’’Found this in my wife’s underwear drawer. Is it what I think it is?’’
Answer: "It’s a drink chilling wand."
’’What’s this green plastic scissor handle with metal loops and plastic teeth. No identifying marks.’’
Answer: "It’s a herb stripper. Sprigs go in the loops; teeth are closed, and stalks are pulled out."
’’What’s this plastic handle? It has a metal triangle thing on top that looks like it might be used to put grooves in something.’’
Answer: "Linoleum cutter. We used them in school, you carve linoleum which is like rubber/silicone and then make oil prints."
’’Anyone knows what this oval glass dish was used for? It has a raised circle in the top left.’’
Answer: "It’s a snack plate. Circle is for a cup to rest in."
’’Found this plastic open/close case with a rubbery triangle. It says ’Safety Shield’ on it.’’
Answer: "It’s a pill splitter."
’’What is this half-circle inside the drawer of a credenza?’’
Answer: "It’s used to hold any small item the drawer user chooses."
’’What in the world is the square end of this old potato peeler for? Even Grandma didn’t know.’’
Answer: "It’s for frenching green beans."
’’What’s this molded plastic thing? It’s been in our bathroom for a long time.’’
Answer: "It tightens the bolt on the underside of the toilet seat."
’’What’s this ceramic object with dull ceramic teeth that fit perfectly in the palm of your hand?’’
Answer: "It’s a paste maker for small veg items like garlic or ginger. You put this on top of what you want to make into a paste and move it around with pressure. In no time you’ll have garlic or ginger paste."
’’Found this in my grandfather hidden chest of stuff.’’
Answer: "Looks like drawer pulls to me."
’’A housewarming gift. It’s half wood, half marble. What is it?’’
Answer: "It’s a salt & pepper “pinch pot”."
’’Found this in my wife’s things. Please tell me it’s not what I think it is!’’
Answer: "Did you touch it? It’s a chewing toy for babies."
’’What is this chain mail partial glove?’’
Answer: "It’s a vintage glove used for fishing/boning/filleting."
’’What are these random glass pieces with no identifiable marks?’’
Answer: "A lot of glassblowers turn their left-over bits into paperweights for sale, which is what these look like to me."
’’What is this solid metal object in the wall next to the door? It’s located in an old house.’’
Answer: "It’s a door bell."
’’I found this in an old cabinet, made entirely of glass with narrowing holes all the way through.’’
Answer: "It’s a flower frog, used to hold a flower arrangement in a vase. Made obsolete by foam and gels."
’’What’s this thick round wooden stick with a cylindrical structure on one end?’’
Answer: "Possibly used with a Singing Bell. You rub the stick lightly around the edge and the bell starts vibrating. You might have seen the same effect with glasses."
’’What’s this weird glass ball, suspended by screws, in a metal frame, bronze or gold color in appearance?’’
Answer: "It is a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder. You place a strip of card into one set of grooves in the piece that curves behind the sphere, point the opposite side of the sphere towards the equator, and the sphere will focus the sunlight to burn a track on the card. The card has hours marked, and more the card is burnt, the brighter the sunlight was."
’’What’s this insanely heavy glass with bubbles inside? The inscription says 1978.’’
Answer: "Looks like a paperweight used to keep stacks of papers from blowing off of the desk if there is a breeze. They are mostly used as decorations now."
’’This ring was buried in my garden. After cleaning it, I saw that it doesn’t look like an ordinary ring. Any ideas?’’
Answer: "This is heartbreaking. The ring is worn as a mourning ring. It’s a Georgian/early Victorian ring whose initials belong to the lost loved one. They were typically made from gold (18k+) and enameled in black. It looks like yours was made around the 1820s-40s."
’’Does anyone know what the purpose of the little hole on the back of this empty gold ring is?’’
Answer: "The reason it has a hole is to prevent air pressure changes from damaging the ring."
’’This thing is made of leather, and about 15″ in length. Any ideas?’’
Answer: "It looks like a decorative tassel from a purse."
’’What is this glass object? It’s fairly heavy, has no markings, and a very narrow hole on top.’’
Answer: "It’s an oil candle."
’’What’s this three-legged stool with a very narrow back, does it serve a specific purpose?’’
Answer: "It’s a milking stool, 3-legged birthing style spinning chair. So basically, no special use."
’’I found this stainless-steel object when cleaning out a lab space. Has an “H” in a diamond stamp.’’
Answer: "It’s a glass tube cutter! I used it many times in chemistry lab."
’’Found in a junk drawer. What is it?’’
Answer: "The classic Sunbeam Mixmaster had a juicer attachment and a bowl attached to the top of the mixer. This is the spout the juice would pour out of. The wire part held a little strainer to filter out the pulp."
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To each her own.
#13 It's not for doing fish. It's kinda dull to do that. It's so you don't cut strips of meat off your hand.
#17 It looks like a wooden Pestle