Artifact 2-6-S-03A & 2-6-S-03B

[Brad Beeching]

Have these two artifacts been identified? I read that the current thinking was that they may be from a sextant box? What about a small suitcase? Some of the other artifacts found are thought to have come from cosmetic and toilet items, such as the odd shaped bottle fragments, compact case fragments, mirror shards etc. etc. Is there any documentation as to what AE might have stored these items in, such as a small case or a small flight bag? A flight bag may also explain the zipper fragments as well.

Just a thought...

Gums

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

Have these two artifacts been identified?

The two artifacts in question (known to their friends as "gidgies"):





They have not been identified.

[Bruce Thomas]

... and you can read what little is known about the gidgies (including a link to the article in an old issue of TIGHAR Tracks) by clicking here.

[Brad Beeching]

I have seen items simular to these before and have been racking my brain trying to remember just where I've seen them. I used to work at a furniture auction house years ago and we would get in antique steamer trunks, suitcases and other such items from all over the British Isles. But I keep coming back to a suitcase, so I was hoping to find out if anyone knew what AE might have kept her unmentionable items in? A picture of the ointment bottles, compact, etc and a small travel case keep floating around in my minds eye, so I was going to look in some of the shops we have in the area to see if there are items like the "Gidgies" in a period suitcase or trunk. I seem to remember the shape in conjunction with a false bottom or a panel inside a case. The "Gidgies" remind me of the little swivel locks that held the panel in place.

Gums

[Walter Runck]

The serrations remind me of a clasp used to hold an elastic strap in a garment bag, but whenever I try to orient the gidgie into something useful, the geometry doesn't work out.  The teeth are on the wrong end, the screw is in the wrong hole, the bend doesn't belong, etc.  More frustrating than golf.

At first they struck me as something used to hang a picture on a wall where you level the picture by hanging the gidgie on a nail and picking the right notch for balance, but I think the luggage idea makes a lot more sense.

Didn't she ditch her suitcase at Lae and ship it home?  Seems to me she had a couple of nights on the road left and might have kept a small bag of some sort.

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Just a thought but, while examining these 2 artifacts last night my wife, who is from South East Asia, said that they are from a home made fish de-scaler. She remembers her mother using similar home made versions, bits of worked metal screwed and nailed to wood, see pics below of home made versus modern.
http://tighar.org/wiki/2-6-S-03a_and_2-6-S-03b

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

Just a thought but, while examining these 2 artifacts last night my wife, who is from South East Asia, said that they are from a home made fish de-scaler. She remembers her mother using similar home made versions, bits of worked metal screwed and nailed to wood, see pics below of home made versus modern.

That's a great idea--best yet, I think.

Our gidgies seem to be on a much smaller scale.

Perhaps they were back-scratchers.

[James G. Stoveken]

Our gidgies seem to be on a much smaller scale.

Must be for smaller fish.   ::)

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Our gidgies seem to be on a much smaller scale.

Must be for smaller fish.   ::)
[/quote
Yes, I noticed that but, in the first pic I posted James they use a row of them to give the required size. Did you notice that in the first pic it is made from bottle tops, how ingenious is that! Use stuff you find lying about on the ground is the way to survive and, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Gilbertese Islands settlers did just that. fishing lines from aircraft cables, combs from aluminium bits of aircraft, a cottage industry at it's best. Years ago I recall seeing a hooch made from empty beer cans in S E Asia, brilliant!
Jeff

[robin deatherage]

These are widely known as BODY MOLDING CLIPS,, The hole would have had a strong wire threw it bent to fit under the Chrome or Alluminum Trim Moulding inside a thin valley similar to a windshield wiper blade. The photo is a later version of the one pictured with the penny,, it would have been mounted flat on a chrome cover around possibly a windshield trim used to keep weather out from where the windshild glass meet's the cowling on cars--aircraft but never heard of one used on a boat unless used on a special made yacht. The latter would be a wall base trim molding clip which would have been screwed into a floor up against the wall and base trim would have snapped over it and locked into place by the teeth at top into a slotted groove inside the chrome or alluminum molding or trim,,,,the hieghth of placement would have been slightly higher than the bent trim that snapped over it with the trim on the floor or base and the teeth slightly above the trim edge to allow it to be snapped solidly into place.  HOPE THIS HELPS,,,The older automobiles had the under the side-moulding and on the windshields,,aircraft would have used them too seal chrome covers over the windshield cowlings to keep weather out of the gap between the windshield cowling and the glass its-self.

[Chris Johnson]

Someone else suggested the said same thing in this thread Can you explain.... -- top post with attachment.

[Derek Graham]

Maybe parts of a homemade coconut scraper?

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Could well be a homemade coconut scaper Derek. I sent the images of the two artifacts over to the in-laws in Cagayan-de-oro and they said that's most likely what they were used for. Screwed to a short length of wood, one at either end. They sent me one of their home made ones. Now, the mother in law is 85 years old and she's had this since she can't remember when. Here's some images of said item, notice the similarities.

[John Ousterhout]

Here's something similar I found today while working in the garden.  It's used to prevent rotation of an adjuster, not that I'm suggesting the gidgies were from clippers, but rather that they might have locked something from rotation in similar fashion.

[Ric Gillespie]

Here's something similar I found today while working in the garden.  It's used to prevent rotation of an adjuster, not that I'm suggesting the gidgies were from clippers, but rather that they might have locked something from rotation in similar fashion.

The screw is a wood screw so the mechanism was mounted on wood.  The mechanism probably rotated around the screw. The second hole in each gidgie may have been for a pin to lock the gidgie in place when rotation was not desired.