# Check out my sweet knob! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977 "2005-01-27T20:26:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/1 "2005-01-27T20:26:27Z")
[here](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/js_africanus/detail?.dir=9e8b&.dnm=1f89.jpg&.src=ph) and [here](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/js_africanus/detail?.dir=9e8b&.dnm=df84.jpg&.src=ph) My knob rocks. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/2 "2005-01-27T20:35:10Z")
Wow. I didn’t know they made “necker knobs” any more. Cool. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/3 "2005-01-27T20:41:55Z")
Scariest. Thread title. Ever. 🙂 Man, been awhile since I’ve seen a suicide knob. A few lifetimes ago I delivered auto parts for a living. One of the cars I used was this big ‘ol honkin’ Plymouth Fury, and it had one of those equipped. After that car bit the dust, it took me about two years to get used to driving without one again. They rock. “necker knob” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/4 "2005-01-27T20:49:45Z")
Wotsit for? 😕 And I actually opened the thread thinking it was about kitchen cabinet remodeling! ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/5 "2005-01-27T20:52:58Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Wotsit for? 😕 [/SIZE] Turnin’. It’s good in parking lots when you do a lot of turning at low speeds. I don’t trust it for high-speed drivin’. (To the extent that a ‘95 Geo Metro can engage in high-speed drivin’.) Got it for Christmas. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/6 "2005-01-27T21:10:24Z")
I thought those things were illegal. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/7 "2005-01-27T21:27:30Z")
Ok, can I just say for the record that all of us perverts (and by “all of us” I guess I mean…me ) who only open threads out of some slight hope of purient titilation and are sorely disappointed (sorely disappointed by your knob no less!!) wish you wholesome types would just knock it off. Err…not knock your knob off. Per se… But can we have a rule that titles that promise salicious content must provide some? Even if it is not integral to the plot? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/8 "2005-01-27T21:30:09Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Wotsit for? 😕 So you can drive while handcuffed. Silly! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/9 "2005-01-27T21:38:39Z")
Nice knob. I was under the impression that they were illegal on any vehicle other than farm type (tractors). ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/10 "2005-01-27T21:43:03Z")
[QUOTE=js\_africanus My knob rocks.[/QUOTE] I know it does. You betcha! I put one on the family car when I got my license. Loved it! Do you have to go to a flea market to find one now? I was told at the auto supply store that they’re illegal. Wonder what they do to you if you have an ‘incident’ and you’re found out. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/11 "2005-01-27T21:49:02Z")
> [@MizQuirk](#): > > Do you have to go to a flea market to find one now? I was told at the auto supply store that they’re illegal. Well, [sorta](http://search.ebay.com/suicide-knob_W0QQfnuZ1). ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/12 "2005-01-27T21:51:05Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > (sorely disappointed by your knob no less!!) Now you know why I’m so unpopular w/ the ladies. _:😭:_ ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/13 "2005-01-27T22:18:27Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > > [@WhyNot](#): > > > > Wotsit for? 😕 > > Turnin’. It’s good in parking lots when you do a lot of turning at low speeds. I don’t trust it for high-speed drivin’. (To the extent that a ‘95 Geo Metro can engage in high-speed drivin’.) I still don’t get it. ☹ How does a big knob (heh heh) help you make turns? And whence the “suicide” nickname? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/14 "2005-01-27T22:23:01Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I still don’t get it. ☹ > > How does a big knob (heh heh) help you make turns? And whence the “suicide” nickname? 😕 The suicide adjective comes from hitting something head-on, and the knob embeds in your chest. I’ll ditto the farm equipment sightings. Grandpa had one on his John Deere Model B, ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/15 "2005-01-27T22:32:25Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > Now you know why I’m so unpopular w/ the ladies. _:😭:_ I know why!! You keep telling them about your little knob instead of your fat baseball bat!! Tell them you’re 32 inches and they’ll line up to let you take a swing. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/16 "2005-01-28T00:07:52Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > “necker knob” 😕 Must be California slang. They made it easier to drive and turn while using only one hand. Presumably the other hand was…doing something else, hopefully to, or with, your date. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/17 "2005-01-28T00:41:47Z")
I always heard them called “brodie knobs.” And a brodie was a sort of maneuver where you’d have the wheel cranked all the way to one extreme and then peel out in a circle. I believe they are illegal on street vehicles in california, unless you’re disabled. My first thought was that js\_africanus must be handicapped. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/18 "2005-01-28T15:34:07Z")
> [@Sengkelat](#): > > My first thought was that js\_africanus must be handicapped. Not physically, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/19 "2005-01-28T15:46:29Z")
I thought that “Suicide Knob” referred to the fact that you’re basically committing suicide just by trying to drive with one. You don’t want to try controlling a car at high speed with it. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-my-sweet-knob/286977/20 "2005-01-28T16:26:57Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > You don’t want to try controlling a car at high speed with it. The danger is two-fold: It may fail and if one is not holding it so that the hand releases easily, then one may get one’s hand, wrist, & arm seriously destroyed of something on the road causes the tire to turn and therefore the steering wheel to spin out of control. (Same reason one shouldn’t drive with anything inside the steering wheel.) At low speeds, e.g. parking lot driving, it is fantastic—although I constantly remind myself not to grab it so that my hand can become twisted up by it. All that aside, it is still one sweet knob.