What's in that pocket?

RAY: This puzzler defies description. It arose from a real life event that happened to me just the other day.

I decided it was time to round out my fall wardrobe. So, I went and bought a new pair of blue jeans. They didn't have my size on the shelf, so a salesperson went to the back room and brought me the correct size.

I was convinced that no one had ever tried on this particular pair of jeans. I didn't try them on at the store, because they brought out my size. I just took them home.

The next morning, I put them on. Usually, when you buy a garment, you reach into the pocket and there's a little slip of paper, you know, "Inspected by number 17," or something like that. There was no such thing in these jeans, but there was something in the left front pocket. I pulled this thing out, and I couldn't identify it.

I put my glasses on. It would fit into a box that was 2 inches x 1 inch x 1 inch. It's not necessarily a rectangular parallelepiped. It wasn't the shape of the box, but it would have fit in this box. It could have been something bigger or smaller, but the one I had would have fit in this box I'm describing.

When I did finally identify it, it made perfect sense that it should be in the pocket. I said, 'Oh, I'm not surprised by this.' The question is, what did I find in my pocket?

Here's the hint that's going to help you solve it. I've been wearing blue jeans for fifty years. When I first started wearing jeans, I never could have found something like this in a pocket.

Think you know? Drop Ray a note!

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]