What Is It? game 237

W00t! It's time for another collaboration with the always-excellent What Is It? Blog. Can you guess what this strange object is used for?

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, though you can enter as many guesses as you'd like. Please do not post any web link or URL - doing so will void your entry. You have until the answer is revealed on the What Is It? Blog tomorrow.

Two prizes: the first correct guess and the funniest yet wrong one will win a T-Shirt from the NeatoShop.

IMPORTANT: Please write your prize selection alongside your guess, so visit the NeatoShop and take a look around. If you don't write your prize selection, then you don't get the prize. I think you'll like the selection of funny t-shirts and science t-shirts -or even t-shirts of your favorite blogs and websites.

For more clues, go to What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Update: the mystery object is a 35mm film leader retriever, used to retrieve film that has been accidentally wound into the cassette. Berhard was the first with the correct answer, so he wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The funniest answer came from The Professor, who said "This is a nitpicker, designed to extract tiny slivers of controversy from the finest cracks in logic." That's an answer that deserves a t-shirt! Thanks for playing, everyone. You can see the answers to all the mystery items of the week at the What Is It? blog.