the unique gavel of the united states senate has an hourglass shape and no handle. in 1954, the gavel that had been in use since at least 1789 broke when vice president richard nixon used it during a heated debate on nuclear energy, despite silver plates having been added in 1952 to strengthen it. unable to obtain a piece of ivory large enough to replace the gavel, the senate appealed to the indian embassy. later that year sarvepalli radhakrishnan, vice president of india, visited the senate and presented a replica of the original gavel to nixon. the replica is still in use as of 2018.