Hazard A Guess: Week of Aug. 23, 2001

Hello from Hazard!

Well, the world was waiting for a better mousetrap, so we showed it to you last week.

Item No. 626 is a five-hole mousetrap. The mouse sticks its head in the hole (on the sides of the round, wooden gadget) to get at the bait, which is placed in a hollowed part in the center underneath the trap. The wire loop snares him.

We didn’t fool too many readers with it, but I hope that we educated other readers who didn’t have a clue what it was!

Thanks to the following readers: Barry Cornell, Gnadenhutten, Ohio; Bill Pastor, Canfield, Ohio; Don Watson; Albert Kramer, Cranberry Township, Pa.; Jean Foust, Van Buren, Ohio; Stanley R. Carpenter, Lewisville, Ohio;

Ernest Smith Jr., Poland, Ohio; Charles Spencer, Sewickley, Pa.; Claude Collins, Norton, Ohio; Albert Workman, McMechen, W.Va.; Kevin Breeden, Orrville, Ohio; Ruth Sanor, Salem, Ohio; Charlie Christie, Atwater, Ohio; Col. Milton R. Lorens, Amherst, Ohio; Mike Esposito, Salem, Ohio; Ruth A. Cain, Hookstown, Pa.; Leta Brant, Mantua, Ohio; and William Schenk, North Benton, Ohio.

I’m sure more will be forthcoming!

Charles Spencer from Sewickley, Pa., adds: “I am 72 and can remember my grandmother setting one of these gadgets in her kitchen pantry every night just before she went to bed. She caught mice about every two or three nights, but there was never more than one mouse caught in one night.

“I asked why she didn’t set just one trap instead of all five, and she said, ‘I paid 40 cents to Sears and Roebuck mail order company for this fancy trap, and intend to get my money’s worth each time I use it!'”

We also received two more answers to Item No. 625, the wire banding tool. Roger Snyder of Clarington, Pa., says he used this machine every day for 10 or more years. We also heard from James Cogar of Canton, Ohio.

On to Item No. 627, shared by Stanley Carpenter of Lewisville, Ohio. He didn’t send dimensions, but our guesstimate is that it’s about 12 inches long.

If you know what it is, tell us at: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail to: editorial@farmanddairy.com.