# I think I should get the Nobel prize for this **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856 "2018-02-15T03:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/41 "2018-02-16T02:27:22Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have collected all my tools from my husband and son leaving them out. If I find it and pick it up, it now belongs to me. I have bought the odd pliers or buttplug as needed.šŸ˜‰ I do not have a buttplug. Mind if I borrow yours? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/42 "2018-02-16T02:42:16Z")
When I learned to fish, the spinning reel had not been invented. When I got a backlash in my Pflueger reel, I had to stand there in the boat and work it out with my fingers. I learned to fish in a time when, to a fisherman, patience was still a virtue. As for the basic toolbox, I usually go straight for the coat hanger, the vice grip and the duct tape. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/43 "2018-02-16T13:15:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I do not have a buttplug. Mind if I borrow yours? I would, but with the weekend coming upā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/44 "2018-02-16T14:33:20Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Of course the guy who waterboarded himself for shits and giggles also owns dental picks. I bet you he also owns a few varieties of duct/gaffers tape, because each have their own use. šŸ™‚ Glad to know mine was not the only mind that jumped to that! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/45 "2018-02-16T14:37:14Z")
Iā€™ve _almost_ reached the point where my toolbox consists of one item: the number to the handyman programmed in my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/46 "2018-02-16T16:47:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You can buy them at Harbor Freight for a few bucks. Alot of mechanics have them. My son always asks me for T-pins for something he does mechanically. Chain is seriously hard to untangle. > If they call me from the Nobel Prize board I will give you a good reference, Super-dad! I recently discovered Harbor Freight. It is strictly no-frills, no ads, no posters, no cute mascots, and definitely suited for contractors, mechanics, and people who get their hands dirty. I found postal scales for $20. I want to move behind it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/47 "2018-02-16T17:04:26Z")
Iā€™m feeling the need to buy dental picks. Curse you, **Scylla**! ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/48 "2018-02-16T17:24:27Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I recently discovered Harbor Freight. It is strictly no-frills, no ads, no posters, no cute mascots, and definitely suited for contractors, mechanics, and people who get their hands dirty. I found postal scales for $20. I want to move behind it. I purchased a mallet and some duct tape at Harbor Freight. I already had the plastic bags. I love a real hardware store you can keep HD & Lowes. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/49 "2018-02-16T17:31:00Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > For recounting this story, and making us all careā€¦Literature! šŸ™‚ > > (The night of my rehearsal dinner, I wanted to wear one necklace that had gotten tangled. One of my bridesmaids untangled it for meā€“one of the best wedding gifts I received!) Iā€™m pretty sure Scylla already won the Nobel Prize for Literature shortly after his groundbreaking post, ā€œThe Horror of Blimpsā€. So Peace prize it is! > **[The horror of blimps](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=160851)** > > Last week while travelling I stopped at a Zany Brainy store and saw that they had a blimp for sale. Itā€™s called Airship Earth, and itā€™s a great big balloon with a map of the Earth on it, and two propellors hanging from the bottom. You blow up the... ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/50 "2018-02-17T02:20:56Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Iā€™m feeling the need to buy dental picks. > > Curse you, **Scylla**! Got that right. Iā€™m going to Harbor Freight tomorrow. Iā€™ve got a coupon for one of those long reaching stick things burning a hole in my pocket. I already canā€™t understand how I didnā€™t know this. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/51 "2018-02-17T03:08:53Z")
Dental picks. Wimps. I used to have a pair of [these](https://www.google.com/search?q=Dental+Extracting+forceps&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:CcifE4mD2h-sIjhEBuwu5A7WKuMYmYqUbkTIaGBYiTHzv0Xmh4Mf6CK-QYjIfu5Nj51EajmznE5tmr0JaPRCMJxHHSoSCUQG7C7kDtYqETclCS7iA17mKhIJ4xiZipRuRMgRuQGuS9d_1Qj4qEgloYFiJMfO_1RRG1_10NvJhLGUioSCeaHgx_1oIr5BEfEl1IyzOYhIKhIJiMh-7k2PnUQRCddzkIo65JIqEglqObOcTm2avRGTn5yBVLxmGCoSCQlo9EIwnEcdEe6uqcpLOTQd&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv7ujZ-qvZAhVOxmMKHVD4CsAQ9C8IGg&biw=1366&bih=662&dpr=1#imgrc=DoWeAQ-JEXuPdM:). The one at the top of the set. See that curve on the end of the handle? That is there so that you can put your back into it. Dental picks. Well done **Scylla**. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/52 "2018-02-17T03:23:11Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I do. I also have more than one screwdriver. > > You are the second person who seems to indicate that owning dental picks, or more than one roll of duct tape is excessive, or eccentric in some way. > > Iā€™m pretty sure I donā€™t understand the worldview that finds this odd. I donā€™t wish to be insulting, but how does one get through life without the very easy to Acquire basic tools and skill set to deal with minor repairs and maintenance? Oh, I am not mocking you or your accomplishments in any manner. Truly. Thereā€™s just a certain je ne sais quoi to be said of the protagonist in this struggle. And it possibly involves never letting a $5 off coupon to the local hardware store (not Home Depot!) go to waste. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/53 "2018-02-17T03:45:30Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > My 13 year old daughter has a really nice Tiffanyā€™s charm necklace given to her by her grandmother, the kind with the super finely braided chain. Because she is 13 she got it hopelessly and horrifically tangled. Because she is 13 she tried to fix it herself and made it infinitely worse. Crying, she brought this mess to me to see if I could fix it. After half an hour of fiddling I got nowhere. My daughter is asking ā€œIs it fixed? Did you get it?ā€ Every two minutes. > > ā€œThatā€™s it!ā€ I announce, ā€œIā€™m going hardcore on this thing!ā€ > > ā€œNo daddy, donā€™t. Youā€™lll break it!ā€ > > ā€œI wonā€™tā€ > > I get my pedestal magnifier from my soldering kit and I set it up. I get my dental picks. I put on my hardcore 2X reading glasses. I get you bright work light and clamp it on to my flexible extension. I get a cutting board and put a piece of white paper on it. I put the necklace on the paper. I put the paper cutting board necklace under the magnifier. I focus the light on it. I pick up the dental picks and regard the necklace through my reading glasses and the magnifier. My daughter watches apprehensively. > > 3 minutes later the necklace is completely untangled. > > ā€œOh my God, daddy you are amazing!ā€ Says my daughter with genuine awe as I hand her the necklace. > > * * * > > So here are the takeaways: > > This is easily one of my top ten all time achievements as a human being. I am not sure whether this speaks poorly of my achievements as a human being, or well of me that I regard it as such, but the fact is that i am insufferably as full of myself over this as if Iā€™ve invented anti-gravity combined with perpetual motion. > > Even my wife conceded that it was pretty cool. > > I should go hardcore more often. I love this story. Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856/54 "2018-03-05T13:07:48Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Even my wife conceded that it was pretty cool. > > I should go hardcore more often. The right tools make a lot of difference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-prize-for-this/808856.md?page=2)