Name That Gizmo!

Folks often stop by the museum with mysterious things they've found in attics, basements, or flea markets: interesting gadgets, complex tools, and all sorts of wondrous widgets. Usually, our guests are stumped about the identity and purpose of their gizmo, and they need a little help. That's when our CRMI volunteers step in. They gather in the museum's machine shop and consider the object from all angles. One of our experts typically offers up a tentative opinion, and then the fun starts: they debate, argue, and harangue good-naturedly for an hour or so and, more often than not, come up with a pretty creditable answer for our guest.

Now, you can have the same experience over the Internet. Send us an email with a description of your gizmo, and attach a digital photo of it. Give us as much information as you can, such as where you got it, markings, documentation, etc. Our experts will take a crack at identifying it for you.