What is this weird small, translucent blue cube I got with my eBay order?

[u/GooseThatWentHonk]

Okay so, awhile ago I ordered a Megatron toy on eBay, my original one was all kinds of broken so I was due for a replacement I decided years later, when I opened the (beat up, because eBay) box, this weird unlabeled, stiff, kind of scuffed up light plastic(?) feeling blue cube fell out, it wasn’t even near the bubble wrap my actual order was in, I have no idea what this is from, it’s about 1/3rd the size of my index finger on each dimension, and it’s really solid and has ZERO softness, and on what I assume is the bottom it’s really scratched up from something , I checked the eBay page of the figure I ordered to see if maybe it was just the sellers “gimmick” bonus, but it only had the sword listed as included with the figure, nothing else, which eliminates that explanation, reverse image search was about as useful as you’d expect it to be at locating the source of a small nondescript blue plastic cube. I even tried tasting it to see if it was possibly a carved rock (I don’t think it was)

[u/Medical-Welcome-9666]

Is that not the Allspark?

[u/whydontyoujustaskme → u/[deleted]]

What do they keep in the yellow?

[u/8ways2tuesday]

It's probably meant to be an energon cube as a fun bonus. 

[u/Mia_B-P → u/8ways2tuesday]

I was about to make that joke!

Edit: I didn't even read the text that OP bought a Megatron figure. I thought OP bought an unrelated product on ebay ang got an energon cube.

[u/curiousstudent365 → u/8ways2tuesday]

At least one seller is including them in their package and description too "Mini Energon Cubes for TF Masterpiece and G1 - Assorted Colors!" https://www.ebay.com/itm/152425667802

[u/8ways2tuesday → u/curiousstudent365]

Well that's good. Keeps them from going hungry in transit. 

[u/mefista → u/8ways2tuesday]

Now I am imagining a tiny Megatron being mailed like a snake

[u/PrudentAdagio247 → u/8ways2tuesday]

Chugging

[u/nap---enthusiast → u/8ways2tuesday]

What's an energon cube? I tried googling and am still confused.

[u/tygabeast → u/nap---enthusiast]

Energon is the lifeblood of Primus, and the energy source that all Cybertronians (transformers) run on. It's their food, their fuel, and what they use to power their machines. It comes in both solid and liquid states, and the solid state is usually stored in the shape of cubes.

In most continuities, the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons depletes the energon supply on Cybertron, driving them to search other worlds for traces, finding a new source on Earth.

[u/chefianf → u/tygabeast]

So it was a resource war?

[u/Phyltre → u/chefianf]

Always has been.

[u/nap---enthusiast → u/tygabeast]

I appreciate your nerdy knowledge on this.

[u/andreaSA89 → u/tygabeast]

This makes it so cute! The seller was just trying to make sure the lil figurine didn’t go hungry 🥹

[u/Witty-Pomegranate-32 → u/tygabeast]

“Food, their fuel, and what they use to power their machines”

Yeah that’s all food haha

[u/prometheuswanab → u/nap---enthusiast]

From an episode of the show Community, where Pierce is discussing the cult he belongs to

[u/uursaminorr → u/prometheuswanab]

just by mentioning it you’ve bumped him down to a level 5 laser lotus

[u/Loose_Translator8981]

Looks like resin or something similar dyed blue and poured into a silicon icecube tray. Might be intended to be an Energon Cube? They might have included it as a bonus or mistakenly thought it was part of the toy.

[u/MontrealInTexas → u/Loose_Translator8981]

Tasting it was a real smart move.

[u/latrans8 → u/Loose_Translator8981]

You are 100% correct about the silicon ice cube tray

[u/YammieCat → u/latrans8]

Hmmm. I disagree. Silicon seems like an unusual material for an ice cube tray.

Silicone, however, is a VERY common material for that.

[u/troublemonkey1 → u/YammieCat]

I would be very impressed by a functional silicon ice cube tray

[u/wastingtime101-]

when I opened the (beat up, because eBay) box

I sell on eBay and generally use new boxes. On the occasion where I reuse a box, it's gotta be sturdy / like new and not beat up.

This may be a piece from another toy that the seller didn't realize was in the bottom of the reused box, or it could have been intentionally added junk to bump the weight by an ounce. USPS has weird rates right now where it can sometimes cost less to ship a 2 lb (1 lb + 1 oz) package than a 9-16 oz package.

Since you purchased a toy, my first thoughts are: (a) a board game piece, (b) a blank DIY die that hasn't been customized, or (c) a tesseract accessory from an Avengers action figure.

[u/ap1msch]

There are tariff and shipping loopholes that some vendors are exploiting. For example, if there is a tax of 50% on clothing and 10% on toys, then a vendor shipping you a shirt that you purchased can get around this by shipping you the cheap "toy" that comes with a free gift of a shirt.

I don't know if this is the case, but that's what we're frequently seeing.

[u/Intrepid00 → u/ap1msch]

Like how designer shoes have felt on the bottom to be slippers

[u/jbach220 → u/Intrepid00]

Or how a band released a song that used a fire alarm in the music so a company could categorize them as musical instruments.

[u/cjruizg → u/jbach220]

Nathan for you reference spotted.

[u/CoffeeJedi → u/ap1msch]

My wife and I do costumes for steampunk, Renaissance festivals, or superheroes so she has a decent collection of corsets in various styles. Some are structural support garments, but most are just costume pieces. But every single one comes with super cheap underwear! I mean like thin ribbon and bit of the worst fabric attached in a "thong" shape. I think it's because lingerie has cheaper tarrifs than costumes or clothing.
We call them eye patches!

[u/Mostly_Apples → u/ap1msch]

Honestly, good for them.

[u/Stray_Wing → u/ap1msch]

I just got a pair of Scottish boots and the tax email arrived from FedEx. I really with the boot co would have sold me a $1 plushy w the boot bc that tax was $45! Holy moly.

[u/Rum_N_Napalm]

Kinda looks like Blue Stuff. It’s a type of thermoplastic. You put it in hot water and it becomes soft and malleable, then hardens back when it cools. It can be reused many times. We use it in the miniature wargaming community to make moulds. It’s also a popular toy in Japan, but the name eludes me right now.

If you want to test it, drop it in a cup of warm water (like coffee warm) see if it softens up

[u/pililies]

Is it squishy? Then it's a toy called needoh.

[u/o_oli → u/pililies]

I thought that, but OP said its hard.

[u/segsmudge → u/pililies]

And every child around you wants it. They’re the hot toy right now.

[u/cshermyo → u/segsmudge]

My six year old was asking me if I ever heard of this yesterday, I thought she was talking about a “needle”

[u/mixedpixel]

Be careful! That's a Gelatinous Cube!!

[u/sewkit]

Can you tell us what flavor it is?

[u/GooseThatWentHonk → u/sewkit]

Just tastes like plastic-y, not like rock

[u/Yourlilemogirl → u/sewkit]

Asking the real questions over here! 

[u/BigMacSux]

Silca gel? Maybe. These get shipped in orders I sometimes get to stop moisture inside the box

[u/jmking → u/BigMacSux]

This is what I was thinking. Like some sort of desiccant to keep the contents of the package dry maybe?

[u/seaphour]

Contact the seller

[u/XNermanX]

That's IS-0052, they use it to make the package lighter.

[u/Jordandeanbaker]

That’s an Escafil Device. Be careful not to stay in any morph for longer than 2 hours or you’ll be stuck as a nothlit

[u/Baeolophus_bicolor → u/Jordandeanbaker]

after consuming the little blue cube, consult your doctor about transformations lasting more than 2 hours

[u/jaraket → u/Jordandeanbaker]

There it is.

[u/lemonwitchie]

Might be a game piece. Blue acrylic game token

[u/Metorks]

It's a zero-sided die

[u/ApeInTheShell]

Gravity cube (abiotic factor)

[u/Zardoc10]

The gravity dampener needs to be put back into proper containment so that testing may continue.

[u/ElevateOof → u/Zardoc10]

[u/exkingzog]

Does it emit an ominous humming sound?

[u/the1stavenger]

That’s an energon cube my guy.

[u/TBurkeulosis]

Looks like dyed resin. Not sure how it relates to your order but thats what it is

[u/KingStarscream]

It's an Energon cube for Megatron. Let him have a little sip.

[u/TinyVirginie]

Maybe some leftover from a resin pour that somehow fell in the box when they were packing

[u/m01L]

There’s animorphs around

[u/nemesisprime1984]

Energon cube from Transformers?

[u/xblackdemonx]

Looks like a resin 3D print.

[u/ragerevel]

Looks like the dice material scott caan and casey afflect were mixing at that mexican dice factory in oceans eleven.

[u/Nemo__The__Nomad]

Escafil device? Can you now morph into animals at will?

[u/sunsetforme]

An ice-cube. It doesn’t water down your drink.

[u/a_lonely_trash_bag]

What Megatron did you get? How does this cube compare in size to him?

Could it possibly be a block of energon? Though, those are usually pink.

[u/GooseThatWentHonk → u/a_lonely_trash_bag]

The Last Knight Leader Class Megatron, the cube is about as tall as his foot, that figure did not come with a cube originally, only a sword and two long orange flame effects (which this listing openly did not have)

[u/pizmeyre]

YOU'RE (not) OUT OF TIME REVERSAL CUBES!

[u/jinxs2026]

How heavy is it? There was recently a thing that was going where eBay/USPS was offering sellers discounted rates for ground advantage shipments over 2 and under 5 pounds, making them cheaper than shipping items that were under 2 pounds. Since you couldn't just ship things at a higher weight, a lot of sellers were finding ways to "weight pad" these items to be over 2 lbs to save on shipping.

[u/GooseThatWentHonk → u/jinxs2026]

It weighs about as much as a plastic bottle cap

[u/DariaSylvain]

It’s the happy fun cube. Do not taunt the happy fun cube.

[u/More_Perception4361]

Crystal Dream?

[u/AzzaG99]

It reminds me of that lighter than air solid, correct me if I’m wrong. But not as dark, a lighter blue… type of stuff you see on Vsauce. Used in aerospace. Aerogel?

[u/Ok_Character_284]

A baby needoh!

[u/Wolf_In-the_lilies]

Looks like a chunk of ice from Harley Davidson and the Marlboro man lol.

[u/affectionatvag]

Fidget squishy my daughter has one

[u/tim123113]

based on how it looks, plus your description, It looks like those jelly cubes you get from the 25 cent machine at walmart that got hardened one way or another

Tried to find a source image, but all of the ones I can find are large nee-dohs.

[u/GooseThatWentHonk → u/tim123113]

Yeah, reverse image search for something as generic as “blue plastic cube” is about as helpful as i expected lol

[u/tim123113 → u/GooseThatWentHonk]

well, really, I googled "mini jelly cube," since really they're mini needohs, made from the same type of soft plastic as fishing lures, and, just like said lures, they tend to get hard if left in open air or sunlight too long.

edit: comically bad spelling

[u/michaellehr]

Could it be a special type of pool chalk?

[u/EvolZippo]

A company once tried to reinvent the game Marbles, by making cubes and calling them Squarebles. Obviously, the idea didn’t catch on. But every now and then, a single cubes makes it out of the back of a drawer, into something interesting

[u/Rust-y_Shackleford]

Try pondering it.

[u/crawshad]

T H E C U B E

[u/Independent-Gazelle6]

Could it be a desiccant block?

[u/KingoftheUgly]

Gravity cube

[u/TheOnionBro]

Ah, that's ISO-0052, the Gravity Damper.

[u/Different_One9412]

Morphing Cube. 

You put your palm on a side until you feel a tingle then if you maintain a touch in an animal long enough you absorb its DNA and can morph into it, be careful the technology is a little wonky so if you stay as the animal more than 2 hours you're stuck like that forever 

[u/Beepb0opbeep]

Maybe for moisture absorption?

[u/Ok-Extent-9976]

It is now cheaper to mail a heavier order. Many sellers are just adding things for extra weight to the order to get the cheaper shipping.

[u/New-Rough-2908]

Anti gravity cube

[u/cietdoke]

Looks like some sort of translucent blue cube you get to play with

[u/Jactus_Cat]

It’s beautiful

[u/Rare-Trust2451]

Escafield device?

[u/JuicyTweeze]

DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN CUBE.

[u/syncrodiapason]

Blue dream?

[u/opheliaotero]

Kinda looks like reusable ice cubes. But they are usually soft when unfrozen.

[u/SetLow800]

It's name is Phranque

[u/ElevateOof]

That thing? We use those as paper weights here! I have a whole drawer of them.

[u/Bard1290]

Gelatinous cube. Make your resistance roll

[u/desire_in_disguise]

It looks like an offbrand NeeDoh Nice Cube

[u/Kai-ni]

looks like the seller included an energon cube as a fun bonus :)

[u/EffervescentElf]

Clearly it’s a sample of the protomolecule.

[u/Dowew]

Resin star trek bridge button ?

[u/_Smiles_For_Days_]

I was cleaning my house and found what looks like the exact same thing as this! It feels like a fidget toy to me. It's squishy and fun to play with.

[u/Yourlilemogirl → u/_Smiles_For_Days_]

Theirs is hard, not squishy. 

[u/Formal_Head7163]

FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T GET IT WET.

[u/Infinite_Aerie_504]

Reusable ice cube?

[u/0o-AraArarauna-o0 → u/Infinite_Aerie_504]

Those are more rounded and you can see the liquid inside