What Is It? Game 49

W00t! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog. For this game, the first of the year 2008 (and because I missed most of last month’s), let’s make this extra fun: Guess what this strange contraption is for and win a Free Neatorama T-Shirt!

Two ways to win: 1) the first correct guess and 2) the funniest/most creative (but wrong) guess!

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment and please post no URL (let others play). You can submit as many guesses as you can think of. For more clues, check out What is it? Blog.

Good luck!

Update 1/4/08 - the answer is:

Phone booth key, it’s one of the two keys used to get the money out of the phone.

Congratulations to AliBaba007, who got it right first, and to Carl from Santee, for the funniest/most creative (but wrong) guess:

It looks to me like a brass, face guard for a one-eyed, gladiator owl. It’s been flattened of course.

Get Neatorama by

RSS or email

this post? Please

email this

+digg

+reddit

+del.icio.us

+SU

Posted on

January 3, 2008 at 4:38 am by Alex
Category: What Is It

61 Comments to "What Is It? Game 49"

Matthew McVickar
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:42 am
Is it for tightening braces, maybe a fixed expander (the sort of braces used on the top of a person’s mouth to broaden their palette)?

If not, I suspect something to do with a musical instrument.
Mike S
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:03 am
A gas key?
Pete R
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:20 am
Key for winding up big living room clocks.
AliBaba007
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 am
A key to open up pay phones and retrieve the coins inside
Mark Brentano
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:21 am
Why, it’s a tourist miniature of Henry Moore’s famous statue ‘The Angler Fish’.
linty
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
I’ll guess that it’s a key for a watchtour system. A security guard would carry it around and have to use it in several devices along his route to prove he had been there when he was supposed to.
ted
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:48 am
Looks kinda like a wind-up toy key.
MoonCake
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:50 am
hand-cuffs key

(i’ve been looking for that…)
Harley
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:08 am
AliBaba007 got it right. It’s a pay phone key to open the coin box lock.
d Lee
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 am
winding key for clocks
d Lee
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:19 am
TAFKAP’s new symbol
Dan
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:35 am
tin can opener
Oomi
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 am
Bob Dole says that’s Bob Dole’s wind-up key.
Algonkin
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
A Grandfather Clock wind up key

BTW…I love the new comment edit tool. Good job Alex
Milkman
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 am
sardine can opener
algonkin
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 am
No wait!!! it’s the Mother-in-law wind up key that I threw away years ago.
Rafa
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:04 am
Some sort of acient pagan cross?
SenorMysterioso
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 am
Good Job - Its a T-Key to open payphones
Trismegistus
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:23 am
How about a watchman’s time clock key?
Trismegistus
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:26 am
Or the religious symbol of the Mount Ararat Eastern Orthodox diocese (i.e., it’s Noah’s ark upside down).
Amy
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
a jewlery box key
mbvenom
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:56 am
its the key for cranking a wind up toy
jade_c
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:06 am
a clock winder
Randall
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 am
It is a Fenk Key. This key isn’t inserted into a clock to wind it but rather the clock is placed upon the key and rotated while holding the key between your knees. Only three Fenk clocks are known to exist in the hands of collectors, and they can’t pass them off to any suckers because every horologist of any measure knows a Fenk and would dash it to the floor immediately.

Christine Fenk, the clock inventor and manufacturer converted his clockworks to manufacture firearms, but tragically died while test firing the first Fenk revolver.
Mark
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:21 am
The key that operates the Pope’s big hat tensioner, used to increase or decrease the tightness according to wind conditions.
Someguy
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 am
It’s a 1-up.
John O'Donnell
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 am
Well of course all of your guessers so far are either lucky or lying about not knowing what this is for. It is of course a syphallus clearing tool. The the paddle end is inserted and turned vigirously to do the clearing and the hole on the handle is used to guage if the opening is back to normal.This particular model is rather obviously the short version or the Kentucky correcter as it is generally known.Warning…do not try this at home folk. This should only be used by a registered professional.
Miss Cellania
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:49 am
It’s a part that goes into an instrument of torture.
Tom
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 am
It is a key for winding a music box.
Tom
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 am
Or maybe a key for a sardine can.
steve
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
a spam key !
Guyon
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:12 am
You guessed it: It’s a banana
Meghann
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:27 am
Key to open a paper towel or toilet paper dispenser
Nathan
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:34 am
It is a skate key.
Brad Carter
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
This is a pay phone “T” key. It is used in conjunction with the upper and lower lock and key sets to open and close the upper housing and the vault door on a pay phone. (It helps open the pay phone coin box.) Of course that’s just a guess.
AaGnim
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:47 am
It is a key for winding up a toy like the old days for a toy soldier or perhaps a clock…perhaps
Carl from Santee
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
It looks to me like a brass, face guard for a one-eyed, gladiator owl. It’s been flattened of course.
null
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
It’s a plumber’s anti-crack tool when he’s on a job. Simply insert it into the crack, and the ‘teeth’ keep it from slipping out. The hole does several functions:
1. For keeping it handy on a self winding key ring
2. copper/pvc pipe sizer
3. used to bend copper pipes
4. hammer
5. the key end is used to clear clogged pipes
k
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
This belongs to a homeless person. The homeless person puts the coins he gets in the hole, just for fun. The other side is to swat flies.
Barb
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
THE “RACK” KEY (torture)

Chasity Belt Key….????
Chaely
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
It’s one of those old-fangled clock winder-keys.
Karlin
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Radiator key. (actually, more likely a sardines can key, but that’s been guessed already.
Norman
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Is it a light switch key? (The janitor in my old High School used one to operate lights in the hallways; which were designed to stop tampering with the switches)
Dan
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Thingy for tuning piano strings?
Jon
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
a radiator key? you know, for radiators.
Henry
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
A clock key winder, a toy winder, a gas release valvturn thing (to make the gas for a fireplace turn on.)
Rose
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:10 pm
It’s a key for winding up old-fashioned mantle clocks.
Jon
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Its a piano key
John Eacobacci
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Clearly it is a bowling ball!

You can’t be any else but a neatoramaniac to see it!
Chad
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
its a sardine can opener key thingy
VonSkippy
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Boomerang v0.1.3 (added the finger tabs for easier flinging).
pitaroller
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
is it an ice skate blade?..hmmmm….
Roger
January 4th, 2008 at 4:13 am
This is a walnut opener…
lewis
January 4th, 2008 at 7:59 am
some sort of medival knuckle duster
null
January 4th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Old fashioned bottle opener
tripleX
January 4th, 2008 at 9:55 am
It’s a bellybutton-cleaner. With the little hooks you can take out lint and dust and little hairs. Very useful.
tripleX
January 4th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Actually it is an object used by women to strenghten the muscles of their pelvic area.
They hold it tight between their lips with the little hook sticking outward.
Then they walk around while pressing their lips together so the object does not fall to the floor.
If the muscles grow stronger they hang increasing weights on the hook (like keys, or a towel, or anything they want)
As a man I can say: it’s an object no woman should be without.
null
January 4th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Handcuff key
tripleX
January 4th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Maybe it’s a hacking or scraping (shaving?) tool with the handle missing.
The top looks like it could be sharp.
Maybe from ancient time?
spavis
January 4th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I think ya’ll have the scale wrong, each one of these is only a half inch across. This is one of many small bubble blower helicopters. a series of them are attached to a stick the size of a large emory board with the little part on the bottom being the attachment point (much like those tiny pieces for building model airplanes). You dunk the stick (with maybe a few dozen of these on it) into some bubble blowing solution and then you spin it really fast in your hand and all the little helicopters detach and fly outwards and the tiny hole makes bunches of microbubbles as the helicopters spin towards the ground. Fun for kids of all ages!
brent
January 4th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
how about the head of a putter? the hole in the face is weird but the cross part could go in a shaft.

Want your own avatar? Get one for free at Gravatar!

Stay updated on the comments in this post with

Comment RSS