uniquely-ironic's tags:

mystery box.JPG

This is a wooden box that I found at my favorite thrift store yesterday.  The fact that I bought it and it's now in the trunk of my car is another reason why I think I must be crazy.  True, it only cost me $3.50, but exactly what is this?  I don't know.  I really don't know, but the fact that it had so many storage slots and that it was wood drew me in.

It's about 3 foot by 4 foot and 6-8 inches deep.  The slots are about 3-4 inches wide and about an inch high.  I was tickled that it was made by the Napa Valley Box Company, which was a company that used to work in the same building with me when I lived in the valley.  (the guys there would use scrap wood to make bird houses and feeders for us to take home)  They would usually make the wooden crates that you kept wine bottles in for shipping etc.  I have no idea what this was made for.

If this were bigger I'd say it was for sorting mail.  If the slots were taller it could be useful for sorting small things in removeable trays. (pins, clips, etc)  Now, I'm gonna have to keep it hidden until I figure out what it's used for or I'll have to admit to Bill that I bought something that I have absolutely no idea what it's function is.

HELP!!!

Please!!!  Give me your ideas.



del.icio.us Digg reddit StumbleUpon

Comments

  • wombat said on Jul 23, 2008....
    I love a good mystery!  My first guess was for displaying seed packets for sale, but if it's only an inch deep--not likely.  Can't wait to see other people's ideas! 
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    wombat - yeah, those would have to be pretty thin packets to make it practical.
  • tizzygirl said on Jul 23, 2008....
    cassette tapes??
  • tizzygirl said on Jul 23, 2008....
    I seriously think that is what it is for, I've seen them before.  It's a cassette tape holder rack?  but it's a little deep....8 tracks?
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    tizzy - that crossed my mind too.  Maybe.
  • beyondtheveil said on Jul 23, 2008....
    unique- I'm going way out on a limb here. They line the slots with plastic, fill with dirt and plant seeds. After sprouting, they remove to a larger growing location. When you said Napa Valley that's just what hit me.

    But then, I know nothing about sprouting seeds either.
  • nytquill17 said on Jul 23, 2008....
    Hmm...any way you could get in touch with the company?  Maybe not by phone, so Bill won't have that to complain about.  But could you find them online, maybe find an email and send them the picture?  They might be able to recall what they made it for.

    Cassettes or 8-tracks is my best guess.  But it's possible it was a custom job for some specific need of a customer.  Lots of offices or factories might need custom storage like that, if they have some specific part or bit of paperwork.
  • secretlife said on Jul 23, 2008....
    ah!!! i was gonna say seed packets too!
    my grandpa had a shed in the backyard of his house and inside of it he kept a similar type of "box" for his seeds!
    he had a garden that was huge and i think the box helped him organize his seeds.
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    BTV - well, that makes two of us with no seed sprouting knowledge.  I don't think that's it though.  I'm pretty sure sunlight is neccesary to sprout, and if they were inside the drawers that would make for almost no sunlight.
     
    nytquill - I would consider calling them, but my gut feeling is that one of the employees there did a side job off the clock for someone and I don't want to get them in trouble.  It does seem to be for sorting something.
     
    SL - I suppose if you could find a tray to fit the slot you could use it to sort seeds.  That would make sense.  I was also considering post cards.
  • beyondtheveil said on Jul 23, 2008....
    unique- Drawers? It has drawers? I was thinking of laying it flat, planting seeds, and placing it in the sunlight. But no matter, I'm sure this isn't a seed sprouting machine. 
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    BTV - well, no, technically it doesn't have drawers now.  I was thinking you were talking about putting seeds in a shallow container (drawer) and sliding them into the slots.
     
    There are 48 slots.  I don't know if that's significant or not.
  • Fallyn said on Jul 23, 2008....
    my first thought was mail.
    maybe ......more like for memos or something.
    when i was working at the paper they had something similar for employees to get memos and stuff in. each of us had our name labeled underneath a slot.
    but the slots were wider to accommodate 8x10 paper.
    so...hmmm, i don't know.
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    Fallyn - that was my first thought too, but yes, they seem a little small for that.
  • wishyouwerehere said on Jul 23, 2008....
    CDs? 
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    wish - I don't know.  Maybe.  I'll have to grab a CD in case from my desk and see if it fits in the slots at lunch.  You might be right, but only 48 slots seems a little light for me anyhow.  I probably have in excess of 100 personally.
  • nytquill17 said on Jul 23, 2008....
    Honestly just the look of it reminds me of an office mail-sorting box or the boxes of sermon tapes kept with the sound equipment in one of the churches I went to when I was little.  But we've probably ruled out mail and tapes just by size.

    If CDs fit in it, that would be my new best guess.  48 does seem small now, but you could probably fit 2 in each slot.  Plus since we don't know the circumstances it was made under, if it was special-order or made on the side, that may have been the largest size the buyer could afford, or the maker could find spare materials for.

    Plus, 48 doesn't seem like many CDs now, but since you found this at a thrift store it's likely it was made a good while ago, has been in use, then in disuse, and now sold off.  And a "good while" ago people had fewer CDs and DVDs...

    hey! DVDs?
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 23, 2008....
    nytquill - Maybe DVDs.  I'm beginning to think that might be it.  Music or movie storage.  However, I have plenty of that kind of storage, so now I probably should figure out how to justify it's existance in my apartment to Bill.
  • travelr712 said on Jul 23, 2008....
    well, they made it, and then realized that they didn't know what it was for either, which is why it ended up in the thrift shop :-D
  • quietone said on Jul 23, 2008....
    I haven't got the foggies idea... I thought mail slots too.  Well you can always say to Bill, "you mean YOU don't know what that is??? Well, I am not going to tell you, either, you will have to guess"  haha.
  • bluegum said on Jul 24, 2008....

     tell bill its to hold the latest jobs to do list for when he gets bored.lol.

    blue.

  • scipio said on Jul 24, 2008....
    Pigeon holes for letters specially used in hotels for their staff and airline crew offices. Think so !
  • skald said on Jul 24, 2008....
    I did think it was for mail but I don't understand your measurements so I really don't know what to say. Just wanted to let you know I've been here.  
  • CayenneMan said on Jul 24, 2008....
       uniquely-ironic, I don't know what it is but it looks interesting and I probably would have considered buying it myself .It looks like it's made with good wood. I would have tried to use it for cassette tape storage.
  • queenparanoia said on Jul 24, 2008....
    pens??? hmmmm... well can you put some dvd's or cd's in it?
  • hotaka said on Jul 24, 2008....
    My first guess was CDs but I think 4 inches is not enough (as do most women, har, har). Sorting mail was my second guess. You might have been right there. 8 tracks someone said? Maybe. It looks useful but for what?
  • nytquill17 said on Jul 24, 2008....
    Ooh! What about time cards/punch cards?  Like in a workplace.  That would explain the custom size.

    Or maybe for sorting stacks of index cards?  According to your dimensions each slot is 4x6, lol.
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 24, 2008....
    trav - ha ha ha! 
     
    quiet - good idea! make him think he's missed something.  that will drive him nuts!
     
    bluegum - I'm afraid he will find some use for it and then it will magically become his.
     
    scipio - that's my first thought too, though you'd have to have a pretty small company.
     
    skald - I thought of that when I wrote it, but was too lazy to pull out the metric ruler.
     
    CM - thank goodness I'm not the only one who buys things because they're "interesting"!  It is made from good quality wood, and most likely will end up holding small crafting things.
     
    queenie - all good suggestions
     
    hotaka - maybe someone made it to look useful just to drive people like me crazy.  I don't know anymore.
     
    nytquill - index cards......hmmmm.  That would be the perfect size for that job. 
  • ssmithford said on Jul 24, 2008....
    It's a literature organzier for scraps/letters/brocures.  I sell these all the time.  It looks like it's good construction - made of wood thru and thru and not polyboard on the inside like the do now.  I'd keep a hold of it. 
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 24, 2008....
    ssmithford - I can see how that would be helpful.  Yes, I'm very impressed with the construction of it, no cheap plastic or chipboard.  It's a keeper for sure.
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 24, 2008....
    I finally remembered to take a CD out to the car and try it in the mystery box.  If you slide it in the narrow way, it's a perfect (not too tight) fit!!!  I think my mystery is solved.
  • Lucytorial said on Jul 24, 2008....
    It looks like the slots for time cards... each employees card in each slot.. maybe??  the CD slot is probably right though.
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 24, 2008....
    Lucy - I'm beginning to think this box can be used for pretty much anything.  Too bad it's the wrong size to sort my money by denomination.  But, both dollar bills would fit into one slot ;)
  • hinana said on Jul 25, 2008....
    lol i thought bees. but now i dont think so...
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 25, 2008....

    hinana - bee hives look different.

  • hinana said on Jul 25, 2008....
    yes probably.but ive never seen one
  • silverwhisper said on Jul 28, 2008....
    i'm intrigued, u-i. 8 track or beta would be my guess, can't figure out the form factor worth a darn, myself.

    although ssmithford appears quite familiar with the things so that would appear to be the answer, i imagine.

    ed
  • uniquely-ironic said on Jul 28, 2008....
    SW - I'm sure ssmithford is right, but this box is destined to hold all manner of small crafting parts in it's near future.

Comment on "Magical Mystery Box?"

picture Box (Click to add tags below)

(Separate tags using commas, for example: New York, dating, vegetarian)

together in Peace......
Actually it's a couple days old now, but what the heck....
"He brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' "--Genesis 15:5...
Thank y'all for your well wishes!
It helps at a time like this!.......

Subscribe to the SoulCast Newsletter To Receive the Best Uncensored Blogs About Love, Sex, Relationships, God, Politics, and More.


Ever wonder what people really think and how they really live?

Read about the real lives of regular people like you whose powerful moving blogs will make you smile, cry, emotional, and warm inside.

Your FREE SoulCast newsletter is just moments away. Receive your first feel-good blog by entering your email address below.

First Name:
Your Email:


You can unsubscribe at any time with one click. We NEVER sell or share your email address with anyone. Period. close