When there's a huge problem, it must be solved no matter what. Even when the tools available aren't ideal.
Fortunately, people are clever, and these 10 groups came up with seemingly half baked solutions that wound up working incredibly well.
1
Surgery
On a plane, doctors Angus Wallace and Tom Wong performed surgery for a woman’s collapsed lung using the plane’s medical kit, a coat hanger, and bottle of water.
2
Clean Air
During the Apollo 13 disaster, engineer Ed Smylie used duct tape and other simple things to procure extra air filters.
3
Mapping
British prisoners used lemon gelatin to plan an escape route during World War II.
4
Snorkles
NASA astronauts on the ISS used makeshift snorkels to breathe when their space suits flooded with leaking fluid.
5
Firing Squad
When the Allied soldiers needed to retreat in WWII, they rigged string and leaking ration cans to fire rifles at random, masking their escape.
6
Motorcycle
When French electrician Emile Leray’s car broke down in the desert, he took it apart and built a motorcycle.
7
All Vehicles On Deck
French taxis, busses, race cars, and other vehicles on hand all participated in moving French troops to stop German advances in 1914.
8
The Waffle Cone
Thanks to extreme heat, vendors at the Saint Louis 1904 World’s Fair were forced to improvise, and came up with the waffle cone.
9
Snakes
Out of ammunition? Hannibal used buckets of venomous snakes to win the battle of Eurymedon in 190 BC.
10
Poison Smokes
The British defeated the Ottomans in World War I with the help of opium-laced cigarettes dropped on enemy positions.
