Finds: Inflatable Dent Remover
Monday, September 11th, 2006
Once when I was 16, I borrowed my Dad’s Camaro. I made it all the way to the mall and almost all the way home afterward before I got a little throttle-happy in a turn. I almost pulled it out, but didn’t and ended up almost missing a signpost, instead tapping a little protrusion from it just enough to put an oilcan-style dent in the passenger door.
Crouching in the driveway, I was sure there was some way to get the dent out without giving up my allowance for life. Then Dad walked up. I expected him to light me up — I certainly would if I’d been him — but instead he stood quietly for about 10 minutes just staring at the dent. Finally he reached out past me and lightly tapped just to the right of the dent… and it popped out, as if it’d never been there.
Then he lit me up.
If I’d have had something like this — and a couple of hours before he got home — I bet I could’ve knocked that dent out myself.
This falls under the “little things that make life easier” category. When you take off a wheel and tire — whether to change the tire or just to inspect your brakes — you have to bend over and grab the whole dirty assembly. Then you have to hold it in place while you try to put the lug nuts back on. 
