# Identify this Whatsit **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790 "2018-01-03T11:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/81 "2018-01-05T02:24:52Z")
I second that. My first impression is trivet. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/82 "2018-01-05T02:35:54Z")
2.5" is really small. Before proposing potential uses, try cutting a 2.5" circle out of paper and see what it would be good for. It’s much too small for a stein lid, coaster, or trivet. Hat holders are typically at least double that size, and there’s no place for the hat to hang down on this. I could see maybe nailing two to the wall and hanging your shoes off it, but why not make one with two hooks? I think it’s some small piece to something bigger, and is useless on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/83 "2018-01-05T03:35:05Z")
It’s not elaborate, but as I mentioned that handle thing is steamed and bent to that shape. Plus, why is the base a circle as opposed to a simple, and more cost-effective square? Also, it appears that a precise slot was cut into the base to insert, and glue, the handle. I mean, that’s a bit of effort for a hat or shoe hanger, no? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/84 "2018-01-05T04:05:12Z")
I am beginning to like the sushi bar holder. It too well designed for displaying things. Except, maybe, a high-end purse shop or jewelry display. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/85 "2018-01-05T04:53:34Z")
My 2¢: It’s the lid of a round wooden box for holding small things like jewelry or pins (a small cushion can fit inside the box). The diameter of the box is actually a little wider than 2.5", and the lid is inset, flush with the top of the box. Perhaps they were mistakenly made the same diameter as the box, so they don’t fit… a mistake that can go unnoticed until a bazillion are made. The “hook” is merely a stylized handle to remove the lid. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/86 "2018-01-05T05:14:45Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My 2¢: It’s the lid of a round wooden box for holding small things like jewelry or pins (a small cushion can fit inside the box). The diameter of the box is actually a little wider than 2.5", and the lid is inset, flush with the top of the box. Perhaps they were mistakenly made the same diameter as the box, so they don’t fit… a mistake that can go unnoticed until a bazillion are made. The “hook” is merely a stylized handle to remove the lid. Not a chance. Any manufacturing facility knows what important dimensions to check. No one in today’s day and age does a complete production run without checking key parameters. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/87 "2018-01-05T07:39:59Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I am beginning to like the sushi bar holder. > It too well designed for displaying things. Except, maybe, a high-end purse shop or jewelry display. Yeah, could be a little display plinth for jewellery - here’s something not-too-dissimilar: [https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32828372545.html](https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32828372545.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/88 "2018-01-05T07:42:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > However the grain on the handle portion suggests to me that the curviture on the handle was formed by steam heating and bending the wood. Veneer lamination I would say - you could make a large angled strip and slice it into small angled pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Scantzen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scantzen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scantzen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/89 "2018-01-05T13:31:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > However the grain on the handle portion suggests to me that the curviture on the handle was formed by steam heating and bending the wood. > > That sounds like a lot of extra work for a little display sign. A popsicle stick glued to the back would have sufficed. > > This is rather intriguing. I would posit that in retail, display counts for a lot. If you’re trying to sell something, popsicle-stick displays are probably seen as low-class. I could easily see a manufacturer having steam chambers and bending jigs to feed a long strip of wood in, and get a bunch of little wooden “hooks” out of it. But in addition (though not very helpful), this thing just _looks_ familiar somehow, and reminds me of something display-related. It is the very width and flatness of the “hook” that makes me see this as a stand-up sign/holder. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/90 "2018-01-05T14:17:44Z")
**freckafree** , we need more clues! I’m losing sleep over this mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/91 "2018-01-05T17:09:43Z")
IKR?? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/92 "2018-01-05T17:14:14Z")
It’s a pessary. ---
**Author:** ![misskittie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@misskittie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misskittie)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/93 "2018-01-05T17:20:36Z")
Maybe it covers the hole in your desk that power cables and such are passed through. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/94 "2018-01-05T19:20:00Z")
Glue them on the wall, hang coats on them? ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/95 "2018-01-05T20:03:23Z")
its a part of something modular, a cabinet of some sort. A cabinet that comes from the factory premade in three or four large pieces that basically “snap” together. The kind that you can order different parts from a list of 4-8 items and custom build your cabinet set (Think dental exam area) It looks like it is part of the inside of a door for a closet or broom closet type of cabinet maybe say in a dentist or doctors office that a smock or lab coat or something like that would be hung on it, or a broom or other smallish lightish cleaning utensil ---
**Author:** ![Scantzen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scantzen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scantzen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/96 "2018-01-05T20:20:37Z")
It just doesn’t look like it could support any weight, other than its own, so I can’t see it holding a coat or shoes, etc. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/97 "2018-01-05T20:24:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Veneer lamination I would say - you could make a large angled strip and slice it into small angled pieces. That would make for rather ugly sides of the bent piece, I think. For solid wood that thin, bending would not be very difficult. For myself, I have no ideas. It’s too small to serve 2 pieces of sushi, for example, even one piece probably wouldn’t fit. I have the feeling this is going to be another unsolved puzzle like “8 somethings in a something something” (I can’t remember the exact letters any more). > [@kayaker](#): > > It’s a pessary. Eww! ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/98 "2018-01-05T21:16:18Z")
Could it be a candle holder for something like a tea light? ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/99 "2018-01-05T21:28:42Z")
Whoever figures out what this thing really is could use one to give themselves a little pat on the back. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790/100 "2018-01-05T21:39:50Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Not a chance. > > Any manufacturing facility knows what important dimensions to check. No one in today’s day and age does a complete production run without checking key parameters. Yes, we’ll never see a problem like [CATIA / A380](http://www.cadalyst.com/cad/product-design/what-grounded-airbus-a380-10903) again [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-whatsit/805790.md?page=6)