Guess What Article for May 2007
By Bob Cahn, “The Primitive Man”

The trail of a GUESS WHAT can be long and winding–

With hours spent – looking… before ever finding.
An oddball something – both strange and rare;
As we follow a friend of this column – one with a flare –
Mike Goodman, well-known as the “King of Stuff,”
Who never ever seems to acquire enough!
Frequent contributor – a man on the prowl –
Optimistic and curious – won’t throw in the towel.
Never found a Flea Market that refused to yield
From West Palm Beach to old Brimfield
You should see him in action, as he beams with pleasure
Like a heat-seeking missile after buried treasure –

Part of the puzzle’s obvious – which we do concede…
So we’ll reveal only the info you absolutely need;
It’s definitely a slicer – but what commodity
Passed through its commercial innards to make it an oddity?
Potatoes, tomatoes, cukes or onions –
Beets, carrots or the squiggly grunion?
An orange, lemon, tangerine or kumquat –
Pick one for the solution to this elusive GUESS WHAT.

A closely bunched series of vertical blades
Comprises our mystery – which turned up near the Everglades
A solid, heavy-duty vertical handle –
Resembles a taper with a silhouette like a candle –
The action can be slow – or it can be furious;
We’ve included the answer, mixed in with the spurious –
Did we mention that it works with a tray that slides –
Which holds the item being processed as it glides inside…
Is it apple or celery or bagels or eggs –
Heavy, iron – 12 inches in length, without any legs.

Time to guess, but don’t lose any sleep –
Frustrating – but not worth a four-letter bleep…
A humble thanks to the “King of Stuff” –
Long may he delve and continue to bluff!*

* Contributed by Mike Goodman, Townshend, Vermont

Answer to April’s Guess What?

Seldom, if ever – in fact NEVER – have we proferred an answer that we weren’t 100% sure of. This time, however, we’re 95% sure – so we’re soliciting contradictions and refutations, if anyone out there cares to shoot us down.
We submit that this month’s GUESS WHAT – with its large cutting wheel – and more importantly, its smaller pivoting or swivel cutting wheel – is a cartographer’s (map-maker’s) drawing board paste-up cutting tool, used to cut and delineate sections of free-form shapes in map preparation and design.
We welcome any input or contradictions on the subject. Anxious to hear from anyone with confirmation or denial*
* Thanks to Audrey Hancock, Homestead Antiques, St. Charles, Idaho