Guess That Gadget!

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who already bought our first print issue! They’re swiftly on their way and will be trembling in your arms soon enough. Now I need to know – what do you see below? A comb? Binoculars? A fishing reel? You may need to guess again!

BBC News has a charming quiz up that tasks the reader with a serious mission – figure out the intended purpose of Victorian devices on display this week at the British Library. While some of us suffer from a rather unhealthy gadget-love, not all of these contraptions are as obvious as one might assume! Take the quiz here, and after [only after!], see another small gallery of the exhibit, here.

[Thanks, Lucinda and Jerem]

10 Responses to “Guess That Gadget!”

  1. six06 Says:

    4 out of 10 – quietly inspired.

    bah.

  2. the daniel Says:

    The top-right gadget is called a “simple tool dating from about 1900”, but was definitely in use in my life in the 1990s and is still available today. No need for fancy new technology when the simple old gadgets work just fine.

  3. Miss E Says:

    I got 9 out of 10 and the one I got wrong was because I didn’t go with my gut.

    To the daniel: I remember those staff chalk thingys (my vocabulary skills are amazing)! We used them in elementary school music class. Ah…elementary school that was so long ago.

    Now I want a coloring book.

  4. Tequila Says:

    7 out of 10…Quietly inspired

    That chalk one was easy. In the catholic school I went to for grade school they still used them. They were less for music though and used to teach proper cursive handwriting.

    Came in real handy later in life when nobody would accept anything hand written :D

  5. Thews Says:

    that chalk one was the easiest. it was even in an episode of the Simpson’s, Lisa used it to write sentences five times faster when she had detention

  6. electronic_mily Says:

    Adding my voice to the “chalk thing!” vote – there’s been one of those in every music class I’ve been in.

  7. Beth Says:

    6/10, + yeah, I had a chalk thing too. It was used by my depraved music teacher Mr. Moriarity in Elementary school, who used to make the whole class sit quietly on their hands for five minutes if one kid was misbehaving. We used to call him Mr. Fartiarity. Ah, children. :)

  8. Ed Autumn Says:

    7/10

    Meh, that pile cream applicator completely surprised me :D

  9. Ben Morris Says:

    6/10 Going with first inclinations would have resulted in a little higher, rethinking is the enemy!

  10. Guess the Gadget Says:

    […] Coilhouse. var disqus_url = […]