Lost and Found

In an earlier post about the phone-shelf-now-built-in-bookcase, I referenced an item that Vic found down in the wall within the phone shelf. It is an old skeleton key. It was very dusty and cob-webby... I tried it in 2 interior door locks in my house and it slid in easily. It feels like it would actually work the lock mechinism if there wasn't 80 years of paint over it.

I wonder who let it slip out of reach? An adult, fiddling with it while they chatted on the phone? A child, who maybe was opening doors they weren't supposed to open? Did they have a replacement key?

And then when I look at the simple design of a skeleton key I wonder, how different could they all be? I suspect a skeleton key would open 1 out of every 3 locks on any given street... but what do I know?