What Is It? Game 112

Posted by Alex in What Is It on October 22, 2009 at 7:24 am


Woohoo! It’s time for our collaboration with the What is it? Blog – can you guess what this strange tool above is for?

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment please. You can, however, guess as many times as you’d like. Post no URL or links – doing so will forfeit your winnings.

Two winners this week: the first correct guess and the funniest (but ultimately wrong) guess will win Bacon Soap from the Neatorama Shop. Check out the Bacon Store for more bacon goodness!

For more clues, be sure to visit the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 10/23/09 – the answer: A corn sheller, it was used to remove the undesirable shaped kernels of corn from the ends of ears leaving the large flat kernels thought to be the best for planting.

Congratulations to Tom P. who guessed right, and Dave H. who came up with “Bris-O-Matic”


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COMMENT

73 comments to "What Is It? Game 112"

  1. alar
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:35 am

    is it a yarn maker

  2. Abe Normal
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:42 am

    a hand powered (manual) fan which has lost the fan blades

  3. Chris P
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 am

    It’s obviously an old-timey pig salter (They new ones no longer use a hand crank).

  4. TiNy1337
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:46 am

    pencil sharpener.

  5. TiNy1337
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 am

    ..or, worlds worst meat grinder.

  6. dawyn
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:52 am

    It's a rope maker. It twists the twine into rope.

  7. oregondave
    October 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 am

    sausage mill

  8. Lady Helena Handbasket
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:07 am

    Something gets gripped in the end that looks like Liverpool cathedral, and then rotates as the handle is turned. Is it a bottle opener?

  9. Tom P
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:09 am

    It's a manual corn sheller.

  10. Monica
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:11 am

    a spinner

  11. truovrld
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 am

    An apple peeler

  12. Sarah S
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:18 am

    Apple peeler

  13. zeb
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:32 am

    it's for spinning rope or cord

  14. Serris
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 am

    an apple or potato peeler

  15. hillary
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 am

    an eighteenth century breast pump

  16. Dennis
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:53 am

    It's a tenon-forming tool.

  17. Joell
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 am

    It's for shelling dried corn off the cob

  18. JOHN SCALLORN
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:17 am

    IS A SUGAR CANE SUGAR EXTRACTOR.

  19. Becky W.
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 am

    It's obviously a vintage breast pump.

  20. ZepharStarOne
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 am

    handle cutter (i.e. broom handles)

  21. ZepharStarOne
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:40 am

    Old wagon axle cutter.

  22. Chris Radus
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:40 am

    Wagon wheel spoke tenon maker.

  23. Dan H.
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 am

    It's very clearly a penis sharpener.

  24. rosefish
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:50 am

    one very ineffective horn.

  25. kohjay
    October 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 am

    It's art!

  26. aggie98
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am

    house jack...

  27. Melissa
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:21 am

    a siren?

  28. chaserchap
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 am

    It's an ocean speaker. Put your ear up to the conical end and have someone turn the handle and you can hear the ocean! Be mindful of your hair!!

  29. Lerm
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Rope maker! Old timey style...

  30. Robert
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 am

    Looks like a jar tumbler for jam or booze.

  31. P.H.
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 am

    The strands of used in making rope in fed in from the handle side. When the handle is turned it twists the stands together making a rope.

  32. Howloverly
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 am

    scalp massager...for little heads. Like...children, or cats.

  33. jgfish1111
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 am

    my guess would be some sort of hand wound siren

  34. Rick
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am

    New Years eve party favor.

  35. Kate
    October 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am

    Obviously, given the prize, it is a pig shaver. Simply place the pig firmly into the bladed cone, and twist! Voila! Produces 8 glorious strips of bacon at a time!

  36. finnikins
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 am

    It's a rare automatic circumcision machine. Obviously, this machine was banned after the first use, when it was discovered that instead of performing a circumcision, it completely removed one's manhood.

  37. fredthesecond
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 am

    It's a tool for automatically smacking the bottoms of minor criminals in prison in the first decade of the 20th century. (It's obviously missing the blades with the sharpened steel prongs and broken glass.)

  38. K2
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 am

    It's a post sharpener, for fences and the like.

  39. Bobo
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:22 am

    it's a riot police robot prototype, complete with baton and megaphone.

  40. clownbaby
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 am

    Part to an old sewing machine

  41. Gail Pink
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 am

    early hand -crank telephone! :P

  42. Todd Winkler
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:55 am

    It's a time machine. Just spin the handle fast enough to break through the fabric of space and time, simple.

  43. Sean
    October 22nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    Pencil Sharpener

  44. Bethany
    October 22nd, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    A juicer?

  45. Kevin
    October 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    It's a penis grinder. Sure! Just stick it in and go to work!

  46. JeffB
    October 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    One of those hand cranked things.

  47. Miss Cellania
    October 22nd, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    That's definitely an instrument of torture.

  48. Randall
    October 22nd, 2009 at 1:07 pm

    This is a rare surving example of Fergusion's silent smell-a-larm. During the Blitz deaf Londoners were to be warned of impending attack by grinding an extremely pungent aroma.

    However, the practice was discontinued when it was discovered that hight raids on London were actually being guided by the smell to their targets.

    Fergusan was shot as a traitor to the crown, but in 1974 Parliment recinded the ruling and in a bizarre twist of English law, he was unexecuted and restored to life.

  49. Dave H
    October 22nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    Its a McGonnagle ball Honer, model 1 (or 2) Subsequent models came in steam or electric power. They were used to sharpen the edges of golf ball dimples. This enables the ball to not only fly farther, but have more traction (or bite) when it hits the green. Unfortunately, if the ball has any backspin, that can actually reverse the ball's direction and cause it to retreat off the green. Honed balls were known to actually injure innocent bystanders. Such was the case at the XXI Haggis Open at the "Auld Course" in Bloodknock. A honed ball actually struck the Laird of McWillie. It took a team of surgeons several hours to remove the embedded ball from under his sporran. As a result, most golf courses have outlawed its use.

  50. Dr Action
    October 22nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    Cthulhu's tentacle twirler. Makes them nice and curly. So he can look good when he goes out on the town. To eat it's population.

  51. pianoarthur
    October 22nd, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    Artichoke huller/peeler

  52. Brainy Brandon
    October 22nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    Shame on you,Kate (No 33) on your unkosher answer. This is obviously the tool used by a Rabbi to perform a little operation when adult males convert to Judaism. It was called the "Brith Miller."

  53. pwscott
    October 22nd, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    It's a juicer.

  54. jpnj238
    October 22nd, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    I know! I know! It is a pitching machine from the early 1900's!!! You see, the one side looks like a batter standing, and the other like the catcher! These people were geniuses back then! Awesome! Bring on the bacon!

  55. Cheezwhiz
    October 22nd, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    It's an old-fashioned stand mixer. All that's missing is the whisk attachment.

  56. Raja
    October 22nd, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    Obviously, it's a cucumber sharpener.

  57. therealblankman
    October 22nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    Post sharpener- puts a chamfered end on wooden posts.

  58. Stanley
    October 22nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    For corn - for getting the dried kernels off of the cob.

  59. Sherihelmers
    October 22nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    This fine contraption is called the ultimate hair pulley Well little boys use to use it to pull little girls hair with, they never got in trouble because they were not actually touching the little girl, however it backfired when the little girl got ahold of it and tortured the little boy... She got away with only a warning... Couldn't prove anything.

  60. Sherihelmers
    October 22nd, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    Ok for realz... It's a braider.. Weaver... Thread spooler

  61. slim22
    October 22nd, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    By gosh, everyone has already posted my thoughts. QUESTION? How do I find the real answer once the contest is over. Neatorama please advise.

  62. Matt
    October 22nd, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    A bottle/jar opener.

  63. Anon of Ibid
    October 22nd, 2009 at 6:54 pm

    You stick the end of a spit in it and use it to turn meat over the fire.

  64. Joshua Cole
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:05 pm

    It's half of a lathe.

  65. Wes
    October 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    Cantaloupe sharpener.

  66. thedrunkenmonkey
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    It's an antique "do-it-yourself" circumcision kit.

  67. Twilight
    October 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 am

    grain mill

  68. Dave H
    October 23rd, 2009 at 12:16 am

    Brainy Brandon: I believe you were referring to the RonCo "Bris-O-Matic," which it does resemble.

  69. oltimingman
    October 23rd, 2009 at 12:16 am

    Tittie-Twister comes to mind.

  70. Gerry
    October 23rd, 2009 at 7:45 am

    It's a hat-shaper.

  71. Hannah
    October 23rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    An early bicycle horn.

  72. cdog
    October 24th, 2009 at 6:01 am

    its a wanking machine

  73. Fair's fair
    October 24th, 2009 at 4:10 pm

    Hmmn, ?s 36 and 52 surely deserve an honourable mention, for doing all the inventing that allowed ? 68 to quote the term originally made up by Gizmodo in 2004?


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