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?

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.

pippiethehippie Report

Final score:

443points

50 Times People Had No Clue What They Were Looking At, But The Internet Had Their Back (New Pics)

My Girlfriend's House Has This Panel Next To The Basement Door That Lights Up Whenever The Basement Light Is On. Why?

What Is This Ice Phenomenon I Found On The Forest Floor Today?

What Is This Thing? Small Gold Pig Container With Removable Tiny Spoon For A Tail

Toilet With A U-Shaped Divot In The Front

Found In My Math Teacher's Room. 100 Squares With Varying Patterns And Colors. No Patterns Seem To Be Same

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

Why Do These Window Grills Have A Bulge. Seen In Spain

Burying Our Dog In The Backyard Who Passed Today At 16 And Came Across This Underground Wall

Art Nouveau Style Hook Made Of Silver

Heavy And Small. Found In Southern Germany

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

What Is This 6-Floor Tiny Tower In The Middle Of A Parking Lot, Adjacent A Baseball Field In East Austin, Tx?

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

What Is The Intended Purpose Of This Very Thin, Glass Covered Drawer?

What Is This Oddly Burned Log I Found At A Campsite?

Kids Pack On Air Flight Contained These With No Explanation Or Instructions. What Are They?

What Is Up Against This Person's Mouth?

What Is This Red Leather Devil Figure, Found In A Wooden Box In An Attic?

What Are These Tiny Brown And Tan Beads I Found In My Carpet And On My Windowsill?

Witt? Slightly Rusty Metal Plate With "Stop" In Cutout Lettering

This Metal Decorative Floral Piece, Removable Petals, 10” Long, On A Table Top

What Is This Instrument/Tool This Woman Is Displaying?

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

What Is This Type Of Clamp Used? Only Says China On It

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

Ukraine National Police Posted An Image Of This Strangely Textured Object, They Call It "Dangerous To Health And Even Life"... But What Is It?

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

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

Enclosed, Copper Gazebo Type Thing On A Residential Property. House Built In 1929

What Is This Thing? Circular Thing On A Post In An Antique Place

Found Buried In The Closet Of A Commercial Kitchen. What've I Got? About 6 Inches In Diameter

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

Cinderblock Stove Structure On The Edge Of 1920 Farmhouse Property. Located Down The Hill From The House

Found On The Beach Near Myrtle Beach, Sc. We Just Had A Big Storm. It's Very Firm And Breaks Apart Smoothly. Seems Organic

Strange “Bench” With Tubing Near The Parking Lot Of An Old Elementary 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

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

Found This While Cleaning Out The Attic. It's Wood, Looks Handmade, Measures 20cm, But I Have No Idea What It Is Or Does!

"Light Fixture" I Noticed At A Restaurant In Nl, Canada. Appears To Be Some Sort Of Old Machinery

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?

Brass Or Bronze Ball With Dividing Lines

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?

Large Chunk Of (Metal?) Weighs Quite A Bit In Your Hand And Hasn't Changed In Color In Decades

Large Plastic Hood With Gloves Attached. Found In Chicago Residential Alleyway

Bronze And Lead Object, With Some Kind Of Scale In It, No Moving Parts, Found While Digging

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?

My Neighbor Just Installed This Outside Of Their Window. I Assume It Measures Something But I Have Never Seen Such A Pole

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

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

What Are These Lights That Appear To Be Behind The Mirror In The Hotel I’m Staying At?

Insanely Heavy Glass With (Bubbles?) Inside, Inscription Says 1978. Any Idea What This Is Or Just A Random Decoration Item?

Found This Metal Key Shaped Object With In My Wall Behind Some Meshes, Anyone Knows What This Is?

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

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

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

What Is This Chrome Thing Near The Toilet And The Tp Holder?

White Submarine-Shaped Boat Getting Towed Every Morning And Afternoon Along The Shoreline Of Honolulu, Hawaii

This 1.5 Foot By About 3 Foot Cubby In My Friends New Bedroom

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?

Old Heavy Key With “Good Health” Engraved

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?

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

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

These Red And Green Lights On The Outside Of This Medical Clinic

6" To 8" Black Cast Iron Frying Pan With A Raised Solid 2" Flat Surface In The Center Of The Pan

What Is This Blue Artillery Shell Looking Thing That Was Dropped (And Assuming Unexploded) In Ukraine?

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

What Is This? Looks And Feels Like A Microchip In The Middle. Found This Underneath The Sofa

What Is This Coloured Board Thing Firefighters Set Up?

What Is This Two Attached Differently Sized Cups Made Of (Probably) Uranium/Vaseline Glass?

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

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

What Is This Thing On Wheels Next To Putin?

Found Scattered In Garden, Not Buried, About 4cm Long, Plastic

Humming Metal Locked Box Next To A Corn Field

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

Little Razors Attached To Some Sort Of Handle…found On Top Of Fridge. My Husband Has No Idea Either

Found This Weird Electric Tool. When Plugged In And Turned On It Vibrates Very Intensely. Has Some Spring Like Coils On The Bottom

Is This A Shock Collar? My Dog Was Wearing It After Coming Home From Boarding