• Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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    15 hours ago

    In my desk drawer is a small, plastic black box. Emerging from its surface is a toggle switch, some lights and wires that end in alligator clips. There is no writing at all, inside or out, It starts blinking lights and making an ominous buzzing sound if you let the wires touch each other while it’s turned on. I built it myself, and you’ve got no hope of figuring out what it’s for if you don’t know already.

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    It’s a test light for setting the external ignition timing on airplane engines, to make sure both spark plugs in each cylinder fire at the same time. I doubt even most aircraft mechanics would recognize it because it doesn’t look like a “real” one.