What Is It? - #50

S

SifuPhil

R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
It's the Silver Anniversary of What Is It - huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

(I would have said "Hip, hip, hooray!" but it's been recently revealed that this phrase was derived from a Nazi rallying cry, so I'll stick with the classic Huzzahs. :rolleyes: )

Anyway ... this special occasion calls for a special What Is It, and I've spent 126 hours without sleep searching the Internetz for that special something.

I hope I found it. I like to think that I have.

This item hails from approximately the 1500's. Its actual usage is now debated but historically it was claimed to be a viable tool.

mystery antique 53.jpg

It (they?) is/are made of wood and rope, and were always used in pairs.

WHAT IS IT?
 

. tool? ..a shield of some sort .. (for two body parts) :D

Then again, to me it looks more like something sporty, used for a game .. something two people would use to bat an object back and forth with.
 
Boo's Mom said:
. tool? ..a shield of some sort .. (for two body parts) :D

Then again, to me it looks more like something sporty, used for a game .. something two people would use to bat an object back and forth with.
Click to expand...

Hmmm ... Amazonian women come to mind ... thank you for the mental massage but no, not shields.

A game?

velcro_paddle_ball_set_1.jpg

Good idea, but nope, not for a game.

rkunsaw said:
Used in pairs? Speakers for the first stereo recordings of 1500s rock&roll.
Click to expand...

LOL - Johnny Branch and the Peckerwoods! Nice try, but no.

Pappy said:
Looks like a clutch plate out of a 37 Buick that I owned as a teenager. Did they have a 1537 Buick back then?
Click to expand...

If they did then Dr. Who must have brought it back with him. And you almost made me spit my coffee! No, not a Buick clutch plate ...

TICA said:
Could be an old rat trap of some kind, but I don't understand why they would have always been used together?
Click to expand...

To catch Siamese rats, of course! No, sorry - not a rat trap.

Diwundrin said:
Were they used in architecture, for aligning something? Or by stone masons as curve guides? ... or...

Which means I haven't a clue.
Click to expand...

LOL - nope, not used in architecture. Sorry.
 
I was going to guess snowshoe as well, but maybe they are actually for walking on ice instead ??
You would be able to test the ice to see if it would hold your weight before walking fully on the ice.
 
Snowshoes makes sense, except it would have to be hard snow, I'd think, and then you wouldn't really need them. Also, how would they stay up??

Do they float??? Even so, I can't see where you'd use them..... :confused:
 
Pie plate, frisbee, 16th century bowling balls, little wagon wheels, barrel covers, round skies, large cup coffee covers, furniture skids, big toy train wheels, ear rings, nose rings, ring rings, 2 parts of a 3 ring circus, juggling rings, wind chimes, Ah hell, I definitely have too much time on my hands.
 
SeaBreeze said:
A measurement device for women's bras or dresses?
Click to expand...

No, but that's an intriguing thought ...

Happyflowerlady said:
I was going to guess snowshoe as well, but maybe they are actually for walking on ice instead ??
You would be able to test the ice to see if it would hold your weight before walking fully on the ice.
Click to expand...

Getting waaarrrmmerrrr ...

Anne said:
Snowshoes makes sense, except it would have to be hard snow, I'd think, and then you wouldn't really need them. Also, how would they stay up??

Do they float??? Even so, I can't see where you'd use them..... :confused:
Click to expand...

Oh, you're on fire!!!

SeaBreeze said:
Something used to bind the feet of Asian women, to make their feet smaller?
Click to expand...

No, but in one sense you're extremely close ...

Jillaroo said:
Are they the wheels for a vehicle like a sled?
Click to expand...

No, not wheels.

Jackie22 said:
snow shoes for a child?...........hells bells how about some hints?
Click to expand...

Not snow shoes.

Pappy said:
Pie plate, frisbee, 16th century bowling balls, little wagon wheels, barrel covers, round skies, large cup coffee covers, furniture skids, big toy train wheels, ear rings, nose rings, ring rings, 2 parts of a 3 ring circus, juggling rings, wind chimes, Ah hell, I definitely have too much time on my hands.
Click to expand...

... no. :D

[HINT] Asian, Ancient, Stealth [/HINT]
 
Happyflowerlady said:
Well, we have eliminated about everything except walking on water, so with the hints, I am going to go for sneaking across a rice paddy ....
Click to expand...

DING! DING! DING!

We have a winna !!!

Happyflowerlady has correctly identified these items as "water walkers", or Mizugumo. They were used by the mysterious ninja to walk on water.

ninja_mizugumo1.jpg

The television show MythBusters had an episode where they tried these and deemed them to be failures, but of course Jamie and Adam aren't ninja. There are several ninja museums in Japan at which trained practitioners demonstrate the use of these "water spiders", as "Mizugumo" translates into.

Congratulations to Happyflowerlady and as always thank you all for playing!
 
No kidding. Congrats, Happyflowerlady; you're a genius!!!!! :applause2:

Seem to me you'd still slide and fall on your a**.

Wait, is that how Jesus walked on water?? :p
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top