50 Times People Had No Clue What They Were Looking At, But The Internet Had Their Back (New Pics)
The world is far too complex for us to have all the answers. On any given day, people are coming up with new projects and ideas that prove change is the only stable thing in life. Since we can’t keep up with their sometimes weird, sometimes brilliant inventions, we’re bound to believe that all of these novel items have a purpose.
But have you ever stumbled across something so random and mysterious that you just had to ask, "What Is This Thing?" Well, if you have, chances are you reached out to the online group on Reddit with the same name. "We may not know the 'why' but we can help with the 'what'," the moderators write in the description, and boy, do they deliver!
More than 2.1 million amateur detectives consistently scroll through the photographs and solve one case after another by deciphering the perplexities people upload online. We gathered some of the most bizarre objects people posted on the group, along with the wisdom from the subreddit about what they are. Continue scrolling, upvote the most interesting ones, and tell us what you think about them in the comments! And if you're in the mood for even more strange objects and the explanations behind them, check out our previous posts about them here, here, and here.
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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.
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.
For most people, feeling unsure about the things right in front of them is at least a little bit frustrating and a whole lot confusing. This uneasy feeling of uncertainty can lead to worry and distress because, more often than not, we humans tend to assume the worst. So the not-knowing and living in anxious anticipation is hard for people, and we are almost programmed to hate it. In fact, one study has revealed that our stress levels max out when uncertainty is highest. The volunteers in the experiment were asked to play a game where they had to overturn rocks. If a snake appeared under one of them, they would get a painful electric shock. The results showed that people would rather definitely get an electric shock now than know there's a possibility to get shocked later. Or in other words, uncertainty is more stressful than predictable negative outcomes.
In part, that’s one reason why people are so eager to find out the meaning and purpose behind bizarre objects they encounter. To learn more about uncertainty and how it affects our day-to-day lives, we reached out to Frank T. McAndrew, Ph.D., the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College. "Novelty in our environment (i.e., new or mysterious things) automatically grab our attention for good evolutionary reasons," he told Bored Panda.
What Is This Thing? Small Gold Pig Container With Removable Tiny Spoon For A Tail
Answer: Salt cellar aka salt pig
A collection of rainbow-coloured salt pigs to use for all spices... yes please!
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.
I wanted to say that I never saw something like this nowhere in Europe, but then I realized that I don't actually use handicapped toilets and have never properly seen one. 🙃
Found In My Math Teacher's Room. 100 Squares With Varying Patterns And Colors. No Patterns Seem To Be Same
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
Interestingly, we are hardwired by evolution to focus on the unusual things in our surroundings and try to associate them with threat or safety. "Something new in our environment may potentially be very good (something else to eat or an object that might prove useful to us in other ways) or very bad (a dangerous thing that we should avoid)," McAndrew added. "In either case, people who paid attention to new things did a lot better over time than people who ignored them, and we are the descendants of the people who were curious."
According to the professor, when we can’t figure something out and cannot determine if it’s good, bad, or neutral, we become uncomfortable. "Our inability to categorize it will eat at us because we do not know how to deal with it, and this can be paralyzing if it is something that we cannot easily avoid," he explained. That’s why people go out of their way to escape feeling psychological discomfort and hope to be in control again.
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.
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.
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.
When asked if it’s possible to cope with these anxious feelings and even tame them, McAndrew told us it’s unlikely that we want to overcome them in the first place. "Being uncomfortable with uncertainty is a very adaptive thing, and it helps us remain vigilant in situations where we need to do so," the professor said.
"People differ from each other in how comfortable they are with uncertainty, and someone who is not at all tolerant of uncertainty will be more stressed out than they should be over even moderate levels of uncertainty. I am not sure that there is too much that can be done about this, as it is a personality thing and personalities are very hard to change," McAndrew noted.
Art Nouveau Style Hook Made Of Silver
Answer: a boot button hook. Used to hook all those tiny buttons on ladies boots
Were this older, it could be used as the brain pulling thing in ancient Egypt.
Heavy And Small. Found In Southern Germany
Answer: Medieval pilgrim’s badge
Strange Graves In A Village Graveyard In Northwest Iran. So I Have Seen These Graves Since I Was A Kid But Never Understood What The Marking Meant. They Don’t Look Like Christian Or Muslim Graves And No One In The Village Knows Their Origin. If Someone Knows Anything, I Would Appreciate The Help
Answer: gravestones in NW Iran sometimes have figural/narrative carvings that indicate the occupation of the person.
At least we can feel a dash of comfort knowing that once we encounter a random object, we can turn to the 'What Is This Thing' online group on Reddit and hope they will quickly release us from relentless questioning. Ever since it was created in 2010, it has been steadily growing and helping thousands of people solve their puzzles. With the tagline “For the identification of mysterious objects”, the moderators state that "if you have an object and you don't know what it is, this is the place for you to search for an answer."
What Is This 6-Floor Tiny Tower In The Middle Of A Parking Lot, Adjacent A Baseball Field In East Austin, Tx?
Answer: it's a fire fighter practice building. hey use that whole area for training of all sorts including high speed chase training for cops as well as a firing range.
Witt - Two Card Parked On A Street, Both Seem To Have T-Shirts (Or Some Sort Of Material) Over Their Wing Mirrors, But Just On The Side Facing The Road
Answer: Its to keep birds from attacking the mirrors
What Is The Intended Purpose Of This Very Thin, Glass Covered Drawer?
Answer: It’s a bedside cabinet and it’s to put cups of coffee/ breakfast on so it doesn’t leave coffee rings/stains on the top
We previously managed to get in touch with one of the moderators who looks after the group. They told us there are several reasons people become amateur detectives and set out on a mission to discover the meaning behind obscure pictures posted online. The first one is when people encounter interesting and novel items, they can’t help but feel curious and want to get a chance at cracking the case. Another reason would be the "thrill of the chase" — folks simply want to show off their great research skills.
"Many [people] have unique and obscure knowledge and they like to use it. Get enough of them together and they cover most things," they told Bored Panda.
What Is This Oddly Burned Log I Found At A Campsite?
Answer: Swedish log burning....burns longer than firing a log onto a fire.
In German it's called a "finnish torch". You saw two cross shaped cuts into the log and stuff them with twigs then light them up. Works kind of like a giant candle.
Kids Pack On Air Flight Contained These With No Explanation Or Instructions. What Are They?
Answer: Ahh...the inventor didn't realize that some parents even adults need instructions. Surely you can see that these look like airplane wings!
"Kids flying Air France can play with their food thanks to Catalan designer Eugeni Quitllet, who created a spoon, fork and knife that can be transformed into a small model aircraft. "
The spoon, fork and knife for the kids meal pack have slots in their handles, you slot these into the handles to make model airplanes. Notice that you get 3 of them, and "mon avion" is French for "my airplane".
What Is Up Against This Person's Mouth?
Answer: Court stenographer mask so they can dictate
Luckily for us, the moderator also revealed that only under 10 percent of 'cases' remain unsolved, so it’s very rare that members of the community wouldn't know anything about the unidentified things posted on the page. "A majority of things are solved within 15 minutes of posting," they added. So if you have an unusual object archived in your photo gallery that you still ponder about to this day, be sure to share your findings with the online group, and we are willing to bet that they’ll know the answer right away.
What Is This Red Leather Devil Figure, Found In A Wooden Box In An Attic?
"Turns out one of the weirder ways skates and rays have been used by people is as curiosities. These cartilaginous fish, related to sharks, were flipped over and “shaped” into gruesome likenesses of imagined sea devils or maybe evil-looking mermaids. After being dried out and shellacked they were sold in port cities and seaside towns as far back as the 16th century. The origins of the name are obscure, but some articles reference jeune fille d’Anvers which translates as girl from Antwerp.
Intentionally fishing and drying out sea creatures as tourist trinkets, whether sea stars, sea horses or Jenny Hanivers, has fortunately fallen out of fashion. But beach combing is still a great way to come upon all sorts of interesting bits and pieces brought in on the tide and tossed ashore by a wave to dry in the sun."
What Are These Tiny Brown And Tan Beads I Found In My Carpet And On My Windowsill?
Answer: Looks like termite frass, aka termite poop.
Witt? Slightly Rusty Metal Plate With "Stop" In Cutout Lettering
Answer: Rear Light Stop Face Plate A-13442-AR it’s from a vintage ford.
This Metal Decorative Floral Piece, Removable Petals, 10” Long, On A Table Top
Answer: Ashtray
What Is This Instrument/Tool This Woman Is Displaying?
Answer: Its a bed warmer
Wooden Machine Hanging On The Wall Of A Historical Building. It Features Dials That All Seem To Be In Sync. Knob Below When Pushed Makes The Dials Jump, But Turning Does Nothing. The Dials Are Numbered But A Few Are Labeled Parlor, Ladies Entrance And Bathroom
Answer: Servants summoning panel. Buttons or pulls all over the house ring a bell there
it's a Hotel Annunciator aka Butlers Call Bell. It appears that this hotel had 33 rooms
What Is This Type Of Clamp Used? Only Says China On It
Answer: That’s a gang lock for lockout/tagout. You place this on a breaker when multiple people are working on equipment to keep people from turning the equipment on.
I gather each worker puts their own padlock on so it can't be powered until everyone is done?
I've Seen This Cane Shaped (Usually) Brass Post At Numerous Bars And Pubs, And Wondered What It Is And What It Is Used For. L Have Been Unable To Google The Correct Sequence Of Words To Get A Result
Answer: "divider" or "service divider". It serves to keep standing customers to one side, away from the part of the bar where servers pick up drinks. Also notice the opening under the bar, the bartender (in some designs) can lift the top and gets in and out. You don't want customers standing there blocking access
Ukraine National Police Posted An Image Of This Strangely Textured Object, They Call It "Dangerous To Health And Even Life"... But What Is It?
Answer: Butterfly mines
Russian “gift” to Ukrainian civilisation. How generous. /s
Park Bench With Weird Cutouts. Don't Think It's For Bikes, You'd Need A Really Long Chain To Wrap All The Way Around
Answer: It’s for bikes. When u want to sit you park your bike behind you. It’s not meant to lock your bike and leave
Witt: Small Metal Trinket Found Buried On Rural Missouri Farm. Appears To Have An Eagle, Flor De Lis, And Rope Pattern On From And A Metal Band On The Back. Quarter For Scale
Answer: It's a boy scout neckerchief slide.
Enclosed, Copper Gazebo Type Thing On A Residential Property. House Built In 1929
Answer: It's a cupola. At least it was. When old buildings are torn down, people buy these and repurpose them.
What Is This Thing? Circular Thing On A Post In An Antique Place
Answer: This is an Engine Order Telegraph used in older marine vessels. Allowed the Captain remote communication with the ships engine room.
Found Buried In The Closet Of A Commercial Kitchen. What've I Got? About 6 Inches In Diameter
Answer: It's a hamburger press
Odd how many things on this list are both obvious and not obvious at the same time.
Found This Deep In My Church's Storage. Looks Like There's A Place For A Battery, Multiple Lights, And Even A Knob That Only Clicks When You Twist It. It Seems To Be From The 70s And Made Primarily Out Of Aluminum. All I Can Think Of Is It Was Some Sort Of Tithe Device, But It Doesn't Seem To Open
Answer: A device found in a church that says “PLEASE” on it only has one meaning, MONEY. It some sort of offering collector.
Cinderblock Stove Structure On The Edge Of 1920 Farmhouse Property. Located Down The Hill From The House
Answer: That’s what it is. Cook houses were often away from the main house to reduce fire risk and to just deal with the heat in the summer
Found On The Beach Near Myrtle Beach, Sc. We Just Had A Big Storm. It's Very Firm And Breaks Apart Smoothly. Seems Organic
Answer: We used to get stuff like this on our beach in colder weather. It turns out it was fats in the “treated” water from the Boston sewer plant that was pipelined out into Cape Cod Bay. They would clump together into big fatty lumps like that one.
Industrial lubricants (synthetic waxes) also regularly get dumped from ships and wash up on shores. Wax or fat seem most likely.
Strange “Bench” With Tubing Near The Parking Lot Of An Old Elementary School
Answer: This is playground equipment from the 70s-80s. You lay on your back and slide through by pulling on the bars
I was a kid during that time and I don't remember anything like this in the playgrounds I went to including the one at school.
Witt: This Metal "Ring" Was In Every Toilet In A Hospital. No Search I Have Done Was Able To Locate A Match Or Answer
Answer: Stops flushable wipes from being flushed. Traptex Plumbing Protection System
Came In A Box Of Candy Making Supplies That I Got Off Craigslist. Measures 4 1/2 Inches Wide And Has About 60 Twisty Screws Embedded Into It. It Came With Lots Of Different Semi-Professional Sugar/Candy Tools And This One Has Me Stumped
Answer: It's for making spun sugar
Found This While Cleaning Out The Attic. It's Wood, Looks Handmade, Measures 20cm, But I Have No Idea What It Is Or Does!
Answer: Perhaps it's a Yacouba Double Spoon - a symbol of hospitality in traditional African art. It represents two very distinct universes that are opposite.
"Light Fixture" I Noticed At A Restaurant In Nl, Canada. Appears To Be Some Sort Of Old Machinery
Answer: It’s the lift mechanism from a dumbwaiter.
To Piggy Back Off The Other Clothing "Loop" Post: What Is This Loop Towards The End Of Both The Sleeves On My Jacket? Who Would Hang Their Jacket Up By The Sleeves? What Are These For?
Answer: The fleece can go inside an outer shell jacket. The loops connect inside the sleeves of the jacket so that the sleeves of the fleece don't come out of the jacket when you take it off
I would have guessed they were for attaching your gloves to so you can take them off without losing them!
Brass Or Bronze Ball With Dividing Lines
Answer: Petanque ball
For those like me that didn't know what a Petanque ball is (from google): Pétanque is a French (Provençal to be precise) outdoor game played by two opposing teams trying to throw boules (metallic spheres the size of an orange) as close as possible to a but (little wooden sphere the size of a plastic bottle cork, also called a cochonnet, meaning piglet)
Oh my gosh, one i could actually answer. I used to play this as a young teen against my family
Ok I knew this one. My uncle with Down syndrome actually won bronze in petanque/boccia at the Shanghai Paralympics years ago.
I don't care what anyone says, you play with that and you may call forth the cenobites 😝
I saw it and thought “ a snitch without wings?” And then I got disappointed when I found out what it actually what’s :(
Pétanque is a sport a bit like bocci where you score points by having your boule closer to the target than your opponent.
It's a ball, "une boule" to play "la pétanque". It's a french game. It's very popular especially in the south of France. I grew up playing it. In my grand mother's village there are tournaments every summer, very serious business ^^ There are even official competitions that are aired on tv. The best way to play it, in my opinion, is with friends and family while taking the "apéro". "L'apéro" (short for "apéritif") is the act of drinking and eating snacks like chips, olives or salted peanuts before a meal. If you come visit France you'll see plenty of people playing a game of "la pétanque".
No, it is to differentiate the balls of the players. 37384-6297...27d082.jpg 
If you’re wondering about the lines, different balls in a set would have different patterns so you can tell which ones are yours
The lines are to identify who throw the boulle. That boulle was the one we called player 2. We had a set with 6 boules, having 3 pairs of boules. One marked with a single line pattern, the double line pattern as shown, and one with triple lines. Edit oh, thats the triple line boulle. I didn’t look closely enough
Found This Behind A Commercial Freezer While Doing Renovations. Plastic Casing, Plastic Looking Balls, Metal Shroud, About 1.5 Inches In Length. Wall Anchor? Cyanide Capsule?
Answer: this is a scent/pheromone capsule for a moth glue trap
Large Chunk Of (Metal?) Weighs Quite A Bit In Your Hand And Hasn't Changed In Color In Decades
Answer: The circled m logo is the logo of the réunion des musées nationaux, the French public museums. Probably a copy of a cuneiform tablet available as a souvenir at the Louvre, among other museums.
Large Plastic Hood With Gloves Attached. Found In Chicago Residential Alleyway
Answer: glove box. Laboratory glove box. Used to isolate samples. I'm sure you may have seen them once or twice in movies with science labs etc.
Bronze And Lead Object, With Some Kind Of Scale In It, No Moving Parts, Found While Digging
Answer: Appears to be a German artillery fuse
Haubitze Zünder 05, or "Howitzer Fuze, model 1905", designed for 10cm light field howitzers and used by Germany during WW1. The weird bit is it was found in Argentina, but OP's grandfather was of Italian descent and these have been used on the Italian front during WW1, so I'm guessing it's a war souvenir.
Found Tiny Vial Of Thick Liquid With A Bead Inside. There Were Also 4 Rubber Things For Your Fingers And It Was All In A Sealed Black Foil Packet. Any Idea What It Is?
Answer: It’s a lotion that comes with temporary tattoo kits. The little rubber finger covers are for applications
My Neighbor Just Installed This Outside Of Their Window. I Assume It Measures Something But I Have Never Seen Such A Pole
Answer: It’s an antenna
Witt? A Small Wooden Box With A Sort Of Dial On The Front Which Can Turn But Cannot Turn Anymore At Certain Points. There Is One More In Another Pew
Answer: The dial is a potentiometer which suggests maybe those are headphone sockets with a volume control
Found This Plastic Device Buried In The Garage. About 13 Inches Long, And When You Pull Back The Trigger Where Your Hand Goes It Lifts The Little Knob On The End Upwards. The Bottom Side Of The Knob Has Velcro On It
Answer: Looks like those TSA wands that test for explosives. They put a little cloth piece in there, rub it all over your s**t and then put the little cloth pad in a detector.
What Are These Lights That Appear To Be Behind The Mirror In The Hotel I’m Staying At?
Answer: It’s likely supposed to be an “infinity mirror” you lay a one way mirror over a standard one and put the LED’s between the layer giving it a tunnel appearance. The missing side could be a bad strip of LED’s
Insanely Heavy Glass With (Bubbles?) Inside, Inscription Says 1978. Any Idea What This Is Or Just A Random Decoration Item?
Answer: Looks like a paper weight. This is typically one of the first things a student will make when learning glass blowing. The bubbles are created as the glass gather folds over itself. Ultimately one tries to avoid creating bubbles in most cases
Found This Metal Key Shaped Object With In My Wall Behind Some Meshes, Anyone Knows What This Is?
Answer: If it’s in a bathroom, it could be an old razor blade disposal slot. They used to just get pushed in behind the wall.
Beautiful Transparent Green And Sphere, But Not A Marble. Found Outside In North Texas. It Has Shrunk In The Last 2 Days. When Found It Was The Size Of A Marble, Now The Size Of A Pea, But Still Perfectly Sphere
Answer: Lol, orbeez! Fun little water filled marbles that dehydrate into tiny balls
This Plastic Box Is Glued By Years Of Paint To My Wall, Only Says "Air King" On It, Which Just Shows Fans When I Google The Name. Looks Original To A House Built In The Late 60's/Early 70's
Answer: the chime for your doorbell.
My house was built in 1924, and has one of these for the "new" doorbell added in early 70s. Still has the original doorbell from 1924 as well, which is a k**b on the door which you rotate and it rings as it spins. I also lived in a house built in 1977, which had cool boxes like this, but it was an intercom system. You could press a button outside, and speak with someone in the kitchen. Useful when we locked ourselves out as kids.
Just Purchased A Home Built In 1938. This Kitchen Counter Is Shorter Than The Others, And Has This Metal Insert Built In. It Feels Thin, Like Maybe Ice Was Kept Underneath To Keep Items On Top Cool? I Have Searched Multiple Sites On Old Homes And Have Had Zero Luck Figuring Out The Purpose
Answer: used for kneading dough. The flat surface is where you knead it, the other part is for measuring out the dough into portions.
Possibly was bout like a box, so you knead the dough on top, then put it under that top to rise. We have an antique drought tray that works on the same concept. It’s a wooden table with a removable top, where you knead the dough on top, then put it inside where it’s dark so it can rise.
What Is This Chrome Thing Near The Toilet And The Tp Holder?
Answer: Looks like a holder for magazines. "Literature" is an important bathroom supplies category - or at least used to be before smartphones
Literature was also the back of a cleaner if one forgot their usual literature and/or phone.
White Submarine-Shaped Boat Getting Towed Every Morning And Afternoon Along The Shoreline Of Honolulu, Hawaii
Answer: Atlantis Discovery – Waikiki Submarine Tour
This 1.5 Foot By About 3 Foot Cubby In My Friends New Bedroom
Answer: It's because the vents for hvac were installed after the house was built - they basically sacrificed some space in one room to run the duct work, then constructed awkward walls around it.
In A Classic Buy-Now-Consult-The-Internet-Later Situation, I Now Own These Neon Rainbow Acrylic Mystery Sticks I Found At The Goodwill Bins. Anyone Know What I Bought?
Answer: Multi-Color Acrylic Mahjong Mah Jongg Racks
From Google: Mahjong or mah-jongg is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players. ———these are the racks that hold the tiles. Similar in function to those used in scrabble.
Old Heavy Key With “Good Health” Engraved
Answer: It's the key to good health. These 'motivational knickknacks (not sure what else to call them) have been a thing for generations.
I read a story about a Sultan who was so pampered he had never even set foot on the ground, and when he got sick all his doctors were too scared to tell him it was because he never got any exercise. Then a clever man who had been caught trespassing in the gardens and needed to think of a good story claimed he was a doctor too, and he told the Sultan that the key to good health was buried in the garden, but only the man who dug it up would benefit from it. So the Sultan started digging, ultimately for days and weeks and then months on end. Which of course did the trick.
This Cool Vintage Tool Handle In The Shape Of A Leg Was Donated To Our Tool Library But We Can't Figure Out What It Was Used For. Any Suggestions?
Answer: It's for use with a rat tail file. The tail goes into the groove in the back, and the front foot holds the file down to the work piece. Can help with keeping your file parallel to the work surface when you only have one hand to hold the file with.
Without explanation on what it is it really looks like just a wooden and metal leg. When you read what it's used for you can see the ergonomic finger shapes in the metal part.
What Are These Successive White Target Markers Attached To The Train Tracks? They Have A Tiny Through Hole In The Middle And Are On Both Rails At The Train Stop
Answer: they're for measuring and monitoring track movement.
the train doesn't record it, someone with a total station (laser measuring equipment) will stand in a position of safety and measure these daily / weekly / whatever is specified in the track monitoring plan. they measure up to 1/10th of a mm and will be input into a spreadsheet to check rate of movement and in what areas. if you look around you should be able to see some yellow targets on surrounding infrastructure used to set up and calibrate the equipment.
A Putty Type Substance Found Inside A Dehumidifier. It Doesn't Seem To Have Any Purpose That I Can Think Of Since It's Inside A Plastic Bag Which Is Inside A Plastic Box With No Visible Pipes Or Vents Attached To It. It Doesn't Have Any Smell But It's Oily Like Glazing Putty
Answer: It's foam. Possibly for sound deadening so the compressor isn't as noticeable.
Bagged expanding foam is common for applications where you want to fill a space but don't want the foam to make contact with what's in the space. It's more commonly used in packaging of odd shaped items, but can be used in other applications seen here.
The bag is inserted then an expanding foam of some variety is added. The bag conforms to the surrounding surfaces as the foam expands allowing the combination to be form fitting without the foam making contact with any of the surfaces.
We need this in more places that just this. Sound deadening foam is something people who have to sleep during the day (because they work the graveyard shift) would cover everything—-and everyone—-around them
These Red And Green Lights On The Outside Of This Medical Clinic
Answer: A lab I worked at had the same thing, but we used them to signal that we had FedEx packages for pickup.
If it was green, the driver knew to come in and get outgoing packages, if it was red, it meant we had none.
6" To 8" Black Cast Iron Frying Pan With A Raised Solid 2" Flat Surface In The Center Of The Pan
Answer: a donut skillet
What Is This Blue Artillery Shell Looking Thing That Was Dropped (And Assuming Unexploded) In Ukraine?
Answer: This is the shell from a guided artillery munition, or ballistic missile.
Surgically Removed From My Cat’s Stomach. We Are At A Loss As To What It Is.. Help? It’s Rubbery In Texture And Maybe About An Inch Long
Answer: Do you have a water fountain for your cat? Our cat's fountain has something that looks like that that plugs the spot the power cord for the motor goes into the basin part.
It almost looks like a handheld pencil sharpener, if you removed the blade. That's concerning, hope your kitty is feeling better.
What Is This? Looks And Feels Like A Microchip In The Middle. Found This Underneath The Sofa
Answer: a diabetes test strip
What Is This Coloured Board Thing Firefighters Set Up?
Answer: Firefighter Accountability Tracker. It keeps track of personel and tasks
utter tosh! it's so the fire fighters can indulge their passion for watercolours
What Is This Two Attached Differently Sized Cups Made Of (Probably) Uranium/Vaseline Glass?
Answer: smoke set. You put cigarettes in one cup and matches in the other, and there’s a place on the side to strike the match.
Can Anyone Tell Me What This Is? It Looks Like A Plastic Key Of Some Sort But With A Ridge Pattern Instead Of A Normal Key Pattern
Answer: a paper towel or soap dispenser key
What Are These Little Porcelain Angels/Cherubs With Rings In Their Hands? Found In An Old Box Of Christmas Decorations But I’ve Never Seen Them Before
Answer: they slide onto taper candles as decoration
What Is This Thing On Wheels Next To Putin?
Answer: Bactericidal irradiator-recirculator DEZAR-4 (ORUBp-3-3-KRONT)
Found Scattered In Garden, Not Buried, About 4cm Long, Plastic
Answer: Remnants from a type of fireworks known as Saturn missiles
Humming Metal Locked Box Next To A Corn Field
Answer: It's an electrical transformer.
Circular Object Found In Snow. Was Making A Loud Chirping Noise. Looked As If It Had An LED On One Side And A Hole On The Other Side. Sound Came From The Ring In The First Pic
Answer: Personal safety alarm
Hope it just fell out of someone's pocket or purse, and wasn't dropped by someone trying to ward off an attacker. I would think the chirping noise is probably a low battery indicator. Maybe they just got annoyed with it and threw it away rather than trying to find a new battery.
Little Razors Attached To Some Sort Of Handle…found On Top Of Fridge. My Husband Has No Idea Either
Answer: Attachment for a mandolin slicer, to make julienne cut veggies. Looks like one of the sides where it clips on broke off
Found This Weird Electric Tool. When Plugged In And Turned On It Vibrates Very Intensely. Has Some Spring Like Coils On The Bottom
Answer: It’s a Swedish massager. Hand goes through the springs and it vibrates the hand as you massage someone
Is This A Shock Collar? My Dog Was Wearing It After Coming Home From Boarding
Answer: Yes it is a bark collar, also formerly known as a shock collar. I say formerly because they now come with vibration. The rubber tips on the collar indicate they are not using the electric shock feature. Instead if the dog barks it vibrates, scaring the dog not to bark.
... I would be pretty upset if a boarding place put a shock/vibrating collar on my dog (if I had one) without me knowing. That's like a teacher spanking a child when the child says something the teacher doesn't like ... or using a method to frighten the child so they don't do the behavior. I'd report that place.
Spiky Plastic Thing Banana For Scale!
Answer: Bottle holder for babies bottles. You use it as a drainer after washing them
Pulled The Pan On My Transmission To Clean The Magnet, And Found Hundreds To Thousands Of These Little (<0.3mm) Steel Beads, Stuck To The Magnet. 2002 Subaru Outback 160k, Automatic. Confirmed By Mechanics That Nothing Inside The Transmission Resembles This. Transmission Also Seems To Run Fine
Answer: That's steel shot peen.
Manufacturer did a bad job of peen recovery.
What Is The Large, Cylindrical Military Device That The Soldier Is Carrying?
Answer: This is a carrying container (like a golf club bag) but inside of it is an anti-tank guided missile. Specifically, I believe they are MBT LAWs which are Main Battle Tank Light Anti-Tank Launchers (AKA NLAWs)
Small Cylinder Attached To Camouflage Hunting Jacket
Answer: inflatable port for those 3-in-1 hunting jackets (duck hunting, for instance, often requires a boat ride and partial submersion in water)
Thing Stickied To Corner Of Hand Me Over Desk, That's Been Handed Over Several Times, 4 Holes In Top About 3 Mm In Diameter, Transparent/Clear, Sticky Is Gel Like Substance On Bottom Attaching It To The Desk. Has Three Lobes. No One Has Removed This Thing Cause It's So Intriguing Apparently
Answer: It's for balloons. Table Top Bracket is capable of holding four stems with balloons, making an impressive, helium-free indoor display
Heavy Metal Ball End, Quality Rope. The Cat Insisted To Be In The Photo. Found Next To Some Horse Tracks
Answer: it’s a “backhand thumper” a Bering wrapped in paracord for self defense. It's also called a slung shot. Illegal to possess in California and probably some other states.
Found This Buried In Some Pretty Old Dirt. Made Of Brass And Was Found Intact W Dirt Filling The Inside. Seems Too Small To Actually Have Been Any Kind Of Container
Answer: Its a cologne, or perfume container. Your missing the cap, most of the caps were little round balls with a screw bit on the bottom
Is This A Real Cannonball? Found 2 In My Yard In Northeast Wi. Weighs 6lb2.5oz
Answer: 6 pound shot put.
What Are These Creepy People Doing Or Wearing? Found On Noril'sk (Russia) Street View, 69°20'53.2"N 88°12'10.7"E
Answer: Anna Tolkacheva russian artist performator with as she says "obsession with coloures"
Clay Like Substance Packed In Foil Found Washed Up On The Beach
Answer: a food ration pack from a lifeboat
Cast Iron Shaft In The Marsh On My Property
Answer: its the worm and driveshaft out of a 28-29 model AA ford rearend. Could also be out of a model TT as they had a near identical rearend. If im not mistaken thats the low speed rear axle ratio as well.
driveshaft and worm likely 6-7 feet long.
This is how we used to permanently mark our property lines. You bury a truck axle standing straight in the ground, but you bury it all the way, leaving only an inch sticking above ground. This way no one can argue or mess with your property boundaries.
Black/Yellow, Large Looking Bomb Shaped Item, Found 30 Mins Outside Halifax, N.s
Answer: This actually looks like a variant of a paravane that Canada used in WW2, before they were generally obsoleted in favor of a US designed (and supplied) type. After the military stopped using them, the fishing industry started picking them up on the cheap (they're aluminum and hollow) and used them with fishing drag nets.
I Found These In A Religious Thrift Store, But I Have No Idea What They Are. These Are Ceramic Cylinders Around 6 Inches Tall. They Are Glazed On The Outside And Unglazed On The Inside. The Word "Healthy" Is Stamped On The Base
Answer: I think those are vertical poultry roasters. The idea is to insert them into a whole chicken and bake it standing up. You'd need a baking pan to catch the juices of course.
Metal Triangle Shaped Hand Tool With An Offset Wooden Handle. Five Shallow Circle Indents On The Surface. Similar To A Trowel. Found In The Kitchen Section Of A Thrift Store, But Could Have Been Misplaced
Answer: It's a Masonic shot glass holder
This Small Plastic Ball Was Found Dislodged In My Ear. Any Ideas?
Answer: airsoft pellet. An overwhelming majority of bb's are 6mm wide.
Weird Thing In My Car’s Gas Cap Area? I Was Filling My Car Up At A Gas Station And Noticed This Weird Metal Tile That Had Been Left In The Little Area Where My Gas Cap/Tank Is. I Drive A ‘99 So Anyone Can Open My Gas Cover. Lemme Know If I’m Being Tracked Or Anything
Answer: it is just the mounting plate for something called a Pump Pal that allows you to "never touch a dirty gas pump again." Basically it's a silicon glove thing you wear when using the pump and it has a magnet that is used to store the glove on the fuel door of your car using that adhesive backed metal plate.
1ft X 1ft X 2ft Hole In Concrete Basement Floor
Answer: That’s a sump. Made to put a sump-pump in to pump out water before it floods your basement
Red And Clear Rubber Toy Like Thing Found In A Playground
Answer: It's from lego duplo playground set
Found This Hard Plastic Item In A Kitchen Drawer. Pictured Next To A Keychain For Scale
Answer: It's a wine stopper. It's made by Rabbit and has a pourer as part of a set
Is rabbit the same company that makes those shaped dildos lol.
Minivan With Telescopic Antenna On Top. It Appears That Antenna Is Tracking Something
Answer: a portable mobile base station, so called IMSI-Catcherused to relay cell signals trough it as mobiles connect to the strongest base station signal.
it's a uk television detection van, used to check if you have paid your tv licence
Found Above The Door In The Backseat Of A 2011 Porsche Cayenne; What Are The Holes Behind The Small Door Used For?
Answer: They are to attach a net to secure a load in the trunk since it's no sedan
Object Found In Kitchen Of Deceased Relative. About 18” Long. Puck Shaped End Is Heavy Solid Metal
Answer: it's caramelizing iron
Cutouts Above All Doors In House. They Are Finished And Doors Don’t Extend Into The Cutout. No Holes Or Other Indicators Of Something Being Mounted On The Ceiling
Answer: Headers were cut out for a ceiling lift/track. If you look carefully you can still see the remnants of where the kindorf /support brackets were attached to the ceiling. You can also see the paint shadow on the trim where the ceiling rails passed through.
Witt! Fairy Orb? I Found This After A Few Days Of Heavy Rain On A Non-Public Trail That I Walk Frequently. It Seems To Be Glass And Hallow... Not Heavy Like A Marble. The Green Parts Are Raised
Answer: That's a marble
These White Circles On My Ceiling. In Every Room Of My New Apartment. They Feel Like Tin Or Similar Lightweight Material When I Tap On Them. Tried To Get My Nails Underneath Pull One Off The Ceiling But They're Firmly Attached And I Didn't Want To Cause Damage
Answer: Concealer plate for a sprinkler head. Plate has a solder link that lets go and a lower temp than the bulb on the sprinkler head above the cover.
you are in for a huge flood of very stinky water if you set that off. i would not be messing with it at all.
Found On The Beach, It's Solid And The Green Casing Feels Like Stone But Is Almost A Little Stretchy When I Try To Pull At The Edges. Stays Solid When Heat Up
Answer: a capacitor. Looks like the two wires can be seen at the bottom. Might be an old "WIMA FKP 4", considering the colors of case and potting compound
It's A Toilet Paper Roll Wrapped In A Yellow Cleaning Cloth, That Is Attached By Gummy Strings And Clear Tape. The Cloth Is Stuffed Into The Roll On One End
Answer: It is a home made sploof
Sploof: an object made to help hide the exhale of smoke from a toke. Had to look that one up.
Found At An Estate Sale In New Hampshire. About 3 Feet Tall, Gold Colored, But Silver Inside. Some Sort Of Brackets On The Back. Hollow Like A Bucket, Pretty Light Weight
Answer: a grape hob
From 1970 Flooded Time Capsule - Metal Cylinder About 8 To 10 Ounces
Answer: a seal, such as for letters or other such correspondence
What’s This Hard Plastic 8 Chamber Unit With Rigid Metal Non-Moving Pins? Some Kind Of Revolver Cylinder?
Answer: Cap gun revolver cylinder
Weird Concrete Slab Thing In The Garden Of My New Home
Answer: It probably had a sundial or bird bath attached at one point
What Is This Item? All Night We Are Solving This. It Slides Open And There Is Tiny Piece Of Fiam Inside
Answer: It's a key fob for a programmable RFID entry system
On The Bed In My Hotel. Doesn't Open Or Anything. W Melbourne, Australia
Answer: this piece is a nod at Ned Kelly's helmet where the slit in the first picture is where the eyes would be. It's been reimagined as a "playful leather and faux fur fascinator"
Found This At My Internship And They Asked If I Could Guess What It Is, Any Ideas? It Is A Relatively Small, Metal Plate
Answer: Looks like a Witkar key. Even the design in the flat part looks like the company logo
Aah, Witkar, a carsharing program from the Netherlands in the 1970's. They where electric golf cart like cars that you could use throughout our Capitol. It never became the success it was intended to be though.
What’s This Device Mounted Under My Office Desk?
Answer: Occupancy sensor. They are linked to a display screen to help with hot desking.
Small Dimpled Rubber Ball That Was Fired At A Cyclist, Drive-By Style. Very Squishy And About The Size Of A Paintball
Answer: Nerf ball for a Nerf ball gun like the Hyper or the Rival
I knew only one, the bed warmer. From an episode of Bewitched when they went back in time to Puritan Salem.
How do people know these things? And what does witt mean? I probably should've read the article lol
I knew only one, the bed warmer. From an episode of Bewitched when they went back in time to Puritan Salem.
How do people know these things? And what does witt mean? I probably should've read the article lol
