What’s the deal with this thing?

Do you mean, what is this used for? I suppose we can use it to get food out of deep jars, such as olives or pickles, but I bought it for a different reason, and it's been more than worth its weight in helping me reach things that are just out of reach. I'm a short person, and when I drop papers or items behind furniture or between the computer table and file cabinet, I can grab them with these tweezers. My fly swatter is on the floor next to the frig so I can get it quickly, and I've used the tweezers when I push the swatter back too far to reach. I know I've used it in other hard-to-reach places. At my last job, I used one like this to get papers out of the copier when they got stuck; that's what made me realize that I needed this at home. I've used this with my old shredder to get paper remnants out when they get stuck. I've used it with my cats when they grab something they shouldn't have and I know they'll claw me if I try to get it with my hand. There are probably dozens more ways to use this. The only thing I haven't used it for is cooking. I think of it as a valuable multiuse tool.

Why would I use tweezers over tongs?

I've found these tweezers invaluable. I'm short, and if I drop an item or piece of paper and can't reach behind the furniture to get it, the tweezers give me the extra inches to pick it up. I've used them to pick pieces of paper out of my shredder when it jammed. I've used them in other situations that I can't recall right now. I occasionally use them as they were intended, i.e., to get olives or pickles out of a tall jar. Tongs are usually too thick to reach under or behind or get into small places and are not as long as the tweezers, and they can be a bit clumsy. I bought the tweezers specifically to help me reach fallen objects, and they've been more than worth their weight. Hope this is helpful to you.