40 Times People Had No Idea What They Were Looking At, But The Internet Knew What It Was Right Away (New Pics)
The last time we wrote an article about the subreddit "What is this thing?", it had 894,000 members. Now, the number has grown to 1.8 million. No wonder -- it delivers. People keep going to the community with photos of possessions they need identifying, and they keep getting answers, too.
From the roof plate of a drum fish to a fancy sugar cube holder, these Internet detectives don't shy away from any case. "About 75-85% of all the items posted to this subreddit are solved, and out of those about 50-60% are solved within the first 30 minutes of the post going live," a moderator of the subreddit told Bored Panda. "The average time of solving what an item is around 20-30 minutes, and about 15-20% of the posts made here don't go live at all, because the moderation team has solved it through modmail, or by commenting on the post before it goes live due to the sheer amount of different things the moderators have seen."
Continue scrolling and check out some of the most memorable recent posts!
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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.
It's worth mentioning that every now and then a case goes unsolved no matter how popular it becomes. For example, when an active redditor submitted a thing that strongly resembled a specific model of an anti-personnel landmine. "The active account went completely silent for months, causing many to fear that there was a fatal accident, to the point of people scouring news sites for any stories about ordnance fatalities," the moderator recalled. Luckily, the person turned out to be fine; another user tracked them down and contacted them on another website. "Unfortunately, what that sleuthy user did to track down the submitter counts as doxxing, which is against reddit sitewide rules, so his elaborate write up of tracking the person down had to be removed." But that just goes to show how much this community is dedicated to the common cause.
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
Sometimes, redditors themselves get in the way of all the detective work. "The most common breach of guidelines is people making jokes, which makes it harder for people to see the correct answer," the moderator explained. "Jokes will get people a temporary ban; more jokes get a permanent ban. It's a pretty simple rule, but a great deal of time is spent weeding those out."
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.
The moderator said they think the popularity of the subreddit boils down to human nature -- we're curious creatures. "My guess as to why this subreddit is so popular is the instant gratification of managing to solve something using your own knowledge, and people's intrinsic need of figuring out what something unknown is. It's also a great place to learn how to find information quickly, as most of the time there seems to be a race between people to solve the items that have been posted," they added.
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
Experts think that the roots of our ever-hungry curiosity can be linked to what is called neoteny. This term from evolutionary theory means the "retention of juvenile characteristics". It means that as a species, humans are more child-like than other mammals. Being relatively hairless is one example. A big brain relative to body size is another. Our lifelong curiosity and playfulness, they think, is just another behavioral characteristic of neoteny.
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.
This object belongs to a silver coin purse, like the one in the picture. purse-5f5b...db54c9.jpg 
Metal 3-4 Inches, With Glass Balls. What Is This Thing?
Answer: These were how old reflectors were made, like for railroads
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.
Ditches In A Field Next To An Airport. Didn't Use To Be There Before. What Is This Thing?
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
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.
Switch On The Back Of An Old Clock Labelled "Miracle Eye". What Is This?
Answer: I think it is a light sensor that can be turned on and off. When on the clock will not make chime noises unless it senses light. This way at night it does not wake people up.
I Bought This "Thing" Years Ago, But Never Knew What It Was, I Just Thought It Looked Cool! The Center Globe Piece Spins And Is Weighted At One End, So Even If You Give It A Spin, It Always Ends Up With The "10" Facing Up. The Numbers Are 10-130, In Increments Of 10. What Is This Thing?
Answer: This is a thermometer. My grandfather had the same exact device. Look at the number where it aligns with the convex (upper) portion of the plane, that should be the approximate temperature in Fahrenheit. I was always told to not spin it because it would mess with its accuracy
Found 14 Years Ago In A Hole In A Log On Dallas Road Beach In Victoria, Bc, Canada. A Mystery That Remains Unsolved
Answer: Pieces from an art installation http://www.dianathompson.net/2nd_Nature/kag.html
This should be higher up, as most of the others are relatively easy --- e.g. the horrid polyphore mushroom, most people won't find the species or even genus but it is obviously a mushroom; the sugarcube-gripper is very obviously gripping something about an inch diameter; the monopoly pieces are very recognizably the Monopoly man; etc etc. This is so specific that it really is almost impossible to solve!
My Grandad Dug This Up? Found In Liverpool, Possibly WW2, It Was Found With The Decoration On, What Is It?
Answer: Yea ! It’s a thing ! Called trench art , google it there will be tons of beautiful engravings on shells
Many soldiers had professional skills in handcraft. Creating art out of battlefield rubbish, like bombshells, was important for these men's mental health. Not only they could practice their skills and pass the time (life in the trenches between deadly assaults was actually dull, uncomfortable and boring) but beyond that, in the middle of this awful wartime, it made them remind they were civilized people, able to create beauty and celebrate life even out of lethal material.
Cones Of Dunshire Found In German Supermarket?
Answer: It's a so called "Schultüte". When children have their first day of school, they get it filled by their parents with gifts and sweets
Found In A Public Park/Disc Golf Course. Everything Not Screened In Is Removable. What Is It For?
Answer: It’s a bee and bug house, it’s filled with different materials for lone bugs to overwinter
What Are The Purpose Of The Metal Plates On The Ground In Front Of Some Of The Water Fountains At Universal Studios Orlando?
Answer: Blind people and their walking stick.
This should be present in every public spot and not just Universal Studios Orlando
Found On A Beach Of Lake Erie. I’ve Lived Near The Lake My Whole Life And Never Have Seen Something Like This. What Is This Thing?
Answer: the roof plate of a drum fish
Found This Washed Up On A Beach In Massachusetts. It’s Wooden And Looks Handcrafted. Maybe A Piece Of A Chair?
Answer: It looks like a Davis Quadrant or Backstaff, a navigational instrument predecessor of the sextant. Maybe you should take that to a museum, with nautical expertise
What Is This Appliance Built Into This Kitchen Island?
Answer: I had one of these in my kitchen and I loved it! It was near my regular sink so I could pull the faucet head over to fill the “pot” then I would turn it on to boil the water. It has a pot that goes inside it that has holes in it - like a strainer. You put the strainer inside the “sink” and then toss your items that you want to boil inside the strainer and cover it. Once your food is cooked you lift out the strainer, flip the switch and all the boiling water drains out. The biggest advantage was not having to carry a large pot of boiling water over from your regular stove top to the sink to drain out the water. I used it for boiling pasta, potatoes, corn on the cob and I loved it!! I started to have trouble with it not holding water and when I contacted Kohler the said so sorry, but the model was discontinued. It was great while it lasted!!
Chest Of Drawers With No Drawer Sides And A Hole At The Front Of The Drawer. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Looks like an Artist’s Cabinet or Flat File. It’s a set of drawers for storing drawings, architectural plans, etc.
Found In Forest In Sweden, About 1m From Ground, Roughly 20cm In Size. Hard To The Touch, But Drips Liquid When Knocked. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Looks like a polypore fungus that is exuding excess moisture, called guttation.
My College Sent Me This And I Have No Clue What Its For. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It's called a germ key
It is meant to attach to a key ring (with the little ring hole toward left) and then you use the hook end to open doors without touching the handle!
First thing on this list so far that I knew! Thanks coronavirus!
I have a small, telescoping stylus on my car key ring that I started using on atms and entering my pin on credit card machines when the pandemic started.
There some thing like this in our local grocery store now. It is labelled as safer way to open door k**b etc
And why was the answer "germ key" with no further explanation. Thanks to Paula for the complete answer!
the most ridiculous thing I have seen yet, as a money maker to prevent the spread of the virus
You can open doors press elevator buttons etc to keep from spreading germs. they sell on ebay.
It's a hook to open doors. The big hole is where your finger goes. The small hole is for a string to put around a necklace or key ring. The end is a stylus.
What Is This Slack In Power Lines? What Purpose Does It Serve?
Answer: Former CATV tech here. It's called an expansion loop. Coaxial cable (for cable tv) is mostly aluminum which expands and contracts with temperature changes moreso than the steel supporting strand to which it is attached.
If this expansion loop wasn't there, the cable would literally suck out of the compression fittings in the Winter and kink in the Summer.
Slack in power lines ----- not this example, but in general ---- is to allow for seasonal compression/expansion, and also, if you don't have enough slack ---- one bad wind and there goes the whole power line... Always leave slack.
Clock Thing Numbered 0 Through 5 Found In Prague, Czech Republic. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Water level indicator - limnigraph
Found This Hidden In The Ceiling Of My Basement With A Bunch Of Others. Made Out Of Glass, Appears To Have Some Sort Of Tape Or Paper Border Around It. Hining A Light Through It Doesn’t Project A Clean Image. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Magic Lantern glass slide
My Great Grandpa, An Iowa Native And Ww2 Veteran, Passed Away And Left Behind This Tool Or Decorative Piece. It Is Solid Metal, Has No Markings, And Weighs A Few Ounces. What Is This Thing ? Screwdriver Is For Scale
Answer: I think your grandfather might have known someone in the Navy. Those are used in a ceremony when crossing over the equator. So I think your grandfather is what you refer to as a shellback. That is someone who's been over the equator.
Small Hard ‘Pellet’ Found Inside A Cooked King Crab Leg, Roughly The Size Of A Pea. What Is This Thing?
Answer: crab pearl
Well how about that, just looked it up and sometimes even fish can make "pearls". Bad news though these pearls are worthless.
Heavy Metal Cubes On The End Of Chain With Different Shapes On Each Side Of The Cubes. Aa Battery For Scale. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Han Solo’s lucky dice
My Friend Found This Scaffold-Like Structure On A Trip. There Was A Paintball/Airsoft Field And A Hotel Nearby, But I'm Confused About The Purpose Of This. Located In Czechia. What Is This Thing?
Answer: it is a 3D maze. Used in kid's camp or other outdoor activity clubs (Paintball, Airsoft, Trekking, etc.)In a paintball setting, it could be used to hold a flag or another capturable objective.
What Is This Thing? It Perfectly Fits In Each Other And There Was Some Sort Of Liquid In It
Answer: It's a herb grinder (mostly for weed).
I have seen many of these that look similar and everyone I know that has one, uses it for weed, never seen anyone use it for herbs.
Small Plastic Figurines Found Buried In Backyard. 1” Mustachioed Bald Men With Hands On Head, Printed With Arrows. (Ca, USA)
Answer: Hasbro produced a Monopoly mini-game in 2009 called Monopoly: Get Out Of Jail. It looks like these were the game pieces used.
What Is This?? It Is Not A Pen, The Tip Is Sharp Metal And Doesn’t Write. No Place For Ink Or Graphite Or Anything. All One Cohesive Piece With A Plastic Cap. What Is It For?
Answer: Looks like a scriber. They're used to make lines or marks on metal, wood, or a number of other materials. That looks like a metalworking one to me but may not be that specific.
What Is This Thing On This Serial Killers Head While He Was In Court?
Answer: He's partially deaf. It's basically a giant hearing aid (sound amplifier headphones).
House On My Running Route Partially Sunken Into The Ground
Answer: Just a guess, but maybe built during the 70’s energy crisis. A home near where I grew up was built with a berm around most of it to save on heating and cooling
What Is This Scanner That A Rooftop Cop Had At A Protest? Seemed To Be Shining A Green Laser At Certain People In The Crowd
Answer: Picking out specific targets for ground police. It’s easier to track an individual through a crowd from above. This may be because they are armed, or something else that makes them high priority. Snipers are out of the question, firing into a fast moving mass of people would only end badly.
A green laser shines at 530nm, this frequency will do the most damage to a human eye as your eyes are most sensitive to a wavelength of 530nm. Incidentally this is the wavelength that will penetrate the deepest underwater. A little evolutionary left over from our aquatic days perhaps?
These Lead Blocks Were Found In A UK River. 125g Each. Can Anyone Positively Identify Them?
Answer: These are jyotish tokens with the Rahu yantra to be used for a Rahu Ranga Mantra recital and practice. Likely for personal gain.
You are right that these are magic squares, but more specifically they are called Navagraha Yantras. There are traditionally 9 of them (one for each "planet"), each having a distinct combination of 9 numbers. Together they can be combined to form their own "Magic square".
The words on the bottom are some form of either:
- om raam rahave namah
- om raag rahave namah
- or simply, om rahave namah
The placement of Lead (raanga) in running water is particularly important in this practice as a remedy for specific things and astrological circumstances.
Curious about the cube form though. May have something to do with counting and keeping track of the number of times the mantra has been recited (supposed to be 18,000 over 40 days)
Found This Amongst Some Charms In A Vintange Jewelry Lot I Got. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It’s a Masonic Square and Compass! You’re supposed to spin it really fast and you can see it
What Are These Brightly Coloured String-Like Things That Were Washed Up On An Australian Beach?
Answer: Sea hare eggs
Priority Mail Addressed To My Wife At Our Exact Address From Romania. Everything Is Written In Romanian And The Letters GT Is Written On It. We Dont Even Know Anyone Outside The United States. Syringe Is Empty
Answer: This is sort of like the way you would package mushroom spores. Golden teacher aka GT is a popular strain of psychedelics
Arrived In The Post For Me. Small Glass Tubes With 2 Tiny Ball Bearings In Them. No Idea And Not Something I’ve Ordered. What Is This Thing?
Answer: I believe those are rattles that you can put inside of fishing lures so they make noise to attract fish
Probably a brushing scam designed to increase positive reviews on Amazon
I've Had This For Like 15 Years. I Used To Use While Playing Soldier As A Kid. No Idea What It Is. It Looks As Though It May Be Something That Drops From An Aircraft. What Is This Thing?
Answer: You have a piece of Vietnam war history, these devices were used in operation Igloo White, this particular piece appears to be either a ADSID (Air Delivered Seismic Intrusion Detector) or a ACOUSID (Acoustic and Seismic Intrusion Detector). The camouflage paint left over is original, as the whole point of these devices was to listen and not be found by the enemy.
These did not contain explosives, so it's safe to keep.
Found It In A River. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Colt Glass black powder flask/horn
Cue Ball Attached To Pool Cue?
Answer: It's so little kids can play and not destroy the table (ie ripping the felt with the cue)
What Is This Button On The Bottom Of The Door Of My Parents Apartment? Makes An Audible Click When It Closes, Can't Seem Work Out What It Does Though
Answer: Its a drop seal. When the door closes the button pushes a bar down to close the gap between the floor and the door. Its to protect against smoke during a fire while minimizing any friction to the operation of the door.
It's also to protect against sound coming through the small gap at the bottom because "air tight is sound tight".
Purchased In Djibouti, Was Told Something About Ancient Sailing
Answer: it's an astrolabe
This Thing Was In The Beach Near A Lighthouse, Asturias, Spain
Answer: Fog horns for when the lighthouse is occluded.
What Is This? Was Labeled As A Xylophone? Bought For $9 At An Antique Store
Answer: Tongue drum
Found On A UK Beach. Some Part Of A Nasa Space Shuttle?
Answer: Due to the "8K" I'd guess would be it was an 8 Kilobit memory module. From the size of the chip and the vintage look probably quite slow static RAM.
Cut Open My Ceiling To Repair Some Drywall And This Started Falling Out, Somewhat Squishy And There Was A Lot Of It. What Is This Thing?
Answer: This is a type of insulation called zonolite, it was used to insulate homes in America since the 1940’s and it DOES contain ASBESTOS
I Received This In The Mail From Uzbekistan. I Have Never Ordered Anything From There Or China. Are These Truly From Bananas? Is This Part Of The Black Market?
Answer: This is called Brushing. It's a scam other countries run by sending out near worthless items so they can pad their store ratings/make it look like they have more orders than they do.
Reverse Swastica Neckless Tag. Found With Some Of My Great Uncles Things. He Was Born Around 1920 In Chicago. His Parents Were Born In Germany. Why Is This Reversed And Rotated?
Answer: Swastika were very popular in the US until around the start of WW2. They were a part of early American Indian culture, to some degree, and it was seen as a symbol for "long life" or "good luck." It's not uncommon to turn them up in multiple forms, usually made out of silver, or nickel. Given the period you state, I'd say this was a keep sake from a trip to the western US, and is probably made out of a silver amalgam.
It is still a common symbol in some religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism.
This Strange Clearcut Sundown. Spotted In Denmark, One Minute Past Sundown. What's This Weather Phenomenon Called?
Answer: That could be the shadow from a vertical development cloud, such as a Cumulonimbus cloud. It can be thick enough to cast that kind of shadow!
Found In The Woods Behind My House... Definitely Not A Real Gun, But I Haven't The Foggiest Of What It Might Be. Based On The Rust And The Fact That I've Lived Here For 22 Years, It Has To Be At Least 30+ Years Old... I'm Thinking Maybe Even 50+
Answer: Buck Rogers disintegrator
Found In A Library Book. Tape Over Staples?
Answer: Electro-magnetic security tag. So you can't just take the book out without checking it out at the desk
Found This In My Tuna. What Is This Thing?
Answer: That's a tuna egg sack. Or at least part of one. Totally edible, but can't vouch for the taste.
Some Sort Of Soft, Spongy Thing From The Ocean Found On The Beach
Answer: Pufferfish skeleton
I Found It While Biking A Trail, Smells God Awful And Is Making A Strange Buzzing Noise. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Mosquito trap - testing for west Nile.
Found While Helping A Friend Clean Out A House. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Specifically it is a Wilesco Steam Engine
What Are These? Found On A Sidewalk, They’re Made Of Glass, No Lights Inside. Just An Arrow. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Skylights for the basement of the building they are in front of
In Seattle there are purple glass squares in the sidewalk for the same reason. The city is basically built on the equivalence of pudding. You don't want to be there in a earthquake! Basically they filled it with all kinds of stuff to raise the level and the roads where way higher than the walkways and entrances so they eventually covered the lower levels and put in skylights which were clear but over time turned purple. There is even a tour you can go on that goes over all this and you can walk below the streets on pioneer square. Worth a trip when things get more normal.
This Is In The Middle Of A Cornfield. There’s A Sign Saying To Not Stop Within 400 Feet Of It, And It Was Making A Buzzing Sound. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It’s a VOR - Very-high frequency, omnidirectional range navigation station for aircraft
Found At A Beach. It's Empty And Lightweight But Quite Solid. It Got A Hole At Each Side. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It’s a bead, probably from Indian jewelry. I own some and this looks similar.
These Pictures Were Taken Near My Hometown Yesterday. I’ve Never Seen A Little Halo Above A Cloud Like This. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It’s a pileus cloud illuminated from behind.
Red Gem-Like Thing That Glows When Switched On. Apartment Built In 1948
Answer: It is an indicator lamp. It simply provides a very noticeable indicator that the switch is turned on. Usually used for switches that control something that is out of view, like an outdoor or basement light or possibly a furnace.
This should come back into use. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten I left the basement light on.
Found This Sewn Into The Hem Of A Pillowcase In A Hotel. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Probably RFID for identifying the owner at the industrial laundry place.
Found This In Grandpas Box Of Old Things. Might Be From Asia Because Of The 3rd Eye? Any Ideas?
Answer: This was part of a set of premiums for malted milk. Very cool but not very exotic.
Old Medal Found While Digging In A Garden At A Farm In Eastern Iowa. Wondering About Origin, Age, And Significance
Answer: Jefferson Napoleon Jugate Cloisonné 1904 worlds fair medallion pinback badge pin
Midwest House Built In Early 1900s Has A Thing On The Wall, What Is This Thing?
Answer: This is the century old equivalent to your circuit breaker panel. The two sockets on top are for screw fuses and the thing on the bottom is a knife switch like you'd see in the Frankenstein movies. The knife switch is missing it's handle which would be bolted to where the hole is in the throw arm. This is a 2 pole fused disconnect and was likely used for some large appliance like an electric stove or heater or something
I Inherited This From My Grandpa. It Probably Belonged To My Great Grandpa. What Are The Tools Used For? Drawing? It Came With A Vintage How To Sketch Book
Answer: Vintage drafting kit
A Weird Door I Saw In The Sea Wall In Biarritz, France
Answer: it is a gate for storm water runoff that drains into the ocean
Flew Through My Windshield On The Freeway
Answer: it's a swing lock from a roll off dumpster door.
What Kinds Of Fossils Are These? Found In The 60s On A Farm In Texas
Answer: Crinoids
Pulled This Out Of My Shoe, Sierra Foothills Tulare Co.
Answer: Looks like a cactus barb to me, see a lot of those in Arizona. I call them zip tie cacti but I believe it's called a fishhook barrel cactus.
I hate cactus and scorpions also goat heads.. Brown dry desert and heat. What is it with being surrounded by cactus yet everyone needs to grow it in their yards? Also my Grandma would cook it a lot too for dinner. Roses looked nice in yards and did well. Plant more roses. When I was 5 years old I saw my best friend the same age fall into a giant cactus, she was covered.. 😣 so scary!
What Is This X-Shape On The Wall, Often Seen Around Old Farms/Barns/Stables?
Answer: It’s the anchor plate of a “tie” - a big steel rod that stops the walls from bowing outward. Often added to older buildings to help keep them together.
This Bundle Of White And Purple Bulbs Emerged From Underground In My Garden In Denver Today. The Bulbs Are 2-4 Inches Each In Size And Oozing A Thick Glossy Liquid
Answer: stinkhorn fungi
I Was Cutting My Watermelon And Was Confused When I Saw These Hard Stems In It, Does Anyone Know What It Is?
Answer: That happens when it is stressed during growing. Likely due to drought, the fruit got messed up inside. It’s technically edible, but likely doesn’t taste very good
My Dentist Gave This To Me After A Checkup. How Do I Use... Whatever This Is?
Answer: You put it on the end of your toothpaste tube and slowly move it up the tube to squeeze the toothpaste out.
Are My Parents Neighbours Engaging In Psychological Warfare? This Is Attached To A Dolly Pointed In Their Yard And Sounds A Very Loud Alarm Twice A Day For 10 Minutes. What Is It?
Answer: Looks to be a vibrating horn (maybe 874 series) made by Edwards signaling. Data sheet states an output of 103dB. These type of horns are usually used in an individual setting where ambient noise is high.
I would guess the neighbor has hooked it up to cause a disturbance or just to be a general nuisance.
Found In My Fiance's Backyard, It's Sitting There Since The 90's
Answer: looks like an aircraft drop tank. If so, it's inert and harmless except for whatever creepy-crawlies might have taken up residence inside. It doesn't look like any of the common NATO or Soviet free-fall aerial bombs, on account of the "fins" being so small.
More specifically, it's a Mig 21 drop tank. That shape is unmistakable.
Goat In A Field In Scotland, Appears To Have Had Handlebars Added To His Horns?
Answer: To prevent the goat get stuck in the fence, probably wire fence
What Are These Shallow Holes With Webs In My Garden? A Bunch Of Them Showed Up This Morning
Answer: a grass spider nest
I Keep Seeing This Little Box On Many Different Cars In My Neighborhood. It Looks Like Some Sort Of Lock Box?
Answer: Turo business -- it's like AirBnB, but for cars.
Seen Hanging Behind The Bar At A Pub In Australia (Nt). What Is This Thing?
Answer: Its a game that a lot of pubs play. They sell raffle tickets and if you win you get to turn over one of the cards. If you get the preselected card (usually a joker) you win a prize. My local used to put on 4 slabs of beer or similar for the winner. Only 1 person would get a chance to turn a card on Friday and Saturday arvos though
Right In The Center Of My Bedroom’s Floor, Which Is A Converted Dining Room In A 1920s Apartment. Also Directly Below The Light Fixture. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It's whats left of an old servants or dinner bell. Someone in the past disassembled the top part to lay the carpet.
I Got A Bag Containing 6 Of These From China. I Have No Idea Why! What Are They?
Answer: Rose of Jericho (Resurrection Plant, Dinosaur Plant, Jericho Rose)
What Is This? It’s Magnetic, The Little Magnets Inside Are All Being Forced Together Against Their Natural Magnetic Pull. I Found It At Goodwill. I’m Baffled
Answer: an anti-theft tag remover
Some Kind Of Metal Faucet Looking Device In The Bathroom Of A Union Hall In Lewiston, Id. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It's an old ashtray.
Push the button for it to empty to the container below it.
Bunch Of Wooden Spikes, No Numbers Or Word Of Them?
Answer: They're splicing fids for splicing ropes together. You drive the spike between the strands of the rope so you can fit a strand of a different rope through.
Source: used them both on tallships and bell ringing for that exact purpose.
Found This In My Checked Luggage After A Flight. Have No Idea What It Is And I’m Assuming It Was Left In There By Tsa?
Answer: Used for wiping detection swabs over luggage or hands to detect for bombs. airport security put a swab in the end, rub it over the luggage and then scan it.
Found This On A Decaying Stump. It’s Soft And Almost Looks Like There Are Orange Eggs Inside It
Answer: Looks like slime mold. I wonder if you look at it in a few days if it will look different. Slime molds go through stages. The orange eggs may be spores
Weird Metal Worm Squiggle, Found In The Kitchen. What Is This Thing?!
Answer: a metal bookmark
Isn't that the character in German for the running 's' like in "snake". Also with a little snake on it!
My Friends Grandfather Has Been Using These For Years As Doorstops, He Thinks They May Be Grenades Of Some Sort But Can't Work Anything Out From The Engraving
Answer: Artillery expert here.
That is a 40x304mmR practice flatheaded shot (solid projectile) from the WW2 era British QF 2-pdr No.2 anti-tank gun.
Since it's a solid shot it's not an UXO and it should have a small hole in the base for the tracer, now, hopefully, empty. Yours has also been fired, as evidenced by the imprinted rotating band.
They've been fired but didn't remain unemployed after that since grandpa used them.
Found In A Newly Empty House, I Found What Looks Like A Really Strange Bed But Is Maybe Not. What Is This?
Answer: I can picture it with plants, candles in the holders, and a futon-type mattress or floor cushion to sit on and meditate. A friend of mine had a similar space for meditating, minus the platform thingy.
Found This Thing On The Street ~2 Years Ago. The Red Light Was Glowing Brightly For About Five Days And Then Dimly For Almost Three Weeks Before Fully Going Out. Looks Like It's Been Run Over A Couple Times Too
Answer: This is a bike backlight.
Witt Found In A Walmart’s Men’s Restroom?
Answer: 100% a diaper dispenser. At the walmart in my town we have these in the mens bathroom with a changing table (as all businesses should)
Found This In An Old Crumbled House, But I Have No Clue As To What It May Be! Its From A Compagny Called « Rally »... Help Me On This Mission!
Answer: The device is being described as a "razor hone", i.e., something for sharpening single-edge razor blades. That is not correct. It is a "Rally Dry Shaver" as you will see if you google that phrase. It's sort of like a lawn mower for the face. You shave by rolling that toothed cylinder over your face. It must not have worked very well or they would have become more widely known.
Paint Simunition Shot At Us During A Protest
Answer: Looks like an FN303 paint round. The granules are bismuth; they're non-toxic. You could keep it
Metal Pliers Found While Cleaning Shed. Can't Determine What This Took Is Used For. What Is This Thing?
Answer: I’ve never seen one quite like that but it’s pretty cool and could be for fishing.
Beyond the obvious pliers and bottle opened, the spikey saw-like part could be a fish scaler. The pointed bit in the middle could mash lead sinkers onto fishing line
Edit: it is for fishing
What The Heck Is This Jelly Like Object From Ainsdale Beach, North West UK?!
Answer: Squid eggs
I Found This In A Dirt Basement Of An Old House I Was Cleaning Out. What Is This Thing Used For ?
Answer: you are the proud owner of some lamp/lighting chain.
Several Roles Of This Were Donated To A Thrift Store I Volunteer At. It Doesn't Have Any Adhesive And Is Kinda Waxy Feeling
Answer: They are thorn guard strips, meant to be mounted inside bicycle tires, between inside of the tire casing and the innertube
This Was Found In An Area Of Colorado With A Rich History Of Mining. It Was In The Vicinity Of Other Random Abandoned Mine Equipment And I Don't Know What It Is Or What It Would Have Been Used For
Answer: this is a boiler. Specifically, this is the “pinned tube”-type heat exchanger component
Can Be Used For Wood Working, Been In My Family Garage For Years. Is It A Type Of Nut? Or Something More Profound?
Answer: banksia pod
Metal Two Level Platform, Found Near Road Construction. What Is This Thing?
Answer: Keeps the walls from caving when they go lower than a certain depth to do work on a water main. I think 5 feet. It goes in rotated 90 degrees so it acts like a spacer for the hole they temporarily excavate.
I think. Looks a lot like the ones I saw in pictures when I took my 400 level water bureau class
Help! Neighbor’s Kid Was Almost Impaled By Something That Kicked Up On The Road While Riding Passenger. About 2.5’-3’ In Length With A Small Rotational Piece At The Bottom You Can See. What Is This Thing?
Answer: It’s a spike for advertisement flags. The feather shaped ones that are on the verge at the side of the road. I think anyway. The flag pole should slide over the chunky end that sits at the end
Got This As A Prize In A Christmas Cracker With No Instructions, Just A Few Sharp Hooks?
Answer: It's a needle threader
Found In The Bathroom, Open And Close Sort Of Like Tweezers But Not Much Grip
Answer: Tongue scraper.
Found On The Shoreline Of A Beach In The Scottish Isles. They Were Scattered, Not In One Area. Feel Like Glass, One Clear And The Rest Black. The One That Has A Line Has Equal Lines All The Way Around
Answer: Pretty sure the black ones are carbon rods from batteries. They are a quite common find while beachcombing.
Apartment Hunting And These Rails Are All Over. What Are They For?
Answer: I've seen them before in apartments and was told they are some type of stabilizer for earthquakes, especially in old brick buildings
I Started To Peel And Separate This Orange Into Segments When I Found This Inside. Its Ridges Were Growing Between The Orange Segments Where Pith Would Normally Be. What Is It?
Answer: Sometimes navel oranges can have a second orange growing inside the first one. This looks to be what happened here but the second orange died and began to decompose.
I am glad it is that and not a mutant worm or caterpillar. Either way that wouldn't get eaten.
What Is This Thing My Mom Found, It's About 15 Inches Long And Has Wood, Embroidery Floss, Wire And Maybe Grass And Seems Vintage
Answer: Looks similar to a Burmese Buddha fan
Dog With Little Bundles Of Paper(?) In It’s Fur
Answer: The ends of its very long silky coat are wrapped and protected by those. Often seen in very long coated show dogs when they are out of the show ring and the hair needs to be out if the way, kept tangle-free and clean.
In the 1700s they were call papillote. It was wrapping hair in paper and pressing it with hot tongs
Found In Old Shed, Is It What It Looks Like? Inside Is Empty
Answer: Looks like a mortar round. Maybe not an active one since it's all shiny
Brass Object, Has A Screw That Slides Up The Side And Pushes A Wire Out The Top??? We're Stumped
Answer: It is for cleaning out a breech plug in a blackpowder muzzleloader
My Boyfriend Found This In His Backyard. It Appears To Be A Medal Of Some Sort? Theres Nothing On The Back Of It
Answer: Definitely a hub cap for a carriage wheel. The flange is at the surface of the hub and the decorated area is pressed back in.
Probably fell off a carriage at some point and no one noticed.
Edit: it would have been on the end of the axle/hub to prevent grease from leaking out onto the wheel.
2nd edit: it also may have been purely decorative if the wheel was solidly fixed to the axle.
Found This Thing On The Beach. Its Solid And Smells Like Seaweed, What Is It?
Answer: Codium bursa is a green marine algae of medium size.
On December I Took A Trip To Meet My Family In Guerrero, Mexico. My Grandmas Boyfriend Talked About Finding These #146 While Out For Walks In Water Streams. He Has Collected Them Over The Years. What Is It?
Answer: The round ones are spindle whorls or malacates, used for making thread.
The other ones are fragments of figurines. Looks like they were molded. Typology might give you a date if you have an expert look at them. Two of them are anthropomorphic (they represent faces), the third (the one in the upper right corner) could be zoomorphic, although it may also just be an abstract decoration on a broken support of a vessel.
Ooh, antique spindles! Very jealous. Looks like two top whorl spindles and one bottom whorl spindle.
My Grandma Found This Weird Ceramic Dog In Her Yard
Answer: It’s a liquor or sake dispenser. Missing the tiny cups or shot glasses that hang from the spikes on its back. Here is another example.
Witt: Fixed Binoculars I Picked Up From A Garage Sale
Answer: These are likely for the theatre. Seats near the back of the auditorium i.e. further away from the stage have these in a coin-operated holder fixed to the seat in front
Odd Yellow Liquid Filled Balls Found Inside Of Cigarettes, Definitely Not Menthols, Cannot Break Them With Your Fingers. Found In The Tobacco, Not The Filter. Found In A Pack Of Number 7 Specials. Anyone Know What This Could Be?
Answer: Ion-exchange resin beads for filtering out bad stuff, like cyanide, in the smoke
Found This Out In The Woods
Answer: It is a steam boiler. Maybe from a train engine, or more likely, maybe from a building used for heat or some kind of power for mining operation.
An Unknown Rocket-Like Object Is Being Transported By A Barge Along The Don River, Russia
Unswer: I think that's a distillation column for refining something like crude oil
Weird Luminescent Red Thing On The Beach In A Lightning Storm
Answer: it’s a kite string with LEDs attached to it. The guy uses red LEDs so as to not interfere with the turtles. I wasn’t able to see the kite originally since the winds had it out of my view (today I saw the light up kite at the end too). The fact it was flying during a lightning storm was not relevant
Miniature Christmas Ornaments Made Of Pewter
Answer: charm bracelet charms
What Is This. Found In A Floor In Central Texas
Answer: Its used to tension chains and connect two together, its combined with a handle sort of thing that you push up and down to put more tension on the chain, we use them on the farm but in a smaller scale, wish i could give you an exact name
Was Always Weirded Out By This Statue. Found In A House With Other Goat Statues Throughout
Answer: Looks like art by Frank Fleming. Google "birmingham al 5 points south fountain statue"
Or google "frank fleming statues"
Witt In A Lake In Ohio? Drains Into A Big Pipe At The Bottom Of A Hill
Answer: That’s the overflow control mechanism so the lakes waters don’t get too high, it’s called a glory hole ( for real) Edit- apparently that’s just the name for a specific one in Cali, so I’m not sure what their actual name is
Medal Found In My Nana's Belongings. Written On The Back Is "The Great War For Civilisation"
Answer: The Victory Medal
Just typing "medal great war civilisation" and google floods you with prices, images, articles... I don't get why people ask these questions; going to ask and waiting takes so much more time and effort?
Many Of These Washed Up On A Beach In Destin, FL USA. They Are Squishy
Answer: Sea cucumber
Fun fact, place them in brine and you get sea pickles.... Nothing? Wow... Tough crowd
Found On A Beach In Iceland. It's Very Heavy (Ca 80kgs) And The Inside Seems To Be Made Of Copper Trapped In Cast Iron
Answer: So I can't tell you exactly what it is but it looks like a large valve through which liquid or gas would flow. My guess is industrial-size liquid valve since copper is/was used for those types of applications. Maybe off an old freighter ship or from a factory or mechanical substation or pipeline near the water?
My Late Grandfather Was A Hungarian Politician In The Communist Era. Do You Have Any Information About These Pins?
Answer: Top two are 1980 olympics pins. Lower left says Odessa and lower right says 1919 which looks like some Soviet anniversary pin but it’s after the inception of the communist party and before the Soviet Union formed
"30 DDR" is a pin from 1979 for the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)
Swiss Autobahn Retaining Wall Has Square Protrusions And Panels That Look Like They Can Be Opened
Answer: The squares are structural reinforcing members that anchor the panels into the earth behind. They help shore up the wall and resist moment forces from the soil from toppling the retaining wall. There are also some through drains too I’m sure, just not the main square things.
My Mil Has Had This Thing For Years And No One In The Family Can Figure Out What It Is. Looks Like It Was Mounted On The Wall Or Something At One Point. Any Ideas?
Answer: It’s an old bee keeping tool according to google “Bees Parker's Foundation Fastener - Wooden Beekeeping tool Circa 1800's”
Found At A Scrapyard From A Building Demolition. Slightly Radioactive
Answer: It's a jack shaft on a 90 degree arm. The hinged flat pieces are likely mounting and stabilizing points for attachment to the rest of the machine. It's chain driven and probably used as a link point for a conveyor belt.
Found On Google Maps In The Yukon/Delta Region In Alaska, Went Back To Look For It Agaun After Screen Shot But Couldn't Find Anything. What Is It?
Answer: Remnants of an old radio array. Located just east of Tok, Alaska
Bought Decades Ago, Never Truly Known What It Is Or Its True Purpose
Answer: Dieesl Horst Kompensator
More precisely Diesselhorst Kompensator. It's some kind of very accurate resistance measuring device for currents of 1 Volt DC and less. At least that's what I got out of the German documentation...
What Is This Metal Lump? Shines Very Bright Under Light. Almost Blinding To Look At. Weight: 264 Grams And M 12 Etched On The Side
Answer: Looks like the top of a silicon boule
1 Through 300 Metal Tags Found In An Old (1920s)ice Box. The Copper Wires Are There Just To Hold The Whole Stack Together
Answer: They look like locker numbers
Saw This On The Side Of A Truck While Driving. Was Not Able To Get Close Enough To Read What Is Says. Yellow Box Hanging By Suction Cup With Wire To Back Of Box. Two Blinking Red Lights On It As Well
Answer: Retroreflectometer
Cylinder With Hole With Wire Brush Metal Inside. Witt?
Answer: Car battery terminal cleaner
Incorrect. This is a two-sided plumber's tool known as a rougher. It's used for cleaning and removing debris and corroded metal from the ends of copper plumbing pipes before adding flux for soldering.
Heavy Mass Hanging On Transmission Cables
Answer: This is an art intervention in a brazilian university. This thing should be a meteor.
Weird Gadget In Epoxy With Suction Cup Hidden In Tiny Fake Book. My Boyfriend Doesn’t Remember Where It Came From. Does Anybody Recognize This?
Answer: Nissin Synchro-Eye Slave unit
I find it amusing when people give correct but unhelpful answers and then get all snotty when people still have no clue what it is. As if its obvious what a left handed veeblefetzer is.
I cat believe you don't know a left handed veeblefetzer. You insert into the right handed fieblemitz when you rotate the shinglepertz. Obviously
Load More Replies...
I love these posts. I especially enjoy further research on some of them
I like these ones. It's interesting how some seem so obscure, and yet other I know what they are instantly and realise that the obscure ones are just as obvious to someone somewhere.
What's annoying is this started with 130+, I come back to complete and there are only 40 on the list. What the hell bored panda, I want to learn!
At the end of the post you may see a sentence written in tiny letters that say "Note: This post originally had 142 images...". When clicking on 142 you'll see all of them.
Load More Replies...
And then there was the time where I figured out that a random, empty wooden box was actually the shell of an old music box with its working components removed instead of a 'telephone box' like somebody else claimed. Was only 6 hours late to the question, but got no recognition. Still bothers me. That thread, (r/whatisthisthing) moves REALLY fast. Most stuff is answered in minutes.
If you want to see more of these you can simply go to r/whatisthisthing on Reddit! It's an awesome sub where you're always gonna learn something new
this was pretty intresting..my favorite one was the mushroom, but it sure guranteed i will NEVER EVER GO TO THE WOODS-
Anyone know what these are? No bottoms, no screw threads. Metal weighing 25 grams each. Lip/collar inside only one end of each. Carved. Too small for napkin rings metal-thin...26cc44.jpg 
@katniss i ecperienced the same thing n didn't even know this kind of reaction to such things had a name...thanks to you, I googled trypophobia and know that there r others like me!
It would be great to know not just the name of those thing but the purpose of it.
This was absolutely fascinating snd other than the bad jokes on some, I learned some interesting facts about historical things. Wow I’d love to see more posts like this!!
Guys, could someone mind changing the thumbnail picture, as it's a big trypophobia trigger?? As a trypophobic individual, it makes me feel really nauseous and dizzy, even if I only see it for a few seconds. Thanks!!
i need to find this subreddit and post a pick of something i am trying to figure out. i have two 'things' that have the family initial engraved on it. kind of looks like a mushroom with a large cap (where the initial is) and the 'stem' has a smaller 'cap'. i think it was kind of a buttone from the 1700s or so. but, if you flip them over and look inside you can see they were made from coins. still, have no idea what they are.
I find it amusing when people give correct but unhelpful answers and then get all snotty when people still have no clue what it is. As if its obvious what a left handed veeblefetzer is.
I cat believe you don't know a left handed veeblefetzer. You insert into the right handed fieblemitz when you rotate the shinglepertz. Obviously
Load More Replies... I love these posts. I especially enjoy further research on some of them
I like these ones. It's interesting how some seem so obscure, and yet other I know what they are instantly and realise that the obscure ones are just as obvious to someone somewhere.
What's annoying is this started with 130+, I come back to complete and there are only 40 on the list. What the hell bored panda, I want to learn!
At the end of the post you may see a sentence written in tiny letters that say "Note: This post originally had 142 images...". When clicking on 142 you'll see all of them.
Load More Replies... And then there was the time where I figured out that a random, empty wooden box was actually the shell of an old music box with its working components removed instead of a 'telephone box' like somebody else claimed. Was only 6 hours late to the question, but got no recognition. Still bothers me. That thread, (r/whatisthisthing) moves REALLY fast. Most stuff is answered in minutes.
If you want to see more of these you can simply go to r/whatisthisthing on Reddit! It's an awesome sub where you're always gonna learn something new
this was pretty intresting..my favorite one was the mushroom, but it sure guranteed i will NEVER EVER GO TO THE WOODS-
Anyone know what these are? No bottoms, no screw threads. Metal weighing 25 grams each. Lip/collar inside only one end of each. Carved. Too small for napkin rings metal-thin...26cc44.jpg
@katniss i ecperienced the same thing n didn't even know this kind of reaction to such things had a name...thanks to you, I googled trypophobia and know that there r others like me!
It would be great to know not just the name of those thing but the purpose of it.
This was absolutely fascinating snd other than the bad jokes on some, I learned some interesting facts about historical things. Wow I’d love to see more posts like this!!
Guys, could someone mind changing the thumbnail picture, as it's a big trypophobia trigger?? As a trypophobic individual, it makes me feel really nauseous and dizzy, even if I only see it for a few seconds. Thanks!!
i need to find this subreddit and post a pick of something i am trying to figure out. i have two 'things' that have the family initial engraved on it. kind of looks like a mushroom with a large cap (where the initial is) and the 'stem' has a smaller 'cap'. i think it was kind of a buttone from the 1700s or so. but, if you flip them over and look inside you can see they were made from coins. still, have no idea what they are.
