Creative misuse of daily items

Every day people use objects to do things that they were never intended to do. One of the most common examples is the use of a slotted (flat-headed) screw driver to open a can of paint. The flat wedge shape of the screwdriver tip is the perfect size for prying open paint cans and nearly everyone has a slotted screwdriver at home.

The intentional misuse of products is a constant concern for product designers who have to struggle with both the liability for damage or bodily harm that can result from these kinds of actions and the perception of poor quality if their product is damaged by intentional misuse. Screw drivers, for example, occasionally snap in half while being used to open paint cans and people can get hurt when they do. Most manufacturers explicitly state that they are not responsible for the negative consequences of intentional misuse.

But the creative repurposing of everyday items is also very common among engineers, especially during design and prototyping activities. Engineers tend to want to solve problems as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is nearly always faster, easier and cheaper to buy something than it is to make something. So you can save a lot of time, money and energy by creatively using things from everyday life.

Let`s assume that you are making a remote-controlled toy tank that can shoot water out of the gun turret. You need something to serve as the gun turret in a functional mock-up of the design. You could make a mold out of foam, use the mold to thermoform a plastic cover (i.e. heat the plastic and then stretch it over the mold), and then use the plastic cover for your gun turret. This would take several hours, several hundred dollars in hand tools, modeling foam and appropriate sheets of plastic, a thermoforming machine, and the knowledge to use the machine. Or you could buy a plastic mixing bowl from your local supermarket, cut a hole for the gun barrel and spray paint it. Total cost - $5 including the spray paint and one hour including shopping. No one will ever know.

Need motors for a robot that you`re building? Try electric screwdrivers. Robot motors need to produce high torque (lots of power) at low speeds so you can control the movement of the robot manually. Most screwdrivers have planetary gear systems inside and provide exactly what you need. Total cost - $40 for two screwdrivers (including batteries and chargers) plus an hour and some basic hand tools to disassemble the screwdrivers. Remember to remove the battery before disassembling the screwdriver. If you need more torque, try a cordless electric drill. They`re more expensive than electric screwdrivers but they`re more powerful as well.

Need solenoids for a science project? Try disassembling door bells. Many mechanical doorbells use solenoids which convert electrical energy into linear motion. When you press the door bell, an electric circuit is closed, which activates the solenoid coil and pulls in a metal rod. The metal rod is spring loaded, so the rod bounces back, hitting a chime and making a sound. Solenoids from industrial supply catalogs can be expensive and difficult to find. A door bell from your local hardware store might cost $10 and have one or two solenoids inside. Make sure you buy a mechanical doorbell with chimes instead of a buzzer. When in doubt, lightly shake the box. A mechanical doorbell will make sounds when shaken.

The intentional misuse of everyday items is a common theme in cooking, especially with campers and bored engineering students looking for entertainment over the holidays. There are rumors of poaching salmon in the dishwasher and making grilled cheese with a clothes iron. The book "Manifold Destiny" by Chris Maynard provides instructions for cooking on your car engine. You can make creme brulee, peel bell peppers, and caramelize bananas with a small blow torch. I`ve seen MIT graduate students make ice cream with liquid nitrogen. I`ve seen MIT freshmen make traditional ice cream using a bicycle to do the mixing. Many salt cod recipes suggest rehydrating your fish in your toilet tank. Just flush to change the water!

It`s not the label on the product that`s important. It is the functions that the product performs and the geometric and material properties of the components that matter. The intentional misuse of products can be destructive and dangerous and should be done with extreme caution. But sometimes it is the most ingenious, efficient, and entertaining thing that you can do.





Mary Kathryn Thompson, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. She can be reached at mkthompson@an.kaist.ac.kr. - Ed.