I came across this list at the Popular Mechanics site. Its supposed to be 25 things every man should know.
1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who as capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
15. Get a car unstuck
16. Back up data
17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle
20. Change oil and filter
21. Hook up an HDTV
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network
A comment on the site notes that the commenter learned how to cook when his wife no longer could, and he does so cheerfully. Which made me look at the list again. Many of the things there are nice to know, but you wouldn't need to know on a routine basis. You can find out, do it, and then forget how till the next time,when you'll learn it again. For example: change oil and filter.
But then again, some of them are things that, should you need to know it, you need to know, because you have no time to go get someone/learn how/figure an alternative. For example: get a car unstuck. And some, you need to know, even if you use it rarely, because the price of learning is so high, or because the price of doing it wrong is so terrible. For example: how to paint a room; how to bleed brakes.
So I'm curious: what would you add to this list?
Here's my contribution: how to put out a kitchen fire.
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