A hundred years can change a lot of things–the way people talk, the cars we drive, and even the way we cook. Here’s a photo of an interesting metal device with a built-in sand timer.
It almost looks like some kind of modern art sculpture, but if we told you that nearly every household in the 1920s had one of these, would you believe us? And what’s more: could you guess what in the world it was once used for?
It looks like a cross between a paperweight and a set of brass knuckles, and while you could probably weigh down plenty of papers with it (or hurt somebody pretty badly for that matter) this 6-holed metal device used to be a common kitchen staple that was used to boil eggs.
That’s right! Eggs. It makes sense when you look at the size of the holes.You might be familiar with the term “egg timer.”
They got their name from the exact place you would have thought of–the sand in the timer lasts roughly the time it takes to cook an egg (provided you’re at low altitude). This fascinating object serves to remind us how far even cooking technology has advanced in the last century.
But although there are probably some hipsters out there who would love to own a cool metal contraption like this, we think we’ll stick to a stove or a microwave to cook our eggs, thank you very much!
