Been a While Since I’ve Seen These

I sometimes take snapshots of objects, not as photographic subjects, but because they caught my attention.

Such as this mousetrap. I don’t remember the last time I saw one until a recent “spring cleaning.” Apparently this design is more than a hundred years old, patented in the late 1800s. It still works — this crude design is among the best rated by the NY Times and Popular Mechanics. I guess there’s still a prize for the better mousetrap.

But I’m also interested in the money. (Money is always interesting.)

The old coins are not bait — no self-respecting mouse would bite for five centavos, which is equivalent to 1/10th of a US cent. But these coins from the 1960’s have high copper content and are quite big, and they’re rare now so people are collecting them.

I find the design of coins and currencies interesting that I once thought of studying metallurgy to work at the mint of the Central Bank. Alas, I had to find another way to make money.

The five centavo coin shrunk over the years, and even got a hole in the middle (ca. early 2000s). It also changed from English to the local language.

Lest you think I’m sour graping at not getting that job at the mint, let me say the people at the Central Bank deserve some congratulations.

The new twenty peso coin is a finalist to the “Best New Coin or Series” category in the International Currency Awards.

I agree it’s a nice design, front and back. And the face on the coin is not bad coming from the bill that it replaces.

It can become a classic.

Speaking of which — I found an old laptop that I’ve forgotten. The LCD screen is so ancient, booting it up reminded me of the bunker scene in the Terminator 3 movie.

I met the ancestors of Siri and Alexa — Merlin and Rover the dog.

I find objects interesting because of the design behind them, the ideas they captured.

Something unusual instantly attracts attention. But unless it offers something else, the novelty wears off and it’s just something different.

It’s harder to make the familiar interesting. And what was once common can become rare. When it occupies a unique place in history, it is doubly interesting.

This iconic design rounds it up. Like the mousetrap from 100 years ago, it’s simple and does the job. It never went away, it lives in the smartphone that you may be using to read this blog.

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(My response to this week’s Lens Artists challenge: “Interesting Objects.”)