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!
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)