Strange Item In My New Tin Of Larry's Blend

[av8scuba]

I picked up a tin of Hearth & Home Larry's Blend at the St. Louis Pipe Show and decided to open it tonight. Upon openning it, I had 2 rather large stick-like items right on top. One turns out to be a long folded ribbon of oriental but I couldn't figure out the other. I took it to the table under the light and it was a bird's feather! I wonder what other kind of foreign objects people have found in their tins?

 

[tjameson]

Wow! Winner of most bizarre tin find goes to you sir! I've only ever found whole leaves of Latakia or large stems in tins before.

 

[petes03]

Well that's a new one on me!

 

[woodsroad]

I had a few feathers in the last batch of whole leaf Virginia that I bought. They were small, and gray, like pigeon feathers. You feather looks like it came from a pterodactyl. You might want to ask Russ what Mythical Creatures he's keeping up in Bethlehem.

 

[av8scuba]

Funny thing is... After my first bowl, I have the sudden urge to fly South...

 

[judd]

It's from a tobacco bird! We have flocks of them here in Texas.......

 

[brian64]

Larry Bird?

 

[riskybusiness]

I remember finding a nail in a tea tin once. The factory said they got all their tea shipped in wooden crates from China, and the nail wouldn't affect the tea in any way.
However, I would question the bird feather. Avian parasites such as lice and mites are nasty by themselves, but they can also carry bacteria inside them. You may not see any little critters on the feather, but they could be hiding elsewhere in the tobacco they came in contact with.
You should probably contact the manufacturer and give them the batch number from the tin. Even if the feather is harmless, it is still a quality control issue they should know about.

 

[escioe]

I would let the company know, but I would also not hesitate to smoke it. After all, it's likely been heated and cooled and moistened and dried several times over, unless the feather dropped in at tinning.

 

[cortezattic]

I once found one small leaf from a honey locust tree in a bulk house blend from a B&M. No, I didn't smoke it.

 

[trifecta13]

Larry Bird?

I shot coffee out of my nose.

 

[dragonslayer]

Beats the hell out of a 1 inch ball of mold or tobacco bugs bouncing around, now that sucked. Had the one replaced, the other frozen for three days, then in the fridge for two and smoked fine. A feather doesn't surprise me with all the other things we don't see that hitch a ride on the tobacco leaf. I would smoke it, except for the Latakia 8)
Craig

 

[av8scuba]

It's smoking just fine, and I'm quite enjoying the blend.
I wasn't necessarily upset to find it in there, and I'm definitely not the kind to raise a big fuss to Russ and H&H. I was more curious what others have found in some of their tins.
Happy puffing... even if you don't know what exactly you are puffing! ::

 

[group4]

Part of a sneaker in a can of baked beans -- threw me off canned goods for a year.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Well, I've never found anything that strange in a tobacco tin, but I once found a piece of burlap or some mesh material rolled up in one of my cigars. It was pretty nasty.

 

[woodsroad]

While splitting firewood, I found a complete set of gate harware, burried inside a 90 year old tree, at about growth ring year 50.

 

[andrew]

I remember on a camping trip before my mom bought a bag of peanuts and it had a roasted toad in it. True story.

 

[oldtoby]

Yeah, the Tobacco Beetles are bad.
I've also found bits of string and twine in a few tins, but never a feather. That's a new one on me.