I have never doubted the power of the human mind. Once set on achieving something, it often does. But it was a pleasant surprise to see my dad come up with the most ingenious “invention” I have seen in a long time. To be fair to him, my dad, James Wini is an innovator, a jack of all trade on weekends but an accountant, manager every other day. This is perhaps his single most important invention.
Here in the islands, you would often find doors that are locked using everything from a proper lock to a simple nail. And in a bathroom, the lock is an important part of the whole setup. Now my dad spent a great deal of money buying a proper lock for the door but as he has so often lamented, “they don’t make good locks anymore these days”. And a couple of days later the lock stopped working and has only served as a door handle since then.
But dad refused to let his precious bathroom suffer the fate of many other bathrooms before it; the unsightly presence of a nail driven halfway then bent 90 degrees, allowing it to be turned into position to lock the door. After a while; the constant turning of the nail would etch a noticeable semi-circle on the door. Then the nail grinds into the timber and after a while comes loose and another nail will have to be driven in another position; a routine that ultimately leaves more damages to the door and is an eye sore.
Determined not to be held at ransom to this phenomena, dad spent countless hours studying the door until he devised this simple solution using a lock from a discarded TV stand. The lock consists of two barrels tipped with magnetic strips at the end. When the glass doors are closed, it stays in place held by the magnets. To open the door, you press on the outside and the barrels spring out forcing the door lose and it opens up again. Using this same lock, dad screwed it into position as shown in the photograph. Now when you go to the bathroom, all you needed to do is press the two barrels which spring out of their socket to lock the door in place. To release; you press the two barrels back into the socket to open the door. I have been to several hotels around the world but this has got to be the simplest yet most innovative lock I have seen. Never doubt human ingenuity; in the face of adversity, it will always find a way.