I've had many people on different forums make guesses from cookie cutters to beach chair parts for these little blue things. They are metal and are magnetic. Many insist that they are cookie cutters, but I won't buy it, they're just too small. I've done extensive searching on the internet and still haven't found an answer to this puzzle.

Let's think about it for a minute. Look at the size of these things. Cookies made with these would be much too tiny. Trying to build a sand castle with these would take forever. Every bag of sand toys I've ever seen have toys made out of plastic. They also have more than one shape in the bag and each is usually a different color. Most are large enough in size making it easy for little hands to play with. Metal cookie cutters also come in many shapes, but not this small, as these would be a choking hazard. I know I wouldn't let my grandkids play with these as the bottoms are too sharp.

What makes these things so mind boggling is that they are found from Maine to the Gulf Coast. Everyone that has found one says that they are all THE SAME COLOR, SIZE and SHAPE. Some may be more rusted than others but they are all exactly the same. Where did they come from? What are they used for?

Here is my best guess. Even though most of these have been found in resort or public swimming areas one thing remains constant. They have all been found at Salt Water Beaches along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast. None have ever been found inland on fresh water beaches. My conclusion is that they are something off of a boat or ship of some kind, possibly a fishing or lobster boat. I have spoken with lobster and fishing people and they don't know what they are either. They may be used to thread ropes through one thing or another. Can they be part of a sail boat? I don't know. I can't think of any other possible logical explanation. Any ideas? What is it?

* * * SOLVED * * *

My thanks to WaterWalker and Jim W. for the solution to my puzzle. These things are also known as "Bottomless Boats". In reality they are part of a Sand Castle building set. These pieces are used as doors and windows.

Submitted by: Mat

This item is less than an inch and a half in size and was found at a beach. It looks like the size of a small tube of lip stick, but it's not lip stick or chapstick. The entire item is metal including the tip. Any ideas? What is it?

Submitted by: Jim P.