Pause to Wonder

So I’m running to work (quite literally) because I’m late (as usual) and I run past a strangely-shaped piece of foam lying in the gutter. Half a block further, I realize it’s going to haunt me if I don’t document it — so I run back and snap a picture with my phone, then turn and run for the subway stop again.

I was ten minutes late, but now I have this fine photo to ponder. Okay it’s kind of a crappy photo - ’scuse the hell out of me! - but it shows you how grubby the foam was and the oddness of the shape. It looks like a giant ping pong paddle. It was about two feet (60 centimeters) long and had these strange holes in it as you can see.

So, the million dollar question is — what the hell is it?!? Most likely it was used to pack something for shipping, but then the question becomes what on earth would that something be?