What’s That Sunday
contests February 15th, 2009OK, boys and girls. Put your thinking caps on. Today we have a What’s That? item for you to mull over.
How to play:
1. The photo shows a small portion of a larger object.
2. First person to guess the object it’s a part of wins either 500 Entrecard credits or a Junk Drawer magnet, your choice.
Go!
What the heck is that?
UPDATE: CONTEST CLOSED
OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Who has pencil sharpeners like this anymore? You guys really surprised me. I don’t even use regular pencils. They make ones you can click like a pen, you know. And the last sharpener I used was electric. So how old are you people?
For the record, this sharpener came from my childhood home. It was mounted on a half wall in the kitchen. The day my parents moved out of their house, I unscrewed that baby, still full of shavings, and stuck it in a bag, where it remained until today when I got the idea for a post.
Congratulations, Anne! I’ll contact you shortly about your prize.
If I can find another object today, I’ll put up another one. A harder one. Geesh.
Stumble it!
February 15th, 2009 at 8:41 am
The inside of a pencil sharpener!
February 15th, 2009 at 8:51 am
a pencil sharpener!
but anne was the first one to post her answer…
February 15th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Dang it! It’s the inside of the pencil sharpener, and I really want the magnet, but I wasn’t first!
So I’m coming up with something random here for entertainment: it’s the stomach of a robot.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Yeah, that was your easiest one yet, Kathy…
February 15th, 2009 at 9:48 am
The inner workings Of a Pencil Sharpener. Hope you had a happy Valentine’s day.
Beamer
February 15th, 2009 at 9:49 am
I know, I know! Inside of a pencil sharpener. And, yes. I came up with that all by myself. Of course I did. I didn’t even look at the previous comments. Not once.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Gosh I’ll have to say something different although you all seem so darn sure… A food mixer…
…thingie.
February 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Dang. And I knew it right away. My Dad still uses his! It’s mounted on a 2×4 in the Utility Room.
WillThink4Wine’s last blog post..Goosies! Time to come home!
February 15th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Oh poo! This isn’t Wednesday ;O) Yep I think it’s the inside of a pencil sharpener too. I have one but it doesn’t sharpen much any more ha ha!
P.S. I think you should show less in future. They’re all too clever!
Babs – beetle’s last blog post..Shower anybody?
February 15th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Oh! I’ve seen one of these before….
Um….. is it…. the inside of a pencil sharpener! I know this because they always fall apart at school. =/
Anyway, one of your contests should be who is the most creative with what it is!! Because if we have to keep guessing what it is, I’ll never win. I’m just not good at that type of thing….
Regan’s last blog post..Girl Scout Cookies
February 15th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Yep. That was an easy one.
Now, I doubt my kids would know what it is as the schools have gotten rid of those, err, old school things…
The Hawg!’s last blog post..Fun with license plates
February 15th, 2009 at 10:33 am
dang-it schmang-it I too recognized it as a pencil sharpener and I NEVER guess these right!
chat blanc’s last blog post..Train wreck
February 15th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Wonder how young one would be NOT to recognize this? Do they still have them in schools? hmmmm, I feel a post coming on!
10-Q
GoingLikeSixty’s last blog post..Leave It To Cleavage Meets MaHellYeah Jackson
February 15th, 2009 at 10:55 am
It looks more like some kind of medieval torture device! You guys must have pretty hard pencils!
February 15th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Aww, I’m sorry I didn’t see this before it closed. Would you believe that pencil sharpeners like that you can buy now DON’T WORK? I bought one at Staples several months ago, and it will only sharpen one side of the pencil. It’s a nightmare. I want an old one…can I have that one, Kathy?
Cindy’s last blog post..Education Review: Heads Up!
February 15th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I knew what I was looking at was very familiar. But I just couldn’t go all the way back to my blue pencil sharpener !
Congratulations Anne !
February 15th, 2009 at 11:33 am
[...] Of course you recognize this from The Junk Drawer. [...]
February 15th, 2009 at 11:33 am
All right, all right, it’s a pencil sharpener (I updated the post). Honestly, I’m stunned that everyone knew this. Kudos!
Anne and Denise — Congrats! Anne, check your email.
SewDucky — Stomach of a robot! Very creative!
Grant — Crap. I thought it was hard!
Beamer — Yes, I did. Hope you did too!
JD at I Do Things — Why don’t I believe you?
Ken Armstrong — Oh, I don’t have a food mixer. Which is why I have a blister on my right pinky finger from mixing cake batter and homemade icing yesterday. I used a metal spoon because that’s all I had. I went all postal on the icing and then I got a boo-boo.
WillThink4Wine — Awesome! I really never thought anyone would know what this was. I don’t see them in people’s houses. I guess they’re more prevalent than I thought. Who knew?
Babs beetle — Do you mean show less of the object, or have less objects to guess?
Regan — Why do you have these in school? You’re in a new school! I seriously do not get this. They’re electric now. Weird.
The Hawg! — Yeah, I thought so too, until Regan said she saw one. She’s in grade school now, so go figure.
chat blanc — Sorry! If I can get another one up today, I will.
GoingLIkeSixty — Well, I thought they were objects of a bygone era, but apparently not. My young niece knew what it was and has one in her school. Hmmm.
Tiggy — It does, doesn’t it? Like it could grind up diamonds.
Cindy — Oh, sorry. Nope, can’t give it up. It has sentimental value to me, struggling to do my math homework in the kitchen. Yep, they don’t make anything like they used to.
Jaffer — See, now. I would have never guessed it. I never really looked that hard at the inside whenever I emptied it, and that was 25 years ago.
February 15th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Yep, I knew it too, before looking at the comments.
Angi’s last blog post..I’m Not a Fan of Valentine’s Day, But…
February 15th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
We have one just like that mounted on our kitchen counter. 30 years ago we tried updating to one that clamped on, but it kept falling off. Besides, it didn’t work as well.
I’d wager they still have them in schools because they don’t require batteries like an electric one. Plus, you get a little exercise cranking it, and any exercise is good exercise, right? ;P
Ladybugg’s last blog post..Ok, so I’m a grammar nerd . . .
February 15th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Finally, one I knew . . . figures everyone else would know it too. Oh shucks.
Karen, author of “My Funny Dad, Harry”’s last blog post..The Day Dad Died, God Gave Me Special Cat Time
February 15th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Oh, my. Childhood memory attack. I got my thumb caught in one of those when I was a kid. It hurt!
Musing’s last blog post..I object to raisins in cookies
February 15th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I have very fond memories of watching the inner workings of the pencil sharpener in my elementary school days. Sharpening my pencil always gave me time away from the work!
LOL
I knew it too!
Monica’s last blog post..My Valentine
February 15th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
hi Kathy,
ARGHHH…
Sorry I missed this one. I just bought one of these “old fashioned” ones at Staples last year. I got tired of the $1.99 little cheapo plastic ones that don’t work! Funny thing is that my 4 year old son really likes it and sharpened a dozen pencils (to the nub on each) when we weren’t looking and PACKED it full of shavings. It literally exploded when I took it apart to empty it. ~ Steve, the lots-of-very-short-but-sharp-pencils trade show guru
Steve | Trade Show Guru’s last blog post..Watch This Video Or Else…
February 15th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
For once I knew what it was right off, and I’m WAAAY too late! Dang!
Mama O’s last blog post..Me & "Blue’s"
February 15th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I think maybe they still use them in schools because the kid has to stick a finger in and then grind the handle around until he hits bone, giving the teachers time to intercept his dumb little ass. Where with the electric ones, you stick a pinkie in there and it’s CSI time!
Karen’s last blog post..Frustrated
February 15th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
This is the first time I actually knew what it was!
Durn.
February 15th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Finally, one I knew.
Joe’s last blog post..Crotchety’s Bucket List
February 15th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
that’s the only sharpener i have in my house! yay for nostalgia!!
February 15th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Awww…. I was all excited that I knew what it was! In elementary school, I was tasked with emptying the pencil shavings. I was always fascinated by the design. It’s pretty – and rugged – and dependable.
Heidi’s last blog post..Love on Valentine’s Day
February 15th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Wouldn’t you know it? I had this one in the bag too! Apparently we are all old enough to have used these in elementary school.
Sorry I couldn’t get in yesterday Kathy. I was shut down due to storms until late night.
So here’s a belated Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
Oh my what an anti climax….I was finally going to get one!!
Shinade’s last blog post..Sea of Love
February 15th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
It’s the guts of a pencil sharpener!!
Damn!!! Late to the party again.
Lee’s last blog post..Sunday Scenery
February 15th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Oh no! Show less of the object. I love guessing games
I so agree with Cindy. We bought one last year and it also only sharpens one side of the pencil! So annoying!
Babs – beetle’s last blog post..Shower anybody?
February 15th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
That one was waaaaaaaaay too easy.
Now that you have the sharpener in your house, you can list it on eBay and make some cash for it.
They’re selling for up to $30.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
the school where i used to teach still had those in the faculty workroom. this is a school where dot matrix printer is still the way to go! of course, we have macs now but the dot matrix is still there!!!
Alem’s last blog post..Shandii Diyosa: our Assistant Director
February 15th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Oh for cryin’ out loud…I wasn’t even home to participate in this. NOT FAIR! WAAAAHHH!
Lauren’s last blog post..Caption This Contest Winners…FINALLY
February 15th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Sure, the first one I could actually get and I’m like 14 hours too late. Story of my life.
Jeff’s last blog post..My non-Valentines Day post
February 15th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Under creative answers, how about a Torture device used by Nuns at area catholic Schools during the middle 20th century? Whenever a child was caught picking their nose and eating it, (“Did you bring enough to share with the entire class?!) their offending finger was inserted into the “DESNOTILATOR OF DOOM!”
Sister Mary Torquemada would be proud!
Chris Casey’s last blog post..The cost of Valentine’s Day 2009
February 15th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Dude, you’d have to be a 20-something to not know what that is!
Father Muskrat’s last blog post..a reacquaintance with southern culture
February 15th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Hey, I like this pick your recent post feature! Cool!
Chris Casey’s last blog post..Saturday Is Valentine’s Day, So…….
February 16th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Angi — Seriously. I really didn’t think this was so easy. I think I have to get my husband involved in the vetting process. I can’t count on me to properly assess these.
Ladybugg — I bet it looks as old and beat up as mine. You’re probably right about the batteries. One less thing.
Karen — Sorry! If I knew it was going to be that easy, I wouldn’t have posted it. I’ll try for another one this week. A HARDER ONE.
Musing — Owweeeee! Why do kids always want to stick their fingers in things? Fingers are for eating, not twisting and bleeding.
Monica — Isn’t it funny what little things jar our memories. Be sure to go read the link on comment #17!
Lots-of-short-but-sharp-pencils Trade Show Guru Steve — That’s hilarious! Sharpening pencils is so much fun! Does your son also have the box of Crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back? Do they still build that into it?
Mama O — Sorry, and I know it doesn’t help that if you subscribe to my feed via email, the emails don’t get sent very quickly. I hate FeedBurner!
Karen — Funny! (Well, sad, but funny!) Fingers must not be nubs. Pencils are nubs!
PaulsHealthBlog.com — Don’t worry. There’ll be more.
Joe — And isn’t that reward enough?
Carol J — I really never thought people had these kinds of sharpeners hanging around. I don’t think we have one regular pencil in the house! We use the clicky kind. Who knew?
Heidi — So funny these memories we’re having of little ‘ol pencil sharpeners. For the record, I was always tasked with clapping erasers. Talk about looking a mess afterward.
Shinade — Yes, apparently the average age of my readers must be the over 40 set. Glad you’re back online. I had a nice VD. Hope you did too!
Lee — Sorry! If it wasn’t cheating, I’d email you as soon as I had one of these up. Gotta be random!
Babs beetle — OK, then we can blame you when people are angry they can’t tell what it is because it’s not enough. Tee hee! They really don’t make stuff to last anymore. I’m certain my sharpener is at least 50 years old.
MaryLou — I really didn’t think it was. Maybe if I took a smaller picture of it? Really? They sell for that much? Hmmm, interesting. Although this one has sentimental value for me. All those years of sharpening between math problems I couldn’t figure out.
Alem — I think I still have a giant dot matrix printer in my basement. Ah, I can remember the sound of it pounding away on the paper.
Lauren — Sorry! Better luck next time!
Jeff — If you pay me $20, I’ll email you the next time so you can get in. Hmmm, now there’s a new way to make money blogging.
Chris Casey — Ugh. Why’d ya have to make me think of that? I could never understand why anyone would even dream of eating stuff they pulled out their noses. I can still remember one kid in grade school who did it constantly. I would like to look him up now and ask one question: “Why?”
Father Muskrat — I know, I know! I just never thought people would recognize the inside. Live and learn.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:51 am
I knew this right away!
February 16th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Hey Kathy? I NEVER know what your what’s that things are … but this one I guessed in 0.2 seconds. Don’t ask me why because I never in my memory dismantled one of those old grindy things. I loved how the shavings smelled, though … but then, as a kid I liked the smell of car exhaust and freshly-lit cigarettes too.
Jenny’s last blog post..My Valentine … 2009
February 16th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I know the contest is closed, but I recognized that right away. It brought me right back to my grammar school days! It was a cool idea.
My Autism Insights’s last blog post..Manic Monday: Candy
February 16th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Girl, I knew it was the inside of a pencil sharpener the minute I saw it. The only one I knew and it was one the EVERYONE knew. LOL Your response gave me a good laugh, though.
Preston’s last blog post..Measure For Measure Backstage Pictures
February 16th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I LOVE those pencil sharpeners. I hope I get to find one whenever it is that I have my own home. It’ll sit on the desk in my art room!
fragileheart’s last blog post..Monday Madness: Family day meme
February 17th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Nice…anyone that has young children should have gotten this one!
February 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I recognized it right away from when I was in elementary school. I remember having to empty it before tests so that everyone could sharpen their pencils! They are the best sharpeners and work much better than the electric ones!
Anna’s last blog post..A Galaxy of Crystals
February 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Well, shoot, a day late and a magnet short. Oh well. I used to have one of those bolted to the wall in my basement. Now, I use mechanical, so much easier. On a side note, when I found out my brother was allergic to graphite when we were kids, I used to dump the shavings in his underwear drawer. (Don’t tell the Karma police.)
Henry’s last blog post..The Facebook Meme Craze
February 17th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Too funny, first person gets it:)…I think even I might of too ?…nah probably not!!!
Alan’s last blog post..In search of Happiness
February 17th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Linda — I suppose I’m the only one who wouldn’t have known what it was if it wasn’t my own picture. Figure that out.
Jenny — Ahhh, nothing like the smell of fresh shavings. You should smell the 20 year old ones. I think I’ve read that smell is the one sense tied most to memories. I’ve flashed back to school on more than one smell occasion. Paint always does that to me from the one summer we kids were a chain gang, tasked with painting the hallways.
My Autism Insights — Me too! I haven’t thought this much about pencils in years!
Preston — I’ve been mulling over objects to beat all past objects. Trust me. The next one will make you beat your head hard against a wall.
fragileheart — Do it! So far, I’ve learned that the new ones people have bought are crap. Go for the ‘ol crank kind.
Grog — And everyone else too, apparently. Geesh. I had no idea this was going to be so easy for everyone. Lesson learned.
Anna — I do still enjoy sharpening one in an electric sharpener. I could do it til it turns into a nub!
Henry — OMG. You are a rotten brother! Tee hee. I love what people will admit to here. Makes my day.
Alan — Why not? Everybody else knew it!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I knew it from the moment I saw it. It wasn’t even difficult.
Anybody who went to school prior to say, ten years ago… Actually, I think several schools still use these types of sharpeners.
Mom’s last blog post..Smurfs
February 18th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Kathy, I’m sorry I put that vision in your head, so here’s a new one: Think of a nice plate of heart shaped Chocolate Chip cookies fresh out of the oven. Can you smell them? MMMMMmmmmmm!
Chris Casey’s last blog post..So What’s In the Stimulus for Bloggers? Let Me Tell You!
February 18th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Um…yeah. We have two of those pencil sharpeners in our house and I was totally going to say it was a mixer.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
You forget, that most of us under over 45 had to take a trip to one of these things 3 or 4 times a day when we were in grade school. We all go pretty intimate with the little things, including how to take them apart to clean them.
Bruce’s last blog post..Leaving Traces
February 19th, 2009 at 1:01 am
I wouldn’t have got it. Well maybe if i’d looked a bit longer I would have, but I cheated and read the comments first
Loz’s last blog post..Cryptozoology and the Mongolian Death Worm
February 19th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Mom — Apparently I’m the only one who wouldn’t have gotten it. Cripes.
Chris Casey — Yes, I can smell them. I have a whole section of my brain dedicated to chocolate chip cookies. It’s like radar.
Momo Fali — No mixers in this house, which is why it was so hard for me to make a cake last weekend and why I got a blister on my pinky finger. All I have is silverware and I used a metal spoon to mix everything. I think I need to hold a housewarming party for myself.
Bruce — It’s weird, because I emptied plenty of them in my day and I still wouldn’t have known what the heck it was.
Loz — Oh, goodie! Someone who wouldn’t have gotten it. Come sit over by me in the dunce section.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Hey, I’m only 24 and they had these in my high school
Melissa’s last blog post..Why I love him
February 19th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Yup, had I seen it in time, I immediately would’ve known it was a pencil sharpener, too. Used many of those in grade school. Probably still have one it the garage somewhere.
becky’s last blog post..Transitions… and good customer service
February 19th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
First of all, let me say that I was attracted to the name of your blog since I use junk and old steel to earn a living. Secondly, I feel bad I didn’t make it to the contest coz I was thinking of trading something to you in exchange of that item in the pic:)
February 20th, 2009 at 5:58 am
I would have guessed that too! We had one exactly like that by our phone when I was little and I distinctly remember the sound of it crunching up the pencils as it sharpened.
Elizabeth’s last blog post..Aloha Friday #11
February 21st, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Melissa — That’s a huge surprise to me. I now wonder if I’d shown you only a tiny portion of the top of the sharpener if you guys would have known what it was. Hmmm. Have to remember that for next time.
becky — Count yourself among the smart and observant, minus me.
Ferro Molydenum — Well I still have the item. I do want to keep it though because it has sentimental value for me. Now, if you want to look through the junk in my basement, we can talk.
Elizabeth — Nothing like it, is there? And the smell of the shavings is something I never forget.
February 21st, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I know I am new to this blog but maybe it is my age – straight away I thought pencil sharpener.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 am
Great riddle! I would never have guessed that it is a sharpener. Congratulations for the happy winner!
Jasmin Wilson@fashion & accessories’s last blog post..Stock market today
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Congrats ANNE.
For the record, I had no idea that that was!
meleah rebeccah’s last blog post..My Plan. My Book. My Blog.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Grace — You’re in good company. Beware next time! I’m going to make it a very, very hard one to guess.
Jasmin Wilson — I’m glad you couldn’t guess it. Makes me feel better. I think I really had a dud with this picture. Next time it’ll be brutal.
meleah rebeccah — I’m glad you didn’t! If I hadn’t known what it was myself, I never would have guessed it.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:17 am
I know! Inside of a pencil sharpener. And, yes. I came up with that all by myself.
thanks for sharing great topic to choose for us.