We all know the shape, the name and some of us even the sound of the mythical weapon named adter a certain Kalashnikov. A weapon so iconic it has paradoxically become both a scary sign of terrorism and a symbol of struggle against imperialism. It is featured on the coats and flags of 4 different African states and basically every battlefield since 1950 ( Source ). It's image is that of war itself. However, today I don't care about any of that.
We are gonna be looking at the miracle of how an 80 year coarse and lackluster selective-fire old rifle is still the default weapon on planet earth. This especially impressive if we consider that the international market of weapons annually spends billions upon billions on research and divelloppement. It is a miracle, yet only one among many. The iconic AK-47 is one among a whole cathegory of many objects that have permeated our lifes to a point we barely even grasp anymore. What are the requirements to be in this club? First of all, all AKs are born equal. Taking variants aside, a user can hardly find any significant difference between his fully-working AK-47 and and that of his trench neigbour. Even further, any piece of the basic AK-47 can be interchageably mixed and matched, resulting in easier production and repair. The genius of interchangeable parts were indeed an innovation created for fire weapons(https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/interchangeable-parts).
where They are thus products Most of these you could and should use at home. Of course I don't intend on helping anyone find armament suppliers, but pointing to an alternative to mindless consumerism in a world dominated by programmed obsolescence.
Shaving properly is a forgotten art. Well, it shouldn't! The iconic look of a classical razor blade hides a the secret to a healthier shaving and a more economical one. Seriously. My local carrefour has 10-blade boxes for unde 2€ and probably yours too. Sure, it takes a bit of practice and some ritual, but your father's old-forgotten will also surely bring better results that the 50€ kit of 3 disposable razor heads, let's not talk about the crappy ones who get dull every 3 uses.
Razors where born of an era where the virtues of mass production had not yet succumbed to the addiction of plastic. The result is a part of most 1950's men's routine that will show itself most reliable. Most razors have 4 parts and litterally cannot break, so they last a lifetime. They might even give you less cuts once you learn that a blade on your neck is a moment of concentration. Disposal of blades is not a problem if you have common sense. The learning is easy thanks to ressources such as those at r/wetshaving.
Or for that matter, most other thinkpads.
This is main body of my content. I have a footnote link for this line [1]. Then, I have some more content. Some of it is interesting and it has some footnotes as well [2].
1. Here is my first footnote. ↩
2. Another footnote. ↩