Many thanks to all those readers who sent in suggestions for the use of extra long cotton buds. (see: Cotton buds (Dangers of) 20th Jan.)
There were many amusing answers, some possibly less publishable, bearing in mind that some of our readers may be of a squeamish disposition (ouch).
But the winner of the quiz (IMHO) was Carlo Annaratone :
“Those cotton tips are clearly made to clean with microgrit abrasive powder the interior of British teapots, to bring them back to original shininess.”
Another highly plausible, though perhaps less amusing (IMHO) use is suggested by the manufacturers, whose image of it is reproduced here.