My guess it is, indeed, a bent & unusable sewing machine needle. The owner may have saved it for "buying one like this" purposes. (IMHO) :)
that said, I did find this:
http://www.ismacs.net/needle_and_sha...rt-curved.html So, it looks like I am wrong, and there is such a thing as curved sewing machine needle.
...it does sort of mystify me...