Inventions / contraptions / thingymajigs

[Slow and wobbly]

With the drought and all everybody is now turning to new and creative ways of conserving, capturing and re-using water in ways they never thought they would have to. This afternoon I installed a couple of downpipe diverters which take the water from the down pipe and redirect it to a hose which can be positioned in the garden or wherever else you may choose. These are in addition to a water tank and I am now collecting about 80% of all water that falls onto the roof. These diverters are a very simple idea that has come about as people apply thinking and application to an area that was previously overlooked. Those of you who were in Melbourne during the gas crisis in 99 will recall how people adapted very quickly and came up with all sorts of cunning ways to cope, much the same way as people are now doing for water.
Which brings me to my point. Inventions come about through necessity.
So what is the greatest / worst / wackiest / cheapest / most expensive idea you have had and put into aplication? (emphasis on the last bit there). It can be bike related like Gosling1's tie down, or useful household items like Colettes naughty corner for children. Nothing is realy that far fetched when you think about it, Post-it notes for example - a piece of sticky yellow paper!
I watch that new inventors show on the ABC and I am amazed at how simple some ideas are.

[RG]

pee in your garden

[varden]

pee in the shower, save that flush and cure your tinea!

go on you know you can't resist.

[Jonno]

Ok
Dad and I found an old BMX bike, cut it in half with a hinge added, an old washing machine motor, a few pulleys, and made a bandsaw, welded up the table in place, the 5 spoke plastic rims were perfect to run the blade around. Works better than anything you can buy

We have done everthing from making truck chassis, trailers, sheds, houses, fences, spits and bbq's, you name it out of 2nd hand/recycled materials. why pay dollars when you can get this material almost for free.

We also made a wood lathe out of old esso/transfeild oil rig platform steel, many things like farm implements were made out of the well painted(toxic) material, farm buildings from old SEC power poles etc, why pay for materials when they are being tossed out!
We even made our own saw mill on the farm run off the tractor pto, used the sawn timber for extensions on the house and building the shearing shed as well as the machinery shed. Middle of a drought in the early seventies in western Victoria, so every thing was a necessity through lack of the banks understanding and water for that matter. Thats just to mention a few things we did.

My old dad has a very imaginative creative side. Rough diamond he is…
Maybe I am too.