# What Is It? - #46



## SifuPhil (Oct 10, 2013)

Boop-boop-be-doop! Today's WII is no longer used but in its day it was an essential tool. 



Usually it was made of bamboo, and it's length was around 3'. 




*WHAT IS IT? *


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## rkunsaw (Oct 10, 2013)

Looks like a snare used to trap animals.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 10, 2013)

Looks like a leash, noose or guide for a farm animal.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 10, 2013)

Something used in a sauna, to rejuvenate the skin?


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## Old Hipster (Oct 10, 2013)

Something to snare a critter, but that seems too obvious to me. 

3 feet is not all that long if you have something dangerous on the other end.

so basically I have no good answer


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## rkunsaw (Oct 10, 2013)

Something for carrying a bundle such as wheat or or straw?


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## GDAD (Oct 10, 2013)

A bulls ball deknackera!


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## SifuPhil (Oct 10, 2013)

rkunsaw said:


> Looks like a snare used to trap animals.



No, but it _does_ look like a snare, doesn't it? 



SeaBreeze said:


> Looks like a leash, noose or guide for a farm animal.



Although I suppose it could be used that way, that wasn't its intended function.



SeaBreeze said:


> Something used in a sauna, to rejuvenate the skin?



Ouch! By some sadistic masseuse, no doubt ... 



Old Hipster said:


> Something to snare a critter, but that seems too obvious to me.
> 
> 3 feet is not all that long if you have something dangerous on the other end.
> 
> so basically I have no good answer



I would want more than 3 feet between us, agreed! 



rkunsaw said:


> Something for carrying a bundle such as wheat or or straw?



Clever, but no, sorry.



GDAD said:


> A bulls ball deknackera!



It had to be said! Sorry, no, but I'm sure That Guy will be proud of you. layful:


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## That Guy (Oct 10, 2013)

What?  Who me???

Well, I was with GDAD on that but now have no clue as usual...


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## Jackie22 (Oct 10, 2013)

......used to setup explosive device?


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## TICA (Oct 10, 2013)

I can picture an old lady beating the dirt out of a carpet with that thing.


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## Diwundrin (Oct 10, 2013)

Looks a bit like a home made landing net my Granddad used for river fishing.  ( But without the net threadled on it.)


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## SifuPhil (Oct 10, 2013)

That Guy said:


> What?  Who me???
> 
> Well, I was with GDAD on that but now have no clue as usual...



I think we have to expand your horizons ... layful:



Jackie22 said:


> ......used to setup explosive device?



That's a scary thought! No, sorry, not a ... a, um ... explosive device setter-upper. 



TICA said:


> I can picture an old lady beating the dirt out of a carpet with that thing.



I never would have thought of that, but yeah, it DOES look like a carpet beater. Unfortunately that isn't this item's function.



Diwundrin said:


> Looks a bit like a home made landing net my Granddad used for river fishing.  ( But without the net threadled on it.)



I suppose one could always just hold it above the water and teach the fish to jump through it ...


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 10, 2013)

Fish stringer?


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## Diwundrin (Oct 10, 2013)

Something to hold a hessian, or calico flour etc bag open for filling, or scooping something out of?


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## Anne (Oct 10, 2013)

A chicken catcher......


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## Jillaroo (Oct 10, 2013)

_Is it used to pull the handle on the water spout on the tank??_


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## Jillaroo (Oct 10, 2013)

_Or could it have been used to slip over the horses neck to hold him while being shod??_


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## GDAD (Oct 10, 2013)

Horse rider used it to open & shut the paddock gates without dismounting!


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## Diwundrin (Oct 10, 2013)

GDAD said:


> Horse rider used it to open & shut the paddock gates without dismounting!



Good one, would that work from a car?  Have you patented it?


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## Phantom (Oct 11, 2013)

A thing to make a horse " Giddy Up"


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## dbeyat45 (Oct 11, 2013)

EASY:  It was used by football & hockey coaches to "pull" players from a game.


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## Diwundrin (Oct 11, 2013)

Going left field:  Was it used in a sideshow, to hook kewpies and prizes down from the shelves?

(or was that 'boop de doop' a total red herring?)


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## SifuPhil (Oct 11, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> Fish stringer?



Nope.



Diwundrin said:


> Something to hold a hessian, or calico flour etc bag open for filling, or scooping something out of?



Not for bag-holding, and I believe Hessians were too large to comfortably hold with it ...

 



Anne said:


> A chicken catcher......



No, sorry.



Jillaroo said:


> _Is it used to pull the handle on the water spout on the tank??_





Jillaroo said:


> _Or could it have been used to slip over the horses neck to hold him while being shod??_



Not for pulling a handle nor holding a horse, sorry.



GDAD said:


> Horse rider used it to open & shut the paddock gates without dismounting!



Inventive, but no. You ARE getting warmer with the "without dismounting" part - in a way ... 



Phantom said:


> A thing to make a horse " Giddy Up"



Could probably be used for that, but not its real use.



dbeyat45 said:


> EASY:  It was used by football & hockey coaches to "pull" players from a game.



Heh, heh ... no, but I like how you think.



Diwundrin said:


> Going left field:  Was it used in a sideshow, to hook kewpies and prizes down from the shelves?
> 
> (or was that 'boop de doop' a total red herring?)



Not for hooking kewpies, but you also are getting warmer - in a way. 

Not a TOTAL red herring ... 



Here's your first hint, folks, because you've stayed THIS long ... 

*[HINT]* *4-4-2, dit-dah-dit* *[/HINT]*


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## dbeyat45 (Oct 11, 2013)

Got it at last:  It's a DDBR.   Am I right?


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## Jillaroo (Oct 11, 2013)

* HUH!!*


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## SifuPhil (Oct 11, 2013)

dbeyat45 said:


> Got it at last:  It's a DDBR.   Am I right?



Dunkin' Donuts / Baskin-Robbins? No, sorry ... 

You can spell it out - I won't mind ...


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## dbeyat45 (Oct 11, 2013)

442+the Morse = DDBR

I'm the winner !!!


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## Old Hipster (Oct 11, 2013)

*[HINT]* *4-4-2, dit-dah-dit* *[/HINT]

*Really Phil, really, that's a hint ?!?

Ok I have looked up Morris code and got E T E

Then all I can get for 4-4-2 is a bunch of old Locomotives.

It's really not nice to torment old people!

And what the heck is a DDBR dbeyat ??​​


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## dbeyat45 (Oct 11, 2013)

Old Hipster said:


> * [ Snip ]*
> And what the heck is a DDBR dbeyat ??​


It's the answer OH.  It's a DDBR or a ddbR .... 4th letter + 4th letter + 2nd letter + the Morse.   T

Trust me.  Phil has no idea what it is either.


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## SifuPhil (Oct 11, 2013)

dbeyat45 said:


> Trust me.  Phil has no idea what it is either.


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## Steve (Oct 11, 2013)

How about something the train engineer uses to pass on messages to the train conductor that is stationary on the platform of the station and the opposite where the conductor puts a message in the hoop and the engineer reaches out to grab the hoop with the message in it as he goes by without stopping ???  I have seen that used many times years and years ago..


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## Diwundrin (Oct 11, 2013)

Hell, I've even tried Baudot tickertape code, U in that. Can't believe I used to be able to read that!  Siiiiigh, too long ago.

Too cryptic, ... got nuthin'.  Gloat at your leisure.


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## Phantom (Oct 11, 2013)

I got 4-4-2 as soccer formation and dit dah dit is R


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## dbeyat45 (Oct 11, 2013)

Hey Phil ... can I have to date round the correct way on my certificate, please?  

Smaller to larger:  Day .... Month .... Year
What's this middle smaller larger thing all about:   Month .... Day  .... Year?

You Yanks get most things right, why not the date format?


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## Diwundrin (Oct 11, 2013)

Most things DB? They even drive on the wrong side of the road.


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## Phantom (Oct 11, 2013)

DD BR A Bra ??? AIt's a measuring instrument to measure boobs


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## JustBonee (Oct 11, 2013)

Phantom said:


> I got 4-4-2 as soccer formation and dit dah dit is R



Another 4-4-2 that comes to mind. It pertains to cars:  

1964 (Original meaning)

4: Four Barrel Carburetion
4: Four On the Floor
2: Dual Exhausts


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## SifuPhil (Oct 11, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Too cryptic, ... got nuthin'.  Gloat at your leisure.



*reclining in leisure position* 

GLOAT, GLOAT, GLOAT! 



Phantom said:


> I got 4-4-2 as soccer formation and dit dah dit is R



You're right as far as that goes, but sorry, no prize.



dbeyat45 said:


> Hey Phil ... can I have to date round the correct way on my certificate, please?
> 
> Smaller to larger:  Day .... Month .... Year
> What's this middle smaller larger thing all about:   Month .... Day  .... Year?
> ...



When someone asks you verbally for today's date, do you guys say "_It is 11 October '13_"? No, you say "_It is October 11, '13_", right? So why write it the WRONG way?!? 



Diwundrin said:


> Most things DB? They even drive on the wrong side of the road.



Well, if you guys would manufacture your cars with the controls on the correct side you wouldn't be HAVING those problems ... 



Phantom said:


> DD BR A Bra ??? AIt's a measuring instrument to measure boobs



I like how you think ... 



Steve said:


> How about something the train engineer uses to pass  on messages to the train conductor that is stationary on the platform of  the station and the opposite where the conductor puts a message in the  hoop and the engineer reaches out to grab the hoop with the message in  it as he goes by without stopping ???  I have seen that used many times  years and years ago..



*DING! DING! DING! *

*We have a winna!!!*

Steve has correctly identified this item as a *Train Order Hoop*. Before the days of radio communications and computerized control this hoop was used to pass routing orders from telegraphers or station masters to conductors or engineers while the train was still moving.  



> The train order hoop was intolerable. It looked like a big comma with an extra long tail. Moving aboard the train at great speed, the trainman ran his arm through the hoop, pulled it out of the hand of the telegrapher, took the order, and threw the hoop down alongside the track. Injuries occurred when the telegrapher was slow to let go of the hoop. Occasionally the telegrapher was jerked down on his back. Likewise, the trainman sometimes suffered arm injuries.


Ozarks Watch

Congrats *Steve* on the big win, thanks all for playing (the hint "4-4-2" referred to a locomotive designation, specifically the arrangement of the wheels, and "Dit-Dah-Dit" referred simply to Morse code used by the telegraphers  ) and sorry dbeyat45 but if you had the correct answer I was too dense to understand it. 

If however you had the _wrong_ answer, enjoy your wrongly-dated certificate!


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## rkunsaw (Oct 11, 2013)

The 442 led me astray. This is the 442 I remember, a 1968 Oldsmobile.


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## Diwundrin (Oct 11, 2013)

Well done Steve!  Got him! :applause2::thumbsup:

Now: 





> "_It is 11 October '13_"?



Yes, actually we do say it like that. "Eleventh of October 2013"...  even though it's the 12th here already.

Our locomotives have 4 digit codes but we haven't got more of 'em, so how's that happen?


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 11, 2013)

Congrats Steve!


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## Jackie22 (Oct 11, 2013)

Wow!  Very good Steve.  I would never have guessed it.


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## dbeyat45 (Oct 11, 2013)

> When someone asks you verbally for today's date, do you guys say "_It is 11 October '13_"? No, you say "_It is October 11, '13_", right? So why write it the WRONG way?!?


I say 11th October 2013 ..... or I would have yesterday.  Face it Phil, you guys got it wrong.  Small / Bigger / Biggest.  Logical !!  

PS:  I did say that you get most things right .....


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## SifuPhil (Oct 11, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Yes, actually we do say it like that. "Eleventh of October 2013"...  even though it's the 12th here already.





dbeyat45 said:


> I say 11th October 2013 ..... or I would have yesterday.  Face it Phil, you guys got it wrong.  Small / Bigger / Biggest.  Logical !!
> 
> PS:  I did say that you get most things right .....



Seriously, that is truly unusual. I know the phrasing is correct both ways, but I wonder how it came to be that you folks put the day first whereas we generally put the month first? 

Is it the same written as spoken? 

I notice on a lot of sign-up forms on the 'Net that the date of birth entry area is often set as "Day-Month-Year", more so I think than "Month-Day-Year". 

Great - another research project ...  Thanks for the stimulus, folks!


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## Steve (Oct 11, 2013)

Thanks guys..
I actually remember seeing that method in use several times.. I remember seeing the train engineer with his arm outstretched to grab the hoop by placing his arm in the middle...
Later on they had a black plastic hoop with the message in a small box and the hoop was suspended from a sort of bracket that the engineer would grab as he went by...


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## Diwundrin (Oct 11, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> Seriously, that is truly unusual. I know the phrasing is correct both ways, but I wonder how it came to be that you folks put the day first whereas we generally put the month first?
> 
> Is it the same written as spoken?......



Yes, 12/10/13 ... your 9/11 would be the 9th of November here.

But it's okay, we've been raised on US culture through the movies and TV so we're bilingual and make adjustments for your odd ways.


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## Phantom (Oct 11, 2013)

Steve said:


> Thanks guys..
> I actually remember seeing that method in use several times.. I remember seeing the train engineer with his arm outstretched to grab the hoop by placing his arm in the middle...
> Later on they had a black plastic hoop with the message in a small box and the hoop was suspended from a sort of bracket that the engineer would grab as he went by...




Still use that system to exchange staffs


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## Diwundrin (Oct 11, 2013)

Vicrail still do that? NSW probably do too, l lost interest when I retired, but I'm kicking myself that the railway didn't even occur to me beyond that damned code.... aaagh.


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## SifuPhil (Oct 12, 2013)

As Steve mentioned they later went to a hoop style that wasn't so potentially dangerous - 



The later ones were shaped like a V with a staff on it. A metal clip at the point of the V held a string which was stretched across both ends of the V. The message was tied to the string between the two ends of the V. You held it up and the trainman would run his arm through the string loop, and that's how he got his orders. If the trainman failed to get the order he would have to stop and go back.


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## Phantom (Oct 12, 2013)

MAYBE THEY DON;T ANYMORE
I remember my dad exchanging staffs but when I think of it that was 20 yrs ago 
          There are no signal boxes now in Wodonga.I think everything is controlled now in Melbourne ??????


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## Diwundrin (Oct 12, 2013)

By the time I left they only used 'staff working' when they were down to a single line and the signals were out. It was only used as an emergency procedure really. 
 The 'staff' was a symbol for a section of track and only the train in possession of it was allowed to venture onto that section. 
It was passed from driver to driver of trains leaving and entering the section.  No fancy delivery system required, more likely a bit of a chat ensued while they were handing it over.


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## Phantom (Oct 13, 2013)

> more likely a bit of a chat ensued while they were handing it over.



Not with my father as the train was going too fast
He had a bruised arm once when the driver passed the staff the wrong way round and the staff cracked him instead of the leather support

He sure "chatted " latter !!!!!


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## Diwundrin (Oct 13, 2013)

Ive heard some of those 'chats' over the controllers' radio/phones when I had to go into their den, it was an 'education'.


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