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

Robert Heinlein thought that these were the things every human being should know how to do:

"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, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

How about “go to the bathroom without making a disgusting mess of the toilet and floor?”

That can be fixed with a sign over the commode:

We aim to please

You aim too, please

Mark

I have yet to meet a man who will read a manual ... that is .... first. Before he puts together or runs something. It's just not possible. That man does not exist. ;-D

I exist, but it depends on whether I'm doing something on my own time, or billing by the hour.

Remember, when you're billing by the hour, "Any job worth doing right is worth doing three or four times!"

Mark

1. Patch a radiator hose - Yes.
2. Protect your computer - Yes.
3. Rescue a boater who as capsized - done that.
4. Frame a wall - I built my won addition to my garage.
5. Retouch digital photos - Sure.
6. Back up a trailer - I own a boat. ‘Nuff said.
7. Build a campfire - Even without matches or a lighter.
8. Fix a dead outlet - All the time.
9. Navigate with a map and compass - Yes.
10. Use a torque wrench - Yes.
11. Sharpen a knife - Yes.
12. Perform CPR - never had to do it, but I am qualified.
13. Fillet a fish - Yes.
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid - only had to do it with a front-wheel drive car. A lot harder with rear wheel drive.
15. Get a car unstuck - First place I ever drove was on the beach.
16. Back up data - Yes.
17. Paint a room - Know how, but my asthma won’t let me.
18. Mix concrete - Only the stuff that you mix in the hole for setting posts.
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle - Yes, semi-auto, pistol, revolver, pump shotgun......
20. Change oil and filter - Yes, and adjust valves, VW engine rebuild, etc, etc,. I own a 69 VW bug.
21. Hook up an HDTV - Of course! if it’s electronics, well, that’s my job.
22. Bleed brakes - Again, I own a 69 VW.
23. Paddle a canoe - Yes.
24. Fix a bike flat - Learned how to do that when I was 11.
25. Extend your wireless network - Yes.

Missing: field strip, clean, and reassemble a 1911 .45

I agree, although the list is specific to men, and that is a life skill every man, woman, and child should have. I could do it in the womb. Really. Mom was really ticked off about it, too.

Lessee - I could add a few. Knowing how to decouple the neighbor's dog from yours in a moment of passion using only a rolled-up newspaper and a garden hose. Knowing the use, maintenance, and repair of a Shop-Vac, an electric drill, and a moving dolly. Being able to judge the quality of a fine wine by reading the alcohol percentage from the label and sniffing the twist cap. The ability to belch and/or fart a Puccini aria from a combination of pork rinds and cheap beer. How to tie a four-in-hand or a Half Windsor knot for yourself and in reverse for somebody else. Range rules. Football rules. How to blow a stump with kitchen ingredients.

More as I think of them...

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.