I lay down on my bed to watch a nice classic episode of Star Trek (The Next Generation) and it happened: with a sickening crunch and a thud, the back-left bed post finally disengaged itself from the rest of the bed and the bed landed hard on the junk that I had stuffed under it.
Now, to answer the question everyone seems to ask when I tell this story: no it wasn’t in the throes of passion, this bed hasn’t seen much in the way of passion (at least not since I have used it). It’s also not because I’ve gained weight. The bed had been threatening to give out ever since I moved in and the second-rate rental property furniture (not mine, I should point out) finally gave way when I sat my suitably trim behind onto it to indulge in a movie.
So, in true kiwi style, I propped my bed up with the jack from my car and continued with my movie (click on the image for more detail). New Zealanders have a concept called “number 8 wire†which refers to a common gauge of fencing wire used here.
The notion is that New Zealanders have a “can-do†MacGyver attitude when it comes to problem solving and can generally solve a problem with simple, everyday resources at their disposal.
In South Africa, we would say “‘n boer maak ‘n plan†or “a farmer makes a plan†to describe a similar concept.
MacGyver image from Rienk Jan Schurer.