What is the Swiss Army Knife?
The Swiss Army knife (often shortened swak) is a multipurpose tool containing a wide range of blades, screwdrivers, scissors, files and other gadgets. All these accessories are stored through the brilliant series of spring compartments that share a single handle. Two Swiss companies, Victorinox and Wenger, have a license to produce the official "Swiss army" knives, although a model authorized for the real Swiss army is not sold to the general public. Authentic military versions are designed from anodized aluminum, not from the well -known red plastic commercial Swiss army knives. The Swiss army officers also contained a corkscrew that was afraid of being useful in battle. Modern versions of the Swiss Army knife can contain many other dishes such as spoons, forks, toothpicks, compasses, magnifying glasses and lighters. Advanced models can even contain emergency surgical equipment.
Karl Elsener founded a company called Victorinox (after his mother Victoria) in the German -speaking region of Switzerland. Its original contract demanded delivery of 50,000 knives of the Swiss army annually. In 1908, however, the Swiss government decided to divide the contract between Victorinox and a competitor named Theodore Wenger. Wenger's independent society worked in the French -speaking region of Switzerland, which led the Army supplier to believe that intercultural sharing of the contract would build goodwill. Today Victorinox and Wenger supply every 25,000 official Swiss army knives with anodized aluminum handles. Millions of others are sold worldwide to non -military consumers.
The Swiss Army Knife is a miracle of economic design and ingenuity. The name "Swiss Army Knife" itself fell into popular use as a metaphor for successful multi-tasking. Specialized knives of the Swiss army are still popular with gifts forFishermen, mountain climbers, golfers and other outside. The technology behind the original knife of the Swiss army can still be seen in the reconnaissors sent to explore Mars and other planets. The idea of storing the maximum amount of tools in a minimum amount of space today inspires engineers and creators of instruments.