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What Is It? Game 145

Alex •

W00t! It's time for this week's collaboration with the always perplexing What Is It? Blog. Can you tell us what the strange contraption above is used for?

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many guesses as you'd like. Please post no URL or web link - doing so will invalidate your entry.

Two prizes as usual: the first correct guess and the funniest yet wrong guess will each win a T-shirt from the NeatoShop. Your pick (we suggest checking out our Science T-Shirts and Funny T-Shirts sections). Important: Please write your T-shirt selection along with your guess. If you don't make a selection, you forfeit the prize.

For more clues, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Update 7/17/10 - the answer is: A British Absolute Block Signaling Instrument, used to "facilitate the safe operation of a railway by preventing more than one train from occupying a defined section of route at the same time. This system is used on double or multiple lines where use of each line is assigned a direction of travel." The Millom Station is in the town of Millom in Cumbria, England.

Congratulations to Edward who got it right out of the bat, and to Uncle Mark for the gastrointestinal system status device! Sadly, he didn't choose a T-shirt.

Comments (50)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

This would be an ancient internet meter to tell you when you're online. Or it's one of those ancient sex meters that lets people know that their next in line to be serviced. he he
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It's a sailing school compass, for newby navigators who don't know about North and South yet. Also serves as a floatation device for when they fall overboard.
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Sorry, I'm neither a witty nor a funny guy,so I can't give you a smartarse answer........
.....so the real answer is a Tooth Key (it has other names too), used for extracting teeth by placing the hooked end beneath the tooth's crown and twisting the handle to lever the tooth out.

I would like a large sized men's "Powered by Caffeine" tee shirt please
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That is a pig tail screw. See, pigs are born with long tails. This is undesirable, as it will tangle with other pigs, which will lead to them communicating with each other to untangle. This will lead to a great pig uprising. That will lead to no bacon. No one wants that. So, the farmers take this curler and curl the pig's tails so that they are no longer a danger of tangling with others.

http://www.neatoshop.com/product/Soft-Kitty 2xl

Soft Hello Kitty
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  3 replies
I don't know what the ones with the large eyes and pointed grey heads called it... but in my terrifying memories it will be forever known as "The Probe".

Hello Misfits, Men's Medium
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It's the earliest form of a tool for cleaning out earwax from your ears. It is also the reason that Q-tips put the warning against putting things in your ears on their packaging.

Trophy-Husband
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It's part of a Trepanning Kit, for young doctors. In the 1700's, the original box for this had a picture of a little girl next to a doll that had a bunch of holes in its head. The doll that came with the kit had three or four replacement heads, so you could get more practice in.

Trophy-Husband
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It's a drain-cleaning tool, to reach in and pull gross hairballs out of the sink. These tools come in several lengths, to pull grossness out of various lengths of pipe.

Trophy-Husband
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Plumbing was not up to snuff in King Henry the Eight's time, but at least he had a toilet. Here's his 16th century roto-rooter, used by his trusty Groom of the Stool (actual title).

[Large, Grey, “Science vs. Magic”]
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Most folks have no idea how giblets are harvested. This is a giblet collector, but if I were to tell you how it works, it would ruin your Thanksgiving dinner . . .

Made in America With Irish Parts XXL
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Before the Heimlich Maneuver was perfected, this was one of many failed attempts to stop choking. You had to shove it down someone's throat to extract the object. It was especially popular during Thanksgiving because it could double as a flowerholder in a centerpiece when not in use.
For the Sake of an Angel, Ladies Fit M.
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