Artifact Trivia, Round Three

Need a little light thrown on these artifacts this month?

Frankie doesn’t think much of my puns!

But that object behind him, beside the chair, is our subject today. Can you tell what it is? Like the other objects this month, it’s something that still gets used today!

The glass object behind our Curator Cat is an old oil lamp. Because it’s clear, you can see how the wick (the white, wide textile band) curls into the bowl, which also has kerosene in it. The kerosene-soaked wick goes up through the metal cap (a little knob to the side can be turned to adjust the wick as it burns down). The flame then lights up the “chimney,” the glass tube extending upward. You can see from the soot marks that ours has gotten use!

You may have these at home to this day—members of my family keep them on hand in case of power outages. They give off good light, and you don’t have to worry about replacing batteries (just oil, which is fortunately easy to see).