Yeah, it works with a lot of things. I have had an old computer that if it was acting up a good smack would fix it for a while.
A long time back I had a CRT (tube) tv that would get fuckey and a good smack to the side fixed it.
@stupidbird probably has some old school gold on this.
Can't remember the movie this was from. (found it)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bifOI4MbHVU
Russian dude on mirror. (Old de-orbited space station)
Russian components, American components, ALL MADE IN CHINA Taiwan (beats the shit out of it and it starts working) maybe that was Armageddon?
Hitting something is a time honored tradition, especially in the vacuum era.
Wait! If this technique works on devices, perhaps it may work on governments too. All governments have essentially stopped working.
Hitting governments usually requires more than just a palm smack, however.