Winch

A picture of a winch in the wild.

A Winch allows the player to pull or loosen chains/wires/ropes. This will usually raise or lower a connected platform or Block. They can also connected to Paddles in some water jet puzzles. The player is unable to move while interacting with it. Once the player stops interacting with the it, the linked object will slowly return to its original position.

Interestingly, winches seem only active while the player is in the same room.