whats the point of a machine with a mechanical advtage of 1?

Question

science test tmr and i dont get thissss .....help??

Answer 1

What about changing the direction of the force? A simple pulley or a balanced lever allows you to change a downward force into an upward one, which is quite useful for lifting heavy objects.

Answer 2

Perhaps the machine can take a human's place in an environment that is totally hostile to a human - like checking out packages for bombs, cleaning out radioactive tanks, etc.

ADDED: Yeah - I like jaz_will's answer better!