Reprint from Fastener World Magazine, Vol. 170

About twenty years ago I was travelling quite often between the United States and Europe. To make sure that my luggage arrived in one piece I purchased a medium sized, hard-sided suitcase. As I unpacked the suitcase at the conclusion of every trip I would find a loose screw or two rolling around the bottom of the suitcase. To be honest, I never could figure out exactly where these screws were coming from or how so many could come loose without the suitcase falling apart, but they clearly had loosened up from the suitcase and come out during travel. I began to worry that I was only one trip away from a major catastrophe with my bag, so that today I use a different suitcase when I travel internationally.