We've had a run-in with that good old design, cost, utility triumvirate, which is to say: prying up subfloors killed my cutie little Ikea hammer. No one is surprised.

In alternate reflections, hammers are insanely easy to gender. There's the "man hammer" which has a long handle, straighter bit for pulling nails, and is heavy. Lady hammers, a la miss Ikea — RIP — are shorter, lighter and the nail-pulling part is curvier and actually better at pulling nails.

Apparently children start to gender objects and activities around age three. My dev psych mom says some begin as early as eight months (pacifiers are a big first gendered object). They don't stop after that, which is probably why every handyperson we've met so far is a handyman and also why most of them can't believe my mom's ever handled a belt sander. We're very pro-lady hammer in this house, but capitalism seems to make for less utility in such a tool, same as it does for near-pocketless women's pants that wear out early and often at the crotch and joints.