In a greater metropolitan area that is home to tech giants such as Google and government contracting firms such as Lockheed Martin, one would scarcely think of the local hardware store as a place to go to find new, innovative ideas. Maybe this is a case of fatigue from the daily grind of writing software for the government, combined with a desire to find out what "progress" really means for the average Joe and Jane. In any case, I made a startling discovery while performing repairs around the house-- nail technology has advanced significantly in recent years.
An oft-repeated saying goes "so and so is as tough as nails", referencing they do not lose their nerve and stay strong. However, it can be said that even nails can get a little bit stronger with time. I was recently repairing the door with a hinge-and-screw set from ReliaBilt, and had to replace the brass-coated one that I installed with a new one that was covered in chrome. As I was removing the nails that fixed the door hinge in place, I discovered that they were pulling out small amounts of the door's wood with them. As it turned out, the thread around the screws was serrated to allow them to penetrate wooden materials easier.
