“Ode to men: Who could sail a ship, ride a horse…”
Today’s equivalent: merely know what a bowline (the king of knots) *is*, though it is not so much how to tie it (inner our outer), but which is also very easy to tie with your eyes closed. First close your eyes. Now grab the end of the rope with your right hand, and use it to pass over the rest of the rope in your left hand, but keep going, so you straighten the rope in your right hand, creating a loop in your left hand. Now merely pass the end once more through that loop. No matter how much stress you put on that knot, it will be stronger than the rope itself, and it will, unlike shoelaces, also untie in two seconds, no matter what load it has been used for.
Now if you also know how to tie a ‘Monkey’s Fist’ either in two, three, four, or even (never seen it done) five passes, then you can claim Manhood, especially if you tie it around a large round rock, then splice the knife-tapered ends back into the rope, as you did for the loop handle, creating a very serious weapon, quite a bit more stealthy, deadly and lighter than a loud gang member’s hardware store clanking chain, and no match for a plastic box cutter either.
