Barnorama All Fun In The Barn
“What is this thing? Seems like concrete with metal ball in it?”
A: “Botryoidal hematite, one of the natural forms of iron oxide.”
“Found in a friend’s house in PA. Six inches tall, breaks down into two distinct halves. Made of wood with leather straps, no buckle or snap.”
A: “It could be a teaching tool for demonstrating the formula for area of a circle. When she [grandmother] first started teaching in the 1920s and 30s she taught in a one-room schoolhouse, so she taught all subjects. Later on she taught reading for 4th 5th and 6th graders.”
“Found near the arapaho national forest. Forget what it was…”
A: “Steam donkey, for pulling logs around (usually up hill).”
“What is this insulation/yarn like material that keeps appearing in my car’s glove box? I’ve thrown it away twice but it keeps coming back”
A: “There’s most likely mice living in your car…”
“What is this on my sink? It can’t be moved, and there is a hole that goes down into the cabinet below.”
A: “Its a spot to put a spray hose. Usually for kitchen sinks. Its not usually installed if there is no spray hose. Its usually capped off if the hole is there but no hose.”
“About 3 inches by 3 inches, made of metal possibly brass. Has 7 small compartments.”
A: “It’s called a tika or tikka box”
“Weird stuff found in an old jewelry”
A: “The art technique is called Cloisonne. The bottles could be snuff bottles sold as souvenirs.”
“This black thing bolted to the back door hinges on this Jeep Wrangler. I’m not sure if it was on the other side also or not”
A: “It’s a fold down step to get to the roof of the Jeep for their expeditions to the mall and such. You can sell anything to Jeep people.”
“Found in my new home, built in the 1950s”
A: “It’s an on / off for a house alarm.”
“Two Slots Built into a wall around knee high in a 1955 house with what appears to be wooden “reeds””
A: “Old style audiophile setup. The bottom slot is for a pull out record player that used the “reeds” to hold the frame in place while the player was pulled out. The top spot is for the amplifier. There may still be wires and/or speakers in the walls/around the house.”
“I’m stumped. Solid metal. Afaik everything you see is the whole thing. Knuckle is an inch. The copper bar rotates about the screw head a few degrees.”
A: “A very obscure tool used by modern flintknappers for “indirect percussion”. The rounded parts are for the legs and the copper bit is placed against a knappable stone and whacked to chip the stone. A.K.A rocker punch.”
“I was doing a VR tour of the Anne Frank home and I saw this object with a wheel and cord”
A: “It’s a dental drill, with a foot treadle. One of the people in the Annex was a dentist, so that makes sense.”
“Very heavy metal pallet frame of some sort? Has forklift pockets underneath. Has a slot in the middle that makes me think you slide something in and like it, perhaps for moving trailers or something on wheels? It’s about a standard pallet width.”
A: “It looks like the guard that goes on the front of a forklift behind the forks. It would sit upright in this same orientation. Keeps the boxes on pallets from falling on the driver.”
“What is this netted enclosure with lots of cameras? There’s a few dozen cameras placed around the inside and the whole thing is netted closed. Any ideas?”
A: “A drone cage!”
“About 4”x2” Hollow hard plastic. Found in a hospital”
A: “It’s a wrist brace held in place with compression wrap.”
“Brown object the size of a large marble. Smooth and polished except for white textured spots. Found outside about 20 years ago in MN.”
A: “It’s a clay marble.”
“An antenna pointing at an office building. Anybody know what it may be used for?”
A: “That an Yagi-USA antenna. Probably sending or receiving a signal to something about whatever that’s on, probably in the general directions it’s pointing. I’ve seen them for power sub stations, TV, etc.”
“What is this thing and how do you play? This gambling wheel that my parents bought at an antique store. Has roulette wheel around the edges, cards, dice, numbers, and words”
A: “Looks like an antique roulette “all-in-one” game.”
“Silver drum/disks, 1 in 40 had this inside, the rest were empty”
A: “It looks a lot like the optical element of a ring laser gyroscope.”
“This was found with old tools. Doesn’t seem to attach to anything. It can lock in place and the middle bit turns round, unravelling two straps of fabric. I’m stumped!”
A: “It’s for carrying books.”
“What is this pan for? My parents found it while cleaning out their cabinet.”
A: “Bacon of other greasy meats. You rotate the pan and can get rid of the grease while frying.”