# Clayton Rings - What do you think they were for **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316 "2022-03-18T23:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ibrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e7dd6/32.png) [@ibrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ibrand)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/21 "2023-03-22T15:00:59Z")
No, silly. The tool is called a “cookie” in today’s pottery world. I am presuming it was used in the same manner back then with the hole in the middle serving as some means of grabbing it out of the heat with yet another tool that appears to be missing from the set - cylindar, cookie, stick. If we don’t know what some ancient object was used for, I’d always place my bet on “tool.” It’s just a handy tool that served some important purpose in that day. We eat food - not tools. lol …but the tools help us prepare the food. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/22 "2023-03-22T15:10:52Z")
It was a joke. You wrote dessert instead of desert. That’s why he talked about eating cookies. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/23 "2023-03-22T17:05:26Z")
Interesting. I don’t think the photographer had it right, it’s not likely to be an ashtray. It still conforms to the ideas above, could easily be used with a cloth for straining. Seems a little small for a sheep or goat’s stomach, but there are plenty of possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/24 "2023-04-01T15:58:39Z")
I was going to make a joke about the pottery items obviously being an ashtray, since they were found with a pack of cigarettes. Seriously, though, I assume the cigarette pack was something handy to throw in the image for a size reference, like when people place a quarter or a dollar bill beside an item to give a clue as to its scale. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/25 "2023-04-01T19:31:46Z")
Presumably also a pun on the brand name. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/26 "2023-04-02T02:28:46Z")
If the disks are different diameter and stack in a pot with spaces then it might be a smoker/dehydrator. there should be traces of “something” inside the pot to indicate it’s use. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/27 "2023-04-02T13:42:50Z")
I took it as a pun. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316/28 "2023-04-05T22:36:32Z")
I’m dense. I didn’t pay attention to the label on the cigarette pack. Sheesh! 😁 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clayton-rings-what-do-you-think-they-were-for/961316.md?page=1)