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

Heinlein - Specialization is for Insects

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, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

I owned a ‘69 bug once - a “Baltic blue” one: that was in the mid-70’s.

It was the only car I ever owned that I could remove the engine at 9:00PM Friday and have her back together by noon on Saturday - and the local NAPA used to open at 7AM and close @ 12 on Sat, so I had only a narrow window of time to get pieces and parts...

I rebuilt the engine from 1500 cc and 51HP to pushing a little over 120HP. It would leave six-foot streaks on the asphalt with both back tires, get “out of the hole” fast enough, but lacked on the top end run-out.

No kidding, my front tires could “hop” a beer can lying on the pavement, placed six inches in front of the tires.

No, you see, there's this thing called the "instruction manual" and when you open it (I know, tricky), it contains instructions!

Lies! I have never seen one of these "insturction mannals" or whatever they're called. What possible use would they be? Just a way for manufacturers to charge you for extra stuff you don't need. Like this here safety guard for the band saw... (Awful sound in background. Screaming begins...)

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