What the… is that?
Blocks of black rubber, a bit like giant mouse pads. Well, probably not rubber, more likely gutta-percha, the gum from a tree found in the Malay Peninsula and Malaysia. It was used to insulate telegraph cables on the seabed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before modern plastic, gutta-percha was also made into golf balls, teddy bear noses, picture frames, jewellery and much more.
So,
