# Can anyone identify this old gadget? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688 "2019-05-29T02:14:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/21 "2019-05-29T11:56:41Z")
Is it an old autopsy instrument (which might tie in the coroner bit)? It’s a bit blurry but this [picture of a Victorian autopsy kit](https://www.casebook.org/images/rip71-photo9.jpg) (from [this page](https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-victorian-autopsy.html)) contains what looks like a similar tool (at the upper right). ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/22 "2019-05-29T12:16:16Z")
Run it over a lemon rind and see if you don’t end up with perfect twists that any martini making bartender would be proud of! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/23 "2019-05-29T12:28:05Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Here is an advertisement in The Palmyra Spectator, Palmyra, Missouri from 1928 urging the voters in Marion County to elect “Schwartz for Coroner”. > > [Schwartz-Newspaper=Roy P (1928 notice to Marion Co voters) - Newspapers.com™](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8747383/schwartznewspaperroy_p_1928_notice/) From the tone of this ad, I think the implement is some kind of muckraker. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/24 "2019-05-29T12:37:53Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Is it an old autopsy instrument (which might tie in the coroner bit)? > > It’s a bit blurry but this [picture of a Victorian autopsy kit](https://www.casebook.org/images/rip71-photo9.jpg) (from [this page](https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-victorian-autopsy.html)) contains what looks like a similar tool (at the upper right). Why would a coroner label his tools like this if only he and his staff would see them? I think we have to assume that this is a giveaway item for voters, something that people (in 1928?) would keep and use, and that would remind them of whom to vote for. It appears that it would be relatively cheap to produce, a single piece of metal that could be cut and shaped in two steps in a factory, and then labeled. It clearly has a handle end, and a business end. From the photos it doesn’t look sharp enough to cut anything, but it is possible that it was a useful shape to chip ice. If it goes as far back as 1928, could it have anything to do with chipping ice off of blocks of ice? I believe block ice delivery was still common at that time. Refrigerators were, I believe, not common until the 30’s. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/25 "2019-05-29T12:43:44Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Run it over a lemon rind and see if you don’t end up with perfect twists that any martini making bartender would be proud of! I think it’s a citrus zester. If you google the term lemon zester you get a lot of modern tools that look very similar. It wasn’t uncommon to put campaign ads on all kinds of freebies. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/26 "2019-05-29T12:44:21Z")
I am going to go for “Boot Scraper”, a device to scrape mud from your boots. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/27 "2019-05-29T13:03:28Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > I am going to go for “Boot Scraper”, a device to scrape mud from your boots. A muck scraper? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/28 "2019-05-29T13:21:53Z")
Ice cube tray handle? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/29 "2019-05-29T13:39:37Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Run it over a lemon rind and see if you don’t end up with perfect twists that any martini making bartender would be proud of! Yeah, that was my first thought. I have a tool with similar looking holes in the end for zesting lemons. But the holes in this one look too “blunt” and too far from the end to work effectively. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/30 "2019-05-29T14:05:37Z")
I thought it might be some odd sort of pie edge crimper, but I can’t find any that look like that. **elbows** ’ suggestion of aster seems the most likely right now. Googling “zester” brings up several things that, while not identical, are roughly similar: [https://www.google.com/search?q=zester&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicr\_7588DiAhWJmeAKHUuRDCIQ\_AUIDygC&biw=1440&bih=708](https://www.google.com/search?q=zester&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicr_7588DiAhWJmeAKHUuRDCIQ_AUIDygC&biw=1440&bih=708) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/31 "2019-05-29T14:16:33Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Why would a coroner label his tools like this if only he and his staff would see them? You have to remember that this was a simpler time. People didn’t have Facebook, YouTube or smartphones. They didn’t have broadcast television and even radios were less common. So they had to find their own ways of entertaining and educating themselves. One such was was the DIY autopsy. The Saturday Evening Post had illustrated articles to guide people through the process. “Hey, kids! Clear the dining table! Grandma died so you get to do the autopsy I promised!” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/32 "2019-05-29T14:42:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > You have to remember that this was a simpler time. People didn’t have Facebook, YouTube or smartphones. They didn’t have broadcast television and even radios were less common. So they had to find their own ways of entertaining and educating themselves. One such was was the DIY autopsy. The Saturday Evening Post had illustrated articles to guide people through the process. “Hey, kids! Clear the dining table! Grandma died so you get to do the autopsy I promised!” I recall a guy wrote a satire about self appendectomy. A guy ordered a reprint from England. He sent it, but was not able to contact the guy afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/33 "2019-05-29T14:45:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I thought it might be some odd sort of pie edge crimper, but I can’t find any that look like that. > > **elbows** ’ suggestion of aster seems the most likely right now. Googling “zester” brings up several things that, while not identical, are roughly similar: > > [zester - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=zester&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicr_7588DiAhWJmeAKHUuRDCIQ_AUIDygC&biw=1440&bih=708) [Here’s one](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-zester-peeler-kitchen-503876557) that’s rather similar. It seems a bit macabre for a coroner to be giving out cooking utensils, but so would be an ice scraper. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/34 "2019-05-29T14:46:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’d think it could be a handle for something, but it’s not symmetrical. Not all handles are symmetrical but I’m catching on to anything using that particular shape. Bowl scraper, maybe? The rubber part would presumably have had small triangular projections to fit into the holes. ---
**Author:** ![icbm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@icbm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icbm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/35 "2019-05-29T14:47:58Z")
WAG It’s meant to look like a pretend scalpel (because autopsy) but serves some other barely practical purpose. Maybe if the back side of it was slid over a sealed bottle, the curved edges would grab the bottle cap and lever it off? ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/36 "2019-05-29T14:50:37Z")
If there are teeth on the other side it could be a corn scraper. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/37 "2019-05-29T15:30:03Z")
It doesn’t look like the notches are beveled at all, so I’m not sure it would work as an ice scraper or zester. I bet the rounded end fits around the lip of a glass, and it was used to strain out ice when pouring a cocktail. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/38 "2019-05-29T15:40:08Z")
There is a Subreddit for this type of question: > **[r/whatisthisthing](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/)** > > r/whatisthisthing: If you have an object and you don't know what it is, this is the place for you to search for an answer. We may not know the "why" … ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/39 "2019-05-29T15:45:24Z")
Pouring from a shaker into a glass? Maybe. Seems like the holes would be bigger if that were the purpose. The big challenge for any “scaper” type explanation is to explain the triangular holes. That seems like a lot of work to produce them if they’re just decorative. Also, this would be a really crappy ice scraper since the edge is curved and the handle is far too short. It wouldn’t work at all well for scraping windshields, or anything else I can think of. Re #14, domestic refrigerators were new, rare and expensive in 1928, if that’s truly when this item dates from. I doubt promotional giveaways would target refrigerator owners. Also, in old freezers with exposed coils, the coils were very thin metal, and accidentally poking one with a metal tool could puncture it and cause a catastrophic coolant leak (ask me how I know this), so I don’t think there were really tools dedicated to scraping freezer ice. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688/40 "2019-05-29T17:55:30Z")
I would say it was a zester/peeler (use the point to score the rind) but both of those things existed in the 20th century and probably in the 19th century and neither looked quite like that (except Colibri’s example). There’s no way it’s an ice strainer for a bar set. Those also existed and didn’t look like that, and it wouldn’t even be functional for straining (it’s 5" long, remember). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-old-gadget/834688.md?page=3)