In Pictures: The 31 weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories of 2012

In September, astronauts aboard the International Space Station used an ordinary toothbrush to solve a problem with a bolt they were trying to undo on the exterior of the satellite, ABC News reported. Astronauts were struggling to replace the electrical switching unit on the station's eight-panel solar array systems resulting in an "epic, eight-hour spacewalk." The astronauts were unable to tighten a bolt to secure the unit, forcing them to improvise using a toothbrush tied to a metal pole. The low-tech combo did the trick, clearing the metal shavings causing the problem.