This Friday’s mystery object is one of those that you immediately recognise, or are immediately puzzled by. However, with appropriate questions and a bit of reasoning you can probably work out what this is (click image for bigger):
If you are one of the people that recognises what it is immediately, can I request that you try to provide an answer using a bit of ingenuity (riddles, poetry, links), so it gives others a chance to work it out for themselves?
As usual I will do my best to answer any questions, although I am in Northern Ireland down by Strangford Lough for a long weekend, so I can’t guarantee reception on my phone – I will do my best though. Best of luck!
Zygoma 
Is it the tooth of an animal, that’s been carved ?
This object hasn’t been carved
a fossillised woodlouse?
Sorry Pauline, I tried to post a response to your suggestion on Friday, but clearly it didn’t get through.
It’s not fossilised and it’s not from a crustacean.
I think this is something flat that has been rolled up.
A skin that has been rolled up that is.
It has not been rolled up.
Okay never seen anything like this before. First thought is that it is carved bone and maybe used on a handle of a walking stick? I wanted to go with a carved bone pipe but shape seems wrong.
I can tell already that I’m gonna be so far off the mark today lol.
Well, it is composed of something similar to bone, but otherwise I’m sorry to say that you are indeed off the mark.
What a great specimen! I really like how it shows [function] pretty clearly.
You are all Batty.
Huh? Yeah? Huh? Yeah?
Subtle – I like it.
Its a powerpack for Dan Dare’s raygun. I remember seeing it in that comic he was in.
Cryptic enough?
I see what you did there.
Did you see everything though? Not just the obvious bit? Its all clue (although the last line might be wrong).
Definitely something fishy here.
Indeed!
Fishes with piles. (Hope I’m on right lines, or this is all going to sound even stupider than it appears)
Oh my this is an interesting one, it looks at first glance like it is made of a material similar to dentine, and the shape of the individual segments is similar to a ray-plate fragment I picked up from Eocene/Pleistocene strata in Highcliffe (Hampshire).
The shape isn’t the same as my specimen but a quick google search shows the morphology to be quite varied… (eg: http://www.oceansofkansas.com/sharks/Paleozoic/stjohnvi.jpg )
as such, and at risk of embarrassing myself, I’m going to gun for this being a ray plate, though I wouldn’t dream of attempting to refine my guess any more than that.
Good work.