26 Surprisingly Brilliantly Engineered Everyday Items You Won’t Believe Are So Affordable
OurLadyOfWalsingham said:
Road reflectors. Countless lives saved.
Rit_Zien replied:
Similarly, rumble strips. On the shoulders and in the center. I’m sure they’ve saved my Dad’s life many times over.
Much_Committee_9355 said:
Those thermic isolated cups you see construction workers drinking from, you can’t say Stanley or Yeti is just junk after trying it out.
MaxDamage1 replied:
I bought the Stanley granpa-going-fishing thermos. If you follow the instructions, it’s ungodly how well it works. I actually started using their method with my cold yeti can thingy and it’s amazing.
For those unfamiliar with how to use a thermos properly, you fill the thermos with boiling water for about 15 minutes, dump that water out, and then put in your coffee/tea. By preheating your thermos, it will keep that drink hotter than hell for hours beyond the already long heat containment you get using a room temp thermos. If you fill a can with water, freeze it, and put it in your yeti can cooler for a bit before you put your drink in it, it will extend its cooling abilities too.
Secondary fun fact: you can also use a thermos as a slow cooker. I’d preheat my thermos, put my stew ingredients in a pan and bring it to a boil, dump it all into my thermos, and leave it in my lunch box for the 5-6 hours until lunch. It’s still steaming hot and all the ingredients have cooked down. It even worked with those ultra tough beef stew chunks and raw barley. Both were soft and slow cooked to perfection.
Hugh_JaRod said:
Velcro
Pinkbeans1 replied:
This made my kids’ shoes so much easier to deal with!
Of course, Dad (Grandpa) insisted on teaching them to tie shoelaces anyway. My kids were tying everyone else’s shoelaces for them in kindergarten.
LefterisLegend said:
The lighter. Spontaneously ignite fire basically whenever you want.
raitalin replied:
Specifically, Bic lighters are incredibly reliable. You can find one on the ground that’s been outside for months and they still work. Cheaper disposables break in a million ways and more expensive refillable lighters will leave you disappointed if you store them, but you can always keep a Bic handy and know it’ll work when you need it.
TriggeredSnake said:
Hinges! I had to [do] a study on them for my engineering class.
MagnusBruce replied:
I bet that bit of work opened some doors for you.
GreatPlagiarist replied:
I always get a laugh when you swing by.
[But in all seriousness…]
DonatellaVerpsyche replied:
Are we talking only metal hinges or are we talking bookbinding / box hinges, like the 2 hinges holding a 3 ring binder together? I did a massive project of recycling 3 ring binders and made all my own fabric and leather hinges. FASCINATING STUFF! How flexible/ not flexible the fabric had to be +how much glue to both create and hold the shape of the binder while letting it open completely like a plastic hinge. It was honestly fascinating nerdy stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for hinges (the wrap around and displacement of the main panels).
The intermodal shipping container, a/k/a the Connex box. There are millions of the damned things all over the world, in use every single day. They are stackable, can be locked together, attach readily to ships, truck trailer frames, and rail cars, and can bear enormous loads.
The cost of their manufacture compared to their economic use value over their useful lives is next to nothing.
The_Gene_Genie replied:
Computer processors, they’re rocks we tricked into thinking.
waywardclip replied:
Little [munchkins] keep asking me to prove I’m not a robot.
Tarps. A million tasks for them; they’re incredibly versatile. Make a shelter, make a floor, make a carriage vessel, make a weather-proof housing for firewood or anything outdoors you want protected. Use it at a picnic; it’s better than a blanket on the ground. Because of the threading they’re still mostly effective even when a tear develops. And because of that same threading they can distribute weight and hold up against snow and rain buildup. Then you can just take it down, spray it with a hose if needed; it’s good as new. Fold it up to a compact form, and toss it in a corner until you need it next. You are never far from a store or gas station that sells them for cheap. Always keep one in your trunk.
LucyVialli said:
Paper clip.
aMiracleAtJordanHare replied:
My industrial design professors said the paper clip may be the most perfectly-designed product in existence.
HermitAndHound said:
Clothespins/-pegs, the wooden ones. People keep on trying to find some other way to do the job but never come up with something this durable and reliable.
carl84 replied:
The missus keeps buying plastic ones which degrade in the sun and shatter left, right, and centre all over the garden
