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Oct 31, 2024

Maryland historical society seeks to identify mystery machine - UPI.com

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Historians in Maryland are seeking the public's help to identify a mysterious machine donated to a museum in the 1990s. The Dorchester County Historical Society posted photos to

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Historians in Maryland are seeking the public's help to identify a mysterious machine donated to a museum in the 1990s.

The Dorchester County Historical Society posted photos to social media showing a machine composed of a flat ceramic counter top and two spinning objects that resemble rolling pins.

The contraption was donated to the historical society'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 industry would have used it?" the Facebook post said.

Zoe Phillips, executive director of the historical society, said one theory being pursued by historians is the possibility that the machine was intended to make beaten biscuits, which were once popular in Maryland and were known for their dense texture.

She said it may have been intended to simplify 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 trying 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.