25 Skills Every Man Should Know: The List, Ready for Your Debate

Popular Mechanics ^ | September 12, 2007 | Glenn Harlan Reynolds

[Daffynition]

25 Skills Every Man Should Know: The List, Ready for Your Debate

As Glenn Reynolds writes in his new PM column, traditional knowledge of how to build and fix ordinary things—around the house and in a jam—might be on the decline. With our lives becoming more driven by technology, blue-collar labor has been replaced with more white-collar employment, and teenagers are becoming better at programming Web sites than swinging hammers.

Here at PM, where we at least try to do everything, we spent weeks fine-tuning our list of "25 Skills Every Man Should Know," debating over whether certain items were too basic, too challenging or just too obscure. You can find a full how-to rundown of each one in the October issue of Popular Mechanics, which just hit newsstands. But for now, check out our carefully selected list below, then offer your own arguments and suggestions in the comments section below, or tell us how to perform your must-know skill by writing to us here...

The List: How to...

1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who as capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
15. Get a car unstuck
16. Back up data
17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle
20. Change oil and filter
21. Hook up an HDTV
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network

[Daffynition]

#9, 11 are definites ...others can be outsourced. ;-P

[Jaysun]

I don’t see anything about killing undesirable animals and insects. That’s a must, I think.

[battlegearboat]

Drive without talking on a cell phone.

[dennisw]

bttt

[listenhillary]

I’ve done all but 1, 3 and 12. I know how, but I have just not had the opportunity.

Filleting a fish I can do, but I’m not proficient at it.

[dennisw]

That list should include some gardening, animal husbandry and hunting skills. Too weighted toward computer skills

[battlegearboat]

Filleting a fish is all about the knife.

You just have to have the longest, sharpest flexible blade. When you have that in hand, filleting the fish is as easy as buttering toast.

[GraceCoolidge]

I was going to add "know how to spell filet" to the list, but a quick check shows me that "fillet" also is correct. So there, I've learned something new.

I'm not sure I would include digital photography on the list.

[dennisw]

http://dailypundit.com/?p=27607
I have driven for months on a repaired hose. The holes are frequently near one end, many times you can cut off a couple of inches and still run the engine.

I’m a redneck and we carry duct tape in the pickup tool box just in case of this kind of emergency

[azhenfud]

I’ve conquered all those!

The skill that’s consistantly eluded me is how to stop 12:00 from flashing on my dangblasted VCR.

[azhenfud]

"I’m a redneck and we carry duct tape in the pickup tool box just in case of this kind of emergency"

Believe it or not, my wife and I packed a roll on a flight to China - it came in quite handy when a fellow traveler's soft-side bag got ripped open...

[dennisw]

The skill that’s consistantly eluded me is how to stop 12:00 from flashing on my dangblasted VCR.

You buy a DVR or TIVO

[GeronL]

#5 is for those who wish to work for Reuters

[GRRRRR]

Probably should add:

Sink a 30 foot double break putt.
Read a baseball box score
Open a door for a lady
“Other” associated activities with the fairer sex.
Make good knots

[listenhillary]

Missing from list (not comprehensive)

Fix a sticking door
Replace a faucet
Fix a leaking toilet
How to remove feminine products that have become lodged in the toilet drain.
Shingle a roof
Use a caulk gun
How to strip paint

Don’t care if these are manly or not.
How to cook without prepackaged foods
How to make bread
How to do laundry
How to sew a button on
How to take in or let out a seam

Know when to keep your mouth shut

[deaconblues]

Reminds me of the following quote:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." (Robert Heinlen)

[listenhillary]

I’ve been letting my brother do the duties. He has been keeping me in boneless bluegill fillets all summer. Wow are they good!

[Allegra]

Open jars with tight lids.

[deaconblues]

Know when to keep your mouth shut.

Odds are, I will never have that task mastered.

[listenhillary]

It’s probably the leading cause of death, but no one does anything about it.