Barnorama All Fun In The Barn
Imagine stumbling upon a collection of quirky items that look like they belong in a sci-fi movie or an art exhibit gone rogue. This assortment features things that defy explanation—like a kitchen gadget that seems more suited for a mad scientist than home cooking or a decorative piece that raises more eyebrows than compliments.
“Marked under home goods. Wooden, hammers clack together when shaken.”
Answer: “Tric-Ballac Italian percussion instrument.”
“I’ve been looking at this thing on the table and I cannot figure out what it is.”
Answer: “It’s a ’Bloomy Lotus Bud’ air diffuser. You can add essential oils to it to make the room smell nice.”
“I found this strange foam shape on the side of the sidewalk. The bottom part is pretty sturdy but the top part with all of the holes is very squishy.”
Answer: “Half of a Magic barber sponge brush”
“What is this plastic cylinder with numbers?”
Answer: “Pencil holder with a calendar”
“Ceramic cylinder, approximately 15 inches tall, 6-inch diameter with 2 valves on the bottom and a cast iron mounting bracket.”
Answer: “It would appear to be a Lye jar for cleaning milking machine lines, but I can’t find how it works.”
“10” x 6″ fired clay, ~3lbs. mounting brackets on one side only, cavities run through the length of it.”
Answer: “This is a heating element section for a kiln.”
“Yellow metal things, suspected wheel chocks?”
Answer: “Car lots use them to put under tires and tie balloons. We called them balloon anchors or balloon tie-downs.”
“Wooden vertical slot shelf thing. 5 ft by 4 ft. Wooden and on wheels.”
Answer: “Used for storing mat board for picture framing and art projects, whole pieces in the bottom slots and scraps, once cut, in the top. The diagonal top is used to put your artwork or print on to try different combinations.”
“Anyone have any idea as to what this long narrow board is supposed to be? Found in a kitchen of an older apartment.”
Answer: “Usually to clamp something onto — like a meat grinder.”
“Mounted on a wall in a hotel room. It is rigid, no articulations for movement. The hotel staff is not sure if it is decorative or functional.”
Answer: “It’s a hanger. A really goofy, artistic hanger. The gold bits are for you to put stuff over like jackets or bags, and there’s even a bar at the bottom to lay stuff over like gloves.”
“Returned from out of town with a box addressed to us. Present??? Receipt attached to box $259…sweet present!”
Answer: “These are pieces of a bike rack. The rubber with holes loops around the tabs on the plastic pieces, which are shaped to cradle the tubes of a bicycle. Obviously, these would be mounted on a frame that would rest on the back of the car. I have a rack that has pieces that look just like that.”
“This tubular hook thing is mounted on the mirror in the bathroom. It has a needle-sized hole at the bottom and the hooks twist.”
Answer: “Yeah, it’s a rotatable multihook, for washcloths and other accessories (probably loofahs too).”
“Small torpedo-shaped metal and wood thing about the size of a pair of sunglasses. Mounted for display, found in an Airbnb with several others.”
Answer: “Google Lens brings up cedar plug fishing lure”
“Does anyone know what this instrument is called and in what music it is used? It only has this one fingerhole and thus produces only 2 notes.”
Answer: “It’s a cuckoo whistle. ”
“Green glass cylinder, hollow with a decorated base — 27 cm (10”) high & 11 cm (4.3″) diameter at the base.”
Answer: “It’s a slide for a water pipe.”
“Can anyone identify this object sitting on my uncle-in-law’s highchair in the early 1960s?”
Answer: “It’s a toy hammer.”