YouTube Video ID: pABdjew0B_U
Episode Post Date: May 14, 2026
GMM Episode Number: 3044
Transcript
Can we identify the real use for strange mystery objects? Let's talk about that. Good Mythical Morning. On this show, we love to ask the big questions like, "Why are we here?" and, "What is this thing?" and, "What is this thing?" and, "What is this thing?" To do the show, desk, mug, other mug. Wow, see, what a rush. For curious souls like us, the subreddit What Is This Thing? is packed with people asking for help identifying mystery objects. But what if we're being lied to? It's time for What's the Use? Welcome Jordan, Jordan, and Andrew to this therapy session. Ah. All right. No, it's not that. I'm excited about this. This is, this is a new thing, to see how well you can lie to us. Mm-hmm. I don't think that any of you have ever lied to us, right? I don't think so. Myrick, I'm not even gonna look at you. I can't, I can't for religious reasons. Right, of course. Always vote for me in this game. All right. Yeah, no comment, Myrick? Me? Yeah, no comment. No. I love being here. That wasn't the question. So under this- Put a little, uh, sound effect on that wink ... under this red velvet thing is an object that each of you is gonna give a presentation about what it is. Only one of you will be telling the truth. Mm-hmm. And we have to wager our confidence in our choice. Yeah, so after you finish your little presentations, or big presentations, I don't know, I don't wanna judge. Some of them are pretty big, yeah. Uh, we are going to ask one follow-up question each. So we, I get a follow-up question to someone, you get one, and then we've got up to 1,000 confidence points that we can wager. Mm. Okay? Okay. I didn't even know we, what those were. Yeah. And now I have so many of them. It's gonna be on this. Okay, Andrew, you're first, I believe. Okay. You ready? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. This item is clearly a glasses holder. It's a common decorative item for bedside tables if you need reading glasses so you can read in bed. If you need glasses, you have the added bonus of being able to see a horse after you put the glasses on. I mean, it's definitely a carved horse with a big notch in between its ears and eyes. Yeah. I think I know what I want my follow-up question to be, but I'm going to wait. Okay, Jordan. Yes. So this item, uh, that I absolutely know what it is. Mm-hmm. Uh, not a promotional, uh, gift for people who worked on The Godfather. Yeah. But rather it is a, uh, it is a boot cleaner. Uh, this is now very, uh, prized amongst, uh, antique collectors, but, uh, back in the day, the farm days, the barn days- The barns. Farm, farm and barn folk would bolt this next to the door and use the ears and the nose and all the little notches to knock, uh, dirt and mud off of their boots. Okay. Okay. I just observed something about it. Oh, you did? Yeah. What? When you turned it. It looks like the head is gashed in right above the eyes. Yeah. Yeah. I, I already told you about that. Well, yeah, but you can see it. I'll explain it. So this, as you can see, nice firm steady base, and that's because this is a piece. It is one of the pins for a novelty children's bowling set. So there's a bunch of these that all look like different breeds of horses, right? Horses are breeds. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. So all different breeds, all different colors of horses, and if you're like, "Why the notch?" Yeah. WTN? Yeah, why the notch? It's because cards go in here, and it says what number pin it is. So the one in the center is one, and then it goes further back, further back. Oh, that was pretty slick. Yep. There's nothing slicker than the truth. Wow. Amen to that, sister. Mm-hmm. We are not allowed to touch it. Yeah, because you could try to put your glasses on it- Mm ... to see if that's indeed what it is. Yeah, I can't do that. Uh- You have a follow-up question? Follow-up question, Jordan Myrick. I assume that you have seen maybe a picture of the whole set. Yeah. So what are some of the other horses? What colors? Just what kinds, 'cause that's an a- Well, I can't tell you what kinds of horses they are, because I don't know kinds of horses. Okay. I know regular, and I know Clydesdale. And I can't see any of the bodies of these horses. Okay. So this color, brown and white, mostly white, speckled white and black, like that kind of stuff, normal horse color. Normal horse color. Are those different breeds of horses? Uh, I don't know either. Got it. Yeah. Hmm. That's my question. Thank you. Jordan Morris. Yes. I am familiar with the boot cleaners. I know that those exist. Mm-hmm. And I know that this could be that. But the notch, what's the notch behind the- Oh, uh, for tools. Eyes? So it's mostly boots, but if you have a tool, you can clean the tool in the notch, so like a shovel or a pick. Okay. Something like that. Oh. I hate when my shovel's dirty. I know. It's the worst. It's the worst. Yeah, I can't get all the stuff off my pick. Listen, you have to clean your shovel before you bring it in the house. Okay. Oh, okay. Right. Okay, well those are all our questions. It is time for our wagers. Andrew, we don't have a question to ask. We can't. We can't. Which may be a good sign. You can't. You can't. Uh, and don't bet it all, 'cause if you're wrong, you go to zero- Yeah. That's right ... and you, and the game's over. Uh-oh. But I am that confident. Are you? No, not quite. Sure. Some, some of us were more convincing, but all of our postures were great. Absolutely. Okay. Okay. I didn't bet it all. I got close. I went 800 for Andrew. Yeah, I went 600 for Andrew. I just feel like, uh, it's too light to be a boot cleaner, and I really don't think you have to put the numbers- on bowling pins. But that was a great use of the notch. And I assume that these, you, you fold your glasses up and put them on there, right? Like, you, you ... That's, that- We're gonna have to find out ... that's how it works? Because the person who was not lying needs to go behind there and put their round glasses on the pins. Okay, I was telling the truth. Yes. Um, all right. Let's see. I haven't done this yet. Yeah, and then it- It's a real missed opportunity, 'cause the horse is not wearing the glasses ... oh, it's on like way on. I know. Well, maybe if I go like thi- ... Mm. Oh, oh, oh. Yes. Yeah, yes. Yes. Okay. Okay. Yes. Wow. So satisfying. Wow. And when the horse takes off its glasses- Yeah ... and lets down its mane, it gets really sexy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, I think the message is, uh, you liars need to up your game. Wow. Yeah. I'm gonna be ruthless. Mr. Morris. Yes. You first. Uh, so this next item that I am very familiar with- Uh-huh ... is called a caponizer. Uh, now, a little bit unpleasant. This is for, uh, castrating birds. What? Uh, yes. It is s- It, it was, back in the day, super heated and i- inserted into the cloaca to prevent, uh, sperm from exiting the cloaca. It's, you know, an older tool and, you know, we're more humane now. But in the 1800s, if you needed to castrate a bird, uh, you would use this, a caponizer. The caponizer. Caponizer. Thank you. Yeah. Okay, he- Okay. So this is a sugar nipper. So, back in the day- Mm ... we had these things called sugar loaves. They were big, like, mounds of hard sugar that you would keep in your house, and you would take this. And you'd scrape the sugar or cut cubes of the sugar off your sugar loaf. Sugar loaf. Sugar loaf. Sugar loaf. It's a hard sugar loaf. Sugar loaf. Oh. Big, big hard sugar loaf. Okay. Sugar loaf nipper. Okay. Okay. Andrew. All right. Andrew. And what's your last name? Not my question. Michaan is my last name. Michaan. Thank you, yeah. All right. Uh, 'cause we need to say these things. Yeah, I understand, yeah. Well, that's 'cause I just- Feel like I should at least know your last name. Yeah, yeah, uh, that's fair, yeah. Andrew Michaan- Andrew Michaan, thank you ... on IMDb. Yeah, that's Please follow me on IMDb. Please, I need my star meter to rise. He's coming for you, Sydney Sweeney. Yes, okay. So you guys have heard of Back in the Day, right? Mm-hmm. Yes. Okay. So this is a denture sizer. So now it's been replaced by modern x-ray imaging, but in the early to mid 20th century, this was used by dentists to measure someone's gum line for fitting them for dentures. And you can see it kind of fits perfectly in your mouth. I mean, I don't wanna do it, 'cause it's been either ... Yeah, I just don't wanna do it. Put it in your mouth. Put it in your mouth. But yeah, it's a denture sizer, but they don't use them anymore. That's why you haven't seen them. Also, I don't know if you guys have your real teeth or not, but, um. Mostly. Mostly, okay. I'm sure. Okay. Congratulations. We're not major league baseball players. I guess not. Not yet. Not yet. And there we go. Oh, wow, okay. Um, I have a question, a follow-up question for Jordan Morris. Okay. So what are the, uh, scenarios in which one would need to castrate a bird? Uh, it's, it's population control. So, like, if- Okay ... if a bird gets too numerous, it'll harm an ecosystem. Oh, yeah. So if they, you know, eat a certain bug that you need for- Right ... crops. So yeah, this was mainly used by farmers if there was, like, an invasive species- Mm ... or if a bird was getting too numerous. Right. And so instead of just shooting the bird, we would capture the bird. Yeah, you would- In the cloaca. It's, it's more, it's more- How cruel. No, you just cauterize the cloaca. Just super, it's a super heat that- Or shoot it in there ... object, and insert it into the cloaca. Okay. It's very humane. Yeah. Big birds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's just ostriches and birds. Hey, big bird, big cloaca. Yeah. You guys know what I'm talking about. I don't. Um, okay, so we had a sugar nipper. Mm-hmm. And, uh, no offense, Jordan. Denture sizer. Uh, yes, I've alr- uh- A denture sizer ... a denture sizer. So you're saying it's more like a caliper. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Is that your question? Yeah, right, right. I think it is, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's like a caliper, yeah. You're telling ... But why does it have to be so sharp on the inside? That's a second question. Well, no, it's just that it has to be thin to get in the mouth and to get in front of the, the, the ... I mean, yeah, it's just, it's hard to measure inside there. In between, in between the teeth and the cheek? The teeth, teeth and the cheek? Yeah, with the gums. The area which is called the ... The mouth? Yeah, the mouth. Air tight. People call it the mouth. No, I mean, it, it ... Look, it ... I mean, dent- have you seen dentistry tools from back in the day? They're all very archaic like this. Yeah, it's true. It's just how it was. It does look a lot like- Yeah. Dentistry was not good back in the day. It's a lot better now. I've lost my writing utensil. I'll borrow yours. I'm, I'm less confident, uh, but still pretty confident. Okay. Not confident at all. I am gonna go with Andrew. Because of the dentistry, um, stuff that we talked about. Yeah. But only 100. Okay. Wow. I mean, I was really convinced by Jordan Myrick's argument here- Wow that this w- the Sugar Loaf, 'cause I've heard of Sugar Loaf before. Would the real truth teller stand and nip something? Yeah. Yes. So it, it is sharp, huh? It's not... No, look. Feel it. It's not sharp. Oh, we have a Sugar Loaf? We have a real Sugar Loaf. Thank you so much. Oh, my goodness. Lookie there. Well, thank you. That's what a Sugar Loaf looks like? Ready? Oh, if I'd have known that. Hold on. That might be what a bird's cloaca looks like- Yeah ... on the inside. We don't know. This is a dual demonstration. It works for both. You can still buy a Sugar Loaf, or did we make that? I love how well it works. Yeah, I see. Come on, make it work. You see why we've moved beyond the loaf. Well, yeah, it's not- So you can see . It won't work? Well, I, it's... Look. Oh. It's- Oh, yeah. It's, it was a crude- I guess it is working ... it was a crude tool. Okay, now bring in the bird. Yeah . We'll do that one. So it doesn't slice it. It does make just sugar. It shaves it. It just, it shaves it. It, you know, maybe if it was a different shape, you could get a little... But this, from what I read, this was from before sugar cubes invented- Okay. Whoa ... were invented. Okay. Am I okay? All right, Jordan Myrick, let's see what's under that felt. All right. You know it, you love it, it's a surikawa. A what? So this is a car decoration that you hang from your rear view mirror, like that, and it's from Japan, and it's inspired by, you know when you're on the subway in Japan and you're holding on to the little- Oh, yeah they do, you know, they got, like, the Hello Kitty train, all those types of things. They were getting stolen because they were so popular. So people would steal them, put them in their car, but it was becoming an issue, so they were like, "Okay, let's just make them as actual car decorations." Huh. Makes sense. Thank God. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's what I was thinking. Okay, Andrew. Okay. It's definitely not what she said. Um, it's actually a lizard training leash, so... What? Sorry. Sorry. Go ahead. I just- You, do you not have a reptile? Uh, no. It was just a- Then don't laugh at their- I, no ... training. That was just- ... that was just air that came out. Okay. It was, uh, it was like a burp. This is a lizard training leash. So when you're training a young reptile, um, this is the kind of leash you will use to attach to them, and young reptiles can be really rambunctious and a little bit violent, so this kind of gives you a little bit of distance, and it even has some spikes here to prevent them from getting kind of closer to you as you're training. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's what this one is. Uh-huh. I don't know what she was talking about, but yeah, it's a lizard training leash. Mm-hmm. Lizard training leash. Yeah. Jordan Morris. Yes. I don't know what those two disgusting, reprehensible liars were talking about. Uh, this is a spinning wristlet. A spinning wristlet. Uh, this is an accessory that you use if you, uh, practice a kind of, uh, niche dance called the Fugal. Mm. And, uh, this is kind of an accessory you use to kind of spin and twirl while you're doing this dance that includes a lot of spinning and twirling. Um, yeah, I think this is kind of a, you know, an accessory for a beautiful dance, uh, largely done in the Netherlands. Spinning wristlets. Hmm. Okay. Yeah. Okay. You may sit. Thank you. Okay, Jordan Morris, so did you watch any, like, video? Uh, y- can you ex- explain how this person would use this to spin? Uh, yeah, I have watched a lot of videos. I don't know if we have any, um, you know, royalty-free Dutch music we could put behind this. But it kind of go- I mean, I'm not, I haven't practiced this or anything. I haven't, like- Oh, you didn't, you didn't really wanna demonstrate. No, no, yeah. But so you, you know, you, you put it around the wrist, and then it's like... Okay. And just imagine, it- we'll put some royalty-free Dutch music in this so it'll seem a little- Oh, we will, will we? Yeah, we will. I kind of like it as it is. So I won't look dumb. I'll look cool when I'm doing this. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, that's kind of how it, how it goes. Okay. Hmm. You're not saying you're the best at it. No, no, no. I just, to bone up for this, watched some videos. Yeah. And obviously I would, you know. Don't use that term, though. Yeah. Just not- They're pretty sexy videos, Link. The videos were pretty sexy. Andrew, you can train lizards. You can, yeah. Not you personally. I can't, but yes, you can. One might be able to train a lizard? Yeah, yeah. They really can. Yeah. You do kind of have the vibe of a guy who's trained a lizard. To what? To do what? Whatever you want. Name something. Well, lizards are, like, in movies and- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ... like, I don't know, like any other animal. Yeah. Yeah. Picture lizards. No, lizards, I mean, well, the thing is- Okay ... um, I mean, I don't know if you've seen, but there's, like, a pretty big lizard community online, and you can take your lizard for a walk. And to start, you'd use this training leash at home, and it's much shorter. On the walk you have a longer leash, and the lizard has a little bit more leeway to explore the neighborhood. And their necks are heart-shaped? No, no, no. That, this is a stylistic kind of thing, 'cause have you seen these lizard girls online? They love this kind of aesthetic. This is, this is stylistic. There's horse girls and then there's lizard girls. It doesn't have to look like this- Yeah ... but this one looks like this 'cause- Bird boys ... you know, these girls are kind of, they're gothy. They're gothy chicks, man. Okay. Yeah, gothy chicks. Where, where do you- You gotta, you gotta keep up with your stuff over there. Okay. Uh, I definitely thought they were all lying at some point. Yeah, there's not, there's not complete truths in, in any of that. But I ended up landing on Jordan Myrick- Okay ... with the whatever she called it for 700. 700. Yeah. I've been to Japan. Oh. Mm-hmm. So I almost risked it all- Wow. Whoa ... to get back into this. Big spender. I'm, I'm pretty su- I grabbed some of these. Wow. And them being stolen- hanging in cars. So then they start selling them. E- everything's sold- Yeah ... in Japan, even the two things that you guys described- Yeah ... are actually in Japan- Japanese. Yeah, yeah ... right now being sold. Okay. Yeah. But that doesn't mean that you're telling the truth. Mm-mm. Maybe not. Who was telling the truth? Step forward. Me, of course. Yes. Their things were crazy. Do the dance. Do the dance. You had to try. Yeah. I'm glad we got it. I actually believed you until you did the dance. So my question really- Whoa. Oh. My question, because I thought that it was one of those things, you know, the, where somebody, like, holds onto, uh, like something that's hanging and they spin real fast? Oh, yes. Yes, yes. Like, that's a type of dance. Oh. Oh. The silks. Like lyra? Yeah. Lyra? I don't know anymore. Yeah, when it didn't fit around his wrist, it was kind of over. Yeah, yeah. Listen, I regret the dance, okay? I shouldn't have danced. I loved it. I, I was very inspired by it. People are gonna turn it into a weird GIF. Yeah. No, I was inspired by it. Thank you. Andrew. Okay. Time to reveal. There's a few of them. Here we go. All right. These are Appalachian finger flutes. So they're kind of similar to, like, a pan flute or a jug flute or j- a thing in jug bands, you know? Uh-huh. Um, and you affix them to your finger, and you blow into the top, and they're each tuned to play different notes. You usually have a set, more like, I think five of them, like one on each finger. They're reminiscent of old Celtic, uh, flutes that were found in burial sites in, um, I think... I forget which country. But, um, oh, but Ap- Appalachia, yes. Okay. Okay. You ever pa- played the finger flute? Phew. Nope. Not anymore. Yeah. Okay. All right. I, no more que- Yeah ... no, no follow-up questions yet. We got finger flutes. Yes. I wa- I really wanna ask questions, but I'm not going to. Jordan Morris. You can do it. Yes. Uh, these are, of course, we all know it. Let's all say it together. Pie vents. Yes. Uh, so this is kind of a folksy alternative to kind of cutting the slit in the top of the pie, uh, so the moisture doesn't make the crust soggy. So obviously it kind of, uh, you know, uh, there's a hole in the middle, so you would stick this in the top of your pie. And so the moisture would all go up through here, and then you have a nice crispy crust, and a, you know, a cute little chicken in the middle, uh, just for some fun and pizzazz. Fun and pizzazz. Okay. Fun and pizzazz. Jordan Myrick. Okay. So these are old-timey bubble makers for children. So before everything was plastic, obviously they made things that would last longer. So you would take soapy water. You would take these, you'd dip the bottom in, like, a little, you know, whatever, plate- Suds ... soapy water or whatever. Suds, yes, thank you. And then you blow through this, and then the bubbles come out the top. It's so cute. Ooh. That was convincing. Um Hmm. Andrew. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm gonna ask. You want me to play them. I, I'm not trained, and I'm also not from Appalachia. I don't know if this is, like, culturally okay for me to play them, but I will try. That's a good way to get out of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Culturally, I just can't. I don't know, appropriate the- Yeah. The flute. Okay. I, I will say I tried in there, 'cause I am telling the truth, and it is very difficult. I looked up videos online. It's really hard to do, but I'll, I'll try my best. Um, okay. Let me... I think... Okay. Yeah, that one, that one's difficult. Look, if we get the wrist spinner back out, I can damn near do this. Yeah, I think- Okay. I can't do it, but I saw videos online. People are really good, and they have one on each finger, and they're, like, going really fast. I've seen them on the streets, like, they're, it's, like, a buskers I've seen doing them. Anyway, um, Appalachia. Yeah. Okay. Uh, Jordan Morris. Yeah. So the bottom of that chicken foot- ... is on the top of the pie or all the way to the bottom of the pan? Oh, you know what? I don't know. I don't know how far down into the pie. Mm. I would guess, based on the depth of the average pie, and I know pie depth- Um, uh, I would guess that it just kind of sinks in kind of partway or halfway, depending on the depth of the pie. So yeah, that's just... And then the moisture rises out the top. How, how, how confident are you in this? Well, I'm gonna write that down under my wager. 'Cause we're 300 apart at this point. Hmm. This is a close game. Wow, yeah. Okay. I'm 2,500 confident. Oh, well if- Ooh. Wow. If that's the case, you gonna win ... that this is a pie cooler. A pie vent. Okay. Well- I just feel like- Huh ... it's f- it's folksy. I, I don't think it would work, but I'm still this confident. Okay. Well, I agree with you, but I'm only 400 confident. Wow. Wow. So this could be a big swing here, depending on whether you're, we're right or wrong. Well, I mean, the second choice was not the finger flutes, right? No. The only reason I didn't choose, uh, Jordan Myrick is because I don't think you can get your mouth on that little hole on the other one. Yeah. Hmm. I think you blew on the wrong side. What? Yep. No. I think you have to blow on the small side. Uh-uh. All right, then stand up. It was me. Ah. The pie vents. Dang it, Link. Pie vents. Yeah, I, I think I knew that pie vents were a thing, but again, I, I still don't- I don't get it. Why don't you just slit the pie? I think this is just cuter. It's fun. It's, like, a fun way to do it. All right. I think we should go lightning round. Quick invitation to go over to the Mythical Society, where we have a series, Behind the Mythicality. We actually have one for this episode- Ah ... where they learn about all of these items and how to lie about them. So if you wanna see what went into this- That works out ... Behind the Mythicality, watch now on mythicalsociety.com. Okay. This is a speed round. You're only going to say one sentence about the item, and then no questions, and we have to wager. Myrick, can you reveal, and let's hear it. This is an avant-garde hourglass. This is a dehumidifier. This is a ceiling-mounted bug repeller. Uh... Hourglass what? A dehumidifier. Okay. Fun sound to make. 200, Jordan Morris, dehumidifier. 1,000, Jordan Myrick. That's me. Thank you. Ah, yes. There we go. 'Cause I thought it would, like, get to a certain place and then flip over. And then flip. No, I think it does look like what I said. Okay. Let's see it. Okay, so we couldn't get the actual object, so this is a photo from Reddit. And this is an agneni, it is a Nigerian percussion instrument. This is a brosse de bourre, which is an antique French butter churn. This is a waschenstamper, a German tool used for doing laundry. Go big or go home. Mm. Trying to get back into this. What did you wager? Almost all of it, 'cause I... You got me more than doubled. Andrew. Wow. 2,500. That's a lot of pressure. I also said Andrew for, uh, 200. Wow. Let it... Okay, you were right. Yes. Yeah, you were right. You're both right. We're both right. I almost win- We got a game. We got a game ... with Morris on that butter churn. Oh, she's getting close. Oh. Wow, okay. Oh. I'm back in it. I'm back in it. Let's see it. This is a scissor holder. This is a decorative bug trap. This is a necktie for a large lawn goose. Okay. Okay. Rhett. I'm putting it all on Jordan Myrick. Hopefully that's enough, but if... I assume you probably chose the same thing. I did choose the same thing with everything I got- Wow. 'cause I am not letting- Oh, oh, oh. So if we're wrong, I can win. Yeah. Of course they gave me the scissoring thing. It's a scissor holder, and that means, Link, you win. Yes. And since you won, you get to keep one of the objects of your choosing. I would like the horse pick holder. The cleaner. It's the cleaner. Cleaner. Oh, beautiful. To put my glasses on the horse. Wow. Beautiful. Thank y'all for being here. That was great. Thank you. Thank you for having us. He looks just like you. That's your son. People are, on the internet, are now going, "The horse is Daddy." Okay. Thanks for commenting and sharing this video. You know what time it is. Hi, I'm Dr. Ribeiro. And I am also Dr. Ribeiro. And we are here at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. And it's time to spin the Wheel of Mythicality. But only one of them can be the real doctor. Mm. Oh, no, they're not lying. Oh, I- No, no, yeah, yeah They can both be the real doctor ... so they might be married. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I just was stuck with the game we just played. Uh. Unsolicited advice to, Francesca, should you have your cat taxidermied? Well, first. You should let it die, yeah. It should die first. Yeah, we both knew that was the joke that we wanted to make. Yeah. Click the top link, we kinda raced to it. Yeah, it had to die first. To watch us play GURP in Good Mythical More, click the top link. Take a look behind the scenes of Good Mythical Morning on Behind the Mythicality, exclusively on the Mythical Society. Join to watch now.