Can anyone tell me what these are?

Can anyone tell me what these are? I don't know anything about these and would love to know as much as possible about them.

 

Are the bobs at the ends solid or hollow?

 

They are heavy, but I think they are hollow. When I thump them it does not fill like they are flimsy.

 

weights...but for what ?

 

So, hollow, with thick walls. You anticipated my first train of thought by showing one with a Starbuck's cup. Looks like they are much too long to hang on the rim of most containers for any kind of beverage. A wild thought is to wonder whether you can hook one over the edge of a table &, if so, whether it would stay there.

Apart from the size, they strike me as something you use at a party where people are circulating with a drink in hand so they can know which drink is whose if several get set down. My feeling is that they are markers of some sort.

 

My guess is that the weights just keep them hooked & prevent them from falling in to...what?

 

The only thing I came across that looks remotely similar are Christmas tree candle weights, but I have never seen any that have animals in place of the candle holder.

 

Also....the reason I have one hanging on a Starbucks cup is for size reference.

 

Exactly what I needed to know, so perfect - told me they are too long for most drink ware. The metal does not look food safe, so if these are somehow drink related, don't think the bob hangs into the beverage.

What would several people use that it would matter that they could each recognize their own from among several whatevers that look alike? And that could be tagged using these? They have to be for entertaining/social events, but apart from table place & drink markers, can't think what else is possible. I don't think they are strictly decorative; they have a function.

 

I wonder if they were part of those perpetual motion gizmos that graced office desks some years back. The hook below the fish or deer would have balanced on the stand.

 

I am getting a sportsman's vibe. They wouldn't serve to let you know if your fishing line has a bite would they? I always just hang a bobber on mine but I know there are fancier things. I am just a country girl cat fishing though....

 

I remember those, but think the tip they balanced on was pointed rather than hook shaped like this? I asked whether they could hang on a table edge because I saw balancing that way was a possibility. Wondered if they could somehow be used as place markers: Hello, So&so, so glad you came, your place is where the deer is.

The one other chord they strike for me is that they could relate to the courses of a big formal meal, the game course & the fish course. Still can't think how they would be employed. I'm sure if someone comes up with the right answer, it will seem so obvious.

 

My first thought has to do with the way the top part is very similar to a clothing hanger top. Not sure what that means, but I don't think anyone else has mentioned it.

 

I doubt it is what they are but I grew up in walking distance of the Missouri River and we fish for BIG catfish. When you have several poles set up you place something like the green gizmo in the picture below on the line so you can see when something is moving it. The picture is a light line with a fancy little bell gizmo just used to show the idea.

In a place like the Missouri River bank on a windy day with a heavy test line going after 70 lb fish sinkers are often used for this as you need something heavy. You are just trying to create tension on that line and give yourself a visual alert when it moves.

Again, pretty sure that isn't what these are but they would work!

 

You're right, really made the same way. Suspect it's just that this is the easiest, most cost effective way to make a metal hook that won't stab the user. Still an interesting thought & possibility. The hook looks too small for the closet hanger bars I know, but maybe not for the ones on a coat rack.

 

Love the stuff I learn here & these little accounts of life in various places. Thanks.

 

This is kind of what it looks like without the candle holder part.
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They could hook on a chair back no?

 

Think what you have look similar to the Christmas tree candle holder because they had to do the same thing: hang somewhere & stay upright despite having something heavy mounted on the top. They work on the same principle.

Suppose they could have been tree ornaments. Seems a very involved way to go about making a deer or a duck to go on a tree. The dangles are coordinated with the subjects on the tops, expected to be seen. Do you have anywhere you can hang one & see what happens if you give the bottom a push to set it swinging? Just be prepared to catch it if I'm wrong about this.