I bought a magazine recently on eBay. Nothing particularly unusual about that, I collect Johnny Depp memorabilia (as you might expect) and this was a rare copy of a magazine with a nice long interview in it. And pictures! I was looking forward to the pictures.

When it arrived, and I eagerly turned the pages to find the article, I found rather more than I’d bargained for. Apparently, some time during the year of 1998, Johnny Depp transformed briefly into a large lizard! And Terry Gilliam did too – it must have been an epidemic! It may have been the drugs, of course, and it was clearly hushed up quite well because I don’t remember hearing about it at the time and I’m sure I’d have remembered.

But the proof is out there. Two pictures of Terry and Johnny in a well-known glossy magazine, captured in all their green and scaly glory. Check out the captions on these two.

I spent a while wondering which was which, and I came to the conclusion that since the caption says ‘Terry discusses … ‘ it must be him in the centre, and Johnny must be the red-clad lizard to the right, earnestly waving his arms, possibly to make a point about the plot or the dialogue. Maybe he was saying ‘but why would lizards care about bats?’ or ‘do I look like someone who wears shorts?’ Who knows? Who can fathom the mind of a lizard?

Looks like they recovered pretty quickly. anyway. Even if the writer of the captions didn’t.

Oh, and in case you can’t quite read the captions, you’ll need to click on the picture to enlarge it, but also click on the thumbnail on the next page.

And there are no prizes for guessing which movie this was. Ask any Johnny Depp fan.

Well, I tried. I tried to make this week’s Macro Monday puzzle a little easier for you, and I thought I’d done quite well, but when I showed it to OH he was … puzzled! And then when I told him what it was, he told me I was cruel! Oh dear.

But since it’s all I have for you this week, I suppose you’ll have to just do your best, won’t you? Tee hee!

Now this object is found in pretty much every household in some form or other. The shape varies a little, the size can vary a lot and the colour varies too, but this is a nice, average example. Common as muck here in the UK, in Europe, and in the USA, I feel confident in saying that this is something you’ll find in pretty much every corner of the civilised world – in the sense that ‘civilised’ means ‘a society having a high degree of development, both social and technological’, though for all I know, you might find these things in a grass hut in the back of beyond, too.

Pretty, isn’t it? But these are not usually purely decorative (though they can be), because they do have an important function, too.

What is it?

You can check back here tomorrow evening (UK time) to find the correct answer in a picture link, and also later in the comments when I answer you all, but I don’t answer very quickly on this one. I like to give everyone a chance to guess without giving it away.

Over to you – prove OH wrong, and give me some correct guesses. I know you can!

Alrighty then – here we are on Tuesday evening and I suppose you all want the answer? Here it is! Surprised? Some of you won’t be – congratulations to Mr Moon, to Colleen, Icy BC, Dutchbaby, Babs Beetle, Christina, Jientje, Rebecca, Jama, Shelle and Sistertex! Seems I did alright after all, in my attempts to make this week’s puzzle a little easier!

This item was given to me by one of my American friends, and I treasure it, partly for itself and partly because of the love with which it was given.

And the clues this week?

Not all households will have one. Most households will have something a little like it, but probably very much different in style. It is not something you would typically see in a kitchen, utility room or bathroom – except maybe as a random placement for decorative purposes only – but it would be possible to find it in pretty much any other room. This particular one is in my lounge, though I have others, quite different in appearance, in both the office and the bedroom.

I can’t decide whether this Macro Monday offering is going to be dead easy, or horribly difficult! I guess I’ll have to just wait and see, won’t I? I like my puzzles to be a real challenge, but not so difficult that it is impossible to guess. I do my best, but what with the international nature of my audience, I don’t always get it right. So apologies to those of you who feel cheated. I am always sad to hear that my chosen object is not seen in a particular foreign country and therefore you have no chance of guessing correctly.

Do remember, when taking a guess, that this is a macro shot, and that materials can look surprisingly different when magnified. I should perhaps tell you that this item was a little dusty when the photograph was taken, and also that the clues refer to the whole object, not just the particular part in the picture.

OK – start guessing!

As usual, come back here tomorrow evening (UK time) to find a link at the bottom of this post which will take you to a picture giving you the answer, and as usual, I will answer the comments at that time and add the answer there too. And good luck!

And the answer? Go here!

Several of you got it right this week, or near as dammit, anyway! Well done – you know who you are! I should mention John McDevitt and Andree as the winners I think, because they got what it is, without adding a qualifier which showed they were thinking of something much bigger. Well, I did tell you to remember it was a macro shot, didn’t I?

I’m adding a little more info in the comments, if you care to read.

Last week’s Macro Monday puzzle was quite difficult, partly because some of you had never heard of charcoal dog biscuits, let alone seen one, so I tried to find you something more universal this week.

Now, I know these things are found all over the world. They might have a different appearance in different countries, but those which are accessible to the public usually look vaguely similar to this one, so hopefully you’ll all be in with a fighting chance!

Take a good look. This is something which is not found in a house, and in fact, very seldom indoors at all, apart from a few very specialised buildings. Usually they are found in the open air.  I saw this one yesterday while walking Sid.

This particular one is a modern version of something which has been around for a very long time.  According to one source,  it was invented in 1804, which surprised me because I would have thought it was older than that.

Anyway.  Off you go. Scratch those heads, jiggle those brain cells, and post your answer in the comments!  I’ll be back again as usual tomorrow with a link to the answer, and I will also add the answer in the comments at that time.

Have fun!

Well, here we are on Tuesday evening and I bet you’re all waiting impatiently for the solution, aren’t you?  Well, here it is! Congratulations to Mara, who was the first to guess correctly!  Also to Colleen, who holds the record for correct guesses. Well done, you too!

I should also congratulate Tina and Toby, who both seemed to know more or less what it was but couldn’t think what it was called.