When my colleague Liucija contacted the founder of r/RedneckEngineering, they told her that the term “redneck engineering" is still open for interpretation. However, the Redditor reassured that it's also “the kind of thing you know when you see.”

For example, “It can range from something as common as using a hand mirror to replace a side-view mirror to something complex like building a backyard water slide with a loop-de-loop.” The members of the subreddit give “bonus points if it'd make an OSHA inspector cringe.”

The biggest difference between now and the old days in 2013 when r/RedneckEngineering was created is growth. The founder said that he used to be responsible for most of the posts, but the community has become really self-sustaining over time.

When it comes to submissions, you’ll see all kinds of bizarre makeshift gadgets and very questionable workarounds. Most posts generally come from people finding “low-budget workarounds to everyday problems with a few high-effort engineering projects and other submissions sprinkled in.”

The pandemic might also have something to do with the subreddit's increasing popularity. According to a national survey by The Freedonia Group in December 2020, 39% of consumers reported undertaking home improvement projects because of changes associated with these trying times.