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[jim in paris]

my bro got this item on a street market
although it's cracked he identified the box wood
he was a little disappointed when i told him it was not a top

but what is it ? someone told me it's a piece of a weaving loom
another friend said it was for putting honey in a pot ??

what do you think ?

jim

[Jospin]

Wine Stopper?

[ta0]

I'd say it's a honey dipper/wand/stick,, although it's unusually short and the ridges shallow.

[Jeremy McCreary]

This hair comb for people with pointy heads may not have been intended as a top. And I doubt that anyone could get it going fast enough to stay up by hand.

But if you were to devise a suitable starter, it would make a fine top -- probably with some interesting spin-down behaviors.

Case in point:  The biconic die below. Though meant for games of chance, this object had all the earmarks of a long-spinning top. I just couldn't start it by hand...



So is that die a top? I say yes. Your mystery object? Yes again.

If an object stays up when spinning fast enough on a single point of support, and falls right over at rest, it's a top in my book. If not intended as a top, I think of it as a "found" top. Lucky for us, the world's full of them.

[jim in paris]

hi all ! thanx for your answers
fortunately , I have sent a pic to my dear friend Cyril "le collectionneur"
here is the answer:

Ce n'est pas une toupie.

this not a top

C'est un instrument de médecin qui servait au 19 ème et au début du 20 ème

it is a medical tool which was used in the 19th and early 20th century

pour ouvrir la bouche des malades sans leur casser les dents ( d’où le pas de vis).

 to open the patient's mouth without breaking his/her teeth (hence the screw)

Il était destiné aux épileptiques pour leur ouvrir la bouche afin d'empêcher qu'ils n'avalent leur langue.

it was especially used for epileptic people so that they wouldn't swallow their tongue

Cela était aussi utilisé pour les gens qui faisaient des convulsions.

it was also used in case of convulsions 

Les croquemorts l'utilisaient aussi pour ouvrir la bouche des cadavres.

Undertakers also used it on dead people

Bonne journée! Cyril

. GOOD DAY (with cyril's humour)

mystery solved, and one can understand why it was made out of a strong wood like box
jim

[ta0]

     That's unexpected!

Crocodile Dundee had one the size of Figaro. 

[Jospin]

Well... didn't see that one coming

[Jeremy McCreary]

fortunately , I have sent a pic to my dear friend Cyril "le collectionneur"
here is the answer: ...it is a medical tool which was used in the 19th and early 20th century ...  to open the patient's mouth without breaking his/her teeth (hence the screw)

Finally, a way to get Roxie to let go of my LEGO!



Dropped parts she snaps up would still be goners by the time I got them back, but a mouth-opening screw might at least save her a trip to the doggie OR.

[the Earl of Whirl]

I love that picture of Roxie.  Her expression is priceless!

[Jeremy McCreary]

I love that picture of Roxie.  Her expression is priceless!

She knows how to work it, too.