The remote control.

At the end of the 1980s, I worked on repairing household appliances. At that time, the profession was quite in demand, especially in remote villages, where the district household did not show the nose. One day he jumped through the road to his hometown, visiting relatives before the holidays. Here I was intercepted by my cousin uncle, he said, go look at the TV, he started joking something, he worked for half an hour, and then only whispered.
“Well, if I just look, I say, or I don’t have any tools with me.
- Yes, you just look, maybe spare parts are needed for repair, or I turn it on, just the "Time" program to watch is enough, and then both. My aunt is running to the neighbors to watch.
I went home to him, I see, the TV is old, light bulb, and the stripes on the screen will slide. I knocked it a couple of times and a picture appeared.
- No problem, contact needs to be lost, in a day I will come and do it. And you so far, if it won’t work, tap his pair, as I did and all.
The day I got somewhere in a month, the park was before the holidays. Everyone wanted to see "Blue Light" or "Light Steam" for the New Year, at that time it was a ritual of some kind. This time I was caught by my uncle’s wife. I started apologizing, but she shrugged my hand.
The TV works, but you go in anyway. My grandfather was so upset that I feared my house would be ruined. The remote control was built—with difficulty pronouncing little-known words, my aunt said.
It intrigued me. Then there were already televisions with a remote control, some housewives refined their televisions themselves, but it was difficult to stick the DU to the old lamp TV even with my engineering education. My uncle, of course, was a crafty man, with fiction, of the breed that has a shilo in one place. Moreover, when he retired, he had a time off, with his ideas he could swing the plane, but I did not notice something in his deep knowledge in radio electronics.
What I saw at his house really stunned me. The unhappy uncle became lazy to get up from the couch every half hour and knock his fist on the box. Therefore he assembled the entire structure. From the couch to the TV through the system of blocks was stretched a strong leash. At one end of the wool, under the ceiling, above the TV hanged an ordinary old valley. The other end of the leash was attached to some leverage, a spinning coil, which was attached to the wall near the couch.
Two days later, my uncle boasted. I knew you would have time and you’t look at me soon. My system works like a clock. In five minutes, the TV will turn off.
A few minutes later, the screens appeared. Uncle pulled the lever and the valley smoothly descended and slightly hit the TV, an image appeared. Uncle dragged the other lever and the valley, as slowly, took the starting position.
- I add a little sand to the valley, or with time to knock more and more!
Okay, I say, turn off your machinery. I’ll be stuck in my backyard while I’m running.
Ten minutes later, the repair was completed. I knocked on the TV a couple of times, checking if there were no unconnected contacts.
- All, understand, grandfather your design, you will not need it anymore!
“Sorry,” my uncle spoke in a sad voice. - And I already came up with a scheme, how to stick the old alarm, so that everything works automatically.
His thoughts were interrupted by his aunt.
Let’s get your puppets! Did you hear what the master said? It is a shame to invite someone here! You, if the refrigerator is broken, you will probably add a rocket to it!
At night I dreamed that an uncle from an old vacuum cleaner "Raket" built some kind of monster, which, splashing scars, was riding around the room and scratching a huge rubber hammer over the TV. And then I thought that maybe in vain has rushed to repair. Sometimes I look a little, in a month or two uncle would surely come up with a cute robot, who would not only knock on the TV, but also tea could make.
It is said that man invented all his inventions solely because of laziness.