Mystery tool in my backyard

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A really old “water key” (used to shut off water at the curb of your house)?

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A foobar. Duh.

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Keeps a window or door open a certain amount?

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Manhole, waterhole, etc.,-lifter-upper-thingie

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Have you consulted the Codex Seraphinianus?

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I know a dominatrix that lives not far from you. And clearly that one end takes a 9-volt…

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Both ends seem to have a very specific purpose, and the black thing looks like it was welded on by the user. The hook end looks like it could be used to pull down a garage or storefront door.

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No idea, but obviously the former owner was left handed, and walked with a limp.

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if you’ve been following along on boingboing, you’d know this is an intra-uterine device. for an elephant, maybe, by the size?

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Even my dad said whatever it is it’s so specialized that no one will be able to tell you. And that dude was raised by a crazed mechanic and worked as a commercial clammer for 25 years. He’s got stuff in his garage no one could ever figure out. And he’s never seen this.

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It is indeed either a sprinkler key or water main shutoff for a subterranean shutoff in a covered port, OR a rather legendary tool, and judging by the burned flesh on the tip, most likely indeed a RUNNING IRON, used by cattle rustlers to modify ranch brands to match their brand… A running, or on-the-fly, branding iron. Google Running Iron in Carmel Valley, CA. I grew up near a saloon reknowned as a rustlers hangout, way back when.

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You “found it” in your backyard. Yeah, right. We’re on to you Frauenfelder. You’ve been subsidizing your electronics and cigar-box banjo additions through cattle rustling.

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This makes the most sense to me… The rubber part is for not scratching the glass, the tape so it’s nicer to hold while setting it up. And the loop is just a fancy way to attach the rubber.

But could we have a coin for scale or something? No idea how tall it is or which way the loop is facing in relation to the hook for that matter…

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looks like a garden tool for getting weeds out of the ground without leaving the bulb or root node behind. My father-in-law made me a similar one out of an old golf club.

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It looks like a screen door piston door closer to me.

One end is for killin’ varmints what need killin’.

The other end is for cleaning up the mess.

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It fell off the Tardis, and you’d do well to return it.

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It’s a tool for turning something; for example: a window or water main valve. The hook end fits into the widget to be turned and the handle is spun. Usually the length of the bar is for both reach and leverage.

It’s a gimcrack.

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