Reader Gene Banman, a former long-haul trucker, submitted this useful series of photos demonstrating how to tie a trucker’s hitch. “If you look closely at the “pulley” system set up by the trucker’s hitch, you’ll see that there’s a 2:1 mechanical advantage between the loop and the working end of the line that’s passed through it. As the slipknot slips closed, the working end gains slack at a 2:1 advantage over the loop.”