It’s As Good A Name As “Spud Wrench” — Whose Idea Was THAT?

I’m having trouble removing my showerhead to replace the filter in it and don’t have the proper tool to help me, so I head over to my dad’s. My dad was in construction for over thirty years and maintains a sizeable collection of tools and hardware. As such, I’ve been around tools my entire life and am decently familiar with their usage and nomenclature. However…

Me: “Dad, I need to borrow the black thing.”

Dad: *Smirking* “The black thing? You don’t know the name?”

Me: “Yes! It’s the black thing! That’s all you’ve ever called it!”

My dad starts giggling and, realizing he’s not going to be any help at all, I start digging in the tool chest. I find the strange black pliers-wrench hybrid I was looking for and hold it out to my dad.

Me: “This! What is this called?”

My dad looks at it for a second. He stops laughing and his shoulders slump a little.

Dad: “That’s a custom tool that was only made for a limited time by one manufacturer. There’s no official name.”

Me: “THE BLACK THING!”