Do you remember that baffling photo that went viral last year?

A strange metallic object shaped like a spout, with a cage made of coiled wire, shared thousands of times with captions like:

“An extraterrestrial artifact?”
“A dental torture device?”
“A 1950s spy gadget?”

Actually, it’s none of that.

This mysterious object is actually a vintage accessory for a Sunbeam Mixmaster juicer — a shining example of mid-century culinary innovation that once sat proudly on countertops across America.

And its story reveals something fascinating: our grandparents didn’t just cook, they created meals with precision tools that most of us have never seen.

🔍What exactly is it?

The item is the spout and strainer assembly from the Sunbeam Mixmaster juice extractor accessory , produced in the 1940s-1960s.

Here’s how it worked:

• Fresh fruit (such as oranges or grapefruits) was cut in half and placed on a rotating reamer attached to the Mixmaster motor.