"Asking for a friend, what is this weird staircase protuberance thing called? What is the purpose?"
A: "It’s called a pulpit….same as you see on boats (eg: Orca, from Jaws) It’s mainly decorative here, but if that were a mezzanine area, it could be construed as the Forecastle deck, so the owner and/or architect may well have been into sailing?"
Holds fruits/ veggies to be sliced on a mandoline food slicer.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/WALFRONT-Mandoline-Slicer-Vegetable-Cutter-Chopper-Di
cer-Onion-Pro-Kitchen-Potato-Food-Cheese-Veggie-Cucumber-5-Interchangeable-Blade
s-Peeler/599823618
em_about_the_right_size_to/
ball(s) scratcher.