Related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Nut_Sheller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Nut_Sheller I saw a documentary on this. The main breakthr

Related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Nut_Sheller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Nut_Sheller I saw a documentary on this. The main breakthrough was flipping the sheller upside down, so that the area of the exit was larger than the area of the entrance, which prevented jamming. Also it's made of concrete so once you have the molds, it can be cast cheaply anywhere in the world. Previously people spent an alarming amount of time pealing peanuts by hand (especially in Africa, where the peanuts are often eaten raw/sun-dried due to a lack of fuel) and this freed them up for other tasks. This combined with the rolling water carrier (a plastic barrel flipped on its side with a handle stuck on the ends) has saved countless hours of menial labor. If only we had low tech solutions for first world problems..