Archive Category: What Is It
What Is It? Game 61
Yay! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog: can you guess what this strange spiky tool is for?
Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL (let others play). You’re playing for fun and bragging rights only today, folks!
For more clues, check out What is it? blog. Oh, and Miss C, it’s NOT an instrument of torture, mmkay? 
Update 5/9/08 - the answer is: A combination carving fork and meat holder, similar to the one in patent number 2,496,062, which states:
One of the particular uses for the improved holder herein is its use to hold meats, fowl, and other foods from slipping or twisting or oscillating while being carved either at the table or in the kitchen or at the restaurant counter or elsewhere.
Congratulations to Sherman Warren who guessed right!
What is it? Game 60 (Neatorama T-Shirt Prizes!)
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange apparatus. The first person who guessed what it is for correctly and incorrect but funniest guess will each win a free Neatorama T-shirt (so two winners this week).
Contest rules are simple: place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please. You can submit as many guesses as you’d like. Please don’t post any URL (let others play!).
For more clues, check out What is it? Blog. Good luck!
Update 5/2/08 - the right answer is dental lab gas burner, but no one got it right. So two “funniest caption” winners: congratulations to Mr. Binky (”goldfish themepark”) and tigergal39 (”mutant cow milker”)!
What Is It? Game 59
Yipee! It’s time for our weekly collaboration with What is it? blog - can you guess what this strange tool above is for?
Place your guess in the comment section - you’re playing for fun and bragging rights only this week (no prize). For more clues, check out What is it? blog!
Update 4/25/08 - the answer is: scarificator, used for doctors for bloodletting. Congrats to PCim who got it right first!
What Is It? Game 58
Hooray! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with What is it? blog: can you guess what this pistol is for?
Place your guess in the comment section - you’re playing for fun and fame this week. No t-shirt prize. More clues (size, date, and close-up photos) at the What is it? blog.
Update 4/18/08 - the answer is:
A gunpowder tester, photographed at the Frasier International History Museum.Because gunpowder varied in explosive power, gunsmiths needed devices to test particular batches. By the 1500’s, elaborate powder testers were available. This one resembles contemporary military pistols and may have belonged to a military gunsmith. Pulling the trigger ignited a measured amount of powder in the tube atop the tester, turning and locking a spring-loaded, numbered wheel. The number at which the wheel stopped indicated the powder’s strength. The development of self-contained cartridges during the 1800’s made powder testers obsolete.
Congratulations to RevRagnarok who got it right!
What Is It? Game 57
Yay! It’s time for our collaboration with What is it? blog: can you guess what this strange hammer is for?
Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, but you can enter as many times as you’d like. Please post no URL, so others can play, too. You’re playing for a Free Neatorama T-Shirt. More clues at What is it? blog.
Good luck!
Update 4/11/08 - the answer is:
A banker’s check canceling hammer, used to mark checks after they’ve been cashed.
Congrats to ad who won the Free T-shirt!
The Hammer Quiz
Our pal Rob of What Is It? Blog has compiled a quiz for all of you tool enthusiasts. It’s about hammers - but not just any ol’ hammer to bang on stuff. Some of ‘em are pretty darned obscure.
See if you know these 23 hammers: The Hammer Quiz - Thanks Rob but you forgot this one).
What is It? Game 56
Hooray! Here is this week’s collaboration with What it it? blog: can you guess what this gruesome claw-like object is for?
Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL, let others play … No prize this week, so you’re playing for fun and bragging rights only.
For more clues, see: What is it? Blog. Good luck!
Update 3/14/08 0 - the answer is:
A coal lifting device, used when adding coal to a fire, it protects the hand from flames and also from contact with the coal, patented in 1896, number 567,087.
What Is It? Game 55
Today’s collaboration with What is it? blog brings us this gruesome looking object. If you can guess what it is, there’s a free Neatorama T-shirt in it for you.
Contest rules are easy as pie: place your guess in the comment section, one guess per comment, please. You can submit as many as you’d like. Please post no URL - let others play. The first correct guess will win the T-shirt (old design), but if no one guessed right, then the funniest one will win instead.
Good luck! For more clues and pics, check out What is it? blog.
Update 3/7/08 - great guesses, guys! Here’s the answer:
These were placed onto the head of a calf when they wanted it to stop nursing on the cow, the cow would get poked by the spikes and push the calf away, patent number 1,882,232. An easier solution would be to put them in separate pens, but apparently that wasn’t always an option.
Congrats to kusito #11 who got it right!
What Is It? Game 54
Hooray! It’s time for our collaboration with What is it? blog. If you can guess what today’s strange object is, you’ll win a Free Neatorama T-shirt (old design).
Place your guess in the comment. One guess per comment, please, but you can submit as many as you can think of. Post no URL - let others play, please. First one to guess right will win the T-shirt. If no one guessed right, then the funniest guess will get it instead.
For more clues, check out What is it? Blog.
Update 2/29/08 - the answer is:
A battery date marker, some old batteries had a lead bar on the top into which the date was stamped with this piece. The numbers on it represent the 12 months of 1956, and the first three months of 1957.
I suppose “stamp tool” is right, so Marcin Petruszka #3 got that right first. But since no one specifically said “stamp tool for battery” I’ve decided I’ll give TWO winning shirts. One to Marcin, and another one to Louise #25 for the funniest entry (Iron Man’s wedding ring) - congrats, guys!
What Is It? Game 53
This week’s collaboration with What Is It? Blog brings us this strange transparent object: can you guess what it is for?
Place your guess in the comment section - one guess per comment, and please, post no URL (let others play now). You can enter as many guesses as you’d like. Prize this week: Free Neatorama T-Shirt (old design).
For more clues, check out What Is It? Blog. Good luck!
Update 2/11/08 - the answer is:
A Travelure, or as it’s called on the the patent page: a “buoyant traveling device”. From the patent:
…the device makes a steep dive in the water in the direction toward the fisherman when the fishing line is pulled or tugged, the device gliding upwardly and in the opposite direction away from the fisherman when the line is released, retreating to a greater distance beyond its initial position than the distance it was moved to cause it to dive.
It’s patent number 3,401,483 , the diagram on the patent page shows it diving down one foot when the line is pulled and rising back to the surface three feet further from the fisherman, this would be useful for working the bait into difficult locations such as under a tree.
Congratulations to: B-Man #24 who got it right!
What Is It? Game 52
This week’s collaboration with What Is It? Blog brings us this strange object - can you guess what it is?
Place your guess in the comment - no prize this week, you’re playing for bragging rights and fun. For more clues, check out What Is It? Blog. Have fun!
Update 2/1/08 - It’s either a sponge’s diver spear (which is cool) or a weed puller (which is more mundane). Congratulations to Bill #21 who got it right. Funniest but wrong guess by Jason Phelan #15 “It’s a rectal annoyer.”, though I also like Chauss513’s “tool for separating truth from fiction” and Tinito Winner’s “Neanderthal tuning fork.”
What is It? Game 51
All right, here’s an easy one for this week’s collaboration with What Is It? Blog: can you guess what this myserious ball with etched hieroglyphs on its surface? Place your guess in the comment section - no prize this week, you’re playing for bragging rights and fun only!
Be sure to check out What Is It? Blog for more guessing game fun!
Update 1/28/08 - I told you it was easy, here’s the answer:
An Isis puzzle, the makers claim that it’s the most difficult puzzle ever, to open it you must first solve some clues that come with the instructions, these can be seen online in the product manual here.
There is possibly a spoiler in my next link, someone sent me a page that shows an xray of this puzzle, it doesn’t explain exactly how it’s opened but does show some of the inner workings. However, the page with the xrays is part of a much larger discussion on the puzzle, I haven’t read any further so I don’t know how much is revealed about the solution.Congratulations to grungyparadigm who got it right, just 5 minutes after the game was posted.
What Is It? Game 50
Today’s collaboration with What is it? Blog is special: it’s the 50th game we’ve posted! To celebrate this milestone, we’re giving away a Free Neatorama T-shirt to two winners: the first correct guess on what the object is for correctly, and the funniest (but wrong) guess!
Place your guess in the comment. One guess per comment, but you can place as many guesses as you’d like. Please post no URL, let others play. For more clues, check out What is it? blog.
Good luck!
Update 1/12/08 - here’s the answer:
“Lok-un-lok” tool, it was used by the driver of a large car or truck to reach over and lock or unlock the passenger door.
Though no one got it right, I like Andy #19’s creative guess - so congrats for winning the Neatorama t-shirt, Andy!
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.
What is It? Game 48
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange contraption: can you guess what it is? (No, it’s not a tweezer for an extra large nose).
Place your guess in the comment section - no prize this week, so you’re playing for fun and bragging rights. Please post no URL (let others play). For more clues, check out What is It? Blog.
Have fun!
Update 12/13/07 - the answer is:
all’s Mineral Rod, supposedly used as a dowsing rod for finding ore, the type that you’re looking for is placed in the container. Unfortunately it doesn’t work for everyone, “owing to lack of magnetism in the operator”
Nbob #1 got the divining rod part right, but technically, it wasn’t for water.
What is It? Game 47
Hooray! It’s time to play this week’s game in collaboration with What is it? Blog. Can you tell me what this strange (and scary!) contraption is for?
Place your guess in the comment section - no prize, so you’re playing for fun and bragging rights. Please post no URL (let others play). For dimensions clue, check out What is it? Blog.
And Miss C - I know what your guess is already!
Update 11/30/07 - the answer is:
Egg shell cutter, or egg topper, used for cutting off the top of a soft boiled egg.
Congratulations to maquessimme #2 who got it right just 12 minutes after the picture was posted!
What is It? Game 46
This week’s collaboration with What is It? Blog brings us this strange contraption: can you guess what it is? (And no, it’s not a magic lamp!)
Place your guess in the comment section - you can guess as many times as you’d like but please don’t post any URL (let others play). No prize this week, you’re playing for fun and bragging rights!
For more clues, check out What is It? Blog!
Update 11/23/07 - the answer is:
Candle lighter, it’s filled with kerosene, which is carried by the cord through the tubing to the small holes.
Congratulations to James #7 who got it right! (I have to say that felix’s answer of C3PO codpiece made me chuckle!)
What is It? Game 45
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange item: can you guess its function?
Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL (let others play! ) No prize this week, you’re playing for fun and bragging rights.
For more clues, check out What is it? Blog.
Update 11/17/07 - the answer is:
This would have been found in a store, where it was used to hold and display carriage driver’s whips. A knot was tied in the small end, which was then inserted into one of the slots.
Congratulations to Bill R. #8 who go it right!
What is it? Game 44
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange contraption: can you guess what it is for?
Place your guess in the comment section - one guess per comment, please! You can guess as many times as you’d like. Please post no URL, so others can play. No prize this week - you’re playing for fun and bragging rights only.
For more clues, check out What is it? Blog.
Update 11/9/07 - the answer is:
“The X Rays Egg Tester”, manufactured by The Reeves-Rigling Egg Tester Co., Hamilton, Ohio, Patent number 940,361. Also known as an egg candler, these were used for detecting embryonic development or for separating shell eggs.Congratulations to Bill #14 who got it right!
What is it? Game 43
Yay! Here’s this week’s collaboration with What is it? blog: if you know what this strange object is for, then you can win a Free Neatorama T-shirt!
Contest rules are simple: place your guess in the comment section, one guess per comment but you can enter as many times as you’d like. Please don’t post any URL - let others play! First guess to get it right will win the free T-shirt.
For more clues (i.e. where this object is found), visit What is it? blog!
Update 11/02/07 - the answer is:
A piece of exercise equipment, to use, stand on a round plate, hold the handles tight with both hands, and turn the waist left and right.Congrats to Algonkin #3 who got it right first!
What is it? Game 42
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange object (from a 100-year-old kit). Can you tell us what it is for?
Place your guess in the comment section. You can guess as many time as you’d like, but please don’t post URLs - let others play! No prize this week, you’re playing for fun and bragging rights.
For more clues, including larger pics of the object and the kit it comes in, visit What is it? Blog.
Good luck!
Update 10/26/07 - the answer is:
This kit was used by U.S. Internal Revenue agents to determine the alcohol content of distilled liquor, which would be poured into the container and tested with the hydrometers.Congrats to Chris W #5 who got it right!
What is it? Game 41
This weeks’ collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange contraption - can you guess what it is for? For more clues, check out What is it? Blog.
Place your guess in the comment section - please post no URL, let others play. No prize this week, you’re playing for bragging rights only. Have fun!
Update 10/19/07 - here’s the answer:
Counter/odometer, patent number 72,033, from the patent page:
This invention relates to a new and improved machine or apparatus for registering numbers applicable to odometers or measurements of quantities of all kinds, such as the numbers of barrels of flour, bushels of grain, or any other commodity that requires a tally or record of the quantity packed, stored, weighed, or handled in any manner, and applicable also to machinery of all kinds to register the revolutions of wheels decimally.
Congratulations to Flemming Frandsen, who got it right at the very first guess!
What is it? Game 40
Yay! It’s time for our weekly collaboration with What is it? Blog. If you can guess correctly this strange contraption, there’s a Free Neatorama T-shirt for you!
Contest rule: place your guess in the comment section, one guess per comment but you can guess as many time as you’d like. Post no URL, please - let others play.
For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog (I promise, it’s NOT a torture device!)
Oh, and Steve Walker who won the last What is it? game - you’ve got one week to contact me and claim the prize (a Free Live! Pro Webcam by Creative) or we’ll just toss the prize back in for future game.
Update 10/12/97 - here’s the answer:
Leather creasing machine, used for continuous creasing of straps up to 1-3/4″ wide.Congratulations to craig clayton #8 who got it right first.
What is it? Game 39
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange contraption - can you guess what it is?
Since no one guessed correctly in last week’s game, we’ll carry over the prize (a Free Live! Pro Webcam by Creative). It’s not the latest gizmo, but hey - it’s free!
Contest rule is darned simple: place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, but you can guess as many times as you’d like. Please post no URL - let others play. The first person who guessed correctly will win the webcam. If you live outside of the US or Canada, however, the prize is a Neatorama T-shirt instead.
For more clues (like dimensions and such), check out the What is it? Blog.
Come on, people! Let’s win something already… Good luck!
Update 9/28/07 - The answer is:
Mechanical lifting jack for use on wagons and carriages. The rack-plate on the right is the fulcrum, while the one on the left serves as a catch.From the patent:
…principally intended to be used for elevating and supporting either end of the axles of various kinds of vehicles prepatory to removing the wheels therefrom for the purpose of applying some lubricating material to the journals of said axles.Congratulations to Steve Walker #11 who got it right!
September 27, 2007 Permalink | Posted by Alex
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What is it? Game 38
Yay! Here is this week’s collaboration with What is it? blog: can you guess what this strange thing is?
Contest rule: place your guess in the comment section, one guess per comment (but you can guess as many times as you’d like). Post no URL, please - let others play. The first person who guesses correctly will win the webcam. If you live outside of the US or Canada, however, the prize is a Neatorama T-shirt instead.
For more clues, definitely check out What is it? blog. Good luck!
Update 9/21/07 - Here’s the answer:
Photographer’s instantaneous flash lamp, the interesting thing about this device is that it’s ignited by a match hidden in the shaft. From the patent page:The object of this invention is to so construct a flash lamp that it may occupy but a small space and may be readily carried in the pocket loaded for instant use…
Within the stem is fitted to slide a match holder…
…the thumb is pressed to cause the match-holder to be forced inward and the head of the match to contact with a means for igniting it at a point where the spark or flame therefrom will readily ignite the powder in the bottom of the bowl.
… the flash-powder being ejected from the bowl and diffused in the outer air, the lid of the bowl being thrown open by the explosive force and the atoms of powder ignited in the air after leaving the bowl…
Patent number 611,009
Looks like no one got it again!
September 20, 2007 Permalink | Posted by Alex
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What is It? Game 37
This week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog brings us this strange tool: can you guess what it is?
Contest rules are simple: place your guess on the comment section, one guess per comment but you can guess as many times as you’d like. Please post no URL, let others play. First one to guess right gets the prize (unfortunately, I can only ship this to US and Canada - if you’re elsewhere, you’d just have to comfort yourself with a Neatorama T-shirt).
For more clues, check out What is it? blog. Good luck!
Update 9/14/07 - the answer is:
This is a universal tool used for lifting hot plates, pots, and stove lids. It can also be used as a meat tenderizer and a trivet, patent number 241,893.No one got it, so the prize will carry over to next week.
September 13, 2007 Permalink | Posted by Alex
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What is It? Game 36
Here’s our weekly collaboration with What is it? blog: first one to guess correctly what is this strange device above wins a Free Neatorama T-shirt!
Game rule is simple: place you guess in the comment, one guess per comment, post no URL please (let others play). You can submit multiple guesses.
For more clue, check out What is it? blog. Good luck, guys!
[Update 9/7/07 - the answer is:
Used for a bookmark and for holding a book open with one hand, called a Thumb Thing.Congratulations Matt #2 who got it right!]
What is It? Game 35
Yay! It’s time for another round of Neatorama’s guessing game, in collaboration with the always intriguing What is it? Blog. Can you guess what this strange object is for?
More photos (and clues about its size) at What is it? Blog. Contest rule is darned simple: place your guess in the comment, post no URL (let others play), and one guess per comment. You can submit multiple comments. No prize this week, just bragging rights.
Good luck!
[Update 8/31/07: Here's the answer:
These are horn weights for a bull. To keep bulls from seriously injuring each other when fighting, these weights were placed on the horns to make the ends point downward. They were also used to fix mismatched horns, where one horn grew slightly higher than the other. If a horn weight was left on for just a few weeks, it would easily change the higher horn’s angle of growth. Modern versions can be seen here.
What is It? Game 34
This week’s collaboration with What is it? blog brings us this strange device - can you guess what it is? More clues at the What is it? blog.
Place your guess in the comment section, but please post no URLs - let others play! No prize this week, you’re playing for bragging rights only.
Update 8/24/07: It’s a fish scaler - congrats to Eosha #1 who got it right, right away!
What is it? Game 33
Today’s collaboration with What is it? blog brings us this strange looking tool - can you guess what it is? More clues and another photo at What is it? blog.
Place your guess in the comment section, but please post no URLs - let others play! No prize this week, you’re playing for bragging rights only.
Technically, no one got it right, but there are a couple of good guesses (booby trap, trip wire gun) and one really close one (gopher trap). Here’s the answer:
Anti-rodent device or mouse killer pistol, invented in 1862. To operate: Pull back the hammer and insert the safety, place a percussion cap on the nipple, load 10 grains of black powder into the barrel along with some paper wadding, put some peanut butter on the bottom of the trigger, place the device in a good location, set the sear, and finally, remove the safety.
