Humpty Doo man finds mystery object in can of tomatoes, keeps it frozen for a year

STAMPS, footy cards, magnets and spoons — all collectors items that give various people something to smile about but one Territorian has kept a unique item cold in his freezer for almost a year after they found a stray bone a pantry staple

Humpty Doo local Tony Furey came across a an unidentified object in their tin of tomatoes that looked like it was a small bone from a small critter. The family has kept it frozen for the past year looking at having it identified via a lab but no one in the Territory could help them out. Picture: Justin Kennedy

AN ANIMAL’S cheekbone is the last thing you’d expect to see after opening a tin of tomatoes but that’s what one Humpty Doo resident found.

Tony Furey came across what he thought was a small cheek bone, perfectly sliced off the bone and while it’s not your typical collector’s item, it has remained in the family freezer for the past 12 months, with the hopes of finding out exactly what it is.

“We bought a tin of tomatoes about a year ago … a bone was sitting right on top of the can when the missus opened it and we thought ‘whoa, look at that s**t’,” Mr Furey said. “We froze it and emptied the freezer recently and thought we had better throw it out.”

While Mr Furey never found out from the company exactly what it was, he was refunded for his can and changed brands of tomatoes immediately.

He does have his own suspicions of where the bone came from, however.

“It looked like part of a face or a head and it’s the right size for a mouse, just because of the joints at each end,” he said. “You’d probably eat it and not notice.”

Mr Furey said it hasn’t changed his eating appetites though he admits his family were lucky to have found it first.

“We definitely think about it but still eat tomatoes, half the food you eat has tomatoes in it,” he said.

“I open lots of tins and most of the time I’ll tip it into something else to make sure I get to the bottom of the cans to make sure there is nothing in it.”

While hoping not to add to his collection, Mr Furey will keep the bone in his freezer and it will stay in his memory for a long time.

“It hasn’t destroyed me for life, it’s just a little scar,” he said.

“You can’t unsee that s**t.”