Name that thing

Our next-door neighbor, Peter's, house stood empty for most of the six years that we've lived here.

It has finally been sold. Everything had to go, so there was a big house sale a couple of weeks ago, at which we assisted.

There were half a dozen carpenter's levels, six ladders, about 200 coffee mugs, an unused state-of-the-art juicer, and a 1970s green-and-gold-flowered living room set. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. I wouldn't exactly call it a hoarding situation, but there were a dozen complete sets of dishes in this unoccupied house, some still in their boxes, apparently awaiting a really big dinner party one day.

I know Peter is German, and possibly an engineering professor as well, which might explain things, but what possible purpose could six levels serve? Once your house is flat, that's that, right?

Being next door and all, we ended up with some of his stuff--a pair of new oven mitts, two chaise longues for the dogs, a barbecue grill.

Yesterday, Bill announced that he would start accompanying me and the dogs on our evening walk around the yard, to protect us from a neighborhood coyote.

"I got a harpoon at Peter's house," he explained.

Here it is:

This made me wonder about several things:

• Do trash men still cruise local parks with satchels slung over their shoulders, spearing pieces of paper with tools like this?
• How much must Bill practice, in order to hit a coyote with it, instead of me or the dogs?
• Would it do anything more than annoy a coyote?
• What did Peter use it for?
• Most important of all, what is it called?