Combo mousetrap and cheese cutting board

The multi-talented Tom Parker (author of the Rules of Thumb series of books, and the "Make Money" columnist for MAKE) made this space-saving "devention" that combines a mousetrap and cheese cutting board.

• [nandorocker]

  … “it’s a trap”?

• [Gregory Franzese]

  What to get for the cheese lover who has everything.

• [Aleknevicus]

  I prefer the aesthetics of this version:

  http://shop.neatorama.com/product-info.php?oh-snap-cheese-board-slicer-mousetrap-pid481.html

• [The Chemist]

  You know what Alton Brown says about unitaskers in the kitchen.

• [Anonymous]

  @7: Hmm, I always heard peanut butter.

  @15: agreed!

• [papiermeister]

  I think this is a great idea for keeping the pesky cheese thieves at bay. You know them, they always seem to hang around the kitchen with fingers ready to snatch the next slice while you are still cutting. Usually I just jab them with the knife, but then I have to stop and wash the knife…

• [wgmleslie]

  That cheese array is a cheat. The first two wedges are both Jarlsberg.

• [Lobster]

  Cute idea, but splatter one mouse with it and I’d never let cheese touch it again. Eww.

• [MrsBug]

  Put an edge on that trap and you could use it to cut the cheese.

• [SamSam]

  Because what you REALLY want with a cheese board is knowing that there’s been dead bloody mouse on it.

• [Anonymous]

  I think the more important thing to notice here is that the wrong knife is being used.

• [Anonymous]

  Okay, I appreciate the irony, but just the thought of a mouse even walking across the cheese board is enough to make me gag.

• [Antinous / Moderator]

  Mice don’t really love cheese, anyway. Ripe fruit is the bait of choice.

  • [tastydeliciousspam]

    I wish someone told that to the bastard mouse who ran off with a piece of mozzarella I turned my back on for less than five minutes. They seem to really dig chocolate, also.

• [Rich Keller]

  I thought I recognized Jarlsberg. What’s the bleu cheese?

• [unruly katy]

  Cheesy mouse splatter: it’s what’s for dinner.

  Cheesy mouse splatter: just like Mom used to make.

  Cheesy mouse splatter: three words that should never occur together.

• [Flaminica]

  I’m assuming the purpose of this device was satiric in intent because it certainly has no practical one.

• [Anonymous]

  For all you folks trying to make sense out of this, um, he did call it a “devention”.

• [retchdog]

  That’s a J A Henckels intro-level paring knife. I had one which I drunkenly ruined by trying to saber a bottle of wine with it (you can tell, not much thought went into this).

• [DJBudSonic]

  I used to use Victory-style traps; the best bait seemed to be a little peanut butter or soft cheese in the hole of the trigger plate, but just a little so they gnaw on it, then the trap gets ‘em right in the neck and you don’t have splatter, either. Maybe some bug-eyes. I’ve even gotten them with a take-out sweet and sour sauce squeezed in there.

  I am loving the repeater trap, made using a bucket, a piece of string or wire, a soda can, peanut butter and stick for ramp to the bucket lip. Fill the bucket 6-8″ deep with water (or soapy water). String the can long-axis, centered between the sides near the top of the bucket, put a ring of peanut butter around the can, place a ramp (flat wood scrap, stiff cardboard, etc.) up to the lip. They smell the bait, scuttle up the ramp, then try to jump on the can, ending up in the water. I haven’t seen it in action, just the results, I assume they do a quick lumberjack dance on the can before getting doused. Needless to say they cannot jump out and go to their watery graves.

• [willy]

  Has “the multi-talented Tom Parker” made anything recently that actually shows any trace of… uhhhh….. talent?