the.com/sifter
a mesh-bottomed gatekeeper deciding which particles are worthy and which get clumped together in shame
ancient techEgyptians sifted grain with papyrus screens millennia ago
science cousinLab sieve stacks separate soil by exact particle size
gold rushProspectors sifted riverbeds chasing flecks of fortune
word rootFrom Old English siftan, to strain or examine
double lifeAlso slang for one who scrutinizes evidence carefully