WTF is this thing?
 

My friend just moved into a new apartment and this was hanging on her patio. It is some kind of glass jar with another glass jar inside, both filled with a somewhat oily liquid. The two corks lead into the inner jar and outer jar, yet the fluids inside them are completely separate from the other. Any ideas?

It looks like it should be thrown away! Ew! Looks a bit like gone off cooking oil or something.

I can't be certain, but it looks like it would stand up on it's own, looking at the base. I'd bet money that it's a wine decanter, specifically a white wine decanter, and the chamber in the middle can be filled with ice to cool the wine in the outer chamber without diluting it with the melted ice.

Could it be...
 

A fly or mosquito catcher? You put sugar water or something in there to attract them and they get trapped inside. Since it was on the patio, I'm thinking that's what that is.

I think I saw something similar to this in the form of a bottle for vinegar and oil salad dressing. But the loop at the top has me puzzled since it implies that it needs to be hung from something. Is it customary to suspend ones salad dressing in the air? Would it kill people to use fat free Italian instead of having this monstrosity hanging down from the ceiling?

That's actually a relief - I thought you were going to say your Grandad was a descendant of Victor Frankenstein. It does look like equipment for some gruesome experiment !

To the question, in bold type, above. Yes. Yes it would kill me to use fat free Italian. If it isn't made with real unadulterated olive oil, not only is it not worth eating, it's not even Italian. :D

Wow .It reminds me of a old science project.Moonshine.

I like Italian sometimes. But I'm more of a homemade ranch person myself. I hated bottled once I tasted this stuff years ago. My fries never get ketchup if I have this stuff whipped up already. :lol:

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/2...anchrecipe.jpg

I think it is a Klein Bottle.
There was a page on them in my math text book, many a periods I have spent reading that page. :laugh:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle

It's olive oil and vinegar. Those things are all over the bay area -- tons of restaurants have them.