Of screwdrivers and men

We have 2 computers at home; one is our regular surfing computer, one is my storage/music computer. Our main computer has it's own desk, and for the last year or so the other computer has been on my husband's workmate, as we didn't have another desk to put it on. He finally wanted his workmate back for it's original use, but unfortunately Ikea didn't make the computer desk I liked anymore. After much searching (and going through flyers, as I hate paying full price for anything), we found a desk and chair combo on sale at Zellers.

It came in a box and had to be put together (what doesn't these days?). We made a deal that I would put the desk together while he did the dishes (I HATE doing dishes), and if I needed help, he would help. I don't know if any of you have attempted putting things together, but I must say the directions (with no written instructions, all pictures) aren't exactly easy to interpret. My hubby asked, "What kind of screwdrivers do you need?" I looked at the screws and said, " A plus sign one and a star one."

He gave me this look. "What are their names?" I gave him a look. "Plus sign and star?" He sighed.

This is where I discovered that men really, really care about the names of screwdrivers. To me, they are plus sign, minus sign, square and star. Am I going to remember the "real" names, no matter how often I'm told? No. Do I care what they're really called? No. I think a descriptive name is much more helpful than knowing the name of whoever invented them. But for the sake of interest (and peace, I suppose), I will list here the real names of the most common screwdrivers. I guess I can also use this as a reference to look back on should I choose.

Phillips screwdriver: it's the plus sign. The screw would look like this:

Robertson screwdriver: it's the square. The screw would look like this:

Torx screwdriver: it's the star one. The screw would look like this:

Slot screwdriver: it's the minus sign one. The screw would look like this:

I'm sure there are others, but these are the main ones I know of and might actually use.


So, with a little help, I did get the desk together, and he did get his workmate back. It was kind of satisfying to be able to successfully put together the desk mostly by myself.

As I said, it's important to men, for whatever reason, to use the correct term for the various screwdrivers. But it's way more fun to see their reaction when you say, "Honey, could you get me a plus sign screwdriver?" Gotta get your fun where you can!