Monday, March 26, 2007
The ultimate Man Tool
As previously reported, I'm knocking around Tuttlingen, Germany, the surgical instrument capital of the world. The more than 300 companies in town that make surgical instruments all arose -- in spirit, at least -- from an original business that manufactured blades for the cutting of leather, founded in 1696. Not surprisingly, there is a museum in town dedicated to this ancient industry. Most of the collection would only be interesting to people who grasp the fundamental coolness of surgical instruments, but this pre-cursor of the Swiss army knife, which is not Swiss at all, has universal appeal:
This strikes me as feature creep gone wild. Is this what would happen to the Swiss Army Knife if Microsoft got its hands on it?
12 Comments:
By 
Purple Avenger, at
Mon Mar 26, 06:14:00 AM:
By GreenmanTim, at
Mon Mar 26, 09:48:00 AM:
How would you clean it? And if by Microsoft, keep it virus free?
By 
, at
Mon Mar 26, 10:54:00 AM:
Wow a SWISS ARMY KNIFE with all those great attatachments what i needs now is a laptop
By TigerHawk, at
Mon Mar 26, 11:45:00 AM:
GT, the pictured implement of destruction is not a surgical instrument, but merely another product of the tool industry here in town. Sorry to be unclear about that.
By , at
Mon Mar 26, 12:28:00 PM:
If you tie a lanyard to it, you'd have a lanyard attached to it.
I thought an absurd statement might fit the item.
By , at
Mon Mar 26, 01:37:00 PM:
Swiss Army Knives have already gone there...
http://www.wengerna.com/browse/product.jsp?prod_id=1260&cat_id=1&cat_name=Knives&sub_cat_id=23
By , at
Mon Mar 26, 05:01:00 PM:
How many digits lost, appendages injured, how many quarts of blood lost opening and closing that diabolical device of torture. ?!!
By , at
Mon Mar 26, 06:35:00 PM:
The German tool industry was actually started by Grantville West Virginia.
By La Cot, at
Tue Mar 27, 01:24:00 AM:
For when you absolutely, positively must have twenty-odd blades, a saw, and a crowbar... and with what looks like mother-of-pearl to complement a variety of outfits and accessories ;)
I kid, I kid. It's actually pretty cool...
By Rob C, at
Tue Mar 27, 08:35:00 AM:
Well I don't know how much worse it would get but if Mr. Gates had his way there'd be Ctrl-Alt-Del keys and you would need to occasionally close all the knives, put it back in the pouch, and pull it back out to resume cutting whatever it was you were cutting in the first place.
By Fausta, at
Tue Mar 27, 10:08:00 AM:
All you need to accessorize that is... a roll of duck tape!
By joated, at
Tue Mar 27, 09:45:00 PM:
As to what Mr. Gates might do, I have no dea but the Swiss Army Knife folks have come up with: The Giant
