What is it.... the game! Post unknown objects to ID... and to stump others!

Jay Angler wrote:Is the center post a threaded rod that allows the curved part to be positioned higher or lower to the ground?

Yes, the center post is threaded. Seems like it could be moved up and down.

Some type of squeeze or chute.

Robert Ray wrote:Some type of squeeze or chute.

It seems to me that most sqeezes or chutes have a length component to them.

My guess would be that this was used for branding calves.

The brush was for cleaning mud off the spot to be branded.

Anne!  What, has no one weird stuff to figure out?  It's been so long since the last one.

I have a weakness for side of the road free piles and I found this recently.  
Well made of metal and wood but no maker's mark or indicator of purpose.  
Thoughts?

Looks like something to dry stuff on - seems too short for drying homemade pasta.

A few measurements would be helpful???  The key gives a bit of sense of scale, but photos can be deceiving.

The tray is about 3" wide and maybe 6" long.  The vertical is at an angle leaning back and maybe 10" high.  I thought maybe a display unit.  But for what?  Not earrings.  And it's sturdy.  ?

I think "display unit" is on the right track, and my first thought was "a thing to hold lollipops, set right near the cash register as an impulse rack", but I'm not sure if a lollipop stick would fit in the tiny gap between each set of cross-bars. There are other things like that they sometimes set near the register too, maybe something with a thin tab or clip that would rest in that gap. Pens? Keychains? etc.

looks like a display unit for dangly earrings. it would be ace if the dowel came off the top to also display rings too!

I would totally use it for pasta though.

I tried earrings on it.  Didn't work because gravity puts the dangly earrings behind the hanger and in any case the width between the slats is too wide.  Pasta hanger would be for very short pasta.  I tried it as a mail out reminder vertical envelope holder.  Also not good because of the angle.  The handle gets me because it implies it is to be carried - and a display unit that small would not need that.  Also, why have a tray underneath instead of a flat base?  Trays are meant to catch small things or fluid...

A badly designed valet tray?
Those are made to hold the kind of things you would stick in a pocket or wear on your wrist - watches, rings, odd bits of whatever.

I remember my father had one that was built into a larger structure that had a padded seat bit for putting on shoes, the tray and rack were off the back of it, and there were places for storing handkerchiefs and such.
If the angle makes things dangle behind where you think they should go, the front might be the other way around. The slatted rungs might be for support of the structure instead of display or storage.

Another thought I had was maybe it's a display for cut flowers. Individual roses or the like. Usually when sold individually though those are in a kind of cylinder.

Displaying necklaces could make sense, and it's also possible the slatted crossbars once held another piece, like a flat rectangle covered in black velvety material. Tabs from that piece might fit into the slots. The necklaces would be draped over the dowel with whatever charm or jewelry featured in the center of them resting on the velvet. The box-like bottom would help to keep any necklaces that accidentally fell from sliding off the counter.

Just more guesses.

Seems a little ... industrial ... for jewelry.

I'm cleaning out the shed today.  When it surfaces I'll take more pictures with other objects.
I tried to google it based on the materials and basic shape.  No such luck. Not like there's a bug or bird identifier for a Whatzit.

Looks like it was sold as a jewelry organizer

Yamazaki Tosca Earring Organizer

Looks fairly useless for that to me, maybe because I have a LOT more jewelry than that :D

I think a better question is "What cool things can be done with this object that doesn't do it's job well?"  :D

Not to mention, but displaying your jewelry is a good way to get it stolen! I always wanted to make a "box style" picture frame with a big enough cavity at the back to hang the small quantity of actually expensive jewelry that I own. Leave the fancy 'jewelry box' for the cheep stuff.

That said, even some costume jewelry can be surprisingly pricey!

Jay Angler wrote:Not to mention, but displaying your jewelry is a good way to get it stolen! I always wanted to make a "box style" picture frame with a big enough cavity at the back to hang the small quantity of actually expensive jewelry that I own. Leave the fancy 'jewelry box' for the cheep stuff.

That said, even some costume jewelry can be surprisingly pricey!

Interestingly enough, my coworker's and our houses were both broken into in the past, and both times the jewelry box was stolen, but other valuables in plain sight (if they had taken a moment) were left behind. According to both police departments, the M.O. of the thieves is in-and-out as quick as possible, run to master bedroom grab jewelry box and get away in less than 90 seconds! In our case it was tragic since some handmade sentimental stuff was in the box, and comical since the most valuable item was left on the dresser next to it, not to mention something in plain sight on the dining room table.

Kenneth Elwell wrote: According to both police departments, the M.O. of the thieves is in-and-out as quick as possible, run to master bedroom grab jewelry box and get away in less than 90 seconds!

Which is why I promote having a very pretty jewelry box with stuff in it that you don't care about, and any stuff you do care about, "out of sight, but easy to get to". A wealthy friend of mine has a safe under the work bench in their garage with a hunk of plywood obscuring the door!

Pearl Sutton wrote:Looks like it was sold as a jewelry organizer

Yamazaki Tosca Earring Organizer

Looks fairly useless for that to me, maybe because I have a LOT more jewelry than that :D

I think a better question is "What cool things can be done with this object that doesn't do it's job well?"  :D

WOW YOU FOUND IT!  You win - uh, kudos and hurrahs.  At least my initial assumption on this was pretty spot on.  But I will attempt to find another use for it and report back.  

Thanks everybody!

Okay, I've got one. I found this out by someone's curb in my neighborhood a couple trash days ago and have not been able to ascertain exactly what it is. That's mainly why I think I felt compelled to nab it and take it home! It will be tricky to figure out since it appears to be a handmade object.



I would say the base is about 9"x3".

The black cleat can be rotated thanks to two flat washers on either side plus a locking nut, which tells me it was designed to be rotatable.

The upright part clearly is meant to hold in place something that fits into that cutout. I don't know if this thing was originally mounted vertically, but it doesn't have any shaping or anything that indicates it was, so I think most likely it sat flat on its back as pictured.

I don't think it's a homemade flagpole holder because the cleat is not an ideal way to seat a flagpole end.

What are your thoughts??

i'm reasonably sure it's a holder for a Spanish dry cured ham leg. You put the hoof end in the part with the screw and the "ham" part of the leg goes down on the black thing. then it's secure so you can slice off really thin slices. Someone brought one to a party of mine recently and the better ham comes with this sort of thing for storage/serving.

Tereza Okava wrote:i'm reasonably sure it's a holder for a Spanish dry cured ham leg

Yeah - a jamonero

Ned Harr wrote:Okay, I've got one. I found this out by someone's curb in my neighborhood a couple trash days ago and have not been able to ascertain exactly what it is. That's mainly why I think I felt compelled to nab it and take it home! It will be tricky to figure out since it appears to be a handmade object.



I would say the base is about 9"x3".

The black cleat can be rotated thanks to two flat washers on either side plus a locking nut, which tells me it was designed to be rotatable.

The upright part clearly is meant to hold in place something that fits into that cutout. I don't know if this thing was originally mounted vertically, but it doesn't have any shaping or anything that indicates it was, so I think most likely it sat flat on its back as pictured.

I don't think it's a homemade flagpole holder because the cleat is not an ideal way to seat a flagpole end.

What are your thoughts??

Ham stand confirmed.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B69P8R73/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0B69P8R73&pd_rd_w=WIdST&content-id=amzn1.sym.d81b167d-1f9e-48b6-87d8-8aa5e473ea8c&pf_rd_p=d81b167d-1f9e-48b6-87d8-8aa5e473ea8c&pf_rd_r=GX0AQV8ZV1X5G8WE1GTX&pd_rd_wg=4Eg95&pd_rd_r=63f06ae8-71b7-4721-b426-1a01791e5371&s=kitchen&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQ0EzNU81QzhMOTNXJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDY3MDIyMVNOVlFVMlJCSzJUNCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODk1MzYxVkdHV1JCRzFIQTJWJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Holy crap that was fast. Hahaha wow I would never have imagined that's what it was. In part because I wouldn't have guessed anyone in my neighborhood eats anything that doesn't come in a box!

Not a deep puzzle...
I bought a shirt secondhand. Looks to me like one of the ones they sell at museums of famous paintings.

Can anyone identify the painting? I swear it's familiar. I guessed Monet, but didn't see it when I looked.

Yeah, it reminds me of Garden at Giverny or Colorful Water Lily Pond. Either of those.

It has that odd bright yellow flower that I really can't place. Maybe an "artist's re-conception"?

TinEye returned with some bright and abstract ShutterStock images.

Google Image Search pops up with links (that I couldn't follow without logging in) to Walmart, Amazon, AliExpress, and a few others for a round neck women's t-shirt with that image printed. Sorry. Looks like it's not a museum t-print but a mass-market nifty thing.

Kristine Keeney wrote:. Looks like it's not a museum t-print but a mass-market nifty thing.

Ah well, it IS a cute nifty thing!
Thank you :D

WOW YOU FOUND IT!  You win - uh, kudos and hurrahs.  At least my initial assumption on this was pretty spot on.  But I will attempt to find another use for it and report back.  

Thanks everybody!

I tried ball caps on the Thing but that was silly.  I'm at the age where my arms are neither long nor short enough.  So I have many pairs of glasses that wind up scratched or misplaced.  I'm giving this a try now:

Ok.  Got a new side of the road freebie mystery.  

I used it to hang a lantern filled with solar fairy lights.  But really, what is it designed for?  Bananas?  A candle?  More silly jewelry?

Looks like a removable handle for some kind of vessel.

It does have a bottle-like hoop situation, but how would it stay in there?  And why would you need the fancy handle?  Seems out of balance as a carrying thing.  It sits flat and stable on the big ring.

Would a glass chimney fit inside the top ring? It reminds me of a hanging bit for an oil map or candle lamp. The hook is oddly placed for holding bananas.

Hm. Google says it's either a flower pot holder (which ... no.), a candle/lamp holder, or a wine bottle holder. Not the wine bottle holder unless that would throw the balance of it differently than I think - the bottle would fall out!
Curiouser and curiouser!

A beaker holder?  Doesn't look very Lab Worthy.

Looks like a banana rack to me or at least it likes like it could be used for that.

Kristine Keeney wrote:Would a glass chimney fit inside the top ring?

Doesn't it look like a tapered glass chimney would fit inside the top ring and rest on the bottom? Except there isn't a solid bottom for a candle. I had the same feeling.

Kristine Keeney wrote:Hm. Google says it's either a flower pot holder (which ... no.)

I'm wondering if it originally held a shaped glass bottle which people would put flowers in and hang on a wall - so a classy "door vase". However, the top ring would have been welded on with the glass jar in place, and then if it was dropped, there would be no way to get a new jar in it, so it was put out to the trash.

If it does stand firmly on the large circle, it is possible that a small flower pot would rest in the upper ring and sit on a table. Why they'd have the funny handle as well doesn't fit particularly well with that use.

Ron McLeod wrote:

Tereza Okava wrote:i'm reasonably sure it's a holder for a Spanish dry cured ham leg

Yeah - a jamonero

Oh that is a tasty word! Thanks!

Jay Angler wrote:

Kristine Keeney wrote:Hm. Google says it's either a flower pot holder (which ... no.)

I'm wondering if it originally held a shaped glass bottle which people would put flowers in and hang on a wall - so a classy "door vase". However, the top ring would have been welded on with the glass jar in place, and then if it was dropped, there would be no way to get a new jar in it, so it was put out to the trash.

If it does stand firmly on the large circle, it is possible that a small flower pot would rest in the upper ring and sit on a table. Why they'd have the funny handle as well doesn't fit particularly well with that use.

This is pretty much my thought as well at this point.

Two thoughts:
A) How clean are those welds? Is that a mass produced item or someone's welding class project?

B) If it sits stable on the bottom ring like it looks like it would, a candle in the top ring only would not be able to heat the surface it's on, and the curl would carry the candle easily, with your hand away from the heat.

Commercial weld.  Would be a weird shaped candle.  But maybe the glass vessel that held the candle broke.  Hence, it wound up on the side of the road in a free pile.

I'm pretty sure it is a candle holder minus the glass container. I couldn't find any identical, but this is a bit similar:

(obsolete etsy link)
They seem to be called "danish" or "scandinavian" candle holders. The curly handle would make it easy to move when hot I suppose, or you could hang something else there - maybe a snuffer?