Texas is the largest producer of cotton in the US. This thing got on the Interstate at our exit. I was behind it for ~4 miles and it left little tufts of cotton blowing along the side of the road between our place and the Interstate. I've seen some cotton fields in the area a few times. By the time it got on I10, it didn't seem to be losing any cotton any more.
THis thing is super cool. It's a 2 speed which is not unusual. But in addition it's got 5 modes.
In one mode it's "locked" meaning however you crank the arm, the bit will turn (clockwise or counter clockwise)
The next mode is a RH ratchet, so you turn the crank one way and the bit goes clockwise, and go the other way and it ratchets.
The next mode is a LH ratchet, so the crank arm causes the bit to turn counter-clockwise. These two modes are not anything crazy, many, many items from back in the day did that.
The next mode is pretty special. No matter what direction you turn the crank handle, the bit turns clockwise. So if you turn the crank handle clockwise, the bit turns clockwise. If you turn the crank handle counter clockwise, the bit still turns clockwise.
And the final mode is the same as the above other than the bit turning counter-clockwise.
What I understand is that these were very useful when building automobiles, train cars, and carriages where you had to drill holes or drive screws in spaces that didn't allow for a complete range of motion of the crank.
