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March 29, 2024, 12:50:47 am
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Friday Fun Question

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Wattana
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« on: July 28, 2017, 07:21:24 am »

Dear All,

I don’t have a Friday fun bottle, but here is a Friday fun question instead.
 
A book on the Alexander Brody snuff bottle collection is titled ‘Old Wine into Old Bottles’, a phrase no doubt borrowed from the biblical parable 'New Wine into Old Wineskins'. But it got me thinking about 'New Uses for Old Bottles'.

As a snuff bottle collector I have often thought about how to put these functional little objects to use in our modern world. I don’t much fancy the idea of taking up snuffing. But it does seem a shame not to be able to enjoy some of my bottles in some kind of practical way, instead of having them sit there doing nothing.

So I have come up with a few possible alternative uses for these miniature personal containers….
 
1 -   Carrying salt, pepper or MSG for adding zest to that tasteless dish at a roadside diner
2 -   Chili powder for spicing up a dull meal (especially useful for Thais in a Western restaurant!)
3 -   Hundreds-and-thousands for a colourful topping on a plain ice-cream
4 -   Cinnamon or chocolate powder for adding to one’s coffee-on-the-go
5 -   ‘Equal’ artificial sweetener tablets
 
Please add any others you can think of!
(I've already filled one with cinnamon powder....)   Wink

Tom
« Last Edit: July 28, 2017, 07:23:54 am by Wattana » Report Spam   Logged

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Rube
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« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2017, 08:16:01 am »

Tom,
Fun ideas! My wife suggests essential oils.
Cheers,
Rube
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George
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« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2017, 01:45:58 pm »

Great idea, and a bit difficult to come up with ideas !

Medicinal oils
Wooden match container
I do a little gardening, so maybe could use to store seeds
Next to the fish tank to store fish food
vaping oils for electric pen smoking.
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Wattana
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« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2017, 09:04:23 am »

Rube and George,

Thanks for your feedback!

If I was being a stickler I'd have to discount liquids, as they make the spoon (an essential component of the bottle) redundant.
But I'm not, so I like all the ideas, especially the fish food where the spoon can be used to sprinkle it into the tank in measured doses.

Tom
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Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司
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« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2017, 06:45:20 pm »

Dear Tom,
 
    Tab Hunter, the 1950s and 1960s hunk heart-throb, who came out of the closet in 2005, always was interested in Asian antiques. In the early 1960s he started "Tab Hunter's Far East", which sold snuff bottles along with tons of stuff from all over East Asia. It was still going strong in the 1980s, and a lot of 'A-Listers' were buying snuff bottles to hold a white powder to snort up their noses!
 
Best,
Joey
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Joey Silver (Si Zhouyi 義周司), collecting snuff bottles since Feb.1970

Peter Bentley 彭达理
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« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2017, 12:21:14 am »

Hi All

As regards a  Friday  fun question   what  is  THE  most  unlikely thing to   find  in  a  snuff  bottle ?

Answer :  SNUFF !

Strange  but  true  -  I was   recently  visiting a  collector's  home  in Europe  and  he showed  me a   plain glass  bottle  that   had a  brown  base.  On shaking the   bottle  it was  obvious the  "brown  base"  was  in fact  brown  powder

On sampling the  powder  we found  out  it  was  REAL  SNUFF!

Cheers
Peter
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Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush
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« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2017, 03:30:47 am »

Dear Tom,
here is one practical use:
http://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,2169.msg27516.html#msg27516
But I still think that the best use for them is to display for the pleasure of our eyes Grin
Giovanni
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Wattana
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« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2017, 12:30:35 am »

Dear Joey,
    I was going to add that "white powder" to my list, but thought better of it!

Dear Peter,
    You are right - snuff is the most unlikely thing to find in a snuff bottle these days.

Dear Giovanni,
    I had completely forgotten about your pepper shakers! Thank you for reminding me of that post. A most practical use for this pair of porcelain bottles, which can be displayed on your dining table for the pleasure of your eyes every day!

Regards,
Tom
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Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司
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« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2017, 02:55:43 am »

Guys,

     I have snuff in my modern stone snuff bottle ("The Burning Bush") from Giovanni, in my modern quartz Art Deco style snuff bottle, and in my miniature Ivory Qianlong period Palace Workshops Ivory snuff bottle, since I give out snuff in Synagogue on Shabbat.
Best,
Joey
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Wattana
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« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2017, 03:10:37 am »

Dear Joey,

I'm glad to hear it! You must be one of the very few snuff bottle collectors who keeps the stuff in any of their bottles.
The number of collectors who actually TAKE snuff can probably be counted on one hand.

Best,
Tom
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« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2017, 02:19:29 pm »

Dear Tom,
I don't know if you have the same say in English. To speak about something even rarer, we say that "it can be counted on one hand of an old Carpenter".
Giovanni
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« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2017, 06:11:47 pm »

 
Dear Tom,

    Snuff is useful for someone who is addicted to nicotine, but who can't smoke (like on Sabbath).
I use it on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), and sometimes on Sabbath at prayers (though I don't smoke, and never have). And the "Burning Bush" bottle Giovanni kindly gave me has garnered a number of compliments, especially after I explain that it was named that.
Best,
Joey

 
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« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2017, 06:12:36 pm »

Dear Giovanni,

    In Israel, we say that it can be counted on one hand of an old army sapper (one who uses military explosive ordinance)!  Roll Eyes Grin
Best,
Joey
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« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2017, 01:18:36 am »

In that case, even rarer dear Joey!! Grin
Giovanni
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