25 Skills Every Man Should Know: Your Ultimate DIY Guide

Obviously spoken with a light heart and humour, but I couldn't help thinking that people with cardiovascular problems, athsma, congenital digestive disorders, or paraplegia or missing limbs might not think items 1 thru 4 are all that cute. We lucky ones in good health take for granted what for others are daily battles to attain.

MB

 

I know plenty of people w/ asthma or allergies that severely restrict breathing, my grandfather has a pacemaker, a few of my neighbors are wheelchair-bound for various reasons (also you shortened my #3 to make it more exclusive than the way I wrote it)... I'm sure at least one person I know must have IBS!

For all of those people, my list is a list of major accomplishments, so they can be proud. And you should be ashamed for suggesting otherwise

How about this: Can we all agree on a SINGLE skill that all people must have, the mention of which will not be offensive (notice I left out much of the digestive process... intentionally )?

 

I thought the original list was kinda sexist, too, but that's not surprising considering the source. Was it here I saw that 50's article about a wife's duties? It was both hilarious and sickening, and illustrates how far we've come since then. (Or fallen, I suppose, depending on your point of view.)

 

one of the most entertaining articles i have read in a long time... but of course, microsoft has always been good at being funny.

 

One key thing every man should know.

How to unhook a bra in one swift motion.

 

Minor addition to this one: "Without injuring the wearer!"

(Take note, AirportKid, I didn't say "woman" as that would be exclusive of cross-dressers )

 

I think 4 and 5 are superfluous to existence.

But as an addendum to #3 you also need to p00p.

 

Have you ever read the vintage duties of a school teacher?

RULES FOR TEACHERS - 1872

1. Teachers each day will fill lamps and clean chimneys.

2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session.

3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.

4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week, if they go to church regularly.

5. After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible and other good books.

6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.

8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.

9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

RULES FOR TEACHERS 1915

You will NOT marry during the term of your contract.

You are NOT to keep company with men.

You MUST be home between the hours of 8pm and 6am unless attending a school function.

You MAY NOT loiter downtown in ice cream stores.

You MAY NOT ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.

You MAY NOT travel beyond the city limits without the permission of the chairman of the board.

You MAY NOT smoke cigarettes.

You MAY NOT dress in bright colors.

You may UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES dye your hair.

You must wear AT LEAST two petticoats.

Your dresses must NOT be any shorter than two inches above the ankle.

Duties

To keep the schoolroom clean you must:

*Sweep the floor at least once daily.

*Scrub the floor with hot soapy water at least once a week.

*Start a fire at 7 am so that the room will be warm by 8 am.



*********************
I'm sure there are those that feel many of the above rules should still be enforced.

Home between 8 pm and 6 am? Well, yeah. That's when I'm sleeping.

 

Reminds me of another teachers' list - a list of top teachers' concerns 1950 vs the same in 2000:

1950 top classroom problems:

chewing gum in class
tardy to class
whispering in class
late or unfinished homework


2000 top classroom problems:

chronic truancy
drug addiction
pregnancy
assaulting the teacher
assaulting other students




MB

 

You probably couldn't get your pilot's license if you couldn't navigate with a compass and map as well. I didn't bother going thru the whole list, for reasons others have said. But if you want to save money, it's good to be able to do many of these things. Having an understanding of how physical things work is not bad or useless, and they did try to pick a wide variety of things so a person could be well-rounded.

To nitpick, I think a person should be able to back up a vehicle before backing up a trailer, they didn't bother mentioning that one. Most people can get out of a parking spot, but if they have to do anything more than a simple curve, they get in trouble. I don't know how many times I see people trying to get out of a parking spot and they have to go back and forth 3 or 4 times because they have absolutely no idea how big their vehicle is and they leave 6 feet of room behind and in front of their vehicle (especially with SUVs). Meanwhile people are waiting on them to get out of the way. Growing up on a farm, I've done a bit of backing up trailers, and yes, the two-wheeled kinds are fine, but get a four-wheeled one with a swivel hitch, and I have trouble, but my uncle can do two such trailers caravaned together (for short distances) which just awes me.

As a Macintosh user however, I don't know how to protect my computer and do weekly virus scans. I did ask someone this last summer to show me how to fillet a fish, so maybe that redeems me?

 

That seems to be a bit of a "the good-old-days" filtered thinking. You forgot one big problem of the 50's - segregation. Colored kids were threatened and taunted over that. Of course truancy existed in the 1950's, as did teenage pregnancy (which could be solved by real shot-gun weddings, or else the girl had to go into hiding for some time possibly forced to give the child up for adoption, and of course wouldn't ever finish school). My uncle's family actually left the state and moved to a place where nobody knew them when their girl became pregnant. Teenage pregnancy rates have gone down over the last decade or two. There were bullies and smoking in the 50's (at least that's what Back to the Future showed :lol although drug use was a lot rarer and different then. Domestic abuse was considered a better option than divorce.
Yeah, the good-old-days.

 

A bit off topic (off course?) a few degrees but the cheap, plentiful prevalence of the portable GPS has unbelievably eroded this skill for many pilots - and perhaps made this item on the list truly obsolete for any type of navigation (except marine navigation in terms of keeping the keel clear of the bottom as tides change). I recall a group fly-in where one of our party boomed on past the destination by about 30 miles before catching his error and turning back - he had no idea where he was by map or compass and had programmed in the wrong waypoint in his GPS. You won't pass a checkride without demonstrating chart proficiency, but once the ticket's in your pocket you can do whatever your billfold will let you.

MB

 

This is silly.

I doubt it. But I'll suggest being able to speak the language of the community s/he lives in.

Navigating with a map and compass is still required for a hiking guide or a mountain guide. And in this profession it's absolutely essential. While an airplane always has a view of the sky for its GPS, hikers often find themselves unable to receive a GPS signal due to mountains and trees. Every guide I have hiked with is proficient in this skill. However, it's still not a skill that every man needs to know.

 

Here's the article I alluded to earlier. It's from the 1955 May 13 issue of Good Housekeeping. I have only a forwarded email of a fuzzy photocopy, so I'll type it in.

The Good Wife's Guide

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.

Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper etc and then run a dustcloth over the tables.

Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimise all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

Be happy to see him.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.

Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.