"we decided on the wingnut because we thought it represented us"
August 9, 2024 5:44 PM Subscribe
Berkeley, CA now has a Wingnut Museum. "The wingnut was invented in the first half of the 19th century and quickly became an indispensable piece of hardware. It lets users fasten bolts by hand, without tools, using little wings jutting out from the nut.
Over time the term became slang, applied pejoratively to mentally unsound people, to political extremists, to freaks, eccentrics and weirdos. But in the Bay Area especially, it’s come to take on a more positive connotation, describing a certain type of creative tinkerer with a DIY, outsider ethos.
The wingnut, in all its many guises, is being celebrated at the Wingnut Museum, which opened in July at Grand Opening, the art salon in Berkeley’s Gilman District that is also home to the Illusion Room. "
"In 2022, when Neko was running Urban Ore’s hardware department, “it was very cluttered, messy, disorganized, and I was tasked with cleaning it up,” he said. “I’m not sure where exactly the idea came from. It started with 10 or 15 wingnuts laid out on a shelf and as I sorted through the many hardware donations, I came across more wingnuts and I kept adding to it.”
Soon co-workers started donating wingnuts to the collection, and then customers took notice and made donations as well.
As Neko’s collection was growing, he and his fellow Urban Ore workers were busy making plans to form a union. At one of their meetings, before they went public with their intention, they held a vote to choose a symbol for the union.
“We were throwing around an image of a flying pig, which is a pretty prominent sculpture in the shop,” Neko said. “And ultimately we decided on the wingnut because we thought it represented us as people and represented our clientele and it seemed like a powerful symbol.”"
"In 2022, when Neko was running Urban Ore’s hardware department, “it was very cluttered, messy, disorganized, and I was tasked with cleaning it up,” he said. “I’m not sure where exactly the idea came from. It started with 10 or 15 wingnuts laid out on a shelf and as I sorted through the many hardware donations, I came across more wingnuts and I kept adding to it.”
Soon co-workers started donating wingnuts to the collection, and then customers took notice and made donations as well.
As Neko’s collection was growing, he and his fellow Urban Ore workers were busy making plans to form a union. At one of their meetings, before they went public with their intention, they held a vote to choose a symbol for the union.
“We were throwing around an image of a flying pig, which is a pretty prominent sculpture in the shop,” Neko said. “And ultimately we decided on the wingnut because we thought it represented us as people and represented our clientele and it seemed like a powerful symbol.”"
"Berkeley has a wingnut museum." Of course it does, but this is very sweet.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:17 PM on August 9 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:17 PM on August 9 [5 favorites]
I'll be honest, I read the title and initially assumed this would be another thread about TFG. I'm happy I was wrong!
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:20 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:20 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]
"we decided on the wingnut because we thought it represented us"
I was about to get annoyed that this wasn't kept off my feed as a US Politics post.
posted by mhoye at 6:26 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]
I was about to get annoyed that this wasn't kept off my feed as a US Politics post.
posted by mhoye at 6:26 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]
Incidentally, "asymmetrical wingnut" is my new sockpuppet name.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:44 PM on August 9 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:44 PM on August 9 [1 favorite]
Odd people only started hearing the wingnut in the Bay Area. I assumed they were related by their whimsical nature, but surprisingly a “wingnut (n.): eccentric person” and a “wingnut (n.): type of fastener hardware with a threaded hole and affixed tabs which permit it to be attached manually” are not from the same root. I condone this museum (and shame on Urban Ore owners for being anti-Union).
posted by rubatan at 8:21 PM on August 9 [3 favorites]
posted by rubatan at 8:21 PM on August 9 [3 favorites]
I'd never seen an asymmetrical wing nut before
My preferred modern type is asymmetrical, has a nice soft handle, and incorporates a cute little clutch so you can reposition it as needed.
posted by Popular Ethics at 8:49 PM on August 9
That's well into is a taco a sandwich territory. I'm going to go ahead and state, IMO, that while the name uses the singular "wing"; a proper wingnut has two distinct protrusions and that a nut with only a single handle, especially if it ratchets, is not in anyway a member of the proud wing nut family.
posted by Mitheral at 10:11 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 10:11 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]
I just
I could not possibly love this more.
Everything about it.
This is magical and delightful and joyous.
Thank you so much for this wonderful, wonderful post, gingerbeer.
posted by kristi at 11:03 PM on August 9 [10 favorites]
I could not possibly love this more.
Everything about it.
As the new logo began to circulate, and the workers’ demands for a union began to take shape, the wingnut museum mysteriously disappeared, Neko said.I love the celebration of the word for weirdos. I love the celebration of the wonderfully useful invention. I love the organic way it grew and the choice to keep it in Berkeley and the entwinement with the unionization and the cuteness and the deviance and the honoring of history that is museums and the DIY ethos and the music and art links and the tribute:
The owners of Urban Ore, Dan Knapp and Mary Lou Van Deventer, who were against the union, packed up the entire collection and held it captive in their office.
“I was the one who actually called for removing the Wingnut Museum,” said Van Deventer. “Even though it was cute, the union election was happening at the time and it was a union campaign structure. I thought it was inappropriate to campaign inside the company, so I had it taken down.”
Neko was incensed that they removed the collection without warning, but soon he and the owners sat down and had a nice chat.
“We talked about the museum and they were very level-headed,” said Neko.
He and the owners ultimately came to a resolution, and Neko ended up purchasing the collection from Urban Ore. The total cost, including a 50% worker discount, was $12.50.
“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the freaks, the weirdos, the unhinged leftists, the coffee shop punishers, the people carrying too many things on their bicycles,” he said. “I hope this museum can continue to be a tribute to the wingnuts that came before us, the wingnuts of tomorrow, and most of all, the wingnuts that we are today.”It's me. I am the person carrying too many things on my bicycle. I am the honoror of the history of small things. I am the person whose heart is fluttering.
This is magical and delightful and joyous.
Thank you so much for this wonderful, wonderful post, gingerbeer.
posted by kristi at 11:03 PM on August 9 [10 favorites]
\ _ /
posted by AlSweigart at 6:27 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]
posted by AlSweigart at 6:27 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]
The owners of Urban Ore, Dan Knapp and Mary Lou Van Deventer, who were against the union, packed up the entire collection and held it captive in their office.
“I was the one who actually called for removing the Wingnut Museum,” said Van Deventer. “Even though it was cute, the union election was happening at the time and it was a union campaign structure. I thought it was inappropriate to campaign inside the company, so I had it taken down.”
Anti-union people are not only always bad, they are cartoon villains come to life.
posted by AlSweigart at 6:38 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]
“I was the one who actually called for removing the Wingnut Museum,” said Van Deventer. “Even though it was cute, the union election was happening at the time and it was a union campaign structure. I thought it was inappropriate to campaign inside the company, so I had it taken down.”
Anti-union people are not only always bad, they are cartoon villains come to life.
posted by AlSweigart at 6:38 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]
The wingnut is the wrencher's mousewheel: it's not great for everything; sometimes the scroll bar (hexnut and wrench) or PgDn (impact wrench) are faster, but it's a simple concept that does what it does very well and you intuitively and instantly know how to use it.
posted by rhizome at 12:43 PM on August 11
posted by rhizome at 12:43 PM on August 11
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posted by Rhomboid at 5:50 PM on August 9 [4 favorites]