The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

So, I was working on a newly acquired gramophone today and once the motor board was removed there was this odd thing.

In all honesty, it looks like some kind of large animal dropping / poo.

When I bent the ends and it broke apart there is what seems to be a gramophone needle in there !

So what's the deal here. Is this some kind of old gramophone artifact which is priceless and I just broke it, or did an animal actually eat a gramophone needle and then kindly returned it after going to the toilet ?

Looks like the beginning of a 1950's science fiction movie. "The Phonograph Needle From Mars" If it starts growing and multiplying... RUN!

Bristol Stool Type is about what for this one, a 2, or a 3?

VanEpsFan1914 wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 2:08 pm Bristol Stool Type is about what for this one, a 2, or a 3?

Charles,

One part of me wants to Google that... the other part is afraid of what I'll find if I do

JerryVan wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 2:21 pm

VanEpsFan1914 wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 2:08 pm Bristol Stool Type is about what for this one, a 2, or a 3?

Charles,

One part of me wants to Google that... the other part is afraid of what I'll find if I do

JerryVan wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 2:21 pm

VanEpsFan1914 wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 2:08 pm Bristol Stool Type is about what for this one, a 2, or a 3?

Charles,

One part of me wants to Google that... the other part is afraid of what I'll find if I do

You'll find weird crap, that's what!
It's a medical scale for determining the difference between "corked" and having the green-pear quickstep.

Good news and bad news.
Good news is, the "artifact" in the original post does not appear to be animal crap as the hair and stuff in it appears to have stuck to the outside instead of being like a coyote or bobcat turd where the hair is all the way through. It is also a little bit large. Bad news is, unless it's from an animal that was fed commercial feed (dogfood or something), it's far more likely some oddball soul decided to drop trou, up the motorboard, and take a mad s--t in your record player, and my only question is, would the Victrola needle inside have made that skrrrrtch sound when it came out?

The hair on/through it looks like a cat hairball... When I had cats, they would leave them around the house to be discovered...

Curt A wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:38 pm The hair on/through it looks like a cat hairball... When I had cats, they would leave them around the house to be discovered...

As someone who belongs to 3 cats, I can tell you that makes perfect sense!

JerryVan wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:02 am

Curt A wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:38 pm The hair on/through it looks like a cat hairball... When I had cats, they would leave them around the house to be discovered...

As someone who belongs to 3 cats, I can tell you that makes perfect sense!

He/she was probably notifying the owner to dispose of used needles properly and not to leave them laying around...

Whatever it was you'll never find out now anyway as you guys are talking to yourselves here now that "poodling around" has left the building for good!