The Hurriquake Nail: Micro-Innovation to Save Lives

What’s so special about a nail? A lot, actually. Ed Sutt’s Hurriquake Nail packs a whole bunch of life-saving innovation and special features into it’s tiny frame. Using modifications to standard nail design, like threading at the end of the shank to keep the nail steady, these nails can make houses twice as resistant to high winds and 50% more resistant to earthquake forces. They’ve been around for about two years, first in the gulf coast region of the US, but are finding their way to wider distribution. This is an accessible tool as well. Hurriquake nails only add about $15 to the cost of building a house, and can fit in today’s standard nail guns. Sometimes little changes can have big results.

[via Treehugger]