What MacGyver and Slackers Have in Common

Posted by Jacques - March 27, 2009

MacGyver, for those of you who don’t know, was a show back in the day about a guy who used his brain power to solve problems. In truth, he has a lot in common with slackers. In fact, I would say if you watch him closely on the show, he really is a slacker. Just one who happens to be caught in life threatening situations and whose day to day responsibilities include saving the world. Of course, he does his best to save the world with the least amount of effort possible, usually involving a paper clip and some explosive chewing gum.

One of the most important lessons we can draw from this, is that when life is constantly handing you lemons, you have to make lemonade… then lemon chiffon cake…. then you use it as a disinfectant. The point is, you will rarely find yourself equipped with the perfect tools on hand when a problem passes by, so you need to be prepared to MacGyverize.

For instance, today, I had a lot of cleaning to do, but I didn’t want to have to run to the store and buy carpet stain cleaner, floor cleaning solution, etc. so I made do with normal household items. I had a lot of vinegar, so for the carpet, I mixed half a cup of baking soda with a little bit of vinegar, rubbed it into the carpet stains, and vacuumed it up when it dried. For floor cleaner, I used a few drops of dish soap with 2:1 water and vinegar. Finally, I was hungry, so I added some vinegar and mayo to some Tuna, and ate it.

While not quite on the level of MacGyver, here are some ideas that might help get you started in the thought process, that I’ve actually tested before.

1. Paired a bluetooth headset to a laptop and turned on the voice dictation to spy on what someone was doing on my computer.

2. Filled a glass jar with dirt and planted some herbs.

3. Cut two types of audio cables to make a hybrid.

4. Saved my old business cards to use as portable, durable, notepads.

5. Used a quarter as a screw driver.

6. Lather from a bar of soap as shaving cream.

7. Microwaved a bar of soap to use as decoration (you should try it!).

8. Completely stripped a network and telephone cable to use as string (hint: these types of cables are made of tiny little cables)

9. Re-used a wireless Christmas light remote to turn off bedroom lights.

10. My cellphone flash as a bright light.

Anything you like? Please share!

Sidewalk Money for Slackers There’s a lot of money on sidewalks. I don’t mean...
Slackers Make Money Hanging Out At the Beach Another week has gone by, and the recession doesn’t seem...
Time is Important to Slackers too. A couple days ago, I wrote a post about procrastination...
Slackers Get Easy Cash From Banks While I’m extremely vocal about living cheaper and automated savings...
Buy and Sell Domains Online with Slacker Business What’s easier than making money on your couch with your...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

March 27, 2009 | In All Slacker Methods |

3 Comments »

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

I hear that ammonia and bleach combine for a great cleaner. It’s also effective at neutralizing enemies.

Comment by the weakonomist — March 30, 2009 #
[...] The Slacker Method compared MacGyver to slackers. As a MacGyver fanatic it felt good to know I have so much in common with the man with a plan for a rubber band. [...]

Pingback by Weakonomics Web Junction: April Fools You and Me | Weakonomi¢s — April 3, 2009 #
#1 sound brilliant…
I came up w/ webcamming w/ a friend if i need to leave my laptop alone. They can yell out or call me if the need arises =)

Comment by SJ — April 3, 2009 #

The Slacker Method