Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
Big Ben is the bell, which is fixed at the top (although it can obviously resonate). It is struck by a hammer on the outside, which (arguably) is not part of the bell. However, Raak is about to come along and say 'No' and put paid to all this speculation.
[Flerdle] No, not as such, but that's not a bad line of thought to pursue I'll be available to answer questions until for about another 4 hours - after that I will probably be offline until Monday evening or Tuesday, so I'll start putting clues out in a couple of hours if no-one's got it by then
OK - to summarise those things which might help: It is found on earth (though earth is not part of the answer - which is more than one word), it is broadly to do with geology, it is part of mainstream science, it cannot be perceived without instruments, it doesn't exist on the moon and not as such on other planets, it is not an event nor anything to do with weather (though that might have got the audience murmuring as well). You've been concentrating a lot on what - there may be other productive lines of enquiry.
[Darren] No Flerdle YES (Thunderous applause, with maybe just a slight tinge of relief, from the audience) I might have given it to you anyway if Rosie hadn't already said 'the magnetic field'.
[Tuj] How can there be evidence since Pants came down? All that remains is a memory of what was inside when we were last able to have a look. I still miss having Pants.
It's too early in the morning, so some clarifications: [Inkspot] Is it of mainly man made materials? Yes, as it is known now. [Raak] Something to do with interior decoration? You could probably use it somehow in interior decoration, but to be fair, no, that's not the usual reason for having it.
[Raak] Yes, there is apparently evidence for it having been used well before then, but of course not in its modern form which is what I really want, so strictly, no.
I'm having some network problems here, so sorry for some delay over the next day or two.
Summary It is - a man-made object, a household item, with a practical use. It is not - one word, a natural feature, double-glazing, powered, a container, used at mealtimes, used in the construction of a house, aertexed ceilings, mainly metallic, decorative, something to do with interior decoration, something to do with reading. flerdle owns more than one of it, and something like it was in use over a thousand years ago, but its modern form is the answer. A question about cosmetics is outstanding. Is it some form of clothing?
[Irouléguy] I suspect that "flerdle owns more than one of it" may be a misunderstanding. I interpreted flerdle's response to mean that it's a thing which doesn't usually have number, such as wallpaper (although interior decoration has been ruled out).