...
Keep in mind the law seems beyond the criminal side when it comes to brilliant ideas like this
I had a neighbor do that! I am guessing a kid got a broken arm by the looks of his shattered bat.
I read a story on the now defunct website "Why Do I Live Here?" where a man's ex-father-in-law created a mailbox like that due to the college kids who were purposely backing over his mailbox. The fifth time they did is when they put a huge dent in the back of their brand new PT Cruiser. The man said he even set up a camera to record them doing that to show to the police and the four broken mailboxes. The idiots had to pay for the repair to the PT Cruise and fines. They left the house they were renting after their parents found out.
Found out this was illegal. My dad wanted to do this after a couple mailboxes
I used to have problems with people backing into my mailbox trying to turn around. I never had the skills to make an indestructable one, so I made a breakaway one instead. When anyone backs into it falls apart, and all I have to do is put it together again.
I love that searching for the term 'mailbox baseball' shows up the first result as Trump.
I wrote it the same and it got censured lol.
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CSI had a show about some twit that concreted his mailbox - mailbox baseball is bad but killing someone for it is worse
Mailbox baseball is where stupid kids thinknig it is funny to go out and take a baseball bat and hit the mailboxes with it to do damage to them.
What happened to Bored Panda's fanatical censorship? Do F-Bombs get a pass now?
We had that growing up. It was left from the previous owner. We never had to worry about destruction by bat but bat attacks did knock it off the post. It was not fun having to lift that heavy thing up to reattach it to the post.
I guess you gotta live there to understand what the hell this is all about ? (I live in Philadelphia.)
Bored country kids driving down sparsely populated roads (often times farming communities) swinging at mailboxes with baseball bats. It's as dumb as it sounds.
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Doing this is illegal in most US jurisdictions, and if the "baseballer" is injured, the homeowner is often on the hook for medical bills. Also, this has killed people, and in those cases the homeowners were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Overall, just a bad idea.
in my country (I know I start a lot of posts with this), this would never be necessary. Mostly because our official postboxes (red ones) are british type made of steel, and quite big, (some still with GR on them from when George was king), but private ones are usually slots in the front wall which is usually these days 6ft tall. So... you'd have nothing to swing at. Also most people have realised paper post is BS and use email. Only thing you get in the post these days are invoices from DOT (DVLA/DMV) for traffic fines so who cares about those...
You're confusing post boxes for sending mail, with people's letter boxes for receiving mail. Those American mail boxes are used instead of the letter slots Brits have in their front doors.
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Solo Couch Carry
Cheap And Simple Mount For My Power Socket Remote Control
Does someone keep stealing the remote at your local laundromat? Instead of stressing about how you’ll have to work years and years to change how locals approach property rights, you could simply weld a little soap holder over it.
Or if you don’t have a spirit level with you while working on a construction project, you could just use a small bottle filled with some water.
Found At A Laundromat In Knoxville, Tn. Yes, You Can Still Press The Buttons
Sad to see how some folks still think this is an appropriate enclosure for a remote... they need at least 3 inches of couch cushion to burrow in to satisfy their natural instincts!
Fortunately They Don't Have An Hoa To Answer To. The Ingenuity Is Next Level
Lost The Screw Cap For Our Air Mattress. This Was The Third Bottle I Tried
Redneck engineering is about simplicity. It’s about being straightforward. It’s thinking on your feet and using whatever tools and materials you have at hand to jury-rig your way out of a problem.
It’s humankind summed up incredibly well because it showcases how flexible we can all be when the circumstances demand it. Sure, it might not look pretty! But don’t knock it if it works.
My Local Elotero Putting A Shopping Cart To Good Use
Actually Pretty Neat
That's One Way To Make A Step
Founded all the way back in the mid-summer of 2013, the online community has become one of the most well-known groups on Reddit. At the time of writing, the r/redneckengineering subreddit had already grown to 659k members, and there are no signs of their popularity waning any time soon.
There’s plenty of humor and quick engineering solutions to be found here.
Redneck Repurposing Of Kids' Recreational Toys
Forgot To Buy A Shower Curtain For The New Apartment And I Can’t Get One Until Tomorrow Evening. Two Trash Bags Cut Open And An Amount Of Duct Tap
Luggage Phone Mount
The moderator team has the right to interpret whether or not a member’s post “fits the spirit of the sub.” They note that an engineering solution doesn’t have to be redneck to quality as a prime example of redneck engineering.
Meanwhile, community members should also do their best to avoid reposting popular photos. Before you go ahead and share that awesome feat of jury-rigging that you found on your social media feed, check the sub’s sidebar to see if the photo hasn’t already been posted and reposted a billion times already.
The Base Was Broken, So Grandma Planted It
Spotted This Beauty At A Walmart
That Isn't Going Anywhere
Try to focus on originality, not racking up karma, as much as possible. You should also avoid claiming that you made something if you didn’t. Be fair to yourself and others, give credit where it’s due.
We’re pretty big fans of r/redneckengineering here at Bored Panda, and if you’re in need of some more engi-inspiration, you can check out our earlier features right here, here, here, and here.
Rediscovered My First Welding Project While Cleaning My Truck
Tired Of Looking For My Charger Cable
Now This Is Mile High Luxury!
The founder of the subreddit, u/flounder19, previously told us how the inspiration for the community was this post right here. A decade ago, the redditor declared that they’ll start the sub specifically for this sort of funny and funky engineering content. And from those humble beginnings grew a massively popular subreddit that continues to fascinate the internet.
Found While Hunting For A Road Trip Vehicle
Beer Can Taco Holder
Wait, is this a makeshift home solution or a pretentious hipster restaurant that charges $40 for that platter of tacos au beer can?
Well, They Fixed Their Trunk Latch Problem
"The things you can do with duct tape and zip ties alone is amazing. Plus it doesn't need to look good as long as it works right," the founder and head moderator, u/flounder19, told Bored Panda during an earlier interview. They added that no matter the type of DIY, your safety is paramount: "Don't die, please."
New Shoes? Why Should I Buy New Shoes?
Free Office Chair With Busted Caster Found In Dumpster. New Ones Are Like $300. Had These Parts Lying Around
Not Sure If This Fits Here But My Neighbor Towed My Other Neighbor With A Pallet Jack
Which of these redneck feats of engineering impressed you the most, Pandas? Were there any that seriously made you think, "Why didn't I think of that?!" Have you ever jury-rigged something with whatever you had at hand? We'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so scroll down to the comment section and have your say!
What In The West Virginia?
“I Got A Heated Pool Babe! Wanna Come Over?” The Pool:
Kudos for at least not using an electric radiator to heat the water
Hurricane Prep
This Was In California
My Grandma's Clever Way To Keep The Squirrels From Eating The Bird Feed
Based on my experience with squirrels, it won't work forever.........
Good As New!
Worried About Corrosion On The Salt TV Room Remote Until We Were Packing Meat…
The Ultimate Redneck Engineering From Russia
For Precision Hot Glueing
Outlets In My Very Old Appartment Aren't Grounded And I Kept Getting Shocks From Metal Laptop Case, So I Did This, Works Perfectly. How Bad Is It?
Note: this post originally had 147 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
"If it's stupid but it works, then it ain't stupid." All the flyscreens in my place rattled obnoxiously in the wind, but I found that a comb was just the right size to jam between them and the frame and stop that from happening. So I bought a packet of cheap combs and to this day if you open any window in my home there is a mysteriously present comb stuck in there. And no more rattling.
If you come up with easy and convenient fixes to even the smallest problems, you might just be a redneck!
I like the term "Shade tree engineering" better than "Redneck engineering".
With only two exceptions, these are by no means "stupid"! Rather clever people coming up with very good ways to handle situations that would have been foolish wastes of time and money if a pro was called in. Even the two were probably acceptable in the short term. I'm not clever enough to come up with any of these, so can't really even judge those two.
"If it's stupid but it works, then it ain't stupid." All the flyscreens in my place rattled obnoxiously in the wind, but I found that a comb was just the right size to jam between them and the frame and stop that from happening. So I bought a packet of cheap combs and to this day if you open any window in my home there is a mysteriously present comb stuck in there. And no more rattling.
If you come up with easy and convenient fixes to even the smallest problems, you might just be a redneck!
I like the term "Shade tree engineering" better than "Redneck engineering".
With only two exceptions, these are by no means "stupid"! Rather clever people coming up with very good ways to handle situations that would have been foolish wastes of time and money if a pro was called in. Even the two were probably acceptable in the short term. I'm not clever enough to come up with any of these, so can't really even judge those two.
