Page 19 - IAV Digital Magazine #606

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Maryland Historical Society Seeks To Identify Mystery Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOradNyUdk
By Ben Hooper
Oct. 30 (UPI) -
- Historians in Maryland are seeking the pub- lic's help to identi- fy a mysterious machine donated to a museum in the 1990s.
The Dorchester County Historical Society posted photos to social media showing a machine com- posed of a flat ceramic counter top and two spin- ning objects that resemble rolling pins.
The contraption was donated to
the historical soci- ety's Neild Museum in the 1990s and has been in storage since.
"Can you identify this machine? It has a new motor but everything else is around 100 years old. What local indus- try would have used it?" the Facebook post said.
Zoe Phillips, executive director of the historical society, said one theory being pur- sued by historians is the possibility that the machine
was intended to make beaten bis- cuits, which were once popular in Maryland and were known for their dense tex- ture.
She said it may have been intended to sim- plify the dough- making process, which traditionally involved using an ax to beat the dough on a stump to remove air pockets.
"We potentially think it was a Maryland beaten biscuit maker," Phillips told WBOC-
TV. "Created by a man who was try- ing to help his aunt with the business, and the belief is that this would've helped beat the air out of the dough as the biscuits were being created."
Other possibilities suggested in the comments of the Facebook post include a meat tenderizer and a leather-working tool.
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