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If there's a problem, there's a solution. Of course, if the issue is very specific, a simple screwdriver probably won't do the trick. Luckily, human ingenuity has more to offer. A lot more. And you can see it all on the subreddit r/SpecializedTools.
It's an interesting corner of the internet, encouraging people to post photos of niche tools, created to make our lives better in situations where nothing else fits quite as well. A real delight to satisfy our curiosity.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
This Chair For People Who Love To Sit Cross-Legged
Most family garages probably have an assortment of tools and materials that could all be used to make, for example, a basic table for the backyard or even something more complex. The team at Dienamics, a company that specializes in industrial design, toolmaking, and manufacturing, says that tools are the backbone of modern industry and trade. They are essential in almost any construction project. However, we don't often stop to think about the process of making the tools themselves.
Many argue that in prehistoric times, one of the most important eras in our evolution was the utilization of basic tools. The earliest known human-made stone tools date back around 2.6 million years. Crafted and used by homo habilis (sometimes known as "handy man"), these implements marked the first in a series of major toolmaking advances among early human hunter-gatherer societies, lasting from the early Stone Age all the way up until the first modern humans, homo sapiens, made the transition to permanent agricultural settlements around 10,000 years ago. Tools allowed our ancient ancestors to have much more of an effect on the world around them, helping them to survive in more comfort, and achieve more with less.
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#2
Baby Head Protector
#3
Cow Brush
#4
A Seatbelts Attachment For Pregnant Women
As we evolved as a species, so did our tools and our ability to use them. These two elements were essential to the development of infrastructure, which spurred the establishment of trades like carpentry and blacksmithing which relied on an individual mastering the use of a certain tool or trade. While hand tools were once forged out of the natural environment, these trades fine-tuned the creation of their tools using iron, wood and other metals which were heated and remolded.
These days, the process of creating tools is a lot more specific which, according to Dienamics, means there is a uniformity in material, size, and weight of hand tools which wasn't possible before. Now, a hand tool is designed on a computer, taking into account specific measurements and densities which make it both efficient and easy to use.
#5
Tree Mover
#6
A Lift To Help This Truck Driver Get In Cab
#7
Surgical Suture Training Pad
#8
My Smallest And Largest Hex Keys For Working On Large Injection Molding Presses
#9
A Norwegian Shoe Drying Machine
#10
Snow Clearing Machine For Trucks!
#11
To Test Large Crane Capacity We Use Giant Water Bags... Aka The Balls Of Judgment
#12
In Case You Have Never Seen, These Baffle Balls Are Used Inside Water Trucks To Stop The Water From Sloshing Side To Side While Driving
#13
During The Australian Bushfires Any Water Source Can Be Used To Fight The Fires
#14
You Saw My Largest And Smallest Hex Keys. These Are My Largest And Smallest Adjustable Wrenches!
#15
This Titanium Coated Butter Knife With Internal Copper Alloy Heat Tubes. It’s Made To Heat Up When Held In Your Hand, So That It Is Easier To Spread Butter
Serial pacifist 4 years ago
"Titanium coated butter knife with internal copper alloy heat tubes". Really? Just to cut butter? What would you use for bread - a vibranium covered adamantium-made knife with a diamond-cutting laser beam?
#17
A Street Sign Cleaning Vehicle, Complete With Soap, Water, A Brush And Some Kind Of Reflective Wax (Or Something?). First Time Seeing One In Germany
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
In German it's probably called a Verkehrschildreinigungsmaschine.
#18
These Specialized Chain Tires That Are Used In The Extreme Heat Of Steel Mills
#19
Refueling Helicopter In Mid-Air
#20
My Buddy Made Me A Label Applicator. Just Passed 8000 Bottles/Labels
#22
The Sasumata Is A Pole Weapon Used By The Samurai In Feudal Japan. It's Also Used Today To Safely Wrangle Anyone Posing A Threat To Civilians
#23
New Type Of Parking Enforcement On My Campus Replacing The Boot, Appropriately Named “The Barnacle”
KJ 4 years ago (edited)
Curious about how its fixed to the windscreen, surely easier to remove?
Mazer 4 years ago (edited)
700 pounds of pressure pumped into suction cups, has security rings to prevent it being pried off and contains a gps SIM card
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Otter 4 years ago
I live in a college town. From what I see of student driving, some of them would just stick their heads out the window and go.
Kari Panda 4 years ago
That is my worry, too. I can think of enough self-centered assholes who would still drive like that.
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Pungent Sauce 4 years ago
Run your defroster on Hot/High for 10-15mins, then use a credit card (or spudger) to break the seal at one of the corners. (Thanks Reddit!)
Carole Reid 4 years ago
You should not have to pay to park at a hospital or where you go to school.
AzKhaleesi 4 years ago
"As it turns out, to take off the Barnacle, all you need to do is run your vehicle’s windshield defroster for 15 minutes, and then use a credit card or similar thin piece of plastic to release the suction cup around the edge. Presto! You’re free from fees....Because it has a GPS tracker meant to set off a loud alarm whenever it, or the car it’s attached to, moves, the Barnacle also has a built-in SIM card. One reddit user figured out the SIM card had unlimited data, and hacked it so they could tether their own personal cell phone to its network, giving them unlimited free phone data for several months" Source: https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnacle-parking-boot-skip-fines-and-get-free-internet
François Carré 4 years ago
The car can still move though. I can just imagine two drunk fools trying to drive away with this, one at the wheel and the other giving directions on the passenger seat.
K. Anderson 4 years ago
My friend got a boot off of his car by deflating the tire. He then threw the boot in a lake. He got stopped once they were confused when running his plates. He jus played dumb & they probably assumed it was a computer error. This was over 15 years ago so technology has changed a lot since then. For those who want to say he could get in trouble- He passed away almost 10 years ago so it makes me laugh as it really didn’t matter what he did or didn’t do. It’s all irrelevant once we are gone
John Saunders 4 years ago
I had a "friend" do the same thing. I, I mean my friend, kept a bicycle pump in the trunk to inflate sports balls. Pumped up the tire and drove home. Called the city the next day to ask where they wanted me to return the boot. Walked over and put it on the clerks desk. No questions asked - they were glad to not have to send a diver to get it like your example. BTW - get new plates every couple of years or when you get near the 3 ticket boot limit. $2 extra when annual registration comes due here. Then they can't ever match your tag to the list. You are welcome.
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John C 4 years ago
1. I'd like to try my hand at getting one of these off. More out of curiosity. 2. If the videos of people trying to drive off with the boot still attached are anything to go by, I don't have a lot of faith that this will stop a determined/desperate driver that just wants to go home after a long day.
AspieGirl88 4 years ago
That’s kinda troublesome, though. Someone really stubborn would just get their passenger to help guide them; or else they’d do an “Ace Ventura” move & drive with their head stuck out of the side window! 😅🤷♀️
Palo Sulek 4 years ago
Homer ran away with the boot on...how do you think he would deal with this ? maybe not even notice :)
Littlebooks 4 years ago
Some smart students came up with a way around it. https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnacle-parking-boot-skip-fines-and-get-free-internet
Alan Green 4 years ago
That's okay. Just need a co-driver like they use in rally driving. "6 left, tightens"
Kimberley Gayle Thomas 4 years ago
It should be wider so that there's no view through the windshield period.
Mamat Khalid 4 years ago
Good, cover more than half (sideway) of the screen. Otherwise, people with OpenPilot can still drive it.
Joanna Drzewieniecki 4 years ago
I've always thought campus police at US universities are the most efficient police in the world...grrr
Amanda Hunter 4 years ago
You'll need to drive like Ace Ventura, with your head out the window.
Eric Lafleur 4 years ago
I wonder if it works on a cracked windshield, would it hold or would it dammage it more?
Heather Menard 4 years ago
This way they can't dismantle the boot and drive away. You could always break the windshield I guess
Marco Conti 4 years ago
How many people drive away with their head out of the window like a choo choo train?
Grant Barke 4 years ago
Id just call a mobile windscreen replacement service and then destroy that stupid thing with extreme prejudice.
#24
Bend Rules
Maryse Faucher 4 years ago
I got one of those from my dad tool box that I got after his passing. Strangely used it to make the corner when I sew
#25
Tool That Allows One Man To Move The Whole Train By Hand
#26
Barrel-Filling Bridge
Alexandra Davis 4 years ago
What on earth are they filling in those barrels? Radioactive whisky?
#27
When A Guy Walks Into Your Office With This Thing Asking To Take A Reading. It's Called A Velometer, And Measures The Speed Of Air In A Given Area. He Kindly Allowed Me To Take A Photo
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
We're going to be seeing a lot more of this now that the importance of air flow in disease prevention has become more apparent.
#28
Nasa Pistol Grip Tool - A Cordless Power Screwdriver/Drill Used By Spacewalking Astronauts To Fix The Hubble Space Telescope And The International Space Station
Serial pacifist 4 years ago
Ok, we all know this is a space zapper, stop fooling us around NASA.
#29
I Work In A Stem Cell Lab. This Is A Liquid Nitrogen Dry Shipper, Used To Transport Cryopreserved Products Like Stem Cells And Vaccines In -150c
#30
Using A Comb To Straighten Air Conditioner Fins
Kenny Kulbiski 4 years ago
Yeah, but no matter how many you bring to the job you won't have the right size, they take quite a bit of effort, and don't work on heavily smashed fins. Plus you're probably going to slip and slice your knuckles.
#31
Stenographer, The Machine The Court Reporters Use To Type Everything That Is Said There
#32
Spent Shotgun Shell Lawn Sweeper Picker-Upper
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 4 years ago
aren't golf ball pickers basically the same, just larger spacing on the brush?
#33
Pedestrian Catcher In 1920s
#34
They're Childrens' Training Scissors. Like For Pre-Schoolers. The Extra Holes Are So A Grown-Up Can Co-Scissor And Help The Kid
#35
I'm A Dog Groomer. These Guys Are Chunkers Meant To Specifically "Chunk" Out The Thick Hair
Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
In hair dressing we use smaller ones to thin out the hair. Same thing .
#36
Insulated Cryo Glove For Handling Very Cold Items (E.g. Liquid Helium). Like An Oven Mitt’s Cold Cousin
#37
A Tool Used For Straw Roofing. Dutch Word For It Is 'Drijfbord'
#38
For Right Handed, Left Eye Dominant Folks
NOLAHusker 4 years ago
I wonder if the rest of the world knows that hunting rifles exist in countries other than the US. Wouldn’t know it based on these comments.
#39
Ladies And Gentlemen, Allow Me To Present A Fabled “The Right Tool”. This Is The Only Tool That Can Be Used To Remove The Oil Filter Housing On A Lamborghini Gallardo
#40
A Champagne Sabre, For Cutting The Tops Off Champagne Bottles
#41
A Dental Saw Used To Shape Porcelain Crowns
#42
A Spray Specifically Designed To Test Smoke Detectors
M O'Connell 4 years ago
This is important because it doesn't leave a residue behind with might affect future operation of the sensor in an emergency.
#43
This Scale Matches Up Combinations Of Mushrooms That Weigh A Certain Amount For Packaging
Lexi Stoffel 4 years ago
In all honesty I have a dirty mind as well, I thought is was something totally different as well.
#44
Safe Autodialler Cracking A Floor Safe
#45
A "Tree" For Drying Bottles Are The Homebrewing Shop
Wendy Franck 4 years ago
Here in Belgium we have the same (just a little smaller) for baby's bottles avent-droo...8e617f.jpg 
#46
This Keyed Switch That I'm Installing In A New School So Kids Can't Turn Lights On And Off
#47
If You’ve Ever Pulled Carpet By Hand, You’ll Appreciate This
#48
Conveyor Table For More Humanely Vaccinating Lambs
#49
Diamond Core Drilling Machine
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What do you think ?
Stimpy 4 years ago
I am missing the dutch bricklaying machine here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dq8C0vhwR40s&ved=2ahUKEwiivtajvrryAhXMhf0HHVLnDZ4QwqsBegQIBRAF&usg=AOvVaw1RCLnnnkCP8wCxN0zDzJrH
MuddyPuddles 4 years ago
more posts like these please! I love learning about new and interesting objects
2WheelTravlr 4 years ago
If you had a job which required these specialty tools you would think differently.
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Stimpy 4 years ago
I am missing the dutch bricklaying machine here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dq8C0vhwR40s&ved=2ahUKEwiivtajvrryAhXMhf0HHVLnDZ4QwqsBegQIBRAF&usg=AOvVaw1RCLnnnkCP8wCxN0zDzJrH
MuddyPuddles 4 years ago
more posts like these please! I love learning about new and interesting objects
2WheelTravlr 4 years ago
If you had a job which required these specialty tools you would think differently.
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