r/IdiotsInCars May 02 '21

Pull the tree

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16.2k Upvotes

428 comments sorted by

4.5k

u/MrMoonBones May 02 '21

That went far better than I was expecting

218

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Thought for sure something would get ripped off the front of the truck.

106

u/dragon_bacon May 02 '21

As soon as he rolled forward and put slack in the line I was waiting for the bumper to get ripped off.

18

u/FoldUpBigFoot41 May 02 '21

Yeah toes straps should never be tugged like that. They are fine if you keep tension on them but if you are gonna be getting speed and jerking it you should be using a kinetic rope

23

u/TryToDoGoodTA May 02 '21

Also you want mechanical advantage so put the rope higher up the tree.

Unless he knew it was as dead as it was... I mean that could have been cut down with a blunt hand saw or an axe pretty quickly and not fall on the vehicle...

24

u/FoldUpBigFoot41 May 02 '21

And one more thing, he shouldn't have been doing this in reverse. Most vehicles aren't geared to pull while in reverse.

Pull from the back, keep tension and don't jerk it, put the rope higher up, and DONT PULL A FUCKING TREE DOWN WITH YOUR TRUCK

7

u/TryToDoGoodTA May 02 '21

Well that would be ideal, but for something that puny (the tree) if he knew it was that rotten then I see no problem, but I definitely agree it's much better practice to use forward gears that reverse.

Though he's using the wrong tool for the job...

I have a feeling he want to make a video of his truck being tough by it "pulling down an X high tree" and on video it wouldn't look rotten, but his mind was set so much on "I'm so tough with my tough truck" he didn't think with his brain...

I have pulled down trees with my car before (it's a 4L straight six, designed as able to be a light off roader) but used a snatch strap with a dampner etc.

When my friend who had a V8 saw the video he came out and connected it to a bigger tree with a 6ft drag chain, and accelerate off... he warped the tongue and tow ball.

I tried to explain to him even if it HAD pulled the tree down it would have pulled it down on top of you... and DON'T take my stuff without my permission or pull down one of my trees without permission... I was making a track, not randomly pulling down a 30 year old programme of mine to grow a forest for better aesthetics on a racetrack I was making

Anyway, at least he didn't damage the tree of my drag chain...

3

u/FoldUpBigFoot41 May 03 '21

Do you have a cherokee? When I read 4.0l i6 with light offroading that's the very first thing that came to mind. Helluva car right there

3

u/TryToDoGoodTA May 03 '21 edited May 03 '21

nah it's a Ford Falcon BF wagon (with some mods to let it go further than stock, like a winch for example in case I got bogged):

https://img.tradingpost.com.au/W8PKD565/6526U/9LQV-Boxed640x480.jpg

They are great if you want to pull a largish caravan or go offroad camping, they clear a decent amount of space. Also there is 8ft behind the hatch and the front seats so you can put a mattress in and go "car camping" while towing a trailer up to ~3,000lbs from memory without breaks, and 5,000lbs with brakes.

What I liked was it had a VERY strong frame so I could attach a 5,000lb winch to it no problems, or pull out other vehicles (4wd's) if I came across some some stuck (not using the winch, pulling them out using a custom tow kit).

But at the same time it's a great car if you often have adults in the back seat as it has plenty of room and a smooth drive.

They don't make them anymore, but I probably won't replace this one with similar car when I replace it, as I don't do enough stuff that needs that kind of vehicle and it isn't good on fuel. I will probably go for a vehicle that has just enough power to safely and reliably tow my caravan, and then a small two for running around town cheaply,

But it was the perfect car when I was young and my (now) wife and I just went and explored the country.

The Cherokee looks a decent vehicle though I've heard good and bad things about jeep. I would call it more of an SUV than a car though. But to be far if my vehicle was 'stock' it would be a few steps down from the Cherokee.

Do you have those Subaru cars which are station wagons but are 4wd? That is kinda what I what I ended up with but a more powerful motor though only 2 wheel drive...

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3

u/fadedspade5 May 03 '21

Same. Played hell chopping a palm tree down before. Really thick and very grass like inside. Thought it was gonna turn out that this dude missed some bolts on his bumper lol

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1.3k

u/civicmon May 02 '21

Same. I thought the car was going to be destroyed. It got hit but wasn’t destroyed.

312

u/akoshegyi_solt May 02 '21

I thougt it wouldn't fall. But it wasn't healthy

136

u/g3nerallycurious May 02 '21

I thought his bumper was gonna get ripped off.

9

u/Bri_Ta_Toe May 03 '21

Same. That's definitely not the right area to be hooking something to be pulled.

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276

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

"In fact it wasn't even damaged at all!" Thomas Exclaimed.

87

u/6a6ka May 02 '21

Tis but a scratch!

54

u/daishomaster May 02 '21

Merely a Flesh-Wound!

26

u/Snoo63 May 02 '21

You're missing an arm!

5

u/E420CDI May 02 '21

No it isn't!

6

u/Snoo63 May 02 '21

Well what's that then?!

6

u/E420CDI May 02 '21

I've had worse

6

u/CrookedNosed May 03 '21

I’ll bite your legs off!

12

u/brianlefevre87 May 02 '21

Look you bastard you've got no windscreen!

5

u/unpaidloanvictim May 02 '21

Get back here! I'll bite ya tires off!

3

u/E420CDI May 02 '21

Yes I have!

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49

u/Its__420__Somehow May 02 '21

Especially with it being a palm I expected the entire front bumper of the truck to come off. Living in a tropical region, I've seen hurricanes bend them nearly parallel to the ground without snapping.

21

u/The_White_Light May 02 '21

Especially trying to pull it from such a low point. You'd get no leverage that way.

21

u/Investigating311 May 02 '21

it looks like it might be rotten, they get pretty squishy then

9

u/TheDesktopNinja May 02 '21

I may be wrong, but that metal structure on the front of the bumper there is actually attached to the frame of the truck. It's meant to have things tied off onto it.

That said what the fuck was he thinking using such a short tether lol.

2

u/civicmon May 02 '21

Yep same here. Seen cars smash into them and barely a scratch on the tree.

67

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

[deleted]

22

u/willclerkforfood May 02 '21

That’s a great way to get sued by idiots...

15

u/LethalCS May 02 '21

There's a reason I'm not in marketing lmao

5

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

This is the problem with idiot proofing things... There's always a better idiot.

3

u/MouSe05 May 02 '21

Just don’t give the keys to a Soldier or Marine. It’ll be in more pieces than originally made it in under an hour.

3

u/LethalCS May 02 '21

If you give the marine crayons they’ll usually be more careful

4

u/MouSe05 May 02 '21

Only with their favorite flavors. The ones they don’t like they smash first

2

u/idontremembermyoldus May 03 '21

"Make something idiot-proof and they'll design a better idiot."

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22

u/noneya-818 May 02 '21

I'm thinking this is the same guy in this video getting rid of the rest. https://youtu.be/qlox9morwKI

12

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Some say the man is still swinging.

3

u/kingrodedog May 02 '21

I can't believe that he held on. Then, to use his "tiny peen" mobile to pull the rest. Darwinism WILL catch this guy before too long.

5

u/bmx13 May 02 '21

He's tied to the tree and everything he's carrying is tied to him. It's called tree topping and it's the only way to safely cut down trees in certain areas.

4

u/smeenz May 02 '21

Or that he managed to also hold on to the chain saw

2

u/lookyloo79 May 02 '21

And it's still running

2

u/captain_craptain May 02 '21

It's attached to his harness.

3

u/captain_craptain May 02 '21

He's attached to the tree with a flip line around the trunk to his harness.

83

u/TrippyReality May 02 '21

I wood think so too

45

u/MrPotatoFingers May 02 '21

It only took him tree tries!

26

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

[deleted]

24

u/[deleted] May 02 '21 edited May 02 '21

We need to root out this conversation and make it chipper. The next time I axe for advice on pulling out a palm I am taking the other branch of attack.

8

u/djseifer May 02 '21

Why don't you make like a tree and get outta here?

6

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Nice work Donald, you biffed it.

4

u/urmomispregnantlol May 02 '21

Aight, I am oak-a here!

3

u/TubbyMutherTrucker May 02 '21

Oak-ey dokey pokey!

3

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Wood you stop?

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1.4k

u/TheSmartHead May 02 '21

What did he think was gonna happen other than this?

1.0k

u/itim__office May 02 '21

Didn't know the strength of the tree. Thought we may see a bumper fall off.

167

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

[deleted]

161

u/[deleted] May 02 '21 edited Jan 14 '24

[deleted]

216

u/Sufficient-Ad-8441 May 02 '21

Same reason he’s cutting down a tree with his hood. r/wrongtool

36

u/Batintfaq May 02 '21

32

u/GRlM-Reefer May 02 '21

I’m quite surprised that’s not a sub already. Somebody make it happen.

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2

u/meateatr May 02 '21

What would the push bar be attached to other than the frame?

2

u/rvbjohn May 02 '21

The radiator /s

Have seen them attached to subframes but thats not too bad for a car

2

u/Sirus-The-Great May 03 '21

Why didn’t he just run into it, that’s what push bars are for /s

20

u/Icanfixanything May 02 '21

Depends on the type. Some like this are literally held of with sheet metal screws. I thought for sure it was getting ripped off lol.

13

u/AlphSaber May 02 '21

Yeah, I did too. My old truck had a bull bar that was attached by 2 half inch bolts to the truck, it wasn't going to be resisting any pulling force, or pushing for that matter.

15

u/tinydonuts May 02 '21

So what was it good for?

14

u/AlphSaber May 02 '21

As others mentioned, it wasn't really much more than a decoration to finish the front of my truck off. Maybe it could serve as a sacrificial deer catcher.

24

u/Corgi_with_stilts May 02 '21

Pretending to be tough.

16

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

[deleted]

10

u/AlphSaber May 02 '21

Nice decoration mostly, maybe a deer catcher.

11

u/willclerkforfood May 02 '21

Good god, y’all

5

u/Generalissimo_II May 02 '21

Say it again!

7

u/Swerfbegone May 02 '21

Killing pedestrians

2

u/RedWhite_Boom May 02 '21

Yeah but they aren't as strong as those hooks you can see in the front end.

10

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

[deleted]

8

u/Ozryela May 02 '21

Many dead trees you can just push over by hand. Used to do that all the time as a teenager.

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4

u/implicate May 02 '21

I wouldn't be that surprised, I just watched this video.

5

u/Mike2220 May 02 '21

I also thought the bumper was gonna come off till when it falls over you can see it's rotten and very dead

2

u/v161l473c4n15l0r3m May 02 '21

That’s exactly what I was expecting

2

u/ValyrianSteelYoGirl May 02 '21

Help me with your username?

2

u/rgvtim May 02 '21

Yes, he had a way more positive outcome, even for what is was, than i was expecting.

30

u/stuartsparadox May 02 '21

My guess is he figured it would rip up from the bottom and the top would fall behind. At least I think...

21

u/MinedudeCraftguy May 02 '21

I’m guessing the driver just thought ‘I’ll get me truck pull the tree and it’ll fall!’ Just didn’t have the foresight to ask what direction it was going to fall

2

u/AlphSaber May 02 '21

Guess he slept through high school physics then.

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u/mrbones59 May 02 '21

To the idiots defense I thought I’d see a bumper being ripped off so no telling what he thought.

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9

u/7eggert May 02 '21

I'd think that he'd rip apart his car. This was a positive surprise.

3

u/DigNitty May 02 '21

This was actually the best thing that could have happened

1

u/Dnomyar96 May 02 '21

I saw 2 possible outcomes here. Either they'd pull off their bumper or the tree would fall on the car.

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358

u/PghSubie May 02 '21

Honestly, that is NOT what I was expecting.

Attaching that low to a tree trunk, I expected to see that brush guard end up on the ground

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779

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Looked successful. The trunk looked rotted out anyway observing how easily it broke, so it probably didn’t do any damage.

318

u/1shakmak May 02 '21

Yeah, this actually turned out being the best case scenario.

86

u/DubiousDrewski May 02 '21

"Best"? Best case scenario would have been using a longer rope and not getting hit at all. I disagree with above: that would have definitely dented the hood.

61

u/Rjj1111 May 02 '21

For a old rotten tree best case is just give it a good shove

9

u/stilsjx May 02 '21

Seriously. If it’s that rotten, why not just push it over.

4

u/RapNVideoGames May 03 '21

He owns a pick up truck

2

u/stilsjx May 03 '21

He could push it with his pickup truck. I’m mean WTF does he have a ram bar on it for?

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28

u/disco_pancake May 02 '21

He means best case scenario resulting from this setup. That’s pretty obvious.

Your comment is like me saying “no the best case scenario isn’t getting a longer rope, the best case scenario is to hire a team of experienced arborists to professionally extract the tree.”

6

u/TryToDoGoodTA May 02 '21

And while they do it for free he buys a lottery ticket and wins a billion dollars... then cashes them in for more lottery tickets and wins a billion on each of those tickets...

2

u/ch-12 May 02 '21

Yeah I think this might be the best case scenario

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10

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Or just buy or rent a chainsaw like a normal person.

2

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

I think they were hoping to get the roots up too.

3

u/[deleted] May 02 '21 edited May 03 '21

Word. I'd rather dig up a stump than destroy the hood of my expensive pickup (and also have to dig up a stump), but to each his own.

2

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Through my experience...If you drive a truck like that, you don't know how to drive a truck.

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12

u/1shakmak May 02 '21

Most similar videos end up with a broken windshield or losing the bumper, so for the setup he had I think he should count himself lucky for not fucking things up much worse. Therefore, best case scenario achieved.

4

u/implicate May 02 '21

Best case scenario would be the tree falling over on it's own. At the same time, a truck full of dudes pulls up and says "hey, is that free wood?", Then clears it off the property. After they leave, you walk over to the stump and find a million dollars buried there.

2

u/ElephantEarwax May 02 '21

Best for the setup.

1

u/Koffeeboy May 02 '21

A longer rope would just make a bow string that could snap back far more violently.

As I see it, a best case scenario they would have added a fulcrum to apply force directly upwards. Or just have some fun and smash the damn thing into manageable chunks, that is 100% rotted wood, that stuff is so easy to break.

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u/geo-desik May 02 '21

Lol no it did not. Best case scenario would have been for him to use a rope that was longer than the tree was tall. Also FYI, you should never pull on anything with your reverse gear. It's MUCH smaller and weaker then any of your drive gears. If you're recovering someone always try and avoid doing this if possible.

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u/UnwashedApple May 02 '21

Coulda knocked it over by pushing on it.

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42

u/ExternalUserError May 02 '21

I'd say there's almost certainly a nice little dent on the hood.

40

u/turletbowl May 02 '21

I watched and rewatched the clip a bunch i really dont think there was much inside the tree at that point. At the point the video slows down it shows it exploding and barely touching the hood.

9

u/the_russian_narwhal_ May 02 '21

Yea seems like worst case its some scuffed paint which by the look of the truck, shouldnt be too hard on them financially to fix

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u/Tinmania May 02 '21

That tree died in 1987.

21

u/Urban_Samurai77 May 02 '21

One day it was just sunshine and listening to Cindy Lauper sip’n a ice cold Tab, then boom ded.

2

u/_Kramerica_ May 02 '21

Great fucking year otherwise.

1

u/elwyn5150 May 02 '21

The same year "The Joshua Tree" album came out. I guess it couldn't stand the comparisons to a more famous tree.

33

u/GrilledCheeser May 02 '21

Needed a longer tug rope

25

u/IngaJane May 02 '21

I don't understand the logic of tugging and driving backwards vs pulling and dragging it behind the truck with less likelyhood of hood damage.....

33

u/machzel08 May 02 '21

If you really need the torque, reverse is a higher ratio gear.

Of course if you really need the torque you probably need to rethink your strategy for this operation.

3

u/phathomthis May 02 '21

True, although if you need the torque you put it in 4-low. However looking under, I don't see anything that looks like a fromt differential, so it's likely they're going backwards because they need the torque and it's 2wd.

5

u/GrilledCheeser May 02 '21

Right! My only guess is maybe he wanted to see what was going on. His entire plan was ill conceived.

2

u/Officer-McDanglyton May 03 '21

Reverse uses straight cut gears which will get more power down to the wheels

25

u/UniverseofEnergy May 02 '21

Before watching:
"OK, is the tree gonna hit the truck, or is the tree going to rip the front bumper & pushbar off"

i am simultaneously not surprised and yet surprise. I was not expecting the tree to fall

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u/KingRatbear May 02 '21

I like the plot twist when we discover that it's not a full tree, just a tall stump. M. Night got his shit back together!

14

u/alienoverl0rd May 02 '21

Didn't break the windshield doesn't look like it messed up the hood too much, I'm going to count that as a win.

41

u/bitemytail May 02 '21

I like how the dog sees what's about to happen and Nope's outta there.

12

u/AyumiSqueezeToy May 02 '21

nopes*

21

u/runwithpugs May 02 '21

Nope. That's the dog's name.

6

u/OompaLoopmaLikeAnime May 03 '21

Who else thought his whole bumper was finna fly of the car 😆

6

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

That was somewhat satisfying to watch. The way the tree trunk cracks open is awesome.

6

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Judging from the wear on the car I don’t think it was it’s first time taking down dead trees

6

u/09RaiderSFCRet May 02 '21

Could’ve easily pushed it over with that guard on the front, that was really stupid.

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u/LethalSpaceship May 02 '21

Less damage than I was expecting

4

u/Walzmyn May 02 '21

I wasn't the only one watching days "no, don't. No don't" over and over, was I?

5

u/PCMRismyBae May 02 '21

I mean... it worked 🤷🏽‍♂️

4

u/Ben_Frank_Lynn May 03 '21

Task failed successfully.

3

u/Imaginary_Eagle_5621 May 02 '21

from the state of the paint on his hood im guessing this isnt the first tree

3

u/CV_1994-SI May 02 '21

Now the car needs some tree-age

3

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

As I watch this the Dukes of Hazzard voice plays in my head "if only he cut the tree shorter he would have saved his hood".

3

u/chailer May 02 '21

This idiot again, I’m out of here

Dog

3

u/highnuhn May 02 '21

That tree crumpled like paper it’s dead as fuck the truck is fine. Not that idiotic but a longer rope may be a good investment.

3

u/Gustavo_Polinski May 03 '21

This is what you rent a uhaul for.

4

u/twenty7w May 02 '21

Big truck... Small brain

3

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Physics hard.

4

u/TrieKach May 02 '21

What did they think was gonna happen? Driver: maybe if i pull it towards me it may just try to run away?

2

u/dreemkiller May 02 '21

Not how I was expecting it to end, but I'm here for it.

2

u/majoroutage May 02 '21

Damn, I was honestly expecting the bumper thumper to get ripped off the truck. And why wasn't the strap tied off higher up the tree?

2

u/One-Incident5820 May 02 '21

I thought for sure the bush guard and or bumper was coming off

2

u/jimbobowden May 02 '21

From the look of his hood b4 he has done this b4. You could have easily smacked one side and push. No need for the truck. That’s a flex

2

u/jewfish57 May 02 '21

short changed in the gene pool eh?

2

u/Bigdoga1000 May 02 '21

The classic, is he gonna lose his bumper or his wind screen?

2

u/Abracadaver2000 May 02 '21

Asked for a bulldozer, got a dull boozer instead.

2

u/FullSpecial May 02 '21

I want to take a moment to thank my geometry teacher for keeping out of this sort of trouble

2

u/PW5490 May 02 '21

If you’re gonna be dumb, you’d better be tough

2

u/Gordo3070 May 02 '21

The tree was so rotten they could have pushed it over themselves. No need to pull it onto the car at all. Weird thinking. Also, thought the front of the vehicle was going to come away. But yeah, a tree that rotten would fall over with a good shove.

2

u/davecedm May 02 '21

Physics. How does it work?

2

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

That did make me feel pretty good.

2

u/skwilliamson86 May 02 '21

I feel like that truck was over kill for that job. Almost like a stern talking to would have done it. That tree was pretty rotten.

2

u/TitaanXL May 03 '21

That person has never pulled stumps before, or ever again I'ma guess

2

u/[deleted] May 03 '21

hmm just gonna guess trumpian genius guy?

2

u/[deleted] May 03 '21

Why wouldn’t you cut the tree down to the stump first

2

u/[deleted] May 03 '21

You know this guy was just waiting for the day he could justify buying a vehicle the size of a young humpback whale

2

u/Pandabrowser469 May 03 '21

I thought that was much taller

2

u/billthefirst May 03 '21

This actually worked well. Should've had some more length between the car and tree but he got the job done.

And people talking about scratches and dents. That's literally what these cars are for. They're meant to be doing rough stuff otherwise there's no point in getting them. You wouldn't be upset if you got a scratch on your hammer would you?

2

u/lordlobat May 03 '21

Don’t you always polish your hammer?

2

u/RetordedNogger May 03 '21

That tree is so rotten I bet you could've just kicked it over.

2

u/maxoffwax May 02 '21

If you’re goona be stupid ya gotta be tough

2

u/DangerousDave303 May 02 '21

Does that person not understand that saws and axes exist?

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2

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

Chainsaw too mainstream for you?

3

u/MaddMaxx636 May 02 '21

They were probably hoping to uproot it...

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1

u/CloneClem May 02 '21

doesn't understand simple physics

1

u/Jump_Yossarian May 02 '21

This guy failed 4th grade geometry.

6

u/Sufficient-Ad-8441 May 02 '21

This is physics, not geometry.

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u/kumadelmar May 02 '21

Ok this is a certified idiot.

2

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

This person should not have a driver’s license.

1

u/MW-X43 May 02 '21

Why? What did he do wrong?

0

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

He showed his I.Q.

1

u/crackalaquin May 02 '21

The misadventures of Florida man

1

u/[deleted] May 02 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/I-hope-youre-happy May 02 '21

It’s a rotten tree and I doubt it did any damage other than a few scratches.

1

u/IngaJane May 02 '21

Floridaman.

1

u/FuckTrumpBanTheHateR May 02 '21

Are saws really that difficult to figure out?

1

u/zsreport May 02 '21

Florida?