# White Elephant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400 "2006-09-27T19:23:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/241 "2006-10-28T17:42:47Z")
Somehow, I knew that would be the answer… Well, there’s nothing like a challenge. 😃 GT ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/242 "2006-10-28T21:08:17Z")
[QUOTE=gardentraveler] Somehow, I knew that would be the answer… Well, there’s nothing like a challenge. 😃 GT [/QUOTE] Post a picture of it! Let us all compete to come up with answers sensible and not. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/243 "2006-10-28T22:56:35Z")
Okey dokey…they’re not great, but I think you can tell what it looks like. [Let the guessing begin!](http://www.bubbleshare.com/myalbum/80686.e6460e4ddc9) GT ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/244 "2006-10-28T23:04:13Z")
Well, it looks homemade. It reminds me of the hatch covers on lockers in boats, the hole being where one reaches to remove the cover, but this is way too small for that. My first thought was candle base. Or maybe a little trivet. Or a part of something else that cannot be determined from this piece. You could use it as a coaster, as long as the glass you place on it isn’t drippy or sweaty. Other than that, I got nothin’… For those keeping track, the kiln is down under 450 degrees F - I may be able to unload it tonight. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/245 "2006-10-28T23:33:43Z")
Dear Elephantee, Your box is currently making its way across the country to New England. I sent it this morning via Pachyderm Xpress. Yours, mle ps. I moved in May so I didn’t have a whole lot of stuff to gift you with. Sorry it isn’t an enormous box. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/246 "2006-10-28T23:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=gardentraveler] Okey dokey…they’re not great, but I think you can tell what it looks like. [Let the guessing begin!](http://www.bubbleshare.com/myalbum/80686.e6460e4ddc9) GT [/QUOTE] Could it be a float of some sort? I’ve seen the same thing about the same size, in styrofoam, on the pier where the crabbers go. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/247 "2006-10-29T01:20:03Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] Could it be a float of some sort? I’ve seen the same thing about the same size, in styrofoam, on the pier where the crabbers go. [/QUOTE] It’s wood, and the bottom isn’t painted at all, so I don’t think it’s meant to be in water. Seems likely that it’s a part of something else. Kinda has a Tinker Toy feeling to it. Worst part is that it looks awfully familiar; I feel like I ought to know what it’s a part of. GT ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/248 "2006-10-29T02:18:27Z")
[QUOTE=gardentraveler] It’s wood, and the bottom isn’t painted at all, so I don’t think it’s meant to be in water. Seems likely that it’s a part of something else. Kinda has a Tinker Toy feeling to it. Worst part is that it looks awfully familiar; I feel like I ought to know what it’s a part of. GT [/QUOTE] Could it be part of a lamp base? ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/249 "2006-10-29T19:02:27Z")
I received my elephant yesterday evening–thanks so much **rocking chair**!!! There was a TON of stuff, so here are the highlights: An inflatable toucan A gorgeous set of ceramic spice holders, made to look like little houses (already decorating the top of my stove) Rubber monster stamps A beautiful crocheted doily (LOVE IT) A kitty cat paperweight A homemade coin purse (total guess, I really have no clue what that strange little thing is) Pretty candle holder with a bird on top, as well as a Christmas themed and pillar candle holders Betta bowl treatment (my daughter has wanted a betta for forever, maybe it is time to get her one) A stuffed puppy with a really big head A ton of note pads (I am a list maker, so these are much appreciated) A sheep with a hole in it (holy sheep!) Catnip seeds Various boxes and baskets Markers and pencils Football THANK YOU again, **rocking chair**! You always send such great things when we do these exchanges–we loved it! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/250 "2006-10-29T23:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=mlerose] A large, very heavy box awaited me when I got home from work today. Hulk said, “The postman was just happy I was home so he wouldn’t have to shlep it back to the truck.” It was quite sufficiently taped with both duct tape and some sort of red tape and I had to use some heavy-duty kitchen shears to get it open. Inside? \*A random assortment of magazines (Budget Living, Men’s Health, Popular Science, Martha Stuart Living, etc) \*A small skirt. Is this for a very small child or a baby or a doll? I’m not quite sure. It’s pink and purple plaid and resembles a kilt. It may be made into a purse at some future time. I don’t think it will fit either of my cats. \*A beige cashmere cardigan, size L \*A Monet calendar for keeping track of birthdays \*Several fabric patterns, including one to make a bunny and one to make portable cloth game boards (checkers, tic tac toe, etc.) \*A cross stitch pattern that says “Thou shalt not whine” \*Two purses (small and black, small and stripey), a small brown leather purse/backpack, and what looks like a knitting bag or a large purse covered in a large colorful cross stitch or rug latch or something \*One (1) movie (DVD) starring Hugh Grant (“The Lady and the Highwayman”). Inside, the sender has included a note about Hugh Grant’s youth and lack of descended testicles. \*An embroidery hoop and several embroidery patterns and some embroidery floss \*A bunch of lace - curtains? not sure. \*A wee tiny guillotine. Oh, all right, a wee tiny paper cutter, teal and purple \*“Wicked German for the traveler” phrasebook \*Several samples of hand lotion billing itself as “Gloves in a Bottle” \*One knitting needle, red, bendy, size 7 \*Something billing itself as a “diving submarine,” a small toy utilizing baking powder. \*And about a jillion postcard/advertisement type things that came from Germany. My favorite ones have a rather flattering mug shot/portrait of a rooster. The return address? Michigan. The sender? **Shirley Ujest**! Thanks, Shirley! [/QUOTE] Yes, they are lace curtains. I beleive either from my husbands grandmother in Germany or Circa 1950 Michigan, from my Grandmother. I’ve only had them for 13 years. I’m glad it arrived in a timely fashion. Therapy has never been so cheap as to mail that off! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/251 "2006-10-30T01:44:27Z")
i’m glad things got there in one piece. the sheep is a napkin holder, i think. could the hand made thing be a tissue thing? i think i threw one of those in there. or it could be a coin thing. there were some mystery attachments to a backpack i have. couldn’t figure them all out. enjoy!! ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/252 "2006-10-30T03:02:27Z")
no pachyderms arrived here yet; the outbound 'phant should be daparting this weekend ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/253 "2006-10-30T03:41:56Z")
[QUOTE=rocking chair] the sheep is a napkin holder, i think. could the hand made thing be a tissue thing? [/QUOTE] :smack: :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/254 "2006-10-30T08:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=gardentraveler] It’s wood, and the bottom isn’t painted at all, so I don’t think it’s meant to be in water. Seems likely that it’s a part of something else. Kinda has a Tinker Toy feeling to it. Worst part is that it looks awfully familiar; I feel like I ought to know what it’s a part of. GT [/QUOTE] I thought of a floater too, here in the mediterranean you see them in wood and unpainted all over the place. We’re old fashioned, see… ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/255 "2006-10-30T21:08:18Z")
Elephant on its way as of this afternoon! 😃 **melondeca** , two notes: 1. Open carefully, as there are a couple of smaller items hiding in the packing paper. 2. If you want to post a list of what’s in there once you receive it, I’ll be happy to supply you with additional details on what some of them are (some are obvious). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/256 "2006-10-30T21:15:18Z")
I’m glad to see no one can figure out what that thing is, either. 😃 My effalunt hasn’t arrived yet. Seems like he’s making a looooooooong journey! ::awaiting anxiously:: ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/257 "2006-10-30T21:20:10Z")
Received White Elephant, thanks, jayjay. Inventory: Small musical wizard figurine. Small straw basket Small decorative doll sized straw hat. Skein of beautiful soft purple yarn with large needles. (I’ll have to remember how to knit, it’s in the mind, somewhere in the dark recesses) Mini stapler, woo hoo, hopefully I’ll be able to hide THIS one from the kids. Mardi Gras beads 2 condensed Readers Digest books. Notepad for lists (Habitual listmaker, thanks.) Flyer from the Lancaster Public Library. 3 small crocheted yarn doilies. 8 petrified dough pieces, (gingerbread man, croissants, pretzel, bagel, etc.) Small stuffed snowman. ( Thanks for the reminder, bah.) Refrigerator magnets. “Purr if you like cats” hanging plaque. Cat toy 4 movies, “Monster in Law,” “Bewitched,” and two Kirk Douglas films, “My Dear Secretary,” and “The Big Trees.” And lastly, my two favorite things, a light up pen, and a “Guide to Perennials” book with great photography. That pen is way cool, and I need a good perennial book. THanks a lot, jayjay! /hijack/ A good friend of mine shares the same name as you. What are the odds? /hijack/ ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/258 "2006-10-31T00:28:31Z")
Woo hoo! I came home tonight to find a Pachyderm Perched on my Porch! (How’s that for alliteration?) And it was crammed with neat stuff. To wit: Most mysterious item: A piece of wood approximately 1.5" by 10.5" by 1/4" thick. Painted black. Shallow groove about the size of a pencil diameter routed most of the length. One end has a smiling sun painted on it in gold. The other end bends up slightly at the end, and has two small holes drilled through it. Anybody want to guess what it is? (I suspect I know what it is, but I’m holding off to let those who enjoy ‘Guess the Whatzit’ to have a chance.) Absolutely Hit the Spot Item: A handheld blacklight/flashlight combo! Just last week I broke a combination reading light/flashlight gizmo I kept beneath my desk for times I had to do battle with wires to and from my computer, and here I have a replacement! I’m not sure of the black light part. Maybe I’ll dig out one of my posters from college it stick it up in the footwell of my desk… Item most likely to be turned into a stocking stuffer: A stick-on heart-shaped face ornament, little crystals outlining a clear center. Looks like a prize from a gumball machine. (My niece is going to love it.) Item I’m most likely to wear soon: Earrings, tiny red hearts. (I love 'em!) Item I will wear later: Choker make of a zillion strands of tiny, sparkly beads. Perfect for when I’m wearing my little black dress, which is also sparkly. Item that will be used first: (Already sampled in fact.) two packets of “Foot Spa.” Not just foot lotion, but “Sea Botanical” foot lotion, an “Anti-stress foot essential.” Revitalizes and soothes, it says. Relieves perspiration and improves circulation. Reduces swelling (good) and odor (Hummph!). Don’t know about the circulation part, but my feet smell good enough to eat. 😃 Item most appropos for the moment: A lovely blank notebook. The covers are maps of the subway systems in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with a matching pen. No, I’m not planning a trip to NYC, but I AM going to be doing NaNoWriMo in November, and I’ve been looking around for a notebook to use for on-the-run writing. Bingo! Item most likely to be donated to charity: 4 skeins of really nice yarn, 100% virgin wool worsted, two shades of green plus natural and a dark gray. Well, I know how to knit in theory, but I’ve never yet produced anything a human being actually could or would wear. But I’m associated with an organization that knits caps, mittens and scarves that are given to children in homeless shelters in chilly Boston so I will pass it along to one of my more talented co-members. Much better that the yarn helps keep some kids warm than it be mangled into a monstrosity by me. 🙂 Item than made me go “hmmmm”: A book, “Life After God” by Douglas Coupland. At first I feared for my soul, but it appears to be humorous essays, so that’s good. 😃 Item that appeals to the kid in me: An orange and green yoyo! With a smiling cat face on one side, and leopard spots (actually look more like tadpoles having convulsions) on the other. I never managed to master the yoyo as a child, so I guess this is my second chance. The most “this is so not me” item(s)" Seven assorted ring shaped things. Four look to be macrame, two sewn from cloth, one pieced from felt. Diameters from roughly 2" to 4". All but one elasticized. Hmmm. Hair scrunchies? (But who has hair that thick?) Armlets/bracelets, maybe? I put the shiny green cloth one onto my black cat as a necklace: it fit great and looked wonderful, though he didn’t seem to appreciate it. The most “I wish this _was_ me” item: A padded, zippered case, with a lot of tiny compartments and velcro attached strips and a draw string pouch inside. A travel jewelry organizer, I’m guessing. Just the thing to keep my rubies and sapphires and diamonds properly sorted out the next time I bop over to Monte Carlo… 😃 All in all a very satisfactory haul. But…no note from my giver! C’mon, fess up so I can thank you. BTW, I’m starting to get worried about the elephant I mailed. It went out to Texas on Oct. 19 – surely it should have arrived by now?? At least I remembered to pay for one of those tracking numbers. Now if I can just find the receipt I can find out where the heck it has wandered off to. I _think_ I stuck receipt into my junk drawer at work… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/259 "2006-10-31T00:51:29Z")
> [@dahfisheroo](#): > > Small straw basket > > Small decorative doll sized straw hat. > > Mini stapler, woo hoo, hopefully I’ll be able to hide THIS one from the kids. > > 2 condensed Readers Digest books. > > Notepad for lists (Habitual listmaker, thanks.) > > 3 small crocheted yarn doilies. > > 8 petrified dough pieces, (gingerbread man, croissants, pretzel, bagel, etc.) All of those were little things **supervenusfreak** ’s mother won playing bingo at her graycare center. > [@](#): > > Small musical wizard figurine. From when I was going through my “buy little useless things off of eBay” period. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Skein of beautiful soft purple yarn with large needles. (I’ll have to remember how to knit, it’s in the mind, somewhere in the dark recesses) It’s my Traditional White Elephant Knitting Missionary contribution. Everyone who’s ever gotten a WE from me has gotten yarn and needles. > [@](#): > > Mardi Gras beads We bought a big bag of beads when we were going to New Orleans for Southern Decadence the year Katrina hit. Obviously, we ended up having no real use for them. I gave you a string of each color. > [@](#): > > Flyer from the Lancaster Public Library. It was on the bookcase when I was filling the box. Local interest, ya know… > [@](#): > > Refrigerator magnets Those are gen-u-wine vintage early 1980s-era refrigerator magnets, that actually hung on my mother’s refrigerator for YEARS! > [@](#): > > Small stuffed snowman. ( Thanks for the reminder, bah.) That was a little gift from one of my co-workers. And I hardly think a Minnesotan would need a _reminder_, considering that I’ve heard there’s been snow already… > [@](#): > > 4 movies, “Monster in Law,” “Bewitched,” and two Kirk Douglas films, “My Dear Secretary,” and “The Big Trees.” The best part of Monster-in-Law is the last 10 minutes, with Elaine Stritch. There is no best part of Bewitched. Those are like the Wishing Imp…the only way to get rid of them is to give them to an unsuspecting victim… The light-up pen was a giveaway from a bear run we went to last year. It’s cool, but I don’t get much use out of it, so use it in good health! The book is really neat, but we have about six square feet of space to work with as a garden. I don’t get much use out of the book, therefore, either. I’m glad you liked it! ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400/260 "2006-10-31T04:07:39Z")
[QUOTE=Anastasaeon] My elephant was shipped on Sunday… er… okay Monday, but it was dropped off on Sunday. I won’t say who it was sent to, but I did forget to put my username on it somewhere: there is an inventory paper on top of it that says “INVENTORY” and under that “Enjoy! - Stasia” - that would be me. Then a messy, monkey-scrawling of the inventory upon unfolding it. [/QUOTE] Got it! I’ve recently started a stash of toys for my future grandchildren to play with when they come to visit me. I added the \*skating Cabbage Patch doll \* and the _Nala_ and _Simba_ toys to my stash. Also the _frog bean bag_, which is a good size to go with a beanbag target game we have. I would have added the _stuffed pink cat_ to my future-grandchild stash, but the dog appropriated it. Max spent several happy hours alternately humping and shaking it and it is now residing in his toy box. He also has his eye on the _can of vienna sausages_. I’ll give him one or two a day until they run out – he’ll be very grateful to his Auntie Stacia. Kevin wouldn’t let me add the potato gun to the future-grandchild stash for fear one of them would put out an eye. So I slipped it into my son’s dresser drawer. He’ll be pleased to find it when he comes home on leave. A potato gun being exactly the sort of thing that sailors and Marines will enjoy playing with. As a matter of fact, I’ll put the _whip_ up there, too. He and his buddies do enjoy things that they can injure each other with. Hopefully none of them will put out an eye. The _glue stick_, _soap_, _paper plates_, _ice cream scoop_, _cosmetics bag_, _bottle opener_, _buttons_, _pompoms_ and _perfume sample_ all fall into the ‘always handy’ catagory and were dispatched to the appropriate loacations around my house. The _pez dispensers_ were placed on my library shelves – Charlie Brown is on the shelf with the cartoon collections, Eeyore is over with the children’s books. I put the _monkey pencil topper_ on a pencil and put it in the pencil cup on my desk – very cute and amusing. I put the _devil duckie pencil topper_ on another pencil and put it upstairs on my husband’s desk. So he wouldn’t feel left out. My mother snapped up the _kitty-ball pendant_, which she is going to hang on the rear view mirror of her car. My dad took the _personal organizer_ – he likes electronic gadgets like that. I think my daughter did the best though. She loves _Calvin Klein Eternity perfume_. She almost bought this variety (purple orchid) before she left for school, but went with a different one instead. She will be thrilled to have this almost full bottle! She also loves that _Chrome nail polish_ and didn’t have it in the pink. And, she is a Christian who will love a nice _WWJD pen_. That leaves just a few things (a _bottle cap_, _keychain_, _ring_, _brooch_, and _confetti_) to be placed lovingly in my newly clean junk drawer to await a rainy day (or next year’s White Elephant exchange). Thanks, **Anastasaeon**! This was fun for the whole family! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-elephant/374400.md?page=14)