Did some digging and I believe this is it:

Box Mangle

I’ve never heard of it before, but it appear to be a giant laundry press. Not exactly my first guess!

It’s labor, but a labor of love.

2007, on a high school field trip to an amusement park. My friends and I were all standing around outside, near a little restaurant seating area.

A teenage boy from another school came bolting over, nearly knocking over a chair. He said to me directly, “I’m lost, can you find my dad?”

He was fake twitching and holding his hands up against his chest. I was just confused, and none of us knew how to respond. Just a second later, another teenage boy (not fake twitching this time) ran up. He threw his arm around the other boy and said to me, “thank you for watching my mentally challenged* friend. Can I have your number in case it happens again?”

A teacher promptly ran over and broke up the interaction, telling the boys to beat it.

Probably the most creative attempt I’ve ever witnessed, although it was pretty clumsy. We referred to them as “Mr. Twitch and Captain Pickup Line” in retellings of the story throughout high school lol

*not the terminology he used in 2007

The shape of the cutout almost reminds me of a bottle opener. What are the dimensions we’re dealing with?

I don’t think it would necessarily be a good bottle opener. But the mismatched sizes of the “feet” could mean it was hand made, possibly by an amateur? School shop project?