Magnetic Nail Rake
(images via: John Mosbaugh)
There’s nothing worse than stepping on a rake, unless perhaps stepping on a nail. Speaking of both of which, if you’re re-shingling a roof and cleaning up the grounds afterwards there’s nothing better than a “toothless” magnetic rake. Rake the nail-infested yard with this simple yet effective device and you’ll reap amazing results, not to mention a huge harvest of nails.
NASA Moon Rake
(image via: GPA Photo Archive)
You heard correctly: not moon rock but Moon Rake, though admittedly NASA designed this space-age rake to gather marble-sized moonstones. The custom-made rakes (don’t even ask what they cost!) featured tines 1 centimeter (4/10 of an inch) apart and resembled a sort of basket-on-a-stick more than a traditional garden rake. This was no accident – the rakes not only sifted small pebbles from the lunar soil, they also stored the stones temporarily before the astronauts transferred the “catch of the day” into sample bags.
(image via: Smithsonian Air and Space Museum)
These over-engineered geological rakes saw frequent use on the final few Apollo moon missions , which were more scientific and geologically focused rather than merely exploratory. One would hope these far-traveling tools were brought back to Earth with the rocks they helped collect and placed in storage, ready for America’s long-delayed and overdue return to the moon. Maybe next time they’ll bring a custom cheese knife along as well.

