A week ago, we posted this mystery item on CraigsList, offering it to whomever could convincingly identify it. There was such overwhelming interest in the item that I felt compelled to post an update, so I'm glad to announce that we've chosen a winner. The original post is shown below, followed by the tabulated results and the winning entry.

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A rocketship? A submarine? A sea horse? Regardless of what the real shape of this cookie-cutter is, it stamps out some pretty damned fine sugar cookies. Other suggestions for the shape include a woman's shoe, a pregnant whale, an airplane, and a shark. But honestly, we aren't convinced by any of these. So submit your own suggestion, and if we think you've figured it out, this superbly crafted copper cookie-cutter is yours! It's possible that a few extra bends have been introduced to the original shape, but close inspection reveals that it looks pretty deliberate.



Hand a batch of these fresh-baked cookies to some precious ankle-biters, and the kiddies will have a great time using their imaginations to decorate the mystery shapes. Just the cure for a world where the television has supplanted old fashioned creativity.

Guess the shape and it's yours! Pick-up is available between Davis and Porter Square in Somerville. (Fresh baked mystery cookies not included.)

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Based on the 75 responses that this generated, we apparently weren't the only ones who couldn't figure it out. Several participants were absolutely convinced of the veracity of their answers, and others included supplemental documentation, including annotated drawings and links to various cookie-cuter shapes found on the web. All in all, the flood of responses offered comforting reassurance that I'm not the only one who wastes my time this way.

Here are the most popular replies, including the number of votes for each item.

• (5) rooster (including two votes for Foghorn Leghorn)
• (5) woman's shoe (e.g., cinderella's glass slipper)
• (4) chicken
• (4) seahorse (pregnant, with an afro)
• (4) heart (including a "total eclipse of the heart" and a grilled, pounded heart of a South Polynesian water snake)
• (3) submarine (including The Beatles' Yellow Submarine)
• (3) walrus (with a crown)
• (3) whale (pregnant, farting)
• (2) bird
• (2) manatee
• (2) airplane
• (2) The Hindenburg, mid-crash

Oh yes. That's right. TWO morbid people submitted the Hindenburg in its final moments. Charles and Hillary, I hope you're both single because you're meant for each other.

Other, less popular entries include:

• (1) clown shoe
• (1) elf shoe
• (1) one of the three wise men
• (1) New Jersey
• (1) beret
• (1) angel (holding a hymn book)
• (1) dog
• (1) pregnant sea monkey
• (1) hovermobile
• (1) Peru
• (1) rocketship
• (1) shark
• (1) blimp
• (1) elephant inside a boa constrictor
• (1) ghost
• (1) fish
• (1) sword
• (1) snowman on the run
• (1) Popeye's arm
• (1) penguin
• (1) Corvette
• (1) cookie cutter (Gee, thanks)
• (1) Venus de Milo
• (1) ballerina slippers
• (1) Aeolus, the wind god
• (1) Fred Flintstone
• (1) dancing ballerina hippopotamus
• (1) lobster claw
• (1) Alfred Hitchcock's head with a backwards hat, compacted
• (1) flower petal
• (1) bunny ear
• (1) gloved hand holding a snowball wearing a watch
• (1) pregnant mermaid
• (1) chipmunk
• (1) Indian peace pipe
• (1) lung
• (1) wing

And one of my personal favorites...

• (1) one of Texas' new voting districts, courtesy of Tom DeLay

And finally, our winner submitted not only an entry, but an accompanying illustration with undeniable resemblance to the mystery cookie cutter. And the winning answer is... a penguilla, half penguin, half gorilla! I think Jamie's picture leaves no doubt in the mind of any reasonable person that we have definitively solved our mystery.



Thanks to everyone for playing.