# What's this guy selling?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 4, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292 "2014-12-04T04:22:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**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:** [December 4, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292/1 "2014-12-04T04:22:55Z")

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An entry at [Ephemeral New York](https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/christmas-shopping-in-new-york-100-years-ago/) has [this pic](https://ephemeralnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/bainchristmaspeddler1910.jpg?w=450&h=319) of a streetside vendor hawking some sort of gizmo. The onlookers seem interested. What is it?

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292/2 "2014-12-04T04:27:46Z")

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At first glance, I thought he was playing the Three-Card Monte game, but the vertical pole might be part of his display/act, which would make that wrong.

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292/3 "2014-12-04T04:32:30Z")

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I’m not sure that that pole thing has anything to do with whatever the man is doing. It almost looks like it’s behind that kid in the center of the picture.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292/4 "2014-12-04T04:40:07Z")

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It’s apparently a “[whirligig](http://www.granger.com/results.asp?image=0007373&inline=true&itemx=19&wwwflag=4&screenwidth=1801)”

And [here](https://chamblee54.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/3b13379x.jpg) is a better copy.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-guy-selling/706292/5 "2014-12-04T05:39:21Z")

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Huh.  
I went back to take a closer look at the link I posted, and now it’s obvious what it is.  
It’s very much like a windmill on the top of the stick he’s holding. There are dark vanes arraigned in a cross attached to a lighter body with fringe at the base, on the end of the stick.