The Irreplaceable Gilhoolie
Dec. 20th, 2002 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tmcgGooglewhack:
"Your search - gilhoolie jar opener device - did not match any documents."
"Your search - gilhoolie jar opener - did not match any documents."
"Your search - gilhoolie opener - did not match any documents."
When your hands are totally effed up by martial arts and you kind of want them to get better, you acquiesce when they tell you that no, they really aren't going to open this fresh bottle of Diet Cherry Coke. You remind yourself that you are a tool-using Homo sapiens (cf. the packaging unopenable by opposable-thumbed hands). You get out...
THE GIZMO.
The Gizmo is this thing we've always had around the house. It's the kind of object they'd give you in writing class as an exercise in describing the indescribable. It grabs the lids of jars and helps you open them. It's a kind of ratchet with dull grabber teeth. Mine, which I suppose amounts to a family heirloom at this point, says GILHOOLIE on the side. That's such a fun word that I don't know why we resorted to calling it the Gizmo. It's just fun to say, like "Cuddledown" and "Noodle Kidoodle" and "Pudgie's" and "We are the Fallorie Men." I looked for a link to post here as illustration, but while there are tons of other jar openers out there, from pieces of rubber in the shape of things like cell phones (who thinks these things up?) to jar openers that look like they would open only jars (nothing so small-diameter as a bottle) to complex electrical devices you have to install under a cabinet (if I have to get the drill out, screw it), I could not find a current version of the old Gilhoolie.
This is a great loss to Western civilization.
I will guard my Gilhoolie with my life, for it may be the last of its kind.
------
18 Oct 2005 update: Thanks to all the people who've commented! Apparently there isn't much information about the Gilhoolie out there, so a Google search now turns up this page. How...recursive! I've started a gallery of Gilhoolie pictures here. First entry is a scan from Ron Peterson of the gizmo's debut as a contest winner in a 1953 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. Actually two scans, one higher-resolution so the text is more easily readable. To think that the irreplaceable gizmo was invented by a retired dentist from Yonkers! Or maybe that's not so odd, since getting stubborn caps to turn can be like pulling teeth.
My Gilhoolie looks a bit different from this one, and the manufacturer seems to have moved to Connecticut at some point, so there was evolution after this point. I'll be uploading more pictures as I can. Also, check the comments here for more information.
Nov 2005 update: The Vermont Country Store sells Gilhoolies. Hooray!
"Your search - gilhoolie jar opener device - did not match any documents."
"Your search - gilhoolie jar opener - did not match any documents."
"Your search - gilhoolie opener - did not match any documents."
When your hands are totally effed up by martial arts and you kind of want them to get better, you acquiesce when they tell you that no, they really aren't going to open this fresh bottle of Diet Cherry Coke. You remind yourself that you are a tool-using Homo sapiens (cf. the packaging unopenable by opposable-thumbed hands). You get out...
THE GIZMO.
The Gizmo is this thing we've always had around the house. It's the kind of object they'd give you in writing class as an exercise in describing the indescribable. It grabs the lids of jars and helps you open them. It's a kind of ratchet with dull grabber teeth. Mine, which I suppose amounts to a family heirloom at this point, says GILHOOLIE on the side. That's such a fun word that I don't know why we resorted to calling it the Gizmo. It's just fun to say, like "Cuddledown" and "Noodle Kidoodle" and "Pudgie's" and "We are the Fallorie Men." I looked for a link to post here as illustration, but while there are tons of other jar openers out there, from pieces of rubber in the shape of things like cell phones (who thinks these things up?) to jar openers that look like they would open only jars (nothing so small-diameter as a bottle) to complex electrical devices you have to install under a cabinet (if I have to get the drill out, screw it), I could not find a current version of the old Gilhoolie.
This is a great loss to Western civilization.
I will guard my Gilhoolie with my life, for it may be the last of its kind.
------
18 Oct 2005 update: Thanks to all the people who've commented! Apparently there isn't much information about the Gilhoolie out there, so a Google search now turns up this page. How...recursive! I've started a gallery of Gilhoolie pictures here. First entry is a scan from Ron Peterson of the gizmo's debut as a contest winner in a 1953 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. Actually two scans, one higher-resolution so the text is more easily readable. To think that the irreplaceable gizmo was invented by a retired dentist from Yonkers! Or maybe that's not so odd, since getting stubborn caps to turn can be like pulling teeth.
My Gilhoolie looks a bit different from this one, and the manufacturer seems to have moved to Connecticut at some point, so there was evolution after this point. I'll be uploading more pictures as I can. Also, check the comments here for more information.
Nov 2005 update: The Vermont Country Store sells Gilhoolies. Hooray!
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no subject
Date: 2002-12-21 06:40 am (UTC)I sympathize.
no subject
Date: 2002-12-21 07:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-21 07:15 am (UTC)Second of all, "Gilhoolie" will now be in my head all day, which is cool, because it sounds like some kind of Prohibition password.
no subject
Date: 2002-12-21 07:49 am (UTC)Sometimes I feel like Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw or whoever it was who backed off from a bar fight crying, "Not my hands! Not my hands!" If only I played well enough to justify being such a wuss about fingers. {g}
no subject
Date: 2002-12-21 07:35 am (UTC)You can't even play most computer games left-handed -- not if the critters onscreen are moved with the arrows on the *right* side of the keyboard. One of the numerous reasons why I always felt a kinship with Alex Krycek.
no subject
Date: 2002-12-21 07:56 am (UTC)Oh, I raise consciousnesses for a living. In fact, my pedigree female just had a litter of five. Free to a good brain.
LOL! I'll take dibs on the runt that no one else wants. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-11-26 08:44 am (UTC)My father bought it in the '50s, I think. He gave it to my wife and me when we got married 30 years ago. It is one of the greatest inventions ever and I have never seen anything since that does the job as well.
We've always called it the Gilhoolie.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-03 08:19 pm (UTC)That really is just the greatest device. I would muse on why they're so hard to find now, but then I'd have to wax cynical.
My mother claims that we called it the Gizmo and the Gilhoolie with about equal frequency.
gilhoolie
Date: 2004-03-13 03:55 pm (UTC)Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2004-03-13 07:57 pm (UTC)Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2005-10-18 12:43 pm (UTC)I was just trying to describe my beloved Gilhoolie
Date: 2003-12-01 09:31 pm (UTC)Anyway I got online to see if they still make them but all I found was your page. (Thanks for proving that I'm not crazy!!)
Re: I was just trying to describe my beloved Gilhoolie
Date: 2003-12-03 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-09 10:56 am (UTC)My coworkers were wondering exactly what this wonder looked like so i brought it to work today. It was like shock and awe.
We Gilhoolie owners are indeed among the most fortunate of people.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-09 11:14 am (UTC)I'm going to take a digital photo of the device and upload it. It's amazing that there isn't even a picture of it anywhere. Will post it to this journal when I've got it online.
Thanks for coming back to visit again!
Gilhoolie lost and lamented
Date: 2003-12-30 05:18 pm (UTC)Re: Gilhoolie lost and lamented
Date: 2003-12-31 07:22 am (UTC)I hope someone starts producing them again--as you say, somebody's gotta have the patent! And I hope they make them as good solid metal tools, not some part-plastic contraption.
Here's hoping you can fix or somehow replace.
Gilhoolie
Date: 2004-01-02 07:36 am (UTC)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3260952777&category=14904
Corinne
Re: Gilhoolie
Date: 2004-01-02 11:54 am (UTC)Gee, it went for only twenty-six bucks. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 09:04 am (UTC)WOW!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3263838169&category=14904&rd=1
no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 08:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-20 09:16 am (UTC)The Gilhoolie is one of my most treasured possessions!!! My beloved father brought one home in the 50's. I guard it carefully. It even has a special place of its own in my kitchen gadget drawer. I'd love to find another--just to have a back-up.
As a journalist, I think it might be fun to write about the Gilhoolie--and those who love it.
Who knows? Maybe there will be a way to find someone who will begin to produce it again? I wonder if the patent has run out.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-20 09:23 am (UTC)You could probably do some kind of search through public patent records, maybe find out who the parent company was, see if the patent is still in force, who the original manufacturer was, and so on. I hope you'll let me know the results.
I saw the pictures on eBay, and they were definitely the same device I have, which I believe came into the family through my grandmother. I'll check up on that. I'll be posting a picture here the next time I download images from the digital camera.
Thanks for posting!
Gilhoolie manufacturer
Date: 2004-01-20 09:47 am (UTC)It's fun to meet so many others who are interested in such a seemingly mundane item.
The manufacturer was RISWELL, Inc. in Cos Cob, CT. The first thing I did when looking for a new one was to check yellow pages and they don't exist. This means they are either out of business or they've moved.
I'll try to find out about the patent from some lawyers I know. IF it's in the public domain, perhaps another manufacturer might be asked to produce them!
Ruth
Re: Gilhoolie manufacturer
Date: 2004-01-27 06:37 pm (UTC)Re: Gilhoolie manufacturer
Date: 2004-01-28 07:30 am (UTC)Did your father buy the one for your sister new? That might be a clue for anyone trying to track down a manufacturer. Someone looked up Riswell in Connecticut and found out that it no longer exists. The next step is probably to contact the patent office and see who owns that patent now.
I hope you can find another one (at a reasonable price!), or get yours repaired! Let me know!
Re: Gilhoolie manufacturer
Date: 2004-02-22 05:20 pm (UTC)Re: Gilhoolie manufacturer
Date: 2004-02-27 06:22 am (UTC)Re: Gilhoolie manufacturer
Date: 2005-10-16 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-12 04:54 pm (UTC)Gilhoolie
Date: 2004-06-18 07:51 pm (UTC)Great Gilhoolie pictures
Date: 2004-09-08 09:32 pm (UTC)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6116550326
There are photos of both the original box and the original instructions, thought all the other Gilhoolie fans might be interested. It would be really cool if whoever bought it would scan the instructions in and post them online!
Re: Great Gilhoolie pictures
Date: 2004-10-19 09:37 am (UTC)Thanks for posting this! Maybe I should keep a search running for these on eBay.
gilhoolie
Date: 2004-12-04 05:38 pm (UTC)I have tried many other jar openers, brought home by my husband from his occasional trips to the mall kitchen store, but we always go back to the gilhoolie. Someone should start making them again. Surely the patent has run out by now, and they could be copied.
Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2004-12-10 10:51 am (UTC)Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2004-12-28 09:21 pm (UTC)Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2005-01-01 11:32 pm (UTC)And LOL--yes, the older I get, the more I need the Gilhoolie, in addition to just appreciating how cool it is and how generally useful. Heh.
Glad you hung on to yours and that it's still serving you well!
Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2005-11-30 03:05 pm (UTC)Good-Luck PJB
Gilhoolie jar opener
Date: 2005-12-26 09:36 pm (UTC)FYI: The original Gilhoolie jar opener is available from the Vermont Country Store (vermontcountrystore.com) for $14.95.
We've had one in our Gilhooley family for years, but I'm not sure how we got it -- probably a gift to my parents because of the name. (Both deceased now.) The "gizmo" actually works quite well. Thanks for posting the Mechanix Illustrated history -- I'll pass it along to my sisters.
Re: Gilhoolie jar opener
Date: 2009-09-25 11:17 pm (UTC)gilhoolie
Date: 2005-12-26 09:59 pm (UTC)I'm also going to send one to each of my three sisters (I'm the lucky one who ended up with the original) and also to a nephew who has traveled to Ireland several time and likes being a "Gilhooley" by ancestry, though not by name. Unfortunately our line in the US died with my parents. We'll have to pick up the line again in Ireland -- still looking for some key information.
Meanwhile, I'll check this site periodically to watch for more news on the jar opener and its history. It's fun seeing my almost-name talked about so much.
Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2006-05-23 08:05 pm (UTC)Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2006-08-26 11:46 pm (UTC)Happy Gilhoolie-ing! ;) Liz L in New Hampshire
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com
Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2008-04-02 12:32 am (UTC)Re: gilhoolie
Date: 2008-08-19 08:45 pm (UTC)I bought mine, a "Gilhoolie"?, at a Thrift Store in Phoenix, Arizona, about 15 years back fer my Mother, who needed it. Before she died, I asked her to tag it for return to me, which she didn't do - but I got it back anyhow.
Mine has NO "Gilhoolie" stamped on it. It is stamped:
"Pat.No.2669142
Others Pend.
Riswell Inc.
Cos Cob, Conn."
These days, I need it so I am sure lucky to have got it back!