The problem they were solving was that the inventor was not yet wealthy ;P
Like most multi-tools, they try to do everything , on the assumptioion that everyone wants a single tool that does everything, and will run right out and buy it as soon as they hear about it.
Like most tools that do too many things, they do no particular thing well....
They are *really* kewl to look at tho....
The parmalee wrenches bring back images of a time when you had to have chrome plated brass plumbing exposed in your bathroom leading to polished brass shower heads, drizzling into a carved marble bathtub, or you weren't anyone important ...
And the poor schmuck plumbers who had to install it without leaving the pipes looking like they were installed by a dozen rabid beavers....
There is history worth looking at with the parmalee's, there are names of important people in industry associated with them, people who would found empires making things much more basic and important to todays day to day world...
