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Most of us live pretty mundane lives, which means we aren’t encountering new things on a daily basis. So when you happen to spot something unfamiliar, your first impulse might be to reach out to the internet to get to the bottom of what the heck you’ve found. And thankfully, there are plenty of people out there willing to help!
Bored Panda has compiled a list of random items that people did not understand when they first spotted them. From vintage kitchen tools to objects that don’t appear to have any purpose, it turns out that all of these things actually can be useful! Enjoy scrolling through these photos, and be sure to upvote the ones that teach you something new.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
What Are These? They’re Made Of Clear Plastic, The Inside Has 4 Tiny Blue-Ish Canisters (Per Cube) Containing Some Steel Wool
Answer: Disposable flashbulbs for a film camera circa 60's/70's
Heffalump 13 hours ago (edited)
I remember those, used them with my Instamatic. For those who have never seen one, The base has a plug that goes in an adaptor, or directly into the camera. You take a shot and the face pointing forward flashed. You'd then press a little button to rotate the cube. You'd get four shots.
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#2
I Found This Blue Disc In A Packet Of Sour Cream Crisps. Its Has The Words "Ferrous 25mm Bst, Cert Number 213026b" On It
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
#3
What Is This Nib On My Backpack Chest Clip?
Answer: It's a whistle.
Ace 12 hours ago
Yes, quite common in recent years on rucksacks designed for outdoor activities, hiking, skiing etc. When I trained as a ski 'guide' about 25 years ago a whistle was a required part of our kit (along with other essentials like duct tape, a sewing kit and a length of garden wire) so it made perfect sense to me when these started to appear on the strap clip.
There are millions of objects on the planet, so it would be impossible to know what every single thing does. Even if you own a toaster and use it every morning while making your breakfast, you might be surprised by what a toaster from 80 years ago looks like. And if you’re from a country that feels like summer year-round, any tool that’s used for managing snow and ice might be extremely foreign to you.
But finding unfamiliar items like these is part of the fun of shopping in thrift stores, perusing estate sales, and sifting through online vintage shops. So we hope this list will inspire you to step outside of your comfort zone and start searching for uncommon objects too!
#4
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.
#5
I Spotted These Triangular Shapes, One Attached To A Tree And One On A Pole. I Was Wondering Of Anyone Knew What Their Purpose Is?
Answer: They're aiming points. The goal is for the ship to only see one triangle. As long as they see that, they're aligned to enter whatever channel or harbor is nearby.
#6
We Keep Seeing This On The Side Of The Road In Oregon. It's At The End Of A Driveway. The Lower Portion / Glass Faces The Driveway. It's About 15 Ft Tall
Answer: I am going with "driveway periscope". So someone exiting the driveway can see over a wall or bushes, or a little hill or something.
If you’re curious about some of the unique items that used to be much more commonplace than they are today, Love to Know has compiled a list of vintage objects that have become obsolete over time. Now, some of these items were still in use 20 years ago or less, such as answering machines. But there’s a good chance that kids growing up today won’t ever have to own one.
Another popular item from the past is the magazine basket. Many people had these in their homes to store all of the magazines that they would peruse when they were bored or needed to unwind for a few minutes. Meanwhile, something we no longer see when we’re out shopping is a credit card imprinter. Before you could simply tap to pay, you’d have to wait patiently while a cashier ran all of your information on the credit card imprinter.
#7
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. What Are These Exactly Used For?
Answer: Walking stick medallions.
#8
Found In My Grandparents' Kitchen Drawer
Answer: Sugar cube tongs for tea or coffee.
#9
A Friend Of Mine Was Recently On A Flight Sitting Next To A Family All Wearing Face Masks And These Things Behind Their Ears... Can Anyone ID It?
Answer: Acupressure motion sickness patches from Taiwan.
Something else that was all the rage for a while but seems to have completely disappeared is the water bed. I remember being thrilled as a child when I would encounter one of these bad boys in a hotel or a family member’s house. But for the past two decades or so, I haven’t seen a single one. Over time, people realized that there’s actually nothing better than memory foam, so water went out of fashion.
#10
Found This In The Parking Spot Next To My Truck. At First I Thought It Was A Support System For Very Small Man Parts. What Could It Be?
Answer: Licensed falconer here. That is a hood probably used by someone doing abatement work or going after small birds like starlings or sparrows with a kestrel or the equivalent. Industrial parks actually make for great hunting.
#11
What Is This Tiny Pocket On The Back Of My Shirt
Answer: It's a vestigial device deliberately installed into a great number of imported shirts so that they classify as a specific article of clothing which avoids a tariff.
#12
Found In A Book Lovers Raffle Basket. Wooden Object With 2 Small Holes & 1 Large Hole
Answer: It goes on your thumb to help you hold a book open.
When you go to work, how do you clock in? Do you have to scan something when you enter the building? Or does your boss just trust that you’re there for the 9 hours that you say you are? Well, back in the day, we had to use physical time cards. And if you forgot to stamp your card at the beginning of the day, there was no faking it by typing in the correct time later.
#13
What Are The Hanging Chains For In These Bins? They Are Only Fixed From The Top And Swing In The Wind
Answer: There is some animal that this is discouraging.
#14
Some Sort Of Cylindrical Metal Clamp Purchased At A Thrift Store For $0.25
Answer: It's an ice cream Dipper, you clamp on the cone and dip the ice cream in chocolate.
#15
Found Hidden In My Tissue Box At Work. Tiny Circuit Board With A Battery And What Appears To Be A Speaker
Answer: It's called chirper and it's one and only use is to annoy people around it. A prank device.
Something else that has become completely obsolete with today’s computers and smartphones is the Rolodex. Any kid today might be extremely surprised to find out that their parents (or more likely, their grandparents) had to keep physical records of friends' and family members' phone numbers and addresses. You couldn’t even look up a business on Google Maps, so if you needed to call your local pizza joint to order Friday night’s dinner, you might have kept their number in your family’s Rolodex too.
#16
Red Plastic Thing Found In Glovebox Of New Subaru Forester
Answer: Glass break. Glove box isn’t a great place to keep it though. I have one of them clipped into place above the rear view mirror in my Land Rover for ease of access.
Virgil Blue 45 minutes ago
I have 2 hammers with these in reach down by the feet of me and a passenger.
#17
I Inherited This Ten Years Ago And I Just Found Out It Opens. Why?
Answer: Perfume bottle.
Bill Swallow 1 hour ago
I'm guessing you withdraw the stopper, the elongated drill-bit-looking thing has perfume on it, and you use that end to daub just a bit behind your ears.
#18
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.
Just because an item isn’t a necessity nowadays, though, doesn’t mean that we can’t keep using it. Recently, there’s been a revival of physical media, as people are tired of paying subscription fees to massive, corrupt companies. Instead, many are choosing to buy old VHS tapes, cassette tapes, vinyls, CDs, film cameras, and more. LA Times says that Gen Z, in particular, is interested in keeping physical media alive, even if they never had it growing up.
#19
Found This At An Old Decommissioned Salmon Canning Facility On The West Coast Of British Columbia. Don't Know What It Is
Answer: It cleans the chimney. A Neuman chimney brush.
#20
What Are These Small Brass Caps I Found Neatly Tucked Into A Case While Cleaning Out An Old Person's Flat?
Answer: Laser pointer caps, shoots different shapes.
#21
Found Vintage Furniture - Wood With Carved Detail, Wide, Lower Shelf Is 12" Deep, Woven Cane, And Wire Sides
Answer: Magazine/Newspaper rack.
Having physical media isn’t just about the experience of watching or listening to it, there’s also joy in hunting for it and keeping a collection. “I want something I can put on my shelf,” 24-year-old Aidan Gannon told the LA Times. “I can go shopping in my closet and grab something and pop it in, instead of spending an hour scrolling through Netflix to find something and then just turning on the same TV show."
#22
What Is This Wall Mounted Bucket In A Shower In A $25m Brooklyn Mansion?
Answer: Is the mansion owned by a Russian or other Eastern European person? Looks like a cold water drench like they have in Russian Banyas. Do they have a sauna or other kind of thing like that there?
#23
Found Hanging In The Basement Of Our New House. Google Has Been Zero Help
Answer: Nice find! It's a Horse Brass Strap, they hang off horse tack for decoration.
Greg Hedley 9 hours ago
Illiterate beer keg deliverymen followed the pictorial sequence to find the pub next on the route, i.e.owl, milkmaid ,ox and heart
#24
Witt Silver Plated Scoop. My Grandma Is Getting Rid Of A Bunch Of Old Silverware. There's No Writing Anywhere On It. The Little Scoop May Or May Not Be A Part Of It
Answer: It's a sugar scuttle.
Are you enjoying this list full of random yet useful objects, pandas? Keep upvoting the ones that you’d like to encounter, and let us know in the comments below if you learned anything new from this list. Then, if you’re looking for another article from Bored Panda featuring items that you probably don’t see every day, we’ve got the perfect list to check out next right here!
#25
Foam Squishy Handle That Is Firm At The Core, Metal Tip. In One Of My Kitchen Drawers And No One Is Owning Up To It
Answer: That’s a handle you insert in a car door to assist elderly people exiting a vehicle and a seat belt cutter and glass breaker
#26
What Are These Slots Cut In The Back Of The Pews In A Catholic Cathedral
Answer: It probably is here to hold a walking stick or an umbrella.
#27
Seen On A Biker: Leather Looking Wrap With Studs; Not Sure If Attached To Helmet, Jacket, Or Head
Answer: It’s a hair protector. My mom had long hair and had to wear hard hats and didn’t want to ruin her hair or it be in her way while working (industrial electrician) and started wearing these. Although it was cuter than this specific one.
#28
I Live Alone. I Keep Finding These But I Don't Know What They Are. Any Idea What They Could Be From?
Answer: Flat and thin? Collar stays.
Robert Millar 9 hours ago
For shirts with a softer collar that you want to look straight. Common with Seiden Sticker, Tyrwhitt and custom made. In many shirts, they are permanently sewn in.
#29
What Is This Flat Spoon Sized Racket With A King Handle? The Bottom Of The Handle Is Snapped Off. Found In A Hotel
Answer: It's a vintage letter opener.
#30
My Friend Found This Blue, “Ring”. It’s Stretchy, Plastic?? And Has An Arrow On The Top? Found In Tennessee. Fits A Man’s Regular Sized Hand
Answer: That’s a ring for a piping bag. You use it to hold the bag closed.
#31
What Are These Metal Discs Under Many Seats At A Concert Hall?
Answer: Back in the days before air conditioning, they would put blocks of ice and big fans in the basement of the theater.
The air would be cooled and then forced out through these vents to cool the theater.
#32
White Circlet With Purple Dots On Top Of A Headdress
Answer: These ladies are wearing the Crown of the Five Holy Wounds, worn by nuns of the Bridgettine order.
Roman Arendt 5 hours ago
And when they arrive for their shift on a construction site, they already have their helmet inlays ready.
#33
Found This In A Random Box Of Kitchen Supplies. Is This Just For Carving Meat Or Some Other Food?
Answer: It's to slice bread.
Auntriarch 6 hours ago
It cuts soft and crusty bread equally well, and also good for slicing tomatoes
#34
Black Hard Plastic Object Branded Phillips, Resembles A Large Flip Phone With A Locking Joint, Top Part Is Hollow With Small Wheels, Bottom Looks Like A Handle
Answer: It's a back shaving attachment for a shaver.
#35
My Girlfriend Got Her Oil Changed And When She Came Home Found This In Her Glovebox
Answer: Looks like part of a glove box. I think it's supposed to keep it from slamming open
#36
These Two Things Floated To The Ground Just After A Large Plane Passed Low Over My House. They're Gritty And Rubbery, Almost Like Dried Paint. They Also Have A Strong Overly Sweet Smell
Answer: Reminds me of the flame retardant powder they have big planes fly over fires and drop, maybe a congealed chunk of it.
#37
Found In Our New House On The Top Landing Bannister Rail. Seems Like It’s Meant To Hold Something But Not Sure What It Is?
Answer: Appears to be a 3M Command hair dryer holder. Though given the location, perhaps previous owners were using it for something else (what I have no idea)
#38
Breastfeeding Thing?
Answer: It’s for a cart (not a car seat) so when your baby is old enough they can sit in the cart without having to touch the germy handles. I have that exact one.
George Costanza 2 hours ago
Your child needs to touch germs. Stop hiding them from everyday organisms that they need to be exposed to.
#39
Someone On My Flight Is Wearing These
Answer: Product Description translated from Korean
Note: it’s some strange pseudoscience
Bone science, a future-oriented medical field that explores the human bone system, previously unexplored by modern medicine, has revealed that iron oxide is the greatest threat to human health. This discovery led to the invention of Miracle Touch, a groundbreaking health device designed to remove this iron oxide.
Miracle Touch utilizes a lightning rod-like needle to remove iron oxide deposits within bones. It injects cosmic electricity, present in ozone, into the bones to break down the iron oxide.
This process cleanses the bones and blood vessels that produce blood, strengthening the body's immune system and protecting it from all kinds of diseases.
Zero Costa 16 hours ago
I'll be honest, and this might just be because I'm sick, but that explained nothing to me
#40
Found This Thing In My Basement, Has A Clip On The Bottom To Attach To A Counter... I Think. No Idea What This Is
Answer: Looks like the base of a yarn winder. It would have something on top for the yarn to wrap around.
#41
What Is The Rainbow Bar On Top Of Cardboard Boxes Such As Cereal?
Answer: I believe it is some kind of printer's check. Those are the colours used to print the box. I suppose that if one of the colours is missing or the wrong color, the whole print does not pass quality control. It is also used to check the alignment.
Mike F 16 hours ago (edited)
Yep, color bars. When those box blanks come off the press you shoot the color bars with a spectrometer to ensure the proper colors are being laid down. There are 2 bars of each of the process colors (cmyk) the 100% bar and a lighter one next to it. That's a percentage bar (sometimes 50% sometimes 25%) that also has a given value under the spectrometer. When the specific values are in range your work is theoretically perfect. I wish I had a nickel for every one of those I read in my printing career.
#42
Anyone Know What This Contraption Is?
Answer: You squish it with your thighs, to help strengthen your pelvic floor, if that's what I think it is!
Toujin C'Thlu 15 hours ago
A Kegel device. As said in the description, they're used to strengthen pelvic muscles
#43
Fixed To The Original Door Frame From What Was The Hall To The Large Ballustrade Stairs Is This Set Of Hinged Hooks. Any Ideas What This Was Originally For?
Answer: They were called dressing hooks. The clothing for the morning would be hung on them ready for the maid/manservant to assist the Mistress/master of the house to get dressed. They were within easy reach when needed, just in the doorway. As they walked in through the door, there were the clothes!
detective miller's hat 4 hours ago
We had these in my old apartment in Philadelphia. Never knew what they were until now. It was a big old house that had been converted into a bunch of apartments.
#44
Little Leather Thing That Came With My Wife's Shoes
Answer: From their FAQ page:
“Duckfeet Box & Leather Handle
Duckfeet Boot, Shoe, & Sandal boxes are made from recycled cardboard.
Duckfeet Boot & Shoe boxes use a recycled piece of scrap leather as the box handle.
The leather handle color in no way reflects the color of the product in the box.”
#45
What Is This Attachment On The Shower Wall In Our Apartment? Looks Too Wide To Hold Soap I Think
Answer: Soap dish/sponge holder.
Rali Meyer 1 hour ago
it holds your "wiper" to swipe water off the glass and tiles. Handle facing down
#46
Handmade Ceramic Mug With Saucer But Mug Has Hole In Bottom And Saucer Has A Pour Spout?
Answer: It's for frying bacon in the microwave, you drop them over the edge and it drains the grease.
#47
My Girlfriend Moved In And Neither Of Us Know What This Is, But I Use It Constantly
Answer: Cheese cutting knives, planers come in various shapes based on the types of cheeses.
Bewitched One 59 minutes ago
You don’t know what it is but you use it constantly? What are you using it for?
#48
What Is This Plastic, Wall Mounted, Device With The Word "Nosy", I Saw In My Local Public Library?
Answer: These are sensors for commercial buildings to help improve building efficiency.
From their website:
Nosy™ makes it easy by reducing the total cost of ownership by up to 80%, and making installation fast and tool-free. No upfront costs, no messy construction.
Once Nosy is installed, you'll get continuously updated baseline data for your building. And once you have good data, you can start reducing energy costs, improving indoor air quality and streamlining maintenance and servicing.
#49
Our Local Dull Group Could Not Figure Out What This Implement / Tool Is - Rudimentary Speculum Was Offered Up - But I Figured The Broader Dull Hive Mind Might Know
Answer: Looks like a speculum, but I would guess it was for animal husbandry purposes.
#50
Ideas On What This Is ? Found In A Bathroom In An Airbnb In New Orleans. House Is 150 Years Old But This Is Clearly Newer
Answer: It’s a CD holder. Why it’s in a bathroom, I have no idea. Tells me that whoever placed it there didn’t know what it was either.
#51
Found At Relatives House
Answer: You've got a CD47 Nixie tube - one of the largest (if not the largest) created.
#53
This Thing Has Been Hanging Out On My Wall Ever Since I Moved Into My New House Here. What It Is? It's Next To The Central Vac. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Holds an attachment for the hose. Hope that helps.
#54
Thing On A KLM Flight. It’s Like A Mesh But It Doesn’t Look Like It Does Something. It Has A WiFi Sticker
Answer: That’s just the separation mesh between the regular economy seats and KLM’s Economy Comfort seats. If you look at the seats, you’ll notice they also have a different color behind the mesh.
#55
Lived In This House For About 4 Years. This Has Been Here The Whole Time. No Idea What It Is Or Does
Answer: If it is indeed what many people here say it is, there is a much more efficient machine known as a heat recovery ventilator. HRV for short. They heat the fresh air coming in as the stale, humid air goes out.
#56
What On Earth Is This Device Found In The Attic. Google Says Field Telephone But I Can’t See How It Would Work, Never Mind Send A Text Message
Answer: Lookup violet wand, high voltage electro therapy. Was one of those things sold for every possible ailment. Usually considered quack but may actually be useful for some things.
#57
An Old Samsung PC Keyboard. What Is The Coffee Cup Key For?
Answer: It activates the screen saver.
#58
Found In The Footwell Of A BMW. Tracking Device? Wife Found It, Husband Asking So Unlikely A Spouse Tracker
Answer: Looks a lot like an actipatch.
Chich the witch 15 hours ago
Had to go looking. "ActiPatch® is a device that uses electromagnetic pulses to treat musculoskeletal pain for up to 720 hours."
#59
What Is This Thing. I Suspect It Is A Bike Rack,but I Don't See How To Use It
Answer: To stop a bike without stepping off it. Placed at least a foot too far away from the road, though.
#60
What Is This Thing? Appears To Be Old. Best Guess I Just Came Up With Was Maybe A Splicing Tool For Lines On Boats. Tiny Banana To Skew Scale
Answer: It's rather the gold leaf burnisher, or some other art tool. They have short gem tip installed in brass/tin pipe.
#61
What Is This Item On The Right? It Was Donated Today, To Our Sustainable Fabric Workshop
Answer: As a woman who replaces elastic in clothing, I would use it to thread elastic through a casing. As one who has been around many pipe smokers, one might see a man using this to tamp tobacco into a pipe.
#62
Any Idea Why These Are In The Women’s Washroom At My Service Station? No Idea If They’re Also In The Men’s Room
Answer: They are called bowl clips. They go on the outside of the toilet bowl, not the inside, and give off a nice aroma. Normally used in places like this or workplace bathrooms, which are used a lot.
#63
I Was Looking At The Bike Across From Our Table. At The Bottom End Of The Back Fender Is Some Odd Piece Of Metal. I'm Stumped As To What Its Purpose May Be
Answer: It’s for the rear stand.
#64
Its Made Our Of Silver And The Ball Rotates
Answer: Table cigar lighter.
#65
What Is This Used For. Is It Task Specific Or A Universal Use Tool. It's 40cm Long
Answer: We use this to line up guard rail holes to insert the bolts at the dot lol pretty handy when your working with bent rails
#66
My First Post. 59m, Size 10.5. What Is This Thing With Golf Tees Here In This Vrbo Unit? It Is Mounted To A Kitchen Cabinet, With Golf Tees In It
Answer: It looks like a dull way to measure the height/growth of children, with each child getting their own color.
#67
Just Thrifted This Strange Little Hourglass About An Hour Ago, And I’ve Just Realized There Are Words On The Bottom. What Is This From, Or What Was Its Original Job?
Answer: It's an egg timer! I had one of these a long time ago... For boiling a three-minute egg!
I lost mine years ago. Yours is probably for a yacht to attach somewhere to keep it from rolling around. Mine was simpler for home use
#68
What Are These Dots I Always See Around The Edge Of Car, Bus And Train Windows?
Answer: The dots are for style. Flat, solid black is all that is needed but the purpose of black trim on glass is to protect the adhesive from UV rays. Sometimes glass uses those black dots to create a shade band. The only example I can think of is the newer Genie telehandlers front windshields.
#69
How Does This Thing Know How Much Pressure Is Being Generated If It’s A Separate Unit Sitting In This “Casing”?
Answer: There's your pressure port with seal and registered by the unit
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