# Why does hitting things make them work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204 "2003-07-04T07:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/21 "2003-07-04T22:52:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Urban Ranger \* > \*\*That’s one of the worst advice a tech support person can give. You were lucky the HDD didn’t get broken beyond repair. \*\* Well it worked for the [Apple III!](http://members.fortunecity.com/pcmuseum/a3faq.htm) For a little while anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/22 "2003-07-05T00:28:59Z")
The old “apple drop” technique was specifically designed to reseat chips that were knocked loose during shipment. IIRC, it was for a model that didn’t include a hard drive. These days, very few electronic devices contain socketed chips. Usually a good whamming will fix a loose connector or maybe a cold solder joint (temporarily). ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/23 "2003-07-05T01:18:13Z")
In one of my high school classes, my teacher had a VCR that only worked when it was standing on its side. So if we needed to watch videos or movies in class, the VCR was positioned so it was standing against the TV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/24 "2003-07-05T05:14:20Z")
Interesting how this thread came up, after what happened today when I went out to do laundry. I filled up the tub, and put in the first 2 quarters. The 2nd one gets STUCK. It won’t even come out the coin return slot. I put in the 3rd quarter, and it falls right through and out the return slot. I smack the coin box around a bit, which sometimes works. But not this time. So now I’m looking at having to empty the laundry tub and put all my clothes in another machine, AND use an extra dose of Tide & bleach, AND have to walk ALL THE WAY BACK to my apartment for another 2 quarters. AND I’m out 50 cents (which, in my current financial state, is no small change.) All of the frustration & rage I had been feeling all day suddenly boiled over. I go _ballistic_ on the washing machine, kicking it HARD with blind fury. Thank God I was alone in the laundry room (although a couple tenants, who were sitting outside talking, did give me frightened looks when I left.) When I finally regained my composure, I thought, “Well that didn’t work, but at least it felt good.” Oh, wait. It DID work! The quarter dropped!!! So I put in the last two quarters, and the 4th one gets stuck. I give the machine another good solid kick. Drop. All done! The moral is: Sometimes violence IS the best solution to a problem. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/25 "2003-07-05T05:40:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Keeve \* > My favorite example of this procedure occured on Apollo 12’s moonwalk, when their TV camera gave them all sorts of trouble, and then stopped working entirely, but astronaut Al Bean gave it a whack and it was okay for another half-hour: Of course, the hammer they were using on the moon weighs less there. On Earth, it would have caused more damage, so you shouldn’t take this as something you should do. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/26 "2003-07-05T07:50:57Z")
I once worked at a tech service company where the hardware dudes would actually drop the CPU’s about 3 feet off the ground, just to “re-seat” the video cards. Smacking electronics not only provides percieved help, but it sometimes provides (coincidental or not) actual mechanical help for dislodged components. Not usually though. It has been known as a “technical strike”, but is almost never rccomended. My favorite euphemism for “user related error”, has always been an “ID10T” error, self explanatory when visualised. ---
**Author:** ![prisoner6655321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/27 "2003-07-05T08:10:47Z")
When the starter in your car is bad usually a couple good solid hits with a hammer or wrench will almost always get it going again. It’s one of those things that you can pretty much count on, unlike your TV set. You won’t bust your starter pounding on it. I’m not sure why it works so reliably though. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/28 "2003-07-05T10:25:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by engineer\_comp\_geek \* > The old “apple drop” technique was specifically designed to reseat chips that were knocked loose during shipment. IIRC, it was for a model that didn’t include a hard drive. > > These days, very few electronic devices contain socketed chips. Usually a good whamming will fix a loose connector or maybe a cold solder joint (temporarily). Amusingly, the RC for cable only works intermittently, but whacking fixes it temporarily. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/29 "2003-07-05T10:34:51Z")
It does wonders for anything. Recently I bitchslapped SCOTUS and suddenly sodomy wasn’t illegal anymore. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/30 "2003-07-05T17:02:55Z")
LOL mockingbird… I find that the whack has to to evenly spread over the casing of the offending device- if you whack the side of a minitower with the flat of your hand, it works, but it you punch it, it just falls off the desk and your hand hurts. And KGS… where exactly is this “porn capital USA” and how do I get there? ---
**Author:** ![Nekosoft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@Nekosoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nekosoft)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/31 "2003-07-05T17:47:06Z")
Now, if I remember, the starter of a car has a gear that spins to start the motor but comes to rest in the same position when it’s done spinning. When a starter wears out the teeth in that position are what gets worn. A hearty smack will jostle the gear into a slightly different position, and off you go. I once had an alternator that had to be tapped with a wrench to get it to charge every 30 miles or so… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204/32 "2003-07-05T19:23:12Z")
I thought starters used belt drive… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-hitting-things-make-them-work/186204.md?page=1)