25 Skills Every Man Should Know: Your Ultimate DIY Guide

Oh dear. I don't know how to clean a bolt action rifle. I do, however, know how to cook beyond just grilling.

My rifle might be dirty, but at least I can make a great meal out of whatever I kill.

 

Well I guess I'm quite the man. There are only 2 items on that last that I haven't either done, been trained to do, or are so painfully obvious that it's not worth mentioning them:

1. Frame a wall
2. Bleed brakes

 

This is one of the stupidest lists I've ever seen. Why should every man know how to mix concrete, clean a rifle, frame a wall, retouch digital photos, or fillet a fish???

Each of those is a useful skill for a person whose work or hobby involves those activities. But plenty of men will never be called upon to perform any of those tasks.

 

That's a pretty short list. Or would mentioning other stuff merely lower my testosterone, because they're supposed to be on the 'womens' list?

 

wow.. what a lame list.. you can tell it's developed in 2007.. none of it is too significant.

since i run a construction company, i can do all of those.. except cleaning a rifle.. doesn't matter, i don't like guns.

 

CPR and maybe a couple of others are ones that I would agree everyone should know or learn right away if they don't know. Everything else can be learned on an as-needed or as-wanted basis.

 

I agree completely. A list of specific chores is useless as a measure of being able to get along in the world - you might just as well list the ability to solve the specific equation x + 14 = 21 but ignore the general mathematical aptitude that would convey being able to solve ANY equation.

To my mind WHAT you can do is unimportant. Being able to EXPLAIN what you're doing is a better indication of overall competence, and being able to IMAGINE and CORRECTLY DIAGNOSE novel and unencountered situations an even more powerful indicator of competence. Being able to see a useful connection between the technique for filleting a fish and levering a tire off its rim so as to invent or improve either method or some third, unrelated method would signify exceptional competence.

The fact that I can't do any of the 25 had no influence on my reply. Well, that's not quite true, I did bleed brakes once, unintentionally, when I taxied the 180 through a taxiway light stanchion I didn't see and tore the brake line out of its fitting (instantly making the taildragger even less friendly to manage - I still don't know how I got it stopped without taking out the rest of the airport).

MB

 

The most obvious omission is #1.
Know how to pleasure a woman in the bedroom ,otherwise you will be DIY.

 

First you've got to get her there...

 

Hmph.

I didn't see seat a toilet or clean a trap (the plumbing kind...under the sink.)

Both of which I can do.

Seems both of those are a little more important than HDTV or the computer stuff.

Frame a wall? How about patch drywall?

Wire and hang a ceiling fan?

Sweat a copper pipe?

I can do all of those things too.

I learned how to clean and fillet a fish in the 7th grade. Did a presentation for summer school class.

Personally, I think plumbing stuff is more important than hunting stuff. If the hunting stuff is more important because of it's back to basics hunter/gatherer gotta eat stuff, then the computer stuff shouldn't even be on the list.

Oh....I didn't see fix a furnace on there!

 

Not only is the list inherently silly, but some of the "how to's" are down-right insane. If you could explain how to do some of these things in just three sentences, I think everybody COULD do them.

Oh... and if you drive a bicycle or an EV, you don't NEED to know how to change oil. Ever. And as others have mentioned - I think I would be able to make it through my entire life without cleaning a rifle (though I did it as a kid many times, so I can still mark that one off the list). I don't know if it is good or bad, but I've done everything on the list.

 

You know you feel more like a man for saying so. admit it!

But yeah I forgot to mention, the quick "how-to" blurbs are ridiculous. The hunting and computer stuff are not only unrelated, but they don't mention some of the more important basic skills in both of those areas. Like "clean a fish" since filleting one with guts intact would be a bad idea.

 

ROFLMAO!!!

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head with that one
None of the rest really matter....

 

Aye, love, but if he can cook, too...!

 

I suppose if he's good enough in bed....he can find a woman that can do everything on the list.

 

Come on, Mark, I bet you can do some of them.

I can back up a trailer, paddle a canoe, and I mixed mortar, which is similar to concrete, when I worked as a bricklayer's assistant. (I sure hope none of those chimneys fell down as the result of improperly-mixed mortar! )

I cannot back up a double trailer, though. The farmer I worked for could. Short-wheelbase tractor pulling a short two-wheel corn chopper pulling a long four-wheel wagon, and he could back the whole thing. It was amazing. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever backed up a four-wheel wagon. Plenty of times I backed up two-wheel farm implements like plows, discs, planters, cultivators, etc., as well as my own small utility trailer.

 

You got me, I'm busted. I wouldn't have passed my powerplant license without knowing how to operate a torquewrench. Or change oil. I just didn't want to dignify the thing by listing what I could or couldn't do when the list is arbitrary (and even presented in a sexist manner, which made it worse).

MB

 

But what in life is not arbitrary? We're not dignifying the list, we're all pretty openly mocking it, so it's OK. Now that I think of it, I'm going to start a list of top 25 skills needed for a Human to exist:

1. Keep your heart beating. This takes some practice, so don't give up if it's hard at first.
2. Breathe. Even trickier, since sometimes it's voluntary and sometimes involuntary. Keep your wits about you when you make the switch or you could lock up.
3. Eat/Drink. This is really a whole set of skills and sub-skills. Some people NEVER get the hang of it.
4. Walk, or otherwise transport yourself. Having a baby girl right now, I can personally attest to how difficult this is, and how you really won't make it far in life if you don't master this skill. I hope for my girl's sake that she learns to walk, or at least crawl soon, or she's getting left behind.
5.Take a Shower. This skill is invaluable when dealing with other humans. If you have an overpowering odor, this can sometimes be off-putting both socially and professionally.
...

 

Yeah. You got me. Now I need to go shave... again.