Another kind of engineer, even more grievously ignored, is the
tool-maker. We
take it for granted that a hacksaw blade will work and that Swiss Army knives
will unfold into a plethora of useful gadgets. But is the famous pocket knife
really Swiss? Discover all this and more in Did Monkeys Invent the Monkey
Wrench? (Simon & Schuster, $21, ISBN 0 684 80132 9), Vince
Staten’s
account of hardware stores and hardware stories. He clearly shares that
lust for
ownership that overcomes many of us when faced with racks of drills and
screwdrivers.
More from 51¶¯Âþ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 51¶¯Âþ articles
1
Mathematicians stunned by AI's biggest breakthrough in mathematics yet
2
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
3
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
4
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
5
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
6
Photos reveal unexpected details from the world's first atomic test
7
The ‘doomsday’ glacier’s giant ice shelf is about to break away
8
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
9
Can we harness quantum effects to create a new kind of healthcare?
10
Colossal claims an artificial eggshell will help it bring back the moa
