1 year ago

In this video we go over the history of the short-lived Popular Mechanics tool brand.
These tools were sold at WalMart from 1992 to 2001.
Wal-Mart had secured a licensing agreement with Hearst Publications, to license the magazine's name as a tool brand.
Hearst required WalMart to submit the tools for testing before they could put the Popular Mechanics name on them.

1992 Article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100204102315/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n10_v31/ai_12313265

Garage Journal Thread:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/popular-mechanics-tools-warranty.90248/

1993 ad:
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4eMDAAAAMBAJ/page/n33/mode/2up

1994 ad:
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_huMDAAAAMBAJ/page/n15/mode/2up

2000 ad:
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MxXlKb9wIe0C/page/n123/mode/2up

00:00 Parody Intro
00:42 Overview
01:05 Licensing the Brand
02:01 Testing Lab
02:28 The Tools
04:14 Present Day