Thread: What IS this thing?

My mom got it. She has no idea what it is. The top comes off and it looks to be some form of incense burner if I had to guess. No holes in it, so I can't see it being some fancy drug consumtion device...
It stands ~3 feet tall. Not sure the country of origin, middle east perhaps.

If it has hose hookups, it could be a nargil -- a bong for scented tobacco.

Hey! That's MY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wondered where that urn went!?!?!?!

Dad must've discovered eBay.


LMFAO.

/aisle seat please

Looks a lot to me like a Frankincense burner. If you could post a pic of the inside with the top off, I might be able to work out how to use it - generally there are two chambers on top of one another, you put charcoal in the lower, frankincense in the upper, and when you put the lid on it causes a draw of air from the bottom and the smoke comes from the top.

You may find that the inner section also lifts out to reveal the burner.

We had a similar looking thing in my university days in my shared house, and our house always smelled good. Well with 4 guys living together we had to have SOMETHING to make it smell nice.

Si

Could be a hookah (same as the nargil) for tobacco. Again, only if there are hose hookups. If not, then I would go with incense burner.

i second jimmy man

It can't be a hookah. Hookahs are a water pipe that work by having a tube that runs the entire length, starting at the top with a open funnel arrangement that holds charcoal, passsing though a chamber that contains tobacco, and the bottom of the pipe sits below the surface of water that is contained in the lower chamber. There is anotehr pipe that comes out of the water chamber above the water level, and as you suck on this pipe the air pressure above the water reduces, and so it equalises by drawing air in through the charcoal, heating it, passing over the tobacco, which flavours the air, and then it bubbles through the water cooling it.

This item is domed and closed. There is nowhere for the charcoal to sit, unless the domed top lifts off.

The lower chamber of this item is way too small to contain a sufficient volume of water to cool the smoke.

Though we can only see one angle, I can't see a pipe coming out of the side above the water chamber.

Hookahs are great, and are very very popular over here in Germany. You actually suck the smoke straight into your lungs, rather then smoking a cigarette, and you really do not notice the smoke unless the tobacco is old and dry. The flavours are very intense, and feels very smooth against your lungs and throat as you smoke.

Apparently it is a lot healther then smoking a cigarrette or tobacco, but of course its still smoking at the end of the day...

Si

Is it some kind of Samovar?
Rick

Have you tried rubbing it?

James.

her home?