4 ms·

I guess you don't have kids? At first you buy those 2 dollar light plastic swords, which last a few hours. Then you buy a tougher, floppy, one that last a wee

I guess you don't have kids? At first you buy those 2 dollar light plastic swords, which last a few hours. Then you buy a tougher, floppy, one that last a week. Then you make a wooden one for them, they knock something down with it. Time to repair the tougher one.

abanana 2y ago
A few years back I bought a few lengths of pipe insulation from the local Screwfix. The metre-long foam tubes, slit down the length of one side so you can push them over 15mm copper pipes. The girl working there asked, out of interest, what I was buying them for. I started to say, pipes to the radiator are running directly behind the fridge... she interrupted to say "oh, actually for insulating pipes? We had a couple in here last week buying them for their kids to use for sword-fighting". Sounds like a brilliant idea to me! Cheap enough to easily replace when they break. And the adults can easily nick them off their kids and have just as much fun using them to beat the shit out of each other, and they don't even hurt.
- nuancebydefault 2y ago
  Reminds me of "swimming pool noodles", seemingly an indispensable ingredient in any top ## DIY life hacks.
noisy_boy 2y ago
When I was young, we had a "family carpenter" (he was way more important to my dad than the family doctor). He was a scrappy kind of a guy, somewhat disorganized, not great on craftsmanship but was willing to realize whatever my dad's visions of next project would be so I would see him every now and then. While he was on such an assignment, I requested a wooden sword and he made one out of the leftover wood - ugly but solid. He also made a bed-top desk for me with a compartment that had a liftable top to keep my stuff - again, ugly but solid. He would be an old man now, if he is still around. I think those ugly and solid people who made ugly and solid things are increasingly going away and we as society are worse for losing them.

abanana 2y ago

A few years back I bought a few lengths of pipe insulation from the local Screwfix. The metre-long foam tubes, slit down the length of one side so you can push them over 15mm copper pipes. The girl working there asked, out of interest, what I was buying them for. I started to say, pipes to the radiator are running directly behind the fridge... she interrupted to say "oh, actually for insulating pipes? We had a couple in here last week buying them for their kids to use for sword-fighting". Sounds like a brilliant idea to me! Cheap enough to easily replace when they break. And the adults can easily nick them off their kids and have just as much fun using them to beat the shit out of each other, and they don't even hurt.

nuancebydefault 2y ago
Reminds me of "swimming pool noodles", seemingly an indispensable ingredient in any top ## DIY life hacks.

noisy_boy 2y ago

When I was young, we had a "family carpenter" (he was way more important to my dad than the family doctor). He was a scrappy kind of a guy, somewhat disorganized, not great on craftsmanship but was willing to realize whatever my dad's visions of next project would be so I would see him every now and then. While he was on such an assignment, I requested a wooden sword and he made one out of the leftover wood - ugly but solid. He also made a bed-top desk for me with a compartment that had a liftable top to keep my stuff - again, ugly but solid. He would be an old man now, if he is still around. I think those ugly and solid people who made ugly and solid things are increasingly going away and we as society are worse for losing them.