My Dad was a biomedical engineer for my entire “at home” life. He and his department at the hospital he worked at were in charge of all types of hospital equipment. They also tended to be somewhat responsible for the disposal of unused/expired tools and machines. Because these things were just too cool to throw away, and probably because my Dad did not have someone at home saying “Dont you DARE bring another piece of equipment into MY home…” we ended up with a lot of cool* gadgets in my house.
One item still hangs in our kitchen (I believe). It looks like a miniature litter-grabber. You know the tools, squeeze the handles and the claws at the bottom pick up something off the ground. The one in our kitchen was only about 12 inches long, probably made of titanium, and was used for some type of medical procedure. I’m guessing obstruction removals of some sort. (Dad, Xhibit, if you read this, feel free to email me the details I know I’m screwing up).
So, this tool (which cost a LOT of money, I’m sure) hung in our kitchen. Why? You may ask.
Well my dad would use it when he would lose the drawstring to his sweatpants. He would stick that tool in the slot for his drawstring and pull the end out. I would have loved to have had that thing yesterday when I lost the drawstring on my pajama bottoms. *sigh*
Next up: Fake hips, Artificial Arteries, Radon Detectors and other cool gadgets in the childhood Zoot home.
*Of course – I found NONE of these things cool as a pre-teen. I was still trying to conform to “popular” standards at that age. I didnt start finding that stuff cool until my late teens and early twenties. I guess it is hard to convince a 14yr old that putting an “Emergency Room” sign above the bathroom is actually quite funny. I obviously didnt develop my sense of humor until I got my drivers license.
You dad sounds so cool. Mortifying as hell when you’re thirteen, I know, but how cool is that sign idea?
Hee! Emergency room! Funny. Humor just courses through all of the generations of your family, doesn’t it?
that is great!! my huisband is a nurse, and now I TOTALLY how I’m decorating the bathroom when we grow up and get our own house!
I hate it when that draw string gets lost! I do what Shiz does and yank it out and pull it through with the safety pin.
Emergency Room…that’s what it should be called when my husband goes in there. He takes his pooping very seriously. You’d think he was performing brain surgery. Well, he sort of is now that I think about it.
Remember that episode of Animaniacs (no, you don’t?) where Wakko had the “Potty Emergency” and everywhere he looked it reminded him of pee? (No? Not so much? Must just be me.)
Okay, enough monopolizeing the comment board for now.
Hey, maybe you could find a company to mass-produce knock-offs of that thing and then market it on infomercials and make a million. Hubby and I are always trying to think of some stupid gadget that we could sucker people into buying and make ourselves wealthy. Sounds like a good one, there.
sounds like a great tool! but i always do the safety pin trick.
ha! That’s why you’re such a weirdo! You’re Dad is too!!!
(I’m joking…and I meant weird as a term of endearment…you know…)
That is hilarious!!! I love the idea to put an ER sign over the bathroom door. Your parents sound sooooo cool! Like Totally!
I used tweezers yesterday to retrieve a drawstring on my sweats!
I pull the string all the way out, spear a big safety pin through it, and thread the safety pin through the tube. Voilà !
LOL! Your dad sounds like my brother. Every time I’m in the hospital, I have to have PIC line. The nurses have this set of tools they use when removing the line – heavy gauge tools they use only once, and out of the set, they only use the sissors. Every time, my brother either asks for the set or asks me to get it for him. The nurse are happy to oblige, since they only throw the tools away.
Patent it as the “Drawstring Grabber” and you have your first million. Remember us little people..
I totally relate to your growing up years w/ an ‘unusual’ single parent. It took me years before I thought it cool that my mom kept boxes upon boxes of strange things such as walkie-talkies, plastic pacifier necklaces, and yo-yo’s (to name a few) around the house. It wasn’t until a friend and I were on acid at the house alone one night that I started to appreciate her collections. 🙂
Some company beat you to this contraption for pulling drawstrings through clothing. The name escapes me, but I bought one at Joann Fabrics and Crafts. It’s made of red plastic and looks like a very long needle with an eye on one end. Thread the string through the eye and push the ‘needle’ through the clothing. Voila! You have your sweatpants again!