4. THE RULE: “And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days; and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.” (Leviticus 15: 19)

I might be wrong, but wasn't 'issue' another word for offspring? So we're talking about a week to recover after a miscarriage.

I often get paid to sleep when I work as a support worker, where there is a staff sleep-in room within the individual's house. The only trouble is that I sometimes get woken up by someone needing something, I don't get paid a lot for it and actually it's not that relaxing knowing that you are in a work environment. Which I guess is the point you are trying to make?

Your images and ideas remind me of the sleeping pods in Japan's big cities.

http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/japan/tokyo/capsule-hotel

Rice tongs. Obviously.

Wondering if the cat is having some kind of partial seizure???

It's hard to believe that someone could survive up there so long and actually made it their home! I felt quite sad watching their belongings being hurled to the ground and bagged up. I wonder what an effort it took to secure each new item and whether the person/ people who lived there were somewhere watching it being destroyed.

Sure, help yourself. Later we go catch a movie. You wanna drive or shall I?

I've read the other comments.

I initially wondered if it might be for counting people (entering an entertainment event) or animals in - a kind of stock check.

But numbers are back to front indicating that it would require some kind of stamping or branding (as said by Hollywoood) allowing numbers to be read the right way round. I would rule out branding due to the size of the numbers. Also you would expect there to be a longer distance between what is being heated up to being red hot and the person holding it. The circular design also doesn't seem right for branding.

The hand-held gadget seems designed to allow quick and easy movement of the numbers, ranging from 00 to 99. So it could be a stock numbering tool, but what happens if you have 100 of the same item? Perhaps a pricing tool makes more sense, as already suggested by Amanderpanderer.

What about age? I have no idea but guessing 1850-1910.

Also, I like the look of it. I bet it would feel good to hold, but not sure about it's usefulness as a sex toy!! Ouch, Nostra. That's just wrong.