“A woven bamboo object found in an antique shop in Kyoto, Japan. I believe the owner said it had something to do with tea. Does anyone know what this is?”
Answer: “I actually know this. These are tiny mockups of what they used to use on riversides to stop erosion. Now they’re mostly just decorations or hashi holders (chopsticks holders, but they have much smaller ones; I have some in my cup), so your food-covered hashi doesn’t touch the table.”
“I found this piece of glass that changes colors depending on how you look at it. Where could this have come from?”
Answer: “It’s a dichroic glass filter used for color correction in photographic printers.”
“A small brass container on a stick. What is this?”
Answer: “It’s a miniature bed warmer.”
“A piece of plastic with a pivoting piece on the back and what appear to be two clips for mounting somewhere.”
Answer: “I was going with the Scosche Magnetic Phone Mount (vent), but the magnet fell off.”
“It’s a little bigger than an AA battery and weighs about the same. It has a tiny pinhole on the top and a combination with numbers 5 to 9.”
Answer: “It’s a needle case with little compartments inside. The top doesn’t come off — the numbers indicate the size of the needles, which you take in and out through the little hole.”
“What is this ring my Uber driver would randomly click?”
Answer: “It’s a digital counter used to keep track of prayers.”
“What is this green piece of plastic?”
Answer: “It’s a Banzai Diving Gem. A diving toy for kids.”
“An antique vase with holes in the top and bottom”
Answer: “It’s a sugar shaker.”
“Can anyone identify what purpose this piece of furniture serves?”
Answer: “It is a telephone stand. The handle is to move it around the room.”
“What is this stand found on a farm in Missouri, USA?”
Answer: “It’s a drink holder.”
“Found when moving: a nicely made wooden box with a small clock in the lid...”
Answer: “It’s an old desk organization accessory. The smaller cubbies are sized for business cards and the larger for standard envelopes.”
“I found this in the trash. Any ideas?”
Answer: “It’s a laser-cut ’perpetual’ calendar.”
“An odd oil lamp with a canister. What is it for?”
Answer: “This is known as a student oil lamp. The canister is an oil reservoir. By putting the reservoir on the side the lamp would balance better and it reduced the shadow that would have been cast by the bottom of the lamp if it maintained the more traditional design.”
“What is this tiny saucepan thing my husband inherited? It has a removable thing with holes around the edges.”
Answer: “It’s a single egg poacher. You put water in the bottom and an egg on top. It essentially poaches the egg.”
“Found in a library/art exchange. It appears to be a decorative copper dustpan.”
Answer: “For sweeping up crumbs off a table. Some call that style a ’silent butler.’”
“I just moved into a new place and found it in the bathroom cabinet. When it’s on, it vibrates. It doesn’t have a brand or model number.”
Answer: “It’s a device that creates suction/partial vacuum. It’s used to suck out blackheads from noses and whatnot.”
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