10/21/2026
Did you guess this week's Thing correctly? This little doodad is a tool that was used to recharge GE compressors, especially in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s! And while some of you were not wrong in guessing that it could be used for air conditioners, this one was used for refrigerators with GE yoke style compressors. How does it work? The compressor had a port with a raised ledge around it. After removing the clear cap from your compressor tool you would slip the lower portion of the tool over the port and screw it down to clamp it on. The T Handle could then be used to open and close the valve inside. The red capped portion lets you attach your refrigerant gauges to the system. What about the black handled piece? That would let you attach the tool to the high side of the system! This specific tool belongs to our own Rory W**d who used it while fixing GE fridges with his dad in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Check out the video in the comments below to see a teardown of the kind of compressor this tool was used on!
This week's bragging rights go to Dustin Burroughs and Adam Petzold, but we have to give extra credit to everyone's favorite guesser, David Riley, who may or may not have revealed its actual use as a single can beverage cooler. Legally we've been advised that we can't say whether or not his answer is correct, nor can we encourage you to try it for yourself unless you're placing that single can in a freshly charged 1950s-70s GE refrigerator. Thanks to everyone who played along, we can't wait to see what you guess for the next What is This Thing!
