# "What is it?" -- wherein we consider an object from an oldish movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 12, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965 "2023-07-12T22:33:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/21 "2023-07-13T03:57:44Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That’s my vote. I googled ‘antique sterling silver wine aerator’, and lot of stuff popped up that looks like the right kind of thing. I tried this google, and I didn’t see anything like this item. Everything I saw looked like some kind of funnel, with a very clear place to pour in the wine. If you happen to do your search again, and see something like this, please click on it and let us know. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > we did a lot of window-shopping at Tiffany’s-- I being 3 & 4 at the time-- but I swear I saw one of those I checked the Tiffany website and I didn’t see anything like this, but I couldn’t even find a category for wedding gifts. I suspect that, whatever it is, demand for it has fallen to near zero, so they don’t carry them any more. Still, it’s encouraging. I don’t suppose any members of your family would remember those visits to the wealthy department chairs. > [@Spoons](#): > > you pour the wine into the round top, and it runs through the stem That’s a detachable handle, not a stem. Unless you mean the decorative stuff on the top. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/22 "2023-07-13T04:09:01Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I tried this google, and I didn’t see anything like this item. I did find this: [https://www.fine-wine-accessories.co.uk/productimages/sphera-wine-aerator-silver-plate-39-L1.jpg](https://www.fine-wine-accessories.co.uk/productimages/sphera-wine-aerator-silver-plate-39-L1.jpg) which is a “Sphera” (probably the model name) silver plated wine aerator. The similarity is that it has a round portion, a handle, and no obvious way for the wine to get in or out. With no sense of scale about it, I wonder if you pour the wine over the grooves in the globe, and that aerates the wine. Sounds messy. I also did a google search for “sterling silver silent butler” but they were all basically pans with lids and the handle on the side, not on the bottom. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/23 "2023-07-13T04:30:56Z")
In an earlier scene, while unwrapping the gifts, Tracy’s younger sister Caroline picks it up and asks her mother, “What’s this?” She replies, “I haven’t the faintest idea.” Caroline then informs her that it stinks., Both Mike and Liz are clearly puzzled by it. My bet is, that in terms of this question, it’s a MacGuffin. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/24 "2023-07-13T05:11:04Z")
It would stink like an ashtray if it were used to collect ashes and butts. What else might it have been used for in polite society? Incense? Mike, Liz, and Mom might not know what it’s for if they’re not into posh cigar smoking. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/25 "2023-07-13T05:13:22Z")
Thank you for sharing that tidbit from earlier in the movie. I had forgotten that. Technically, a Macguffin is something that is designed to drive a plot, but that has no intrinsic importance. This is more in the nature of a gag. I’m sure it was intended as a gag, but I am still curious if the object ever had a real purpose in anyone’s life. > [@terentii](#): > > It would stink like an ashtray if it were used to collect ashes and butts. It would be emptied and wiped out regularly during the evening, and then more thoroughly cleaned and polished by the staff as part of the cleanup from the party. The silver would prevent any odor from remaining once the ashes and butts were removed. If that’s what it was for. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/26 "2023-07-13T05:17:35Z")
Which leaves open the question: What else would stink? Moreover, what else would stink in a presumably new silver wedding present? Maybe someone had been using it before it was put out on the table? Maybe the secret lies closer to the beginning of the movie. I haven’t seen it in years, so I can’t say. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/27 "2023-07-13T16:19:03Z")
I think I misunderstood. If you’re referring to the young sister’s comment, “stinks” was her epithet for anything she didn’t like. I don’t think we were supposed to believe there was any actual odor. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/28 "2023-07-13T16:56:58Z")
Maybe. But I’d still like to watch the movie(s) from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/29 "2023-07-13T17:03:09Z")
I’m glad no one suggested marital aid, because that would be really inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/30 "2023-07-13T17:13:54Z")
It looks like a little jockey or man on top. Do y’all see that, or is it something else? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/31 "2023-07-13T17:18:38Z")
That’s the thing that throws me off. There is a little figurine on top which makes the device much less functional for the suggested uses. I think that it’s a prop of a fake device, especially since the use of it in the song is a call back to an earlier scene where someone has no idea what it is. Rich people get all sorts of useless geegaws as gifts. Regular folks just get practical things. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/32 "2023-07-13T17:19:07Z")
I was also thinking maybe it was some old drink shaker like a martini shaker, but the handle popping off easily would make that unlikely. The closest thing I’ve seen to the shape is an aspergillum (holy water shaker), but it looks too large for that, and the decorative chicken or whatever it is on the top does not shout “holy water”. It’s probably some obscure device ritually used in some kind of ceremony. If it were a standard thing, we would have found a similar example by now. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/33 "2023-07-13T17:24:43Z")
Judging by the way the characters look at the item, they don’t know what it is either. Perhaps it’s a MacGuffin of sorts, fabricated by the propt department specifically for the scene to illicit a perplexed stare. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/34 "2023-07-13T20:59:39Z")
Then keep your eye on TCM, that’s the only place you’re likely to see it for free. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/35 "2023-07-13T21:12:47Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It would stink like an ashtray if it were used to collect ashes and butts. What else might it have been used for in polite society? Crumbs? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/36 "2023-07-16T17:26:41Z")
My brother works in Hollywood, and I ran this by him. He had an interesting idea. Apparently people who work in film love practical jokes and in-jokes. And the same people worked on the same films together over and over in the studio system days, so the props master on star’s 1939 vehicle could very well be the props master on same star’s 1940 vehicle. Also, studios saved stuff fabricated for films. If the script called for “obscure item,” and the writers were thinking in terms of a hat pin polisher, the props master might grab a fabricated prop from a film he worked on with the same star, and that prop might be the “flux capacitor.” In other words, something invented for, and meaningful in that film, but that doesn’t actually exist. It’s an in-joke that becomes especially obscure if film B, where the flux capacitor is the “obscure item” is well-remembered and played a lot, while the film for which the flux capacitor was created is forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/37 "2023-07-16T18:05:35Z")
Does @C_K_Dexter_Haven still post here? He might know. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > If the script called for “obscure item,” and the writers were thinking in terms of a hat pin polisher, the props master might grab a fabricated prop from a film he worked on with the same star, and that prop might be the “flux capacitor.” In other words, something invented for, and meaningful in that film, but that doesn’t actually exist. While filming his first American movie, Alec Guinness was given a tomahawk by a local Native American. As a joke, he arranged to hide it in the bed of his co-star, Grace Kelly. The two of them never spoke about it, but continued to surreptitiously pass it back and forth until Kelly’s death. I don’t think that’s the object in _High Society_, though. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/38 "2023-07-16T18:15:30Z")
This question has been discussed to death in film geek forums for years now. They don’t have an answer. I think it’s clear from the fact that the song reference is a call back to earlier in the film where it’s an item that the character doesn’t know what it is that we aren’t meant to know what it is. It’s a made up geegaw that has no real purpose. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/39 "2023-07-16T18:36:02Z")
Hmmmm. I did some image searches, and it may be a silent butler, in which case, we are missing a joke, because we are so far removed from the situation. A silent butler was a sort of table-level dustpan for catching crumbs and ash, and anything that might be on a table that you really didn’t want to fall on the rug, because rugs were VERY hard to clean before vacuum cleaners were invented. I suppose some people might dump full ashtrays into them. And “It stinks!” was probably a bit of wordplay that only older people in the audience got. The movie was made just when you had the first generation of adults who had always known vacuum cleaners. It’s a little like a 18-year-old now asking what a thesaurus is for, and all the people over 48 in the room chuckling. But even moreso, in a movie, a joke about the 88-year-old who doesn’t own a computer, and has given it as a graduation gift. It also kind of stank as a gift (in the same way a thesaurus would) in being utilitarian. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965/40 "2023-07-16T18:51:11Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > And “It stinks!” was probably a bit of wordplay that only older people in the audience got. Saying ‘it stinks’ was pretty common even when I was growing up in the 80s/90s. It was even Jay Sherman’s catchphrase. [![](https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/cfc/eb8/803df44f5af5251c2a5291e53596004a6c-the-critic-lede.rsquare.w700.jpg) ](https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/cfc/eb8/803df44f5af5251c2a5291e53596004a6c-the-critic-lede.rsquare.w700.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-wherein-we-consider-an-object-from-an-oldish-movie/986965.md?page=3)