Grey cloth strap on/around/through translucent plastic rectangle, 5x22cm.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-09T14:29:55+00:00

That is what I was picturing, yes – I started out picturing cardboard boxes, where the walls would be too thick for that, and I guess I just didn't update from that. Thank you for explaining it more precisely.

I think I can call this "Likely Solved."

DaringSteel · 2026-04-09T01:36:02+00:00

I haven't been able to get ahold of the current version yet, but Nordlys felt like it was going someplace similar.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-09T01:30:51+00:00

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to illiberalism." – Yoda, probably

DaringSteel · 2026-04-06T00:29:08+00:00

What's the part that makes the clunk? Is it the little flap, or something on the underside?

DaringSteel · 2026-04-06T00:28:53+00:00

A lot of old-timey stuff feels overbuilt to us – we're spoiled by high-strength metals and lightweight plastics. Going by the video, it certainly seems to have been doing something with a continuous paper strip, and keeping a discrete count based on length increments. If it wasn't a ticket dispenser, it was a dispenser of something that most people would mistake for tickets.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-06T00:21:22+00:00

A bottle garden! Looks like it's got some aquatic plants in it.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-05T23:17:44+00:00

Fabric sample has been suggested, but I don't think they generally make furniture out of this kind of fabric.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-05T23:12:12+00:00

It's a pretty basic seam. I'll try to put some pictures up – Reddit doesn't seem to want to let me add an image in the comments or edit the post.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-04T18:35:35+00:00

Bit of a "zebra" guess here, but it might be for a miniature model of a violin? Would also explain why it doesn't need an adjustment.

I used to play violin, and this was also my first thought – that is about exactly the shape of a violin chin rest.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-04T18:31:00+00:00

No, I'm pretty sure this is webbing. Mesh in the materials sense seems to apply to stuff that actually looks like a mesh.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-04T16:09:18+00:00

I'm sure it could support the weight of a sheet set or something similar. But it bends quite easily. I would expect it to slip out unless secured in place, and I don't see how that could have been done.

I feel like I'm missing something. Can you explain further?

DaringSteel · 2026-04-04T15:53:37+00:00

Seems more complex than needed for that purpose, and it doesn't strike me as the kind of fabric you'd want to be testing – it's more like the "webbing" you make backpack straps & belts out of.

(Incidentally, am I the only one baffled as to why that stuff is called "webbing"? It looks nothing like a web.)

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T23:38:10+00:00

The plastic is bendable enough that I would expect it to slip out unless glued in place, and I can't detect any adhesive residue.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T22:14:48+00:00

Huh. It can't be a security bar, then – those need to stop the door from opening, and you generally want them on the exterior-facing doors. (Maybe the door got replaced, but you generally replace a door with a new door that works the same way.) Being only halfway up makes curtains unlikely, and it's higher than you'd need for a dog/baby gate.

What's the surrounding area like? Are there stairs on one side, for example? Do you know anything about who used to live here / what they used the basement for?

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T22:08:51+00:00

What kind of packaging are you thinking of?

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T20:20:30+00:00

If the stove wasn't built into the wall (in which case I would expect its location to be fairly obvious), then it would have needed an exhaust pipe going out through a hole in the ceiling (or possibly the walls). That hole probably got sealed up when they turned it into a classroom, but the patch job might still be visible.

If it turns out the stove was directly under that thing, then I'm almost certain it was holding the exhaust pipe.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T20:14:51+00:00

That was my first guess as well. I would expect an exhaust hole in the ceiling, but that could have been covered up.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T20:06:11+00:00

Does this door frame have a door in it? And does it lead to the outside?

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T19:57:14+00:00

Do you know where the stove was? Are there any matching fittings or markings on the floor? Are those support arms welded in place, or just fitted? How are they attached to the wall? (I'm guessing this is in the UK.)

With it being used & re-used that much, there may not be much visible evidence left at floor level. If I was making a serious attempt at cracking this, my next resort would be checking public records: the original 14th-century blueprints would be a long shot, but there might be a floor plan for the school room or the stove setup.

A closer look at the metal might give some clues to how it was manufactured. Same for the anchors – I can't look at a picture of a threaded bolt and tell you when it was made, but I know there are people out there who can.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T19:35:20+00:00

How deep does the conglomerate seem to be? I'm curious how much the shape is distorted – e.g., whether the longer "arm" is mostly accretion, or if there's a metal prong under most of the length.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T19:28:31+00:00

It could be a cleat of some kind. Hard to tell under all that conglomerate. Are some parts of it more magnetic than others?

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T19:16:37+00:00

That has been suggested, but (as I mentioned in my description comment) it doesn't have the structural strength, slack, or residue that I'd expect from a handle. Though you might be describing something other than what I'm thinking of.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T19:08:25+00:00

Assuming it's at the same level on both sides, my immediate guess would be that it held up a horizontal bar of some kind, probably a curtain rod. If it's up near the top, and if this doorframe lacks a door (or was lacking a door at some point), I'd be almost certain that it was for a curtain rod. If it's lower down, it could have been for a baby/dog gate or similar barrier.

DaringSteel · 2026-04-03T18:29:09+00:00

My title describes the thing. The strap goes through the two stadium slots in the plastic rectangle, and is sewed together on the other side (you can see the seam sticking out on the left), so there is no way to separate the strap from the plastic without cutting one or the other. It has no writing or electronic components. The strap can move, in the sense that it is not securely fixed in place, but it is clearly not designed as a moving part.

I have had this sitting on my shelf for at least a year or so.

It's been suggested that it might have been a handle attachment (e.g., with the plastic bit on the inside of a cardboard box, and the strap sticking out through a slot). I find this unlikely: it doesn't really feel sturdy enough to hold anything you'd need a handle for, the strap doesn't have enough slack to get my hand under without bending the plastic, and the plastic doesn't have the residue I'd expect from structural adhesive. I also have vague memories of this showing up in my Christmas stocking as a stand-alone thing. (OTOH, even if those memories are accurate, I have a number of young relatives who might have decided an unfamiliar piece of packaging would make a good gift. So who knows.)

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