‘What Is This Thing?’: 50 Times The Internet Solved The Mystery Of Unidentified Objects (All-Time Best)
We’ve never lived in a time such as this, where information is always at our fingertips. That’s why it’s called the Information Age. We can Google what the weather is outside and what song is currently playing, and we can even ask AI to make us a meal plan for the week. But there’s one niche that Google hasn’t conquered yet – identifying mysterious and weird objects.
That’s the job for the What Is This Thing? subreddit. We’ve covered the community many, many times here on Bored Panda throughout the years. And now has come the time for the best of the best, the cream of the crop – the very top “What Is This Thing?” posts of all time. So, we present to you the ultimate compilation of people identifying strange, unknown objects!
This post may include affiliate links.
What Are These For In An Outdoor Area Of A Hospital?
Answer: These are emergency showers. An affected person (chemical spills, laboratory mishaps, etc) will pull the level on the top and tepid water (OSHA defined between 60F and 100F) will douse the affected from the shower head (above) and boot sprayer (below). The duration of these showers is required to be 15 full minutes at approximately 20 PSI. Source: I design these systems.
What Is The Point Of Such A Device?
Answer: USB charging condom. This way you can plug your phone into a random USB port and be sure that no data is exchanged. Only the power pins are passed through to the phone. Also called a sync stop.
I Found This Blue Disc In A Packet Of Sour Cream Crisps. Its Has The Words "Ferrous 25mm Bst, Cert Number 213026b" On It. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It's a testing chip. It goes through the metal detectors to ensure they're working. There's a problem here though. You send X number of testers you get X number back. If you get X-1 or some other number you stop the line until you find your chip. The entire purpose of the test is to make sure that stuff like this--which is supposed to simulate a foreign object--does not get through. There's usually paperwork to document this. Write to the outfit and tell them what you found and rest assured there will be a s**tstorm on the other end.
This is really interesting. I'd always wondered how companies detected metal etc. in their products/packaging.
Communities like the "What Is This Thing?" Subreddit really showcase how curious we can be as people. And, of course, knowledgeable – let's not forget that the mystery objects get identified by none other than by the Internet sleuths themselves. There are a lot of sister Subreddits that identify more specific categories of things as well.
There's r/WhatIsThisBug for weird bug identification and r/WhatIsThisPlant for finding out what kind of shrub or flower you're looking at. Then there's r/WhatIsThisBird, which, as a person who has trouble differentiating same-sized birds, I'm a big fan of. Even r/WhatIsThisRock, r/WhatIsThisPainting, and r/WhereIsThis, for identifying places, exist! So when all acquaintances and Google fail, it's nice to have a Subreddit to fall back on.
What Are These Blue Reflecting Markers For? Mounted On A Pole, Facing The Field
Answer: They are reflecting the headlights of cars to the fields, so that deer avoids crossing the road. So it's for safety of cars and animals.
Found This On The Side Of The Road In My Neighborhood. Thought It Was A Brain, Then Dissected It And Now I Have No Idea. Lots Of Small Lobes, Fuzzy Inside, Rubbery?
Answer: You my friend, have just dissected dog poop. Someone’s dog has eaten paper towels in abundance. They can’t digest it and it comes out like this
Posts With Nets On Top On Side Of Street In The Netherlands
Answer: these are to help bats orientate themselves, until the trees are larger. Did they recently cut down trees along this road? Bats need to hear reflection of their sound to know where they are going. These things will replace the leaves in that.
But communities like these are a part of the broader net of platforms that help to satisfy our curiosity. Humans are inherently curious beings. One might even say that Adam and Eve got us into this whole shebang because of their curiosity. Yet the invention of the Internet drastically changed the way we are curious and how we can satisfy our curious minds.
"The internet, in essence, has evolved into a boundless curiosity machine, a space where questions are indulged and answers are incessantly pursued," Neuroscientist Dr. Suzi Travers writes. The "What Is This Thing?" community is a great example of people from all corners of the world coming together to answer one simple question: "Can we identify this thing?"
Object Found While Hiking Off-Road In Bosnia. Notice The Spikes Near The End! Wondering What It Is
Answer: DON'T GO HIKING IN BOSNIA IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE ARE YOU GOING. it is full of unmarked mine fields.
It's for people that want to end their hike with a bang. Not in the good way.
My Security Camera Caught This Individual With A Large Device, Possibly Scanning For Something? The Individual Noticed The Camera And Changed Their Mind It Seems, But What Have They Got And What Are They Doing?
Answer: this person is probably a car thief scanning for keyless car keys. . never leave them near windows and doors.
Thin Slabs Of Ivory With Days Of The Week On The Top Found In My Closet. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Fabulous antique early Victorian chatelaine aide memoir from mid 1800s. Made of sheets of bone, it would have hung on a lady's chatalaine chain or been kept securely in her pocket and she would have used it to make note and appointments for the week to come. It has 6 pages for the days Monday to Saturday, of course a lady would never have made appointments on a Sunday
But professionals also warn that the Internet might stifle our curiosity. Vice President of Developer Community at Microsoft Scott Hanselman writes that people might be unwilling to learn about technology itself. It's ironic, isn't it? Like the Internet serpent eating its own tail: we have a supercomputer in our pockets at virtually all times and can find out almost anything, but do we want to find out how the device and the Internet themselves work?
My Girlfriend's House Has This Panel Next To The Basement Door That Lights Up Whenever The Basement Light Is On. Why?
Answer: It’s to tell you that the basement light is on.
Found This Glass Like Tube “Shell” Washed Up On A Beach In North Carolina, Any Idea What It Is?
Answer: Stingray teeth.
I Saw This In My Yard. Is This Just A Type Of Worm? Or Is There A Parasite On It? (I Saw It Breathing/Have Some Sort Of Heartbeat, So It’s Alive)
Answer: that's two worms making more worms.
"I took apart my toaster, my remote control, and a clock-radio telephone before I was 10," Hanselman writes in his blog. "Didn't you? What's the difference between the people [who] take toasters apart and the folks that just want toast? At what point do kids or young adults stop asking 'How does it work?'"
"As each new layer of abstraction becomes indistinguishable from magic we may be quietly killing curiosity. Or shifting its focus. Is the stack so deep now that we can't know everything?" Hanselman asks.
This Was Found By A Cleaner Hidden Under My Dresser In My Bedroom (She Told Me Very Discreetly About This Which Has Me Concerned), I’ve Tried To Google It To No Avail. What Is This Thing?
Answer: voice recorder, doesn't transmit using wireless though so whoever placed this thing, will be back. If this was in your home, chances are there are cameras as well.
Old Ruler. I Don’t Know How It Is Used Or What Does It Measure
Answer: Slide rule, logarithmic calculating device. These put humans on the moon.
Iron Cone On Either Side Of A Gate Outside The Entry To A Building In Bath England
Answer: It's a snuffer. A visitor to your house would use it to put out their torch.
Hanselman divides people into two clear binaries: the curious and the not-curious. He claims that people might start viewing new technological advancements as magic. And as that magic becomes harder and harder to understand, curiosity might disappear from the picture.
"As each new layer of abstraction becomes indistinguishable from magic we may be quietly killing curiosity," he writes. "Or shifting its focus. Is the stack so deep now that we can't know everything?"
Tooth? Found At Myrtle Beach, Sc
Answer: that’s a broken megalodon tooth.
What Is This Thing In My Classroom? Makes Subtle Fan-Like Sounds And Changes Colour On Top
Answer: AV1 is a personal avatar for children suffering from long-term illness, helping them to continue their education and maintain the normality of daily life despite no longer being able to access mainstream education. Through an app, the user can remotely log into the class from their home or hospital. Looking through the robots eyes, the child can watch the lesson, through the robot’s ears they can hear greetings from their friends and they can speak through the robot to interact with the rest of the class.
What Is This Ring My Uber Driver Would Randomly Click?
Answer: Hes praying, thats a counter. The prayer involves repeating a phrase a certain number of times. Traditionally you kept track on your fingers or with a string of beads. This device does the same job.
Dr. Travers also touches upon this in her essay. She worries that we might not want to reflect, be in deep thought, or engage in an organic evolution of ideas anymore. The never-before-been-easier process of getting answers to almost any question we can find kind of makes our brain lazy, doesn't it?
Came Across This While Hiking Behind An Old Mine In Southwestern Pennsylvania. Several Miles Off Of The Old Access Road. Appears 40 Feet Long, Nothing Written On It, Appears Nothing Is Inside Of It. 25 Feet Or So Off Of The Ground. No Sign Of Life Around It For Miles
Answer: That, my friend, is the daddy of all deer stands.
My buddy from Pennsyltucky identified it correctly right off the bat.
This Weird Wrapped Car. The Lights Were Wrapped In Cloth. Serial Numbers All Around. Anything Significant Or Just Tacky?
Answer: It obscures the car while being test driven, so the yet-to-be-released models are not photographed and published. The random "wave" patterns effectively hide the body contours and lines.
In Germany they are called "Erlkönig" (Erlking). An Erlking stalks children who stay in the woods for too long, and kills them by a single touch. (Wikipedia) The Erlking is a famous poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about an invisible force stalking a father and his child who are riding through the woods in the middle of the night.
Found On Counter In Medical Exam Room: String Of Plastic Numbered Oval Beads. My Own Doc Had No Idea. Pen For Scale
Answer: orchidometer. Used for sizing testicles.
"When answers are instantaneously available at our fingertips, it can bypass this process, depriving us of the valuable moments of pondering, hypothesizing, and testing our theories," Travers writes.
"By offering instant gratification, the Internet may inadvertently deter individuals from cultivating deeper, sustained interests and passions. The quick-fix nature of online information can, paradoxically, impede the very curiosity it seeks to satisfy."
This Sticker On The Inside Cover Of A Second-Hand Bible. Pretty Sure It Depicts A Partridge And A Fig Tree, Both Of Which Have Biblical Connections But No Idea What It Means
Answer: No Bush/Quail. 1992 election sticker.
United States Vice-President Dan Quayle, Republican, 1989-1993. Famous for correcting a 12-year-old's correct spelling of 'potato' to 'potatoe' at a spelling bee in 1992, an election year.
My Mom And Dad Were Doing Some Landscaping In The Backyard And Found This Weird Slate With Writing Etched Into It. The Months Are Spelled Out And The Year States 1827. This Was Located In Southern Missouri
Answer: a practice gravestone scrap. Someone who carved gravestones would practice engraving lettering and drawings on this broken piece of stone.
IKEA Coffee Mug, What Is The Thing At The Bottom?
Answer: So water doesn't stay on the bottom if you put the mug in the dishwasher and stops wet mugs suctioning themselves to coasters. Pretty clever design actually.
The neuroscientist also worries that the Internet encourages superficial curiosity only. She gives examples of how people read articles nowadays – most just look at the headline or skim the whole thing through in a minute. By using eye-tracking studies, marketing researchers found in 2020 that nothing much has changed since 1997 – people still skim rather than read articles.
This Structure I Found While Walking In The Woods, The Metal Bit Is About 2 Feet Wide And Looks Like It Could Uncomfortably Fit A Person In It. My Guesses Are A Well, Sewer Or Time Capsule. For Context I Live In Eastern Massachusetts. We Plan On Going Back To Open It
Answer: Definitely a man hole. Do not open it. DEFINITELY DO NOT GO IN IT! Manholes are notoriously deadly because they contain low oxygen percentages and high concentrations of poisonous gases such as hydrogen sulfide and methane. First responders usually find two dead people in manholes - the first one that went in and succumbed and their friend who watched them pass out and rushes in to help.
What Is This Big Hole That Is Usually Found On Milk Cartons?
Answer: It’s a pressure relief hole. If you dropped it, instead of exploding, the hole would pop out.
I can tell you it doesn't work all the time tho. Don't ask how I know that.
Ok, I Know It’s A Chair, But What’s With The Extended Arms?
Answer: It looks like a plantation/planters chair. You’d put your sore swollen legs up on the arms after sitting on a horse all day, like a pregnant woman with her legs up in the same fashion. This is why the back is so sloped as well. If you sit up straight it wouldn’t be comfortable to put your legs up like that, but in a reclined position it’s good for blood flow and air flow.
Dr. Travers, therefore, warns that our curiosity online might be only surface-deep. According to her, it can hinder knowledge retention. That means that we might see, hear, and watch a lot of interesting or useful information, but it most likely goes into one ear and out the other. "In the long run, such transient engagements could compromise the depth and breadth of our understanding in various fields," Dr. Travers explains.
Found This In House I’m Tearing Apart In A Book Like Someone Wanted To Keep Them Don’t Think It’s Real Money
Answer: Its money from the Philippines when it was occupied by Japan in 1941.
It's very common and has little or no value. They issued millions of notes for countries they did invade and countries they intended to.
I Found This Metal Object. No Text Or Numbers. Can Retract To Be The Size Of A Bracelet. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It's the top (closure part) of a purse or small handbag.
Help Identify What These Are And What They Were Used For? Passed Down By Family - UK
Answer: An apprentice final piece before becoming a journey man engraver.
But not everyone is this pessimistic. Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio thinks the Internet is great for answering simple, very specific questions. And he doesn't worry that it will snuff out people's curiosity.
"The digital age helps us because we can find that [simple] information, and that may drive us to look for something else about this. And that would drive perhaps epistemic curiosity, which is this love of knowledge and wanting to learn new things."
This Belonged To My Great Grandfather. What Is This Thing?
Answer: If it's legit, that's a really old Gibson, from between 1903 and 1933. It's going to be worth more than you think, so be really careful with it. Seriously.
What Is The Hollow Part Of This For? Never Seen Anything Like It Before. Cat For Size Reference
Answer: phone table with storage space for the phone book.
Grandmother Received This From Her Friend After His Death. Nobody At The Senior's Center She Lives At Knows What It Is. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Opium pipe.
Found This White Fuzzy Thing In My Basement, Mother Freaked Out. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Spiders infected with fungus look like this.
Glass Items Seen At Yard Sale. They Aren't Doorknobs And Some Look Like One Solid Piece?
Answer: Knife rests.
I was going to go with victorian buttplugs but that's just my onetrack mind.
Sunset Pic I Took From JFK Airport. Could These Shadows Be The Manhattan Skyline?
Answer: I live near Mt. Rainier and this happens too, only at dawn. The mountain casts its shadow on the underside of the clouds. This is just as impressive as that.
Found A Rock On The Porch Of My New Home, Flipped It Over And Saw This. Is That A Fossil?
Answer: Yup, that's a fossil. Tree trunk impression.
What Is This Ice Phenomenon I Found On The Forest Floor Today?
Answer: The term for it is frost flower and has to do with moisture freezing as it escapes plant tissue.
This... Thing... Showed Up Inside The Humid Jar Of My Carnivorous Plants. What Is This Thing?
I Found This Ring In My Backyard While Doing Gardening. After Cleaning It, It Doesn't Look Like A Normal Ring. Any Ideas ?
Answer: It's a Georgian/early Victorian mourning ring. The initials belong to the lost loved one. They were typically made from gold (18k+) and enameled in black. Yours looks like it was made around 1820s-40s.
This Is About The Size Of My Hand, Made Of/With Some Kind Of Metal (I Think Copper)
Answer: This is mostly likely thousands of years old - a Pre-Columbian artifact. You should take it to a university or museum for analysis. DO NOT polish it or clean it.
Turn it sideways. With the curve to the side. It's an axe head or other type of cutting tool
Found This Small Kettle Years Ago. Tried Searching For A Similar One But Have Always Come Up With Nothing. Anybody Have An Idea Why This Has This Unique Shape?
Answer: a portable men’s urinal for bedbound patients. It is used to pee when you cannot get out of bed.
4in By 4in Scissors. Uncomfortable To Hold, In Either Hand, Two Or Four Fingers. What Is This Thing?
Answer: they're childrens' training scissors. Like for pre-schoolers. The extra holes are so a grown-up can co-scissor and help the kid.
Small Round “Shelf” In Old Mail Box. What Is This Thing?
Answer: for leaving change for postal worker to add postage. USPS delivery people are required to have stamps and you don't even need to catch them to buy some. If you have a piece of mail without postage you can put it in your mailbox with cash and the carrier will bring back change (if needed) the next day.
Found On The Dashboard Of An Old Gmc. A Lucite Like Material, With Ridges
Answer: It's a traffic light viewer. Traffic lights back in the day were mounted on the same side you stopped on which sometimes made it difficult to see the light if you were first in line, this helped reflect the light from above so you could tell when the light changed.
Weird Squirming Living Lovecraftian Nightmare On Our Lawn Chair This Morning. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Hag moth caterpillar with fuzzy “false arms” on its back to make it look like a dead leaf. (We’re looking at the belly)
Found On A Hike In The Highlands In Scotland. Looks And Feels Handmade, Wooden Handle And Mesh Made Of Wire
Answer: Fire beaters. Used to extinguish small fires.
Art Nouveau Style Hook Made Of Silver
Answer: a boot button hook. Used to hook all those tiny buttons on ladies boots
A Silver Utensil. When You Press The Button On One End The Grips Open. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Sugarcube holder. For tea parties with scones. Or coffee and cake.
It's fancy fingers that are used for fancy things by the fanciest of fancy people that fancy themselves more fancy than all the other fancy dandies.
Small Elephant Filled With Water Left At Flat After Party. Debating With Flatmates Over What It’s Purpose Could Be
Answer: It's a melted reusable ice cube.
This Is A On Gate Blocking Road Access To Some Cell Towers. Why So Many Locks, And How Would Someone Even Open It?
Answer: You can open the gate by unlocking only one padlock. The way it's designed means that multiple people can use the gate, and if one person loses their keys, only their padlock needs replaced. As opposed to one padlock with many keys, you'd need to give tons of people the new key.
Daisy chaining a couple of locks would seem easier. Our power company does this for private property access to work on infrastructure.
What Are These Characters Found On The Back Side Of A Sign On A Woodland Trail In Alaska?
Answer: It's Stafir Móti Aðsókn an Icelandic magical sigil/stave to protect against ghosts and evil spirits
Heavy And Small. Found In Southern Germany
Answer: Medieval pilgrim’s badge.
They would show it at passpoints and inns to show others that they are traveling for religious reasons. Kind of like a passport
Metal 3-4 Inches, With Glass Balls. What Is This Thing?
Answer: These were how old reflectors were made, like for railroads
Witt? An Unusually Shaped Sink Possibly In A Corridor, Spotted In A Property Listing On An Older House. Looks Quite Narrow, Probably Too Small For Washing Boots
Answer: It’s called a butlers sink, or cleaners sink. It’s used for cleaning, filling buckets, emptying out waste so housekeeping can wash down surfaces without wandering through the house.
What Are These Medal Things On The Corner Of These Stairs And What Is Their Purpose?
Answer: Corner dust guards. They make it easier to sweep dust out of the corners.
Weird Glass Ball, Suspended By Screws, In A Metal Frame, Bronze Or Gold Colour In Appearance
Answer: It is a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder. You place a strip of card into one set of grooves in the piece that curves behind the sphere, point the opposite side of the sphere towards the equator, and the sphere will focus the sunlight to burn a track on the card. The card has hours marked, and more the card is burnt, the brighter the sunlight was.
Anyone Know What Those Round Impressions Are Called, And What Are They For ?
Answer: Old windows were made of glass spun out into flatness. That's the center of the spin. New windows are made of glass floated on a pool of molten tin, which makes very flat panes without any annoying bullseyes. EDIT: this is also the source of the myth that glass is a liquid and flows over time. See the center pane of your picture? Someone took the time to get a "good" pane for the center of the window, without any bullseye - put your best pane in that spot, obviously. But the glass is still of uneven thickness, getting thicker closer to the bullseye. So people look at panes like that, with thicker glass in one part, and decide that "hey, the glass must have started off perfectly flat and flowed over time". But no. The glass flowed when it was molten (1500 degrees C!) and does not flow at room temperature.
I knew how old glass was made never seen a picture though. Very cool.
Why Do These Window Grills Have A Bulge. Seen In Spain
Answer: They're called "belly bars" in a lot of places. They're designed for flower boxes.
Edit: forgot to mention that the primary purpose is security. The rounded part is for flower boxes.
Scanning Family Slides From 1964 - This Was Over My Parent's House In Texas. What Is This Thing?
Answer: it's a residue of a rocket launch. It's called Twilight effect. It was done right at sunset so the sun lit the vapor/exhaust trail from underneath.
What Is This Object I Found On A Beach In Yorkshire That Has Holes In And Feels Like A Mix Between Stone And Plastic
Answer: A Victorian toothbrush. The handle is made of animal bone and the holes are where the bristles (normally pig or horse hair) would go. Bristle toothbrushes like this were invented in China in the 1400s, but contrary to all that seems good and sane in this world, most Europeans weren't all that into toothbrushes until the late 1700s/early 1800s. Source: am archaeologist.
What Is This? Found It By My Toaster. Please Don't Tell Me It's Some Kind Of Cockroach Molt
My Neighbors Shared An Unsettling Video Of A Woman Holding This Device Up To Their Ring Doorbell. She Walked Up, Held It Directly In Front Of The Camera While It Made A Clicking/Buzzing Noise And Then Left Quickly. Any Ideas Of What It Might Be Or If We Should Be Worried?
Answer: It's a frequency scanner. Often used by car thieves. These can read the codes from that distance and enable thieves to get into your vehicle, disable the security features in the process, and drive away with your car.
Grainy-Like Things? They Appear Inside And On My Closet, And Reappear Whenever I Clean Them. What Are These?
Answer: Termite poop.
What Is This Demonic Looking Creature?
goodbye everyone. im staying in my house for the rest of my life
What Is This Thing? Small Gold Pig Container With Removable Tiny Spoon For A Tail
Answer: Salt cellar aka salt pig
I've Met An Old Man In Germany And He Sent Me These Little Coat Of Arms, Telling Me To Visit Each Of This Location Before I Die. What Are These Exactly Used For?
Found In A Bag Together While Digging A Pool In Massachusetts. Penny For Scale
Answer: Toy plates for a dollhouse.
Im Waiting For The Bank To Open And They Have This Card Facing The Street. What Is It Used For?
Answer: Former bank employee here. It's definitely a safety signal. We switched ours quarterly and it is to let other employees know that it is all clear to open.
Just Bought A Lake Home And Found Three Of These In The Water Next To The Pier. Criss-Cross Stack Of Corrugated Pipes Wrapped In Plastic Netting All Weight Down By Bricks
Answer: It is a fish crib. It is a device to give baby fish a place to hide from the big boys. They also make for some good fishing as the lunckers will hang around hoping for a few little ones to come out
Fun fact, you can get in a LOT of trouble lifting these things out of the water. Unauthorized possession of another harvester's trap gear or removal of trap contents constitutes theft.
1.5 Inches Long, Hard And Glossy. Found 5 Feet Below The Bottom Of A Virginia River
Answer: Fossil snail casting
Water Flows From A Culvert Beneath A Trail Into This Circular Pool, Then Continues On Into The Woods. What's The Pool's Purpose?
Answer: Settling pond for erosion control and improving the downstream water for happier fish
About The Size Of My Hand. Found In The Trash. (I'm A Trash Man). Any Ideas?
Answer: Laser cut "perpetual" calendar.
I Found This Little Guy Under A Stair In A Parking Garage At The Mall. The Clothing Is Made Out Of Thread And His Hair Is Made By What Seems Like Glue Dipped Into Dirt?
Answer: It is a worry doll. You tell your worries to it, and put it under your pillow at night. It's supposed to take away your worries while you're sleeping.
I had a little bag of these! I took them to school for Show and Tell and another kid stole them.
Found In A House I Moved Into. The Chain Has Two Corks Attached On Either End
Answer: It is for wine. Ice goes in the little side container to keep it cold.
Unknown Glass Object Filled With Unknown Liquid, Found In An Early 1900’s Barn. Any Leads?
Answer: Fire extinguisher.
Extra detail: early fire extinguishers were thrown at the fire, like a grenade. The glass shatters, spreading the fire-snuffing liquid. Sometimes I wish we still had ones like this.
Flying Over An Area Outside Of Tucson We Saw This Hole And It Looks Like It Has Water In It
Answer: Pit mine, the spiral you see is the actual road trucks drive on to transport the materials mined from the bottom to the top.
Patches Of Sand Floating On Top Of Water Near Shoreline, Each Patch Around 4-10cm In Diameter
Answer: It's dry sand floating on the water tension, been picked up by the raising tide. Only happens when it's hot enough to dry the sand and absolutely flat calm.
Found Inside A Musical Instrument, It Is The Size Of A Big Grape But There Aren't Any Holes Big Enough For It To Have Fallen Inside
Answer: They have these in violins. They call them the mouse. It’s just years and years of fluff and detritus. If they get repaired the repairer will put ‘the mouse’ back into the violin for good luck. It could be something like that.
Toilet With A U-Shaped Divot In The Front
Answer: It's a type of handicap toilet, more common in Europe than the US. It's supposed to have an open-front seat, too. That allows a person to slide straight onto and off of the seat (such as from a wheelchair), without their genitals ever touching the seat or the bowl. This is more comfortable and decreases spread of disease.
Ditches In A Field Next To An Airport. Didn't Use To Be There Before
Answer: Before construction, they are required to look for sites of archaeological interest. This is the pattern that they use to search for those. They trench a line and the dots on each side of the trench are the dirt which has been removed
They usually tend to do desk research first, to determine whether, on the basis of documentation, there is any reason to go trenching. That there are so many trenches and also relatively close to each other might indicate that they find it likely that there is something of archaeological worth there.
Found These Soft Metal Objects While Metal Detecting Under A Pier At Low Tide
Answer: they’re good luck/prayer charms that are tossed in the water on purpose.
Found In My Math Teacher's Room. 100 Squares With Varying Patterns And Colors. No Patterns Seem To Be Same
Answer: They are times. For example, 4 is 2 blue, blue is 2. So 4 is 2x2. 8 has three blue 2x2x2. 96 has 4 blue 2x2x2x2 (32) x red which is 3. 32x3 is 96
Green Alien Thing That Grew On My Band Aid. What Is This Thing?
What In The Absolute F*ck Is On My Car?
What Are These Circles On A Window Of A Bus And What Do They Do?
Blue Glass Token Found In A Field In France, Though One Of The Ships Flags Kind Of Looks Like A Union Jack. Game Piece Or History?
Answer: It's a part of a ring warn by somone important on one of the shipping companies in the 18th century
A Silver Spoon With "Top" Part?
Answer: Vintage Christofle Orfevre a Paris Silver Plated Medicine/Invalid Feeder Spoon.
Burying Our Dog In The Backyard Who Passed Today At 16 And Came Across This Underground Wall
Answer: It’s got holes in it, that’s a drywell. That thing fills up when it rains so the yard doesn’t flood.
Small Ceramic Bowl With Three Small Cones Like Things In The Middle
Answer: It is an Ikebana Vase. It is for Japanese style flower arrangements. The flowers go in the tubes and the rest is also filled with water, usually smooth stones, or maybe a small turtle or frog sculpture.
From the videos shown in my Japanese class, Ikebana is seriously lovely. I'm generally not much of a flower arrangement guy but even I find myself wanting to try it at least once.
Floating Home Found Tied To A Fence On The Beach In Southern California
Answer: It's floating duck house or similar structure for local waterfowl. They give ducks a place to sleep safe from predators or to escape water predators (usually snapping turtles and such).
And if you’re an MP in the UK you managed to claim over £1500 on your expenses for a very fancy one of these!
What Is This Piece Of Playground Equipment For? Seems Like It Must Have A Function Other Than To Just Lay On It
Answer: Manufacturers are providing a lot more pieces that are accessible to children with limited mobility. While this may seem less interesting at first glance, imagine the benefits to children who’ve never been able to climb up to a slide or fire pole.
There's a park in my area which has a swing especially designed for a kid in a wheelchair. :)
Cubby Inside Kitchen Of 1950’s Home
Answer: Telephone nook/niche.
Again, the big heavy azz black rotary dial phone sat on top shelf with the "White & Yellow Pages " phone directory below. This wall unit was normal in most home hallways built in the 1920s because phones were becoming more important to families plus some phone customers had the joy of listening in on what other people were talking about on the old party line system.
Promo Item I Received For Free At A Christmas Fair. It Is The Size Of My Hand, The White Top Screws On And Off And The Red Bag Part Expands And Is Pretty Thick
Answer: A mini refillable hot/cold pack for headaches or injuries.
Solid Feeling Balls That Chyme/Jingle At A Low Tone When You Shake Them
Answer: Baoding balls. They’re for stress and concentration. You're supposed to put them both in the palm of your hand and rotate them around each other in a circle.
These were all the rage in the 90s. Seemed like every gift shop sold them.
This Is About 3ft Talk Made Of Solid Wood. It Doesn't Weigh Much Though, Maybe 5 Or 10 Lbs. The Arm Hanging Down Swings And The Top Is Just A Handle. It Does Not Move
Answer: A boot puller, otherwise known as a boot jack. Heel in the u shaped groove, other foot on the back of that to stabilise it all, swingy bit on the top of the foot, hold the hand grips and lever the boot off the heel by lifting your booted leg up and out.
Bought A House With This Glass Structure In The Backyard, No Idea What It's Supposed To Be
Answer: It’s to grow mushrooms. Called a fruiting house. It looks like there is even substrate there that you use in growing mushrooms.
Staying At An Airbnb And We Have This Little Metal Tray Embedded In The Counter Top. It's About An Inch Deep (Banana For Scale), Cannot Be Removed, And Has A Drawer Underneath
Answer: It's where a scale used to be.
Poll Question
Thanks! Check out the results:
You May Also Like
Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk
Do you think childless individuals should be expected to chip in for group babysitting costs during friend gatherings?
17 Y.O. Is Done Sharing Her Birthday With Her Late Twin, Parents Are Not Having It
Do you think the girl should be allowed to celebrate her birthday without the remembrance of her deceased twin?
Saw (also on BP) a pic of a jar with a removable glass top and spout. Without looking at the answer I said, "It's for vinegar!" How I knew? We had one when I was a kid!
I bought this and use it almost daily. What is this? WhatIsThis...231d34.jpg
i love these posts but i saw a few of these on the last post of this D:
Saw (also on BP) a pic of a jar with a removable glass top and spout. Without looking at the answer I said, "It's for vinegar!" How I knew? We had one when I was a kid!
I bought this and use it almost daily. What is this? WhatIsThis...231d34.jpg
i love these posts but i saw a few of these on the last post of this D: