It's BAAAAACK

Can you name these things? If you know immediatly, (you know who you are *grin*) say nothing so we can get some interesing guesses

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), July 20, 2000

Answers

Transformer cover? I seem to remember seeing these on the top of wooden poles when I was little, but I don't remember if they were phone or electric poles.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), July 20, 2000.

Which one is the ball under?

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), July 20, 2000.

Hi voltage insulators.

-- kj (a@w.m), July 20, 2000.

What a sucky chess set.

:-)

-- Privateer (ironic_detachment@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

Oh...a piece o' cake!

No, no, no! It's not really a piece of cake -- that was just to let you know how easy this was for me. So that doesn't count...ok?

It's simply a set of salt, pepper and "mystery additive" shakers.

Yep. (arms folded, chin up, victorious expression with wide grin)

Ok...next?

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), July 20, 2000.

Cowbells from the Alpine meadows.What else could they possibly be?

-- Dan Newsome (BOONSTAR1@webtv.net), July 20, 2000.

Condom fossils?

-- Oxy (Oxsys@aol.com), July 20, 2000.

Little green men

-- (nemesis@awol.com), July 20, 2000.

Mom used them as door-stoppers.

And I do remember seeing them atop telephone poles.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), July 20, 2000.

Cherri:

They are glass insulators; more imporantly: I remember that a bar in northern Idaho found a dump full of these things. They coverted them into shot glasses. Probably toxic; but in northern Idaho it wasn't a problem.

-- DB (Debunker@normore.xxx), July 20, 2000.

They are rocks.

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), July 20, 2000.

Cherri,

They are insulators - used to be commonly found on telephone poles running beside many railroad tracks. Some are worth quite a bit of money, say $20,000+++ for Civil War-era ones. My brother and I collect some, I've been collecting for only a year, but my brother started 22 years ago and has quite a collection.

I believe the center one is a Hemingray, though I'm not sure what the CD number is (style #). The other two are Hemi 40's.

Want to learn more? Click here.

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), July 20, 2000.

So much for "say nothing".

The square bottom one. Square for better wrenching on the wooden peg?

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), July 20, 2000.

Good afternoon Carlos,

Hows the heat out there in the IE? Heard it will get up around 110 todayYowza!

-- Ra (tion@l.1), July 20, 2000.

Ooops, I forgot to add this: The ones worth $20,000+++ aren't on any lines now, so you can forget about paying off the mortgage with a quick hike on the tracks. ;-) They're mainly found in collections now, or dug.

Also, you'll probably need to ask the railroad's permission to be walking their tracks and picking up insulators - if you don't you could be charged with theft of railroad property. Many railroads don't mind if you pick up downed insulators (poles laying on the ground with NO wires attached).

One last thing: PLEASE, PLEASE, don't climb poles with "live" wires attached. Join an insulator club and learn how to safely, legally, collect insulators - the last thing our hobby needs is to be pulling dead bodies from the wires. (Sadly, this HAS happened - the temptation of finding good "color" has killed people.)

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), July 20, 2000.

Yes they are insulators, and some people collect them.Has anyone actually sold any?

-- Dan Newsome (BOONSTAR1@webtv.net), July 20, 2000.

Dan,

Yes, my brother sells and buys on Ebay. I've bought a few too, on Ebay and at meets. Are you trying to buy, or to sell some?

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), July 20, 2000.

Deb Neither,just wondering..Dan

-- Dan Newsome (BOONSTAR1@webtv.net), July 20, 2000.

The kids and I pick up old railroad spikes, bolts, etc. off the train tracks and make huge, ugly mobiles out of them.

Kind of a fun hobby, but I doubt many people would want to buy them.

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), July 20, 2000.

We find these things from time to time. Our land is/was a civil war battle site [you can still see bullets in trees and the wagon trail through what is now woods; the T-line went the same way].

As I said, we dig these things up but put them back. There are certain places that we don't dig. You would be suprised what we have found planting trees [no remains]. We don't try to make money from that.

NIM

N

-- NIM (Not interested in money@something.buy), July 20, 2000.

Yes they are insulators, but I have found they make very effective dildos as long as they don't get stuck.

-- madonna (i'm@horny.slut), July 20, 2000.

I've never had that problem..I thought they weren't large enough..do they come in bigger sizes..

-- Mrs.John Holmes (oh how I miss him@bedtime.cum), July 20, 2000.

Cherri, Fortunately, I didn't see the thread until all the answers came in, so I didn't have to keep quiet (figgured you were talking to me or Dan or someone else in the power industry).

Of course, my first thoughts were that they were pawns from an old chess set....

-- FactFinder (FactFinder@bzn.com), July 20, 2000.

Factfinder yep, you were correct.

There are lots on sale on e-bay and I have found some while going through my Dad's garage.

They come in all ages and shapes and sizes.

They do have a sort of phallic symbolism don't they?

*grin*

It is understandable how these would make a collectors item, the vatiety of shapes, sizes, colors and ages.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), July 21, 2000.

And I thought they were the early beginnings of Dale Chihuly. Ya know, one of those "didn't make it, lets forget those years" kinda things!

BTW, I thought it was funny....those phallic references.....what kind of men do you people date? Aliens from Mars???

-- (no@guess.now), July 21, 2000.

no guess,

You've obviously never seen the different kind of attachments that can be put on vibrators or dildo's have you?

From what I understand, it there is a big market for them in the male gay community.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), July 21, 2000.