These Obscure Gadgets Used to Be Everyday Objects

Nowadays, most Americans fill our wardrobes with fast fashion from major retailers. Sewing our own clothes has been downgraded from a necessary survival skill to an artsy niche hobby. And that is why nobody has any idea what this thing is anymore.

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Is this a weird old type of currency? A very tiny weapon? A bookmark???

Nope, it’s called a needle threader. It threads needles. Neat, huh? It consists of a coin-shaped piece of metal with a thin wire in a diamond shape.

Those of us who don’t have any real sewing skills but have attempted to thread a needle will understand why a tool like this was necessary! Instead of trying to shove the thread into the eye of the needle by hand over and over, you could just use this little thing to swiftly weave it through.

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Other once-common gadgets have fallen by the wayside over the years, too, including churchkeys.

Photo Credit: iStock

These were once a necessity for opening cans and bottles, before the era of twist-offs and pull-tabs.

Also, record adapters. Like sewing, records are more of a niche hobby these days than a common product. But back in the day, record adapters allowed music lovers to play records of different sizes on the same record player.