[WiZ] Up and Item (PUZZEL OF THE YEAR 2023)

[WiZ]

Back in my retail days, I amassed a lot of knowledge about a simple and straightforward item. I never took any steps to actively learn this information; in fact, I have never seen this item being used. Moreover, despite selling this item fairly regularly, I never got to apply any of this knowledge in selling it. Why not? And what was the item?

Autobiographical. No caveat.

[GalFisk]

Was the item made from: plastic? Metal? Glass? Ceramic? Rubber? Wood? Cork? Plant? Mineral? Animal? Fiber? Fabric? Wool/hair? Fur/skin/leather? Bone/tooth? Food? Drink? Gas? Was it a tool? Toy? Utensil? Was it electric? Electronic? Mechanical? Decorative? Expensive? Battery-powered? Bigger than a breadbox? did you read this information? were you told this information? Did it come from something you saw? Heard? Experienced? Did customers cause you to amass this information? Coworkers? Did you amass this information while seeling the product? Receiving it? Unpacking it? Displaying it? Taking returns of it? Answering questions about it? Or complaints? Doing something else work-related? Doing something else at work?

[Sundowner64]

Did you ever own such item yourself? use it? if owned but not used: is it an item that is used only in very specific situations and this situation never came up for you? (like a fire extinguisher)
Would it help to narrow down the type of shop you were working at? convenience? food? clothing? shoes? DIY? book store? pharmacy? household appliances?

[WiZ]

GalFisk

I'll split your questions into what the item is and how I found out about it:

Was the item made from: plastic? Metal? this Glass? Ceramic? Rubber? Wood? this Cork? Plant? Mineral? Animal? and these two, no to rest Fiber? Fabric? Wool/hair? Fur/skin/leather? Bone/tooth? Food? Drink? Gas? Was it a tool? yes Toy? Utensil? yesish - 'tool' is more accurate Was it electric? Electronic? no to both Mechanical? yes, in a rudimentary sense Decorative? no Expensive? varies Battery-powered? no Bigger than a breadbox? varies

did you read this information? no were you told this information? yes Did it come from something you saw? Heard? this Experienced? Did customers cause you to amass this information? yes Coworkers? no Did you amass this information while seeling the product? yes Receiving it? Unpacking it? Displaying it? Taking returns of it? Answering questions about it? Or complaints? Doing something else work-related? Doing something else at work? no to rest

Sundowner

Did you ever own such item yourself? use it? no to both if owned but not used: is it an item that is used only in very specific situations and this situation never came up for you? (like a fire extinguisher) generally speaking, this is not a 'just-in-case' sort of item
Would it help to narrow down the type of shop you were working at? yes convenience? food? clothing? shoes? DIY? this book store? pharmacy? household appliances?

[GalFisk]

Did people tell you about the item when buying something? Looking for something? Complaining about something? Performing a DIY project? Modifying the item? Replacing the item? Did the people who taught you about the item have the item? Want the item? Want to buy it? Want to avoid buying it? Want to make it themselves? Animal: bird? Mammal? Reptile? Fish? Livestock? Pet? Dead? Living? Extinct? Hunting relevant? Taxidermy?

[BitterLemonCurry]

Did your customers tell you the details about this item? Did your colleagues?

[WiZ]

GalFisk

Did people tell you about the item when buying something? yes Looking for something? Complaining about something? Performing a DIY project? Modifying the item? Replacing the item? no to rest Did the people who taught you about the item have the item? no Want the item? Want to buy it? these Want to avoid buying it? Want to make it themselves? no to rest Animal: bird? Mammal? Reptile? Fish? Livestock? Pet? Dead? Living? Extinct? Hunting relevant? Taxidermy?

*** Correction ***

Ah, sorry, I put the answer in the wrong place. It was meant to be a yes to Plant and Mineral, not mineral and animal

LemonCurry

Hi, LemonCurry!

Did your customers tell you the details about this item? yes Did your colleagues? no

[GalFisk]

Plant: actual living plant? Wood? Plant fiber? Fruit? flower? Other intact part of a plant? Mineral: stone? Gemstone? Asbestos? Mineral wool? Talc? Plaster? Other mineral powder? Did the people who told you about the item end up buying the item?

[BitterLemonCurry]

So customers were telling you more than necessary when asking for that item?

Did they just want to chat? Be sure they got the right thing? Brag about their knowledge? Brag about their DIY skills? Haggle? Justify themselves for buying such an object? Is this object associated with illegal, immoral or risqué actions?

[WiZ]

GalFisk

Plant: actual living plant? Wood? this, no to rest Plant fiber? Fruit? flower? Other intact part of a plant? Mineral: stone? Gemstone? Asbestos? Mineral wool? Talc? Plaster? Other mineral powder? none of these, at least in pure form Did the people who told you about the item end up buying the item? yes

LemonCurry

So customers were telling you more than necessary when asking for that item? Correct!

Did they just want to chat? Be sure they got the right thing? Brag about their knowledge? Brag about their DIY skills? Haggle? Justify themselves for buying such an object? yes Is this object associated with illegal, immoral or risqué actions? and yes!

[GalFisk]

Illegal, immoral or risqué: Illegal? Immoral? Risque? Sex? Drugs? Rock'n'roll? Fraud? Violence? Kinks? Corruption? Greed? Sloth? Gluttony? Rage? Lust? Pride? Wrath? Envy? Telemarketing? Terrorism? Extremism? Voyeurism? Pedophilia? Pestilence? Pollution? Death? War? Famine? Incest? Incompetence? Inflammable meaning the same as flammable? Explosives?
Edit: mineral: sand? Concrete? Something with calcium in it? Silicon? Oxygen? Iron? Sulfur? Phosphorus?

[BitterLemonCurry]

Is this object of wood and mineral? Or either wood or mineral?
Mineral: Marble? Ceramic? Sand?

Can this object be used as a weapon? Some sort of club?

[Sundowner64]

Is the mineral part simply some sort of metal? steel?
Is the wooden part a handle of some sorts? so a metal tool with a wooden handle?
Is it larger than an open hand? larger than a breadbox? larger than a standing person?
Does it have a sharp edge? Would it qualify as gardening or farming tool?
Is it simply a hammer?

[WiZ]

GalFisk

Illegal, immoral or risqué: Illegal? yes Immoral? this too Risque? Sex? Drugs? no to all Rock'n'roll? strange to think in this day and age that Chuck Berry, Tommy Steele and Little Richard could be symbols of immorality. Rock'N'Roll is not relevant here Fraud? noish Violence? yesish Kinks? I am continually surprised by how broad this umbrella is, but I will say no Corruption? noish Greed? potentially Sloth? Gluttony? no to both Rage? potentially Lust? Pride? no to both Wrath? potentially Envy? potentially Telemarketing? saving the worst for last, I see. No Terrorism? Extremism? potentially but by no means necessarily Voyeurism? Pedophilia? Pestilence? Pollution? Death? War? Famine? Incest? Incompetence? no to these Inflammable meaning the same as flammable? no - and nothing to do with refried beans being fried only once Explosives? no, but potentially used in conjunction with them...
Edit: mineral: sand? Concrete? Something with calcium in it? Silicon? Oxygen? Iron? this, no to rest Sulfur? Phosphorus?

BitterLemonCurry

Is this object of wood and mineral? this Or either wood or mineral?
Mineral: Marble? Ceramic? Sand? no to all, 'ceramic' is closest

Can this object be used as a weapon? yesish Some sort of club? I mean, yeah, you could cause significant inconvenience to someone by whacking them on the head with this, but it is not primarily used as a club. I would no more suspect someone buying this item of wanting to use it as a club as I would someone buying a copy of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, although this would be almost equally effective.

Sundowner

Is the mineral part simply some sort of metal? yes steel? could be, depending on the brand
Is the wooden part a handle of some sorts? yes so a metal tool with a wooden handle? yes - and this is really as far as you need to dig as far as the composition of the item goes
Is it larger than an open hand? yes larger than a breadbox? yes larger than a standing person? no, unless this person has a particularly acute form of dwarfism (which, given this is a lateral puzzle, is a fair caveat)
Does it have a sharp edge? no Would it qualify as gardening or farming tool? no
Is it simply a hammer? it is simply not

[Sundowner64]

Could the illegal part be described as an act of violence? against people? animals? things?
or would it rather fall into the category of burglary and theft?
Is the purpose of the tool to cut something? to destroy something or break it into pieces? to move or carry something?
Is it unusual in your region to need such an item for its original purpose? (like a snow shovel when there is hardly ever snow in winter)

[GalFisk]

Breaking and entering relevant? Lock picking? Theft? Crowbars relevant? Do people who buy crowbars justify their purchases by telling you what they're going to use them for?

[WiZ]

Sundowner

Could the illegal part be described as an act of violence? yes against people? animals? things? this
or would it rather fall into the category of burglary and theft? this would be more accurate
Is the purpose of the tool to cut something? yes! to destroy something or break it into pieces? yes, although this is a byproduct of the cutting to move or carry something? no
Is it unusual in your region to need such an item for its original purpose? no (like a snow shovel when there is hardly ever snow in winter)

GalFisk

Breaking and entering relevant? yes Lock picking? Theft? Crowbars relevant? no to these Do people who buy crowbars justify their purchases by telling you what they're going to use them for? but this is very much the reason, yes

[GalFisk]

Hacksaw? File? Angle grinder? Chainsaw? Bolt cutter?

[WiZ]

Hacksaw? File? Angle grinder? Chainsaw? Bolt cutter?

***** SPOILER *****

Back when I worked in a hardware store, every customer who purchased a pair of bolt cutters would unfailingly tell me, unprompted, the perfectly legal activity they planned to undertake with them, knowing full well the optics of buying a product so readily associated with criminal activity. By the time I left, I knew just about every conceivable (legal) use for bolt cutters, but never got to recommend them on this basis because people always came prepared with a justification!

Congratulations, GalFisk, on the solution and Sundowner on a lot of the final legwork, and thank you everyone for playing!