Today’s collaboration with the What is it? Blog brings us this …. alligator?! Actually, this object has a specific function. Do you know what it is?

Place your guess in the comment section. The first correct guess, as well as the funniest (but ultimately wrong) guess will win a T-shirt from the Neatorama Shop. Please let others play and post no URLs or web links. Doing so will forfeit your entry.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 11/20/09 – the answer is A cast iron alligator match safe, text on its back says “Monon Route”, on its legs “Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Atlanta”, on its head “Chicago” and on the tail “Florida”. It advertised the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway, which later changed its name to The Monon Route, it served the previously mentioned locations.

Congratulations to Edward who got it right first (again) and to pwscott who made me chuckle with “steampunk pez.”

This week’s collaboration with the What is it? Blog brings us this unusual scale. It has a very specific function – can you guess what it is used to weigh?

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please. You can enter as many guesses as you’d like. Please post no URL or web links – doing so will forfeit your winnings.

Two prizes this week: the first correct guess and the funniest but ultimately incorrect guess will win a cool ice tray from the Neatorama Shop.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 11/13/09 – the answer is: A Reliable Automatic Dial Egg Scale and Candler, there is a light bulb in the cylinder at the right, the egg was placed on the hole and was illuminated to monitor the development of the embryo and to identify infertile eggs. The numbers represent ounces per dozen.

Congratulations to Edward who got it correct and to John the Third who made me chuckle with the “methane measurement device.”

The “autofill” feature of the Google search box was designed as a timesaver, but the suggested searches can also be entertaining.  Writing in Slate, Michael Agger compared the autofill of “less intelligent” and “more intelligent” queries, an exercise that has previously been conducted at Digg.

The image above is a screencap of two Google searches conducted tonight using less- and more sophisticated search terms.

A corollary question would be “What searches are most commonly conducted at Neatorama?”  The Lijit search engine doesn’t have an autofill feature, but it does offer a list of the most popular recent searches at Neatorama, in descending order of frequency:

“world’s smallest,” mystery sale, halloween, what is it, disney, halloween costume, pumpkin, shop, stories, tattoo, cat, facebook, halloween costumes, pear, game, costume, movie trivia, photography, new species, zombie, bacon, lego, elena desserich, google, anvil cake, costumes, national day, notes left behind, origami, national geographic, videosift, wedding, what is it? game, 6 year old, albert einstein, brain, christmas, chum, hitler, logo, one take, pig, sex, animals, art, batman, brain shot, comic, einstein, shark.

Someone else may want to tackle the sociological implications of that list; I’m not going to touch it.

Link.

W00t! It’s time for our collaboration with the always awesome What is it? Blog. This week’s entry is this strange looking object to the left: can you guess what it is?

Two prizes this week: the first person to guess correctly and the funniest (but ultimately wrong) guess will win a T-shirt from the Neatorama Shop.

Contest rules are darned easy: place your guess in the comment below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Post no URL or web links – let others play (doing so will forfeit your entry).

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 11/6/09 – the answer is:An exercise club, the 1897 patent says it was “for the purpose of testing the strength of the wrist and forearm”, additional weights could be attached to the bottom of it, patent number 578,230. Commonly known as Indian clubs, these can be found in a wide variety of sizes and weights.

Congratulations to Mr. Weaver who got it right first and to huh? for the um, very funny entry that I won’t repeat here.

Hello everyone! As you can probably tell by the banners on the blog, we’re having a Mystery Sale on Neatorama. The proceeds help support the blog and our fledgling shop (thank you!)

For those of you who don’t know anything about it, the Mystery Sale offers an item you can buy for $9.95. What is it? We won’t tell you – that’s the whole point of the sale!

But we can tell you that it’s going to be a physical product (or combination of products) worth AT LEAST $9.95. It’ll be new and a fun "Neatorama" item.

You can buy more than 1 Mystery Item in a single order, in which case we’ll make sure that you get different items. You can even get them gift-wrapped so you can cross Christmas shopping off your list early this year.

We’re working on a new platform for Neatorama’s online shop, and the new one probably won’t be compatible with future Mystery Sale. I’m 99.9% sure that this will be the last Mystery Sale we’ll have (if not ever, then for a very long time) so grab yours today before it’s gone!

Link

Update 11/5/09 – Time’s up! Thank you to everyone who participated!

A trip through the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago will make you glad you live in the modern world instead of the “good old days”! Wired has a gallery of exhibit photos ranging from a skull that belonged to a trepanation patient to early x-ray machines. Pictured is a vest used in 1899 to correct scoliosis. If this were posted as a “What Is It?” I would guess it to be an instrument of torture. Link -via Digg

(image credit: Jim Merithew/Wired.com)

This week’s collaboration with the What is it? Blog brings us this strange looking device – can you guess what it is for?

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, however, you can guess as many times as you’d like. Post no URL or links – let others play.

No prize this week – you’re playing for bragging rights only. For more clues, check out that What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 10/30/09 – the answer: A policeman’s blackjack or sap, for striking miscreants on the head, this was on display with a pair of handcuffs and a different type of blackjack that looked like a small club. Congrats to Tim Giachetti who got it right first!

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”

Here’s this week’s collaboration with the What is it? Blog. Can you tell us what this strange tool is used for? The first correct guess AND the funniest guess win this awesome Ice Invaders Ice Cube Tray from the Neatorama Shop.

Game rules are simple: place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please. You can enter as many guessed as you’d like. Please post no URL or web links – doing so will forfeit your entry.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 10/9/09 – the answer is: A clockwork roasting jack, used to turn meat while it was roasted over the fireplace. Congratulations to PaulS who guessed right and to Abe Normal who suggested that it was a wind up grenade!

There’s a lot of fascinating things about molecular biology (I should know, I have a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology) – but a lot of students get discouraged from learning it because it is taught poorly in school. To be fair, the topic is rather complex – if you don’t get the basics right, it’s easy to get confused and lost later on – and many of the textbooks of biochemistry, cell biology and molecular bio are b-o-r-i-n-g. Heck, I’ve read phone books more interesting than some of ‘em.

Enter The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology. Written by Dr. Masaharu Takemura, a lecturer of biology, molecular biology, and life sciences at the Tokyo University of Science, the book uses manga-style cartoons drawn by Sakura and produced by Becom Co., Ltd. It is released in the United States by No Starch Press (a publishing company that aims to be "the finest in geek entertainment").

The book is ostensibly about the adventures of Rin and Ami, two students that have been skipping their molecular biology class. They were summoned by Professor Moro for a special summer school on his private island (complete with a virtual reality machine, a hunky TA … and a terrible secret. What is it? Oh, I’m not going to tell you). But amidst all that fun, there’s actual learning.

Take, for instance, the explanation about how the liver enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase works in breaking down alcohol:

Read more after the jump: more …

W00t! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with the always awesome What is it? Blog. Can you tell us what this strange and menacing old timey batarang is used for?

Game rules are simple: place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL or web links, let others play. No prize this week, so you’re playing for bragging rights only.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog – good luck!

Update 9/25/09 – the answer is: The head of a boarding axe, used by pirates to cut the ropes of boarding hooks, bring down masts and rigging, and generally tear through anything that stood in the way of the loot, like doors, hatches or locks. They were also employed by the U.S. Navy, the teeth behind the cutting edge were used to drag away burning rigging and sails from the decks. Congratulations to jamesmccallum who got it right! (and I must say, I’ve truly enjoyed some of your guesses!)

Oops – I almost forgot! Today is the we all get to play the guessing game, courtesy of the always awesome What is it? Blog. Can you guess what this strange (and dangerous!) looking tool is for?

And today being the first game of the month, let’s have a prize. The first person who guessed right will win a Cool Jazz Ice Tray and Stirrers from the Neatorama Shop. If nobody got it right, then the funniest guess will win instead. Please post no links or URLs – let others play.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Click for more Cool and Unusual Ice Trays. Good luck!

Update 9/5/09 – the answer is: A sugar devil or fruit auger, used at the general store to loosen compacted sugar or dried fruit from a barrel.

Congratulations to avalchfan who got it right!

Yes, this week’s collaboration with the always awesome What is it? Blog brings us … a spike – but can you guess its specific purpose? (hint: it has a VERY specific purpose)

Place your guess in the comment section – no prize this week, so you’re playing for fame and glory. Please post no URL – let others play. For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog.

Good luck!

Update 8/22/09 – it’s a device to disable cannons:

Since the head of this tool can pivot, it can’t be used as a hammer or pick. The owner of it had a Civil War book that described it as a cannon tool, he said that it was used by soldiers to disable enemy cannons or their own if they had to retreat. The spike was placed in the ignition hole and hammered until the cannon cracked or until the hole was large enough that the cannon was no longer usable.

I’ve since been informed that:

The phrase “to spike a cannon” meant to disable it by driving a tapered wrought iron plug, or spike, down the touch hole with a hammer until it was level and firmly embedded. I suppose the spike could eventually be drilled out, but tools to do this were not readily available, and the process would take some time.

Seems that nobody got it this time around!

Submitted by Willem Kossen

Hooray! It’s time for our collaboration with the always excellent (and perplexing) What is it? Blog. Can you guess what the strange object above is for?

First correct guess will win this awesome Stickman Action Figure from Neatorama’s Online Store. If no one got it right, then the funniest guess will win.

Contest rules are simple: place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please, but you can enter as many as you can think of. Please post no URL or web links (you’ll forfeit the prize if you do) – let others play.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 8/7/09 – The answer is: A heat sink from an old television. A lot of you guessed heat sink, but no one got it specifically for an old TV, so I picked the guess that got me ROFL-ing. Congrats to endgame47 for this guess: It is a bow tie for bad-asses.

This week’s collaboration with the always awesome What Is It? Blog brings us this strange object – can you guess what it is for? Place your guess in the comment section – no prize this week, so you’re playing for the fun of it.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog – Good luck!

Update 7/26/09 – That was too easy! The answer: A dart aerial gunnery target, this dart tow-target was fired upon by F-84F pilots of the 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard, Springfield, Ohio, during 1968 summer training exercises in Michigan. It was towed behind another airplane on 1,500 to 2,000 feet of cable and was equipped with a radar reflector to permit the use of radar gunsights. It was returned to earth by parachute upon completion of a gunnery mission. The damage was caused by .50-cal. bullets.

Congratulations to Jared who got it right first!

This week’s collaboration with the What is it? Blog brings us this strange tool above – can you guess what it is for? Place your guess in the comment section. No prize this week, so you’re playing for fame and glory.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 7/19/09 – the answer is: A transmission spring compressor and holder for Model T Fords, according to a patent for a similar tool: …for compressing and holding transmission band springs, which band springs are carried by bolts disposed in a removable section of a transmission casing. From patent number 1,433,944. Nobody got it this time around …

w00t! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with the always fascinating What is it? Blog. Can you guess what the strange object above is for?

Place your guess in the comment section – no prize this week, so you’re playing for fame and glory (and fun, of course). Be sure to check the What is it? Blog for more clues! Good luck!

Update 7/10/09 – the answer is: A stifle or patten horseshoe, when a horse injures the stifle joint, they put one of these shoes on the opposite leg of the injured one so the horse will put weight on the hurt leg so it will not be further damaged. Congratulations to Jess who got it right, though I must say that I love Jared’s horsestiletto idea!

This week’s collaboration with the What is it? Blog is super easy (maybe) – can you guess what the object above is used for?

Two prizes this week: a free Neatorama T-shirt for the first correct guess and another one for the funniest, but incorrect one. Place your guess in the comment section – one guess per comment, though you can enter as many as you can think of. Post no URLs or weblinks – let others play (if you do, you’ll forfeit the prize).

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog – Have fun and good luck!

Update 7/3/09 – the answer is: A golf ball marker, according to the patent:

The part with the black handle is used to apply the ink, patent number 1,281,063..

Congrats to the winners: Jared, who got it right first, and Sam Saturday, who got me crackin’ with “pocket mohel”!

This week’s collaboration with the always fun What is it? Blog brings us this strange tool. Can you guess what it is for? Hint: it has a very specific use, and it’s not what you’re thinking about.

Place your guess in the comment section. No prize this week, so you’re playing for fame and glory. Please post no URL, so others can play.

Be sure t check out the What is it? Blog for more hints. Good luck!

Update 6/26/09 – the answer is: A life raft bullet hole plug, it was part of a kit for a life raft that was carried on an airplane or large ship.

Congratulations to Chris P. who got it right first!

Yay! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with the always awesome What is it? blog. Can you guess what this um, rather violent-looking tool is used for? Hint: it has a very specific use – and it’s not for braining someone!

Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL or web links – let others play! No prize this week, so you’re playing for fame and glory.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 6/18/09 – The answer is: A trucker’s tire checker, tires are struck with this tool and from the sound and feel they can tell if the tires are properly inflated. Congrats to Bill Wixon who got it right first!

Today’s collaboration with What is it? blog is very special for us. Since our very first What is it? game in November 2006, I’ve always wondered when we would reach this milestone: our 100th game. Well, here it is!

To celebrate this milestone, we have a nifty prize:

The first person who guessed right will win this awesome Black Camaro Road Mice Wireless Mouse from the Neatorama Online Shop. If no one gets it right, then the funniest guess will win it instead.

This sporty mouse is the perfect for car lovers. If you don’t win, you can still "cruise the web in style" with the Road Mice Wireless Computer Mouse by buying one from our online shop. As always, your purchase helps support the blog.

Contest rules are simple: place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL or web links – doing so will forfeit your entry (be kind and let others play!) One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many guesses as you’d like.

More clues at the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 6/13/09 – The answer is: A Copenhagen snuff can opener, used for cutting the paper seal on the can. Congratulations to attorneyadrian who got it right first!

W00t! It’s time for our collaboration with the What is it? Blog – can you guess what this 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 bragging rights only.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 5/17/09 – The answer is: A Geyser Tube, used for the Coke and Mentos geyser experiment, to see it in action check out the video at the link. Congrats to Jared who got it right out of the gate!

W00t! It’s time for our collaboration with the always-fun What is It? blog. Can you guess what this strange contraption pictured to the left is for?

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please – though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please post no URL or weblinks – let others play (you’ll be disqualified if you do so).

The first person who guessed right will get a Free Neatorama T-shirt. If no one gets it right, then the funniest guess will win.

Is it a prototype Dalek? Find more clues at the What is It? Blog. Good luck!

Update 5/8/09 – that was too easy! Here’s the answer: A TaylorMade golf club display stand, these can be found near the indoor practice area in a golf shop. It would not have held a full set, but a selection of different models of the same number club, I saw a display like this in a local shop and it was full of six irons. The clubs were available for customers to hit a few balls with each to compare the performance of the various models.

Congratulations to: Joe #8 who got it right first!

Blair Blacker of Smart Grow created a new, natural product that prevents weeds, eliminates the need for pesticides, and lets farmer conserve water. It could revolutionize how food is grown, as long as you can overlook the yuck factor.

What is it? Hair. Human hair. And lots of it … Dan Grech of American Public Media’s Marketplace has the interview:

BLACKER: There is a slight nutritional difference between blond hair and black hair, but as far as a plant is concerned, they wouldn’t notice the difference.

GRECH: Which is more nutritional?

BLACKER: Blond tends to be slightly less nutritional. Slightly. I’m not going to say a word.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.

W00t! It’s time for our collaboration with the always mind-boggling What is it? blog. Can you guess what this strange device is used for?

Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL or web links – let others play. No prize this week, so you’re playing for bragging rights only.

For more clues and other guessing fun, please visit the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 5/1/09 – The answer is: An Electraply quack medical device, according to the manual, it’s a “pulsating machine used on the body for its therapeutic action and for administering electrical massage,” patent number 1,789,758. That was too easy! Congrats to jmjrdrave who got it first (and to Jared for a more detailed answer)

Yay! It’s time for our collaboration with the always awesome What is it? Blog. Can you guess what this strange object is for?

Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL or web links – let others play. No prize this week – you’re playing for fame and glory only.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog. Good luck!

Update 4/24/09 – the answer is: whale oil lamp. Seems like this is a stumper!

Our collaboration with the What is it? Blog brings us this strange (and gruesome-looking) object. Do you know what it is for? Does it have anything to do with vampires?

Place your guess in the comment section. Please post no URL / web link – let others play. No prize this week – you’re playing for bragging rights only.

For more clues, check out the What is it? blog. Good luck!

Update 4/10/09 – the answer is: Long’s 1911 New Era Rope Spreader, or rope needle, it was used with a rope machine by sliding it along the length of the strands to force the formation of a tight and constant spiral, patent number 998,360. Congratulations to zander who got it right!

Today’s collaboration with the What is it? blog brings us this strange contraption for your guessing pleasure: do you know what this strange tool pictured above is for?

Place your guess in the comment section. The first correct guess will win a free Neatorama T-shirt. If no one got it, then the funniest guess will win.

Contest rules are simple: one guess per comment, please – you can enter as many guesses as you’d like but please post no web links or URLs (let others play!)

For more clues, check out the What is it? blog. Good luck!

Update 4/4/08 – That was too easy! Here’s the answer: A corn sheller, used to remove the kernels from the cob, patent number 605,934. Congrats to Beretta who got it right, right from the get go!

It’s been a while since our last What is it? game, but this one should make up for the absence: do you know what the strange tool to the left is used for?

Place your guess in the comment section – the first correct one will win a Neatorama T-shirt. If no one get it, then the funniest guess will win.

Game rules are simple: One guess per comment, please. You can enter as many guesses as you’d like. Post no URLs – let others play.

For more clues, check out the What is it? blog. Good luck!

Update 3/13/09 – The answer: A cannonball sizer, it was used as a gauge to determine if a cannonball was the correct diameter.. Congratulations to Anth who got it right!

W00t! It’s time for our collaboration with the ever-awesome What Is It? blog – this week’s mystery object is this gun: can you tell us what it is for? (It has a very specific function)

Place your guess in the comment section – the first to guess correctly will get a Free Neatorama T-Shirt. If no one got it, then the funniest guess will win. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many times as you wish.

For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog – good luck!

Update 2/20/09 – The answer is A Rokuoh-Sha Type 89 machine gun camera, used to train Japanese aviators in aerial gunnery. The first guess that’s specific enough was #15, by “Give the shirt to the funniest answer ” So, per that request, the free shirt goes to: Melphistopheles for his guess of early colonoscopy device!

Congrats Mel – and thank you to everybody for their awesome guesses. That was fun!