I am an IE, and have worked as a Proj Engr, Mfg Engr, Design Engr, and currently own my own Lean Six Sigma consulting practice. When I worked at GE in the 90's, our lead MBB would not hire an engineer unless they had worked on cars, built model airplanes, and played with chemistry/electronics/erector sets as a kid. He would actually ask those sorts of questions in an interview, and he claimed it was one of the best predictors he had found as to the effective problem solving an engineer could do. A measure of practical knowledge and curiosity, he claimed.
I'm in IT. Particularly for entry-level tech work, I always ask how many computers the interviewee has at home.
"Zero" is the wrong answer.
"One" might be adequate, but needs a lot more questioning.
"Parts for Seventeen, Three of which actually work" is the winning answer.