If you have some time to spare and want to learn something new, just try to get postmarketOS on one of them. Here are some loose ends to start with (not only iPod related, Apple in general): [0]
If you get stuck somewhere, the community is happy to help you either in the matrix/irc chat[1] or in GitHub issues[2].
Oh interesting, on my cursory glance I assumed PostmarketOS was only for rootable Android devices.
This might actuall be pretty fun to try and get my 3rd gen iPad going. It’s barely usable as is, so no great loss if I brick it. Even then, I assume the screen is still usable for something.
[0]: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Apple_iPod_Touch_1G_(appl...
[1]: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Matrix_and_IRC
[2]: https://github.com/postmarketOS/pmbootstrap/issues