GREMLIN

[Folklore] Little, mischievous spirits of tools and machinery. They are responsible for the little mishaps when working with tools, such as the sudden diversion of a hammer towards your thumb when you are driving a nail. They blunt sharp objects such as saws and chisels, misplace tools, etc. Each household has its hereditary gremlin which entered the house as an occupant of a household appliance. This gremlin is responsible for letting the air out of your tires when you are late for work, holds down the lever of pop-up toasters so that the toast burns in stead of ejecting, alters the hot and cold mixture when you are taking a shower, and many other little torments. Originally they were friendly towards mankind, and helped them with many inventions. But when those engineers and mechanics claimed all the credit of these inventions for themselves, this insult soured the gremlin attitude towards mankind.