What Is It? game 222

Once again, it's time for our collaboration with the always fascinating What Is It? Blog. Do you know what this thing is? Or can you make an amusing wild guess?

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you'd like. Post no URLs or weblinks, as doing so will forfeit your entry. Two winners: the first correct guess and the funniest (albeit ultimately wrong) guess will win T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don't include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts?

See another picture of this item at the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Update: the mystery item is a surveyor's cross (explained here). It was used to align right angles and stuff when surveying land. Anker was the first to know that, and so wins a t-shirt! The funniest answer comes from Carey, who said, "Known as a “slotted and wired hollow brass wooden handled cylinder,” this ingenious hand-tool was used in the early 1900s to illicit inquiries regarding its function and purpose. It fell out of use due to rising production costs and decreasing levels of curiosity." That is a long-winded way of saying it's an "idiot attractor," but it's good for a t-shirt! See what all this week's mystery objects are at the What Is It? blog. Thanks for playing, everyone!