Rubber rerun: A recent column featured a photo by Nellie Hux (shown) of a pole with 21 tires on it she found on a Washington state beach. So what is it?

“It might have something to do with mine sweepers,” Dave Moore wrote. “If you go out to the Hammond River lookout and look to the left, you will see an exact replica of the picture … That area is where they would resupply the mine sweepers.

“Also, when the Russians had factory ships off the coast, the processors would tie up to the freezer ships, they would lower something that looked like this over the side so the two ships would not bang together while transferring their cargo.”

“It’s the bumper off a dock; it’s connected to the dock sideways along the dock for when boats pull in,” an unidentified caller said. “I know, because my dad built docks in Alaska for 50 years.” So, there you have it. (In One Ear 2/15/19)