But Zerk's fitting was an improved style, less vulnerable to dirt and more forgiving of angled approach.

The bevel drive spins in an oil bath, and a zerk fitting is provided for greasing the shaft bearing.

They also made radios and refrigerators, among other products, and produced the ubiquitous "zerk" grease fitting, named after its inventor, associated with the company.

Before Zerk fittings existed, bearings were lubricated in various other ways that tended to be more maintenance-intensive and often provided less effective lubrication.

Could this be the infamous Sasquatch- or just another one of Zerk's (Justin Long) ludicrous pranks?

Sealed ball joints do not require lubrication as they are "lubed for life", but most ball joints have grease fitting (sometimes called a grease zerk) and are designed for periodic addition of a lubricant.

The patent for the Zerk fitting was granted to Oscar U. Zerk in January 1929, and the assignee was the Alemite Manufacturing Corporation (thus the eponymous names for the fittings).

Unbeknownst to the friends, two of Gavin's redneck neighbors, Zerk Wilder (Justin Long) and Shirts Joachim (Joey Kern) planted some fake evidence as a plan to gain profits and pay off Zerk's credit card bill.