Stripped a bolt at a rest stop in Ohio and fixed it with a rubber band

I was outside Toledo changing my battery terminals when I over tightened a bolt and stripped the head. No tools nearby and it was getting dark. I grabbed a thick rubber band from my glove box, pressed it over the bolt head, and the socket bit right in. Got it out in under a minute. Anyone else carry weird stuff like that for emergencies?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason36127d ago

I mean, you stripped a battery terminal bolt, not a head gasket. A rubber band trick is cool and all but it feels like overkill for something that takes 5 minutes with a pair of pliers. People act like they're stranded in the wilderness when they're just at a rest stop with a parts store probably 10 miles away.

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wrenwilson27d ago

It's wild how this same panic shows up everywhere, not just with cars. You see people freak out over a slow wifi signal like it's a life or death situation, or lose their minds because the coffee shop is out of oat milk. Seems like we've all got this habit of turning small problems into giant mountains in our heads. Maybe that rubber band trick is more about calming the brain than saving the bolt, you know? Kinda makes you wonder what else we're overcomplicating just because we got a little flustered, right?