What the hell is this???

June 1, 2005 10:47 AM

Will somebody please please PLEASE tell me what this is?
posted by grumblebee (52 comments total)

It is a meeting mobile. . .a group and sit and pedal and talk while someone steers. . .
posted by Danf at 11:11 AM on June 1, 2005

You only clicked on the first "please". Click on the other links. They're other weird things.
posted by Plutor at 11:16 AM on June 1, 2005

What is it?
posted by iamck at 11:18 AM on June 1, 2005

Very funny thread, grumblebee.
posted by digaman at 11:18 AM on June 1, 2005

The first 'please": Awhile back, I saw one of these orange bicycles at the curb in Times Square NYC. I think it's a group bicycle for city tours: all six riders help with the pedaling, and the rider in the middle is the navigator, and presumably, the tour guide. It makes a lot of sense- you can pedal around the city sightseeing, but not have to watch where you're going! I wonder how the weight distribution of the riders affects the balance of the vehicle- the double tires probably counteract that.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 11:20 AM on June 1, 2005

The one of the bicycle like contraption appears to be a group bike with the driver using the wheel in the middle, and the passengers adding their foot power. I would love to find specs on how fast such a thing is capable of traveling.
posted by sourbrew at 11:21 AM on June 1, 2005

crap.... i hate it when mefi times out and im in the middle of posting....
posted by sourbrew at 11:22 AM on June 1, 2005

Also
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:22 AM on June 1, 2005

"somebody" is an early cyclotron.

The "octo-cycle" is a common sight in Times Square. The drivers are always trying to get people to ride them.
posted by bshort at 11:23 AM on June 1, 2005

ah, sweet mysteries of life.

fun post, thanks grumblebee!
posted by killy willy at 11:24 AM on June 1, 2005

The item in the "tell" link looks to be a cyanotype photograph of fireworks over the Trylon and Perisphere at the center of the 1939 New York World's Fair.
posted by me3dia at 11:28 AM on June 1, 2005

Cool. I got the easy ones, and the rest will soon be illuminated, I'm sure.

me3dia, I was trying to figure out what angle that was of the space needle, guess I was wrong...
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:29 AM on June 1, 2005

Okay, how terrifying is it that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a page where they are asking people to help ID bits of nuclear material or equipment that THEY CANNOT FIGURE OUT (the "what" above), others here and here. Who's building this stuff?
posted by blahblahblah at 11:36 AM on June 1, 2005 [1 favorite]

Anyone remember an SNL sketch with Steve Martin and Bill Murray doing nothing but looking off into space and saying "What in the hell is that?"
posted by Smedleyman at 11:37 AM on June 1, 2005

"tell" looks like celebratory fireworks over a TV tower. Maybe Tag der Deutschen Einheit over Berlin's Alexanderplatz?
posted by ori at 11:41 AM on June 1, 2005

The first link, without more knowledge my guess would be that the feet push in towards the middle, then push up to lift the shaker lid. Or, you just pour the salt in the top.

The 'tell' link looks to be to a painting of the Trylon and Perisphere in the NY World's Fair.
posted by fleacircus at 11:49 AM on June 1, 2005

Am I the only one who remembers the Conference Bike thread?
posted by paultron at 11:50 AM on June 1, 2005

They do a terrible segment on the latest incarnation of This Old House where they pretend to guess the use for somewhat unusual builders tools. This post was much better.

Visited Sagrada Familia a few months ago, saw a model just like that in the museum underneath. Cool.
posted by lazymonster at 11:54 AM on June 1, 2005

The Conference Bike in motion [mov].
What a lame name.
posted by blendor at 11:55 AM on June 1, 2005

"This" is a concertina.

Paultron, I remembered the conference bike and I still don't know if I'm allowed to get drunk if I'm not steering it.
posted by fenriq at 11:58 AM on June 1, 2005

>Nuclear Regulatory Commission

I guess it depends where and how they came up with the stuff they can't identify. They don't seem to say. At least there are only five or six items if they were numbered sequentially.

Maybe stuff the low-bid contractor left hidden in the bushes after finishing building the reactor?
posted by hank at 12:00 PM on June 1, 2005

[This is] a good post.

[is] is the model Gaudi made to show the stresses in one of his buidling. It's inverted, made with strings and lead weights. As lazymonster said, it's on display in the basement of La Sagrada Familia.
posted by OmieWise at 12:15 PM on June 1, 2005

Superb post!

I've got one too. Seems to be a concrete-filled metal cylinder, about four feet tall, painted black and white. It's around the corner from me in Acton, London, England and I have no idea.


posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:35 PM on June 1, 2005

Smedleyman: "Anyone remember an SNL sketch with Steve Martin and Bill Murray doing nothing but looking off into space and saying What in the hell is that?"

These other things I know little to nothing about, but early SNL? That's a field of expertise I happen to have.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:36 PM on June 1, 2005

fenriq, they know it's a concertina... just not what kind.
(it's from http://www.concertina.net/...)
posted by Silky Slim at 12:41 PM on June 1, 2005

Ohh, this is a really fun and cool post! Thank you.
posted by gallois at 12:51 PM on June 1, 2005

[this is good]

I esp. like the Gaudi one- so cool!

Okay, how terrifying is it that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a page where they are asking people to help ID bits of nuclear material or equipment that THEY CANNOT FIGURE OUT

Yeah, I was totally wigged out by that one. Found Object + Radioactive Symbol = Bad News.

Anyone remember an SNL sketch with Steve Martin and Bill Murray doing nothing but looking off into space and saying "What in the hell is that?"

Yeah, and emblematic of what's wrong with SNL now- it used to be about being funny instead of being clever.
posted by mkultra at 12:56 PM on June 1, 2005

Ah. Fotopages seems to have died so here's flickr's concrete-filled metal cylinder.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:59 PM on June 1, 2005

hey! I took that picture of the conference bike in Berlin a couple of years ago. (yes, I feel special)
posted by imaswinger at 1:07 PM on June 1, 2005

The Conference Bike looks pretty cool! You only have to have one person drive... everyone else just contributes whatever footpower they can. Neat if you've got a lot of friends who are all going to the same place, in an area where there's not a lot of automobiles, or other pedestrians.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:10 PM on June 1, 2005

I'm pretty sure PLEASE (the stone pillar with notches) is Joan Collins' old bedpost.
posted by surplus at 1:11 PM on June 1, 2005

and just a note.. if you look at that picture of the conference bike, the previous photo is one I surreptitiously took of the ceiling of a gaudi building (I forget the name).
posted by imaswinger at 1:15 PM on June 1, 2005

Silky Slim, dang, okay. Note to self, do not comment when taking massive doses of cold meds.
posted by fenriq at 1:18 PM on June 1, 2005

I think "me" is a transformer/rectifier that takes the 240VAC line to a house or apartment down to 48VDC, for the telephones.

And me3dia is correct--the "tell" picture is the 1939 World's Fair.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:20 PM on June 1, 2005

Maybe the salt shaker's an incense holder?
posted by 31d1 at 1:38 PM on June 1, 2005

hey, they're all incense holders!
posted by hellbient at 1:57 PM on June 1, 2005

or..."you put yr weeed in it" to quote one of the Last funny bits on SNL
posted by ShawnString at 2:22 PM on June 1, 2005

No, no - you put saltwater in the salt shaker and wait for it to evaporate before seasoning your food. Very inefficient design.
posted by selfmedicating at 2:31 PM on June 1, 2005

inaswinger: The name of the building is on the page - Casa Batllo - on the corner of Passeig de Gracia and Carrer d'Arago in Barcelona...
posted by benzo8 at 2:34 PM on June 1, 2005

"Will" the first item, is a hatpin holder. I've seen loads of them. The holes are way too big to be for salt, and a toploading saltshaker would be some invention.
posted by fire&wings at 2:45 PM on June 1, 2005

benzo8, thanx - I saw that shortly after posting of course. (btw, that apartment building _completely_ blew my mind)
posted by imaswinger at 2:51 PM on June 1, 2005

I can tell you what PLEASE looks like though I can't imagine how it turns up in the US. In England our canals (used commercially in the 18th/19th centuries) are frequently crossed by stone bridges. The barges were pulled by horses, and the tow ropes would wear grooves in the stone pillars of the bridges. (See Halsall section of link) - pix 1&5.

Great Post
posted by surfdad2 at 3:07 PM on June 1, 2005

The MysteryShaker ("Will") is obviously a character from the antebellum version of the Play-Doh Barber Shop.
posted by mudpuppie at 3:56 PM on June 1, 2005

What is it?
posted by NickDouglas at 4:44 PM on June 1, 2005

The stone post does indeed look like something you'd find along a canal; I've seen those along the Canal that runs west from Washington DC into western Maryland. If it is near a hill, it may have been used by carters to use ropes to slow their carts' descents when heavily loaded.
posted by mmahaffie at 7:21 PM on June 1, 2005

Smedleyman,

Don't put your lips on it!

Well, whatever it is, get a picture of me with it...
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:55 PM on June 1, 2005

"This is a little contraption we like to call 'Mr. Thingy.'"
posted by Snyder at 12:06 AM on June 2, 2005

weapons-grade pandemonium : I think "me" is a transformer/rectifier that takes the 240VAC line to a house or apartment down to 48VDC, for the telephones.

Not quite. "me" is just an old telephone "interface" - the place where outside telephone wires meet inside wiring. The brown rods have something to do with protection - like surge or lightening suppression.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:39 AM on June 2, 2005

Anyone remember an SNL sketch with Steve Martin and Bill Murray doing nothing but looking off into space and saying "What in the hell is that?"
posted by Smedleyman at 1:37 PM CST on June 1 [!]

Smedleyman, thank you my friend. My mother and I used to stay up late and watch Saturday Night Live when I was a yung'un, and this bit especially cracked us both up. I haven't thought about it in ages, but you've brought that nice memory back to the fore just days before the "anniversary" of my mother's death. Thanks for the unintentional but good memory.
posted by tr33hggr at 8:47 AM on June 2, 2005

I say the concrete-filled metal cylinder is a hitching post for horses. I live near one of a similar size. A bit taller and a bit thinner. They were very common in the 19th century and the one near my house is made of concrete also.

Here's an example of a much smaller one: href="http://www.alphalink.com.au/~turbo/images/City/HitchingPosts1_small.jpg">
posted by labyrinthinedreams at 1:00 PM on June 2, 2005

Sorry about the link. It's my 3rd post. :S
posted by labyrinthinedreams at 1:02 PM on June 2, 2005

Thanks, labyrinthinedreams!

It could well be a hitching post. The estate's pretty new, but it could be left over. It's pretty huge and solid though: a horse tied to that thing's going nowhere...
posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:32 PM on June 3, 2005