Does anyone know what this is. My friend picked it up to put in her garden but we were curious what it might be
there is a 5inch diameter void in the center that goes nearly to the bottom

What is it made from? plastic? or?

oops, left that out I think it is hard plastic/rubber covered metal

Does it float by chance? Might be a huge fishing net float?

Typically fishing floats are colorful so that they can be more easily seen at sea. Is this thing hollow? How much does it weigh? Is there any kind of plug in it or is it solid?

Hanging witches' cauldron?

@ShadyGreenThumb, at first I thought of some sort of nautical use but being black
@DrDawg, I went back and edited my op, I left out the void in the center.
It weighs about 4 or 5 pounds and obviously made to tie, string , etc, together
I don't know if some of y'all remember but they use to have these black spherical lantern , (for lack of a better word)
that held fuel and a wick and they set them out along road construction at night
but they didn't have the loops and they weren't hard rubber they were metal
Things like this pester me till I find out, lol

So any help would be very appreciated

@porkpal, that is a great answer and might be what we settle with, lol

Yes, they used to call those metal road flares "smudge pots" and they looked a bit like that, but as you say, not plastic.

If it's not metal, you could easily drill some drainage holes in the bottom and use it as a flower pot. It's really cute! You could paint it, too, if you don't want plain black.

I had lots of questions but unfortunately no answers. I thought if it had a plug and was empty, it could have been filled with sand and then used as some sort of a weight.

Yes, smudge pots! Thanks
That is a great idea, drilling holes in it. I can see a pretty succulent in it
Well, this won't be the only thing, I don't know the name of, HAHAHA

This is driving me crazy now, too!

It looks like it's about the size of a bowling ball?

@weedwhacker, that is about the size of it
I thought as active as this site is and with the amount of people here, but it looks like it is just going to make people crazy like me, well, maybe I won't go that far

It reminds me of some type of Jolly Ball horses play with but they dont have a hole down the center

It reminds me of a prehistoric Mickey Mouse head

Even a google image search was no help
This will remain a mystery!

This is driving me crazy. I just know somewhere/sometime, I have seen this ball. By the way, are there any identifying marks, such as a manufacturers name/code/weight?

HAHAHA, I saw this thing every time I closed my eyes last night. I have googled everything I can think of and Ken I agree, I feel like I should know what this is
no writing on it at all

I missed this thread earlier. I like the hanging witches cauldron suggestion.

If you still have the item and can look at it more closely please can you tell us if there are any threads in the opening? Like, could there have been a screw-in plug/lid at one time?

As far as the nautical stuff goes, the bumpers and floats are usually quite colorful, but the dock bumpers are often black (heck, sometimes they use old tires).

Are there any mold marks on the sphere? I am not talking about the fungus type mold but the marks that are left when something is made in a mold. (Hubby was a moldmaker.) Either the seams or maybe some letters or numbers? Please look inside on the bottom, too.

Just about anything I can think of won't be correct unless there can be a lid (I am thinking of a weight that hangs) or...
we can turn it over and look at it the other way and it can attach my 2 chains. So for now I am guessing a dock bumper of some kind...but it needs a lid or there will be mosquitoes.

One more question please...can you say where this was found? Roadside, industrial area, thrift store, etc. Knowing the location might help.
Sorry for so many questions.

It reminds me of something you see in the monkey/chimpanzee enclosures at the zoo. One of the enrichment/discover toys strung between ropes to encourage climbing??

Okay Greene, I'll try to answer all of your questions, lol
No threads but it does look like a lid could have set down on the top. No mold or cast marks at all and it was found at a roadside junque shop, lol

Jean, I think I recall seeing those but I will see if I can find a pic online

Thanks everyone