50 Times People Had No Idea What They Were Looking At, But The Internet Knew What It Was Right Away (New Pics)
'What Is This Thing' is an incredibly popular subreddit. It has over 1.8 million members, all helping people to identify the objects in their possession they have no knowledge of themselves. I have no doubt that one of the biggest reasons why this online community has gotten so massive is the fact that they constantly deliver.
With a few very rare exceptions, 'What Is This Thing' cracks one tough case after another. Show them a small round "shelf" in an old mailbox, and they will tell you it's for leaving change for the postal worker to add postage. Post a photo of a strange ceramic jar and they'll reply it's a stoneware bed warmer.
Continue scrolling to check out some of the mysteries they have recently uncovered, and after you're done, fire up Bored Panda's earlier articles about the subreddit here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
Found In A Bag Together While Digging A Pool In Massachusetts. Penny For Scale
Answer: Toy plates for a dollhouse.
Like we've mentioned in an earlier article, the subreddit has a branch called 'Trace an Object' that searches for objects posted by Europol that are linked to child abuse cases. "We've had some luck in identifying some things, but there's more yet unsolved and more to come as Europol does release some new information every few months," the moderator team explained to us then.
At the time, the 'Trace an Object' subreddit had around 53k members but now the number has grown to 67k. So in a way, the more attention 'What Is This Thing' gets, the more help Interpol receives. Presuming people will find about 'Trace an Object' in the process as well.
Small Round “Shelf” In Old Mail Box. What Is This Thing?
Answer: for leaving change for postal worker to add postage. USPS delivery people are required to have stamps and you don't even need to catch them to buy some. If you have a piece of mail without postage you can put it in your mailbox with cash and the carrier will bring back change (if needed) the next day.
There are other subreddits that are helping the public too. And they can work together on serious cases. For example, when user and college student shadybusiness15 took apart one of their extension cords, they noticed something wasn't quite right—there were mysterious wires and a SIM card with a serial number in it. Curious, they posted photos of it to both 'What Is This Thing' and 'The Reddit Bureau of Investigation', a place where people are passionate about solving mysteries as well.
Users quickly identified the mysterious parts as audio surveillance. The contraption connected to a phone number, which the owner could call to pick up audio in his room at college. Shadybusiness15 called the number but it was already disconnected. Shady business indeed.
My Security Camera Caught This Individual With A Large Device, Possibly Scanning For Something? The Individual Noticed The Camera And Changed Their Mind It Seems, But What Have They Got And What Are They Doing?
Answer: this person is probably a carthieve scanning for keyless car keys. . never leave them near windows and doors
Found In A House I Moved Into. The Chain Has Two Corks Attached On Either End
Answer: It is for wine. Ice goes in the little side container to keep it cold.
This Is About The Size Of My Hand, Made Of/With Some Kind Of Metal (I Think Copper)
Answer: This is mostly likely thousands of years old - a Pre-Columbian artifact.
You should take it to a university or museum for analysis.
DO NOT polish it or clean it.
Glass Items Seen At Yard Sale. They Aren't Doorknobs And Some Look Like One Solid Piece?
Answer: Knife rests
What Is This Piece Of Playground Equipment For? Seems Like It Must Have A Function Other Than To Just Lay On It
Answer: Manufacturers are providing a lot more pieces that are accessible to children with limited mobility. While this may seem less interesting at first glance, imagine the benefits to children who’ve never been able to climb up to a slide or fire pole.
1.5 Inches Long, Hard And Glossy. Found 5 Feet Below The Bottom Of A Virginia River
Answer: Fossil snail casting
Found On Counter In Medical Exam Room: String Of Plastic Numbered Oval Beads. My Own Doc Had No Idea. Pen For Scale
Answer: orchidometer. Used for sizing testicles.
What Is The Hollow Part Of This For? Never Seen Anything Like It Before. Cat For Size Reference
Answer: phone table with storage space for the phone book.
Surprised the cat isn't trying to squeeze itself into the gap to sleep, tbh 😄
My Boyfriend And I Were Traveling Sunday Evening (10/25) And We Flew Over Clouds That Were Glowing Orange. Photo Details Suggest That It Was Somewhere Over Kingsville, On, Canada. Any Idea What Caused This?
Answer: Grow lights inside massive greenhouses just east of Kingsville.
What Is The Purpose Of The “Chip” In The One Prong Of This Fork? At First, I Though It Actually Was Just A Chip, But Turns Out Its On Multiple Forks In My Drawer. Any Ideas?
Answer: they make one tine wider for cutting stuff, but the wider one wouldn’t stab as well as the others, so the gave it a clipped point.
Someone Was Gifted This For A New Baby With No Note On What It Is
Answer: It is a door silencer. It wraps around and covers the latch on a door so that it doesn't latch and the rubber also makes the door open and close silently. The straps go around the doorknob on each side.
Friend Found At A Goodwill. Tool Belt Of Some Kind. Anyone Know The Specific Use?
Answer: it's a fishing rod holder.
My Girlfriend Lives In A Basement Apartment And In The Closet Under A False Floor There's This Pipe In The Ground. Smells Terrible Like Sewage. Any Idea What It Is And How To Fix It?
Answer: It appears to be an old broken drain, or more likely, a cleanout with a broken cover. That needs to be capped ASAP. Sewer gasses are a noxious health hazard. Note, tape and plastic are not an acceptable cap.
This Hollow Bumpy Thing Was In My Quarantine Care Package. On Either End Are 5 Small Holes Arranged In A Pentagon (Which Don't Whistle Btw).
Answer: Just asked my girlfriend who is Korean who says it’s from the health centre in Jeju island. The writing says “Metropolitan mental health welfare centre” It is literally just a hand massager, really common for old people To get one with welfare packs. Pressure points are really important to Korean people. So wouldn’t be surprised to hear they include one in the COVID care kit.
Strange Mask? Found It But I’m Not Sure What It Is
Answer: the makeup or mask worn by the Beast in the 80s/90s "Beauty and the Beast"
Friend Received This Passed Down From His Great Great Grandfather. It’s Believed To Be From Persia & About 2,000 Years Old
Answer: It’s a hairpin or a clothes pin/brooch. If it’s something 2000 years old, you need to see a professional at a museum/institute of archaeology to get it evaluated AND then get it insured.
Jump Rope Spike? Two Spring Covered Spikes Connected With Paracord
Answer: They are rescue grips for things like ice fishing. Run the cord through your jacket sleeves and the spikesv are at hand if you fall through the ice.
Who takes jump rope ice fishing? ... nevermind, this screams canada.
Found This While Renovating. Any Idea? Bomb Squad On The Way. Montreal, Qc
Answer: That is an artillery round, probably 155. Looks unfired, good that EOD is en route. Do not mess with it.
Weird Metal Part That Comes In A Matchbox Every Once In A While
Answer: It’s an extension for lighting candles
What Is This? White Particles On Back Of TV. Found No Where Else In Home, Not Even On Surrounding Furniture/Wall. Cleans Off But Reappears After A Few Weeks.
Answer: fire retardant reacting with the environment. This white powder is not harmful nor is it mold. We have had a few cases and have found it is the fire retardant interacting with the environment. In most instances all that is needed to correct this is a damp cloth, but in the case the white spots do come back we have a tech come out and replace the back cabinet.
Near Agate, Utah. My Dad And I Came Across This On Google Maps Today But No Search On Google Gave Me An Answer
Answer: These have to be evaporation ponds near some sort of mineral mine.
My Mother Says This Cast Iron Thing Is For Pouring Oil, But My Grandmother Says She’s Wrong And Can’t Remember What It’s For. Help?
Answer: This thing is used to melt down lead to cast new bullets.
This Was Found With Old Tools. Doesn't Seem To Attach To Anything. It Can Lock In Place And The Middle Bit Turns Round, Unravelling Two Straps Of Fabric. I'm Stumped!
Answer: It’s for carrying books.
What Is This Thing: Some Beach Sand In Ecuador Is Magnetic
Answer: Ironsand, also known as iron-sand or iron sand, is a type of sand with heavy concentrations of iron. It is typically dark grey or blackish in colour.
Found At Antique Shop. Think It Might Be Some Sort Of Food Server. But Really No Idea What This Is!
Answer: bun warmer
Inherited This Ornate Large... Pendant? Wall Decoration?
Answer: It may be Tibetan. They often wear their wealth on their clothing. This could be an ornament of that sort.
At first I thought the animals on the front looked kind of Chinese, but when I saw the mountains on the back, the style came together as Tibetan.
Metallic Ring With Central Slider And Numbers Engraved. Details In Comments
Answer: Sundial pendant. In the XVIII century the monks invented in the forests of Prussia, this small and handy, portable sundial, which indicates the time corresponding to the height of the sun.
Found This Tiny Book With No Cover And Has These Weird Text In It
Answer: Handbook of Royal Arch Masonry, Guide for Chapter Officers
Small Silver Fob- Nazi Or Navajo
Answer: it is a "Whirling Log Fred Harvey Thunderbird" pendant (Navajo vintage jewellery) I suspect that's a couple hundred dollars at least.
Why Does This Mailbox Of Letters Around It? Building Was Built In The Early 1900s
Answer: It used to be a combination lock. Now retrofitted with a key lock
May actually be both. Mailbox I had 20 years ago, you used the key to work the combination
House Built Circa 1950. Left Door Is A Linen Closet. Right Door Is... What? So Deep That It Takes Up Space In A Closet Around The Corner. Door For House Elf? Witt?
Answer: Card table space
The post on Reddit says it is not a luggage hide-a-way, but a space for card tables for people who play cards. Like come on, all it takes is to click the name on the bottom left of the picture. EDIT: After my comment the post has been edited to show the right answer.
Found While Turning Garden This Spring In The Appalachian Foothills Of East Tennessee. What Is This Thing?
Answer: a knapped flint knife. It's also very strong. Typically it's knapped but your blade looks like it was sharpened on a stone. It's probably a Boy Scout or survival class project.
Original post: I just found this pen that's the exact same size as my knife blade!
This doesn't look like flint. I wonder if it's maybe green obsidian? It has the luster for it
Be careful with it. It will be sharper than a surgeon's scalpel and will slice to the bone quite easily.
Someone commented they thought it looked really ancient or prehistoric, but when I scrolled down, the comment disappeared. Why does this happen?
It's not ancient - it hasn't weathered enough. But it is based on ancient technology. They used chert/ flint, an antler, and probably artificial sinew (the string).
Load More Replies...Did someone just comment that this looked ancient, or sort of, prehistoric? Because I scrolled down and the comment disappeared.
These Weird Crystals Growing On My Highlighter?
Answer: it went through varying changes in temperature in the past years and destabilized causing oil to separate and crystallize. Same thing happens in crayons.
Solid Metal “Kiss” That Was In Our Bag Of Candy Cane Kisses. Is It Part Of The Machinery?
Answer: Definitely not a part of the machine. Since it is the same size and shape, I would say it's a QA "guage" to help operators verify shape and portion size at a glance.
Found In A Cemetary While Geocaching. The Doll Was Wrapped In The Paper Which Was Wrapped In The Cloth Cross And Bound With Twine. Overall Very Creepy
Answer: it's a voodoo doll
Iron, Both Found In The East Midlands UK
Answer: iron age cloak pin
Purple Packets Found On Rural Property In Victoria, Australia
Answer: Dye powder packets tied to the under side of rams to mark which sheep have been inseminated.
These are part of a 'raddle' in the UK. Quite often a single ram will 'service' all of the ewes.
Tunnel In Basement Of Pennsylvania Rowhouse
Answer: Coal delivery.
On The Second Stair Of A 100-Year-Old Bungalow. The Tube Opens To The Basement.
Answer: Wood-fired furnace heat shaft
You can still find these in the upstairs rooms of Victorian houses in the UK. they are vents to let heat into the room from warmer rooms downstairs. The also used to vent heat through the fancy plaster rosettes in the centre of the ceiling.
What Is This On A Pillow At A Hotel Im Staying At?
Answer: With our patented Zip-N-Click™ closure system, CleanBrands provides added security by ensuring that dust mites and bed bugs cannot enter or escape the encasement at its most vulnerable point: the zipper. Independently tested and verified, the Zip-N-Click™ is designed with advanced durable materials and is fully machine washable.
Thing With Wheels I Found In The Woods
Answer: Its what's left of a Volkswagen beetle.
Fell Out Of One Of My Dad's Record Sleeves... Dangerous Roach Clip Or Dated 70s Hair Accessory?
Answer: Curtain hook. It slides into a pleated curtain.
Near The Side Of The Road In West Virginia, Three Sides Of It Have Those Room Things
Answer: west virginia iron furnaces
We went to see one last summer while camping! We got to walk around to all the left over stone furnaces & storage areas too!
Strange Ceramic Jar, What Is This? Only Has Side Opening
Answer: it is a stoneware bed warmer. Put some hot water in and pop it under your sheets.
I Found In The Garage, A Tube With Notches Made Of Brass, The Rest Of The Cover On Top. Copper Rod With Wooden Handle
Answer: Hair curler
On It's Own In A British Park, Tall As A Person And Hollow Inside. Made Of Metal And Looks Like Something Used To Be Below Each Of The Four "Exits"
Answer: Look up funnel ball. Popular in the 90s as a basketball game. Someone tosses into the top hole and the ball comes out one of the other holes. I never played with any real rules, just schoolyard fun. Prob could do it like 2 on 2 basketball where you aim to get more balls in the top hole than the other team, or something.
I love those things! You'd throw the ball into the top hole and have four people around it, one at each hole. If the ball comes out of your hole you try to catch it and if you do, you throw it in next. Some have spaced dots to stand on that you move to the one in front of you if you catch it, or the one behind you if you don't.
Found In A Bag Of Prawn Crackers. Very Hard And Translucent
Answer: that's what prawn crackers look like before you deep fry them.
I find it very satisfying watching a plastic looking flat wafer thing growing and expanding into something that looks a bit like foam. I also like the funny feeling prawn crackers give you on your tongue.
What Is This Thing? I Found It In A Frozen Meal. It’s Sharp And Hard, Spiky, And Brown-Ish Coloured
Answer: Alamy Toothed medick
A prickly seed pod of a lawn weed.. Called burrs in Australia.
Your seed looks well soaked
Me and my brothers used to open these up, pick the seeds out and eat them. Don’t know why though and have no idea if they are even safe to eat. So I don’t not advise anyone to try. Oh and I have always called these prickles.
My Dad Found This In His House When He Got Back From Holiday. No Idea How It Got There But That's A Different Mystery Altogether. Looks Like A Syringe But The Middle (Green) Bit Has No Hole At The End And Moves Up And Down Into The Clear Claws At The End
Answer: : Its a pill dispenser for pets, the pill goes in to the claws and you use the plunger to shoot the pill to the back of the throat
Flat-Backed Plate That Resembles A Music Box Wheel. Number Search Turned Up Nothing. Found In Late Father In Law’s Toolbox
Answer: Looks like an IBM punch card for use in Punched Card Typography in the 60s/70s— Its basically computer code.
It's just me or there's anyone who still impressed with how the punchcard decoding work?
Strange Metal Rose. About 3 Or 4 Inches Long, Embedded In Concrete In Front Of A Pub. I Have No Idea What It's Supposed To Represent, Hoped Someone Here Might!
Answer: Boot scraper. The pub is called the Wild Roses
Hello, What Is This Tool Called?
Answer: It's a box tool. Originally designed for opening and closing crates, this is a crudely made tool, yet ideal for rough work.
Key In The Ceiling At School
Answer: test duct detectors in a fire alarm system. Duct detectors will shut off the air conditioning unit if it senses smoke to prevent it from circulating the air.
Witt: Found This Crater/Hole While Randomly Scrolling Around Google Maps. Located In Mali, Africa. Any Ideas?
Answer: It's a geological high point in the desert, the middles raised not depressed so not a crater, it's a weathered mountain with the old center of the mountain still visible. To be fair it could even be an old magmachamber. Either way its not a crater.
It Was My New-Age Moms In The 80's
Answer: this is "The Interro biocommunication device". It vaguely measures skin conductivity for the purpose of looking all high tech so a Holistic doctor can appear to have their stuff together.
What Are These Weird Weights That Showed Up In My Hotel Room While I Was Out?
Answer: They are fishing weights for deep sea fishing. I have a box full of them in the garage. Why they are in a hotel is beyond me maybe they use them for something else.
I suspect the hotel is using them as décor. Or maybe door stops? I'd be more worried about the liability of having huge chunks of lead in a hotel room where a little toddler can start gnawing on them.
Found Underground In Edmonton, Alberta. Made Of Metal Bits Encased In An Acrylic Like Substance. Smooth Flat Bottom.
Answer: that's orgonite, a pseudoscience energy thing. The basic structure is alternating layers of organic and inorganic materials within polyester resin. The inorganic is the metal and some crystals, but metal is very important as it is the metal which most strongly activates the cleansing matrix by both attracting and repelling energy. The organic materials simply attract the energy, so without the metals, you have an ineffective and inert piece of resin art.
Found Among My Dad's Things. Interesting Velvet Box With Black Object Inside
Answer: It's a pocket handwarmer...an old one too.
you light the charcoal rod in the centre and close the box. Hey presto warm hands, stinky pockets
What Is This Brown Bumpy Thing On My Pringle??
Answer: The previous Pringle that didn't completely make it out of the rolling mold. Pringles aren't sliced potatoes, they are mashed potatoes pressed flat and cut like cookies. That's a stuck previous Pringle.
Pringles were developed so that potatoes that were below human food grade quality could be processed and sold to humans. Prior to that they would have been used to feed pigs and other barnyard beasts.
I Local Music Shop Is Offering Free Strings To Anyone Who Can Tell Them What This Is. Not Even The Owner Knows What It Is. Help A Brother Out?
Answer: it's a rope wrench (spreader) for small rope or wire bundles. The bar in the middle of the handle is there to help control tension on the line while you work on it, and the forks allow you to spread the strands so you can splice into it or fix a broken strand.
Found These Tiny Metallic (I Think) Balls In A Pile At A Truck Stop. They’re All Perfectly Spherical, Can’t Be Crushed Or Melted. It Feels Like Metal Sand
Answer: They’re balancing beads. Pour them inside a tire to balance it instead of putting it on a machine. Cheaper for drivers and faster for technicians
What Is This? I Found It In A Vintage Shop In The Kitchen Area. Somebody Told Me It's For Cheese
Answer: Feuerzange which holds the sugar cone used in making Feuerzangenbowle
A rum-soaked sugar loaf is placed on it and set on fire. Then it drips into the spiced wine below.
This Was Moving Like A Slow Boat And Had A Guy’s Head Poking Out On Top. Is It A Custom Raft? Commercially Available? What Is This
Answer: Bubbleboat
A Friend Of Mine Bought A Refrigerator And This Came On It. The Handbook Didn't Mention It. Is It An Egg Holder?
Answer: its to separate the vegetables in the draw
This Weird Tweezers. Probably A Kitchen Tool.
Answer: its for squeezing lemon pieces to catch seeds
Found These In My Grandma's Old Jewellery Box. Tried Googling W.s.p. Co. But No Link To Whatever These Are. They're Pretty Solid, And Somewhat Heavy
Answer: Those are screw machine cold heading punches. I still use them daily. Wsp is from wrentham tool
I Know This Is A Drill Bit, What Are The Hoops On The Sides For? Google Has Failed Me, So I Humbly Ask You All!
Answer: It's actually for making sprial cut fruits and veggies.
Strange Pipe. What Is The Orange Sludge?
Answer: Iron bacteria. I know because i have this problem in my basement. It isnt fun and it isnt pretty. It is harmless, just icky and a pain in the neck.
Purchased In San Diego - Approx 5 Feet Long Harness Quality Leather With Signs Of Sweat Marks From Animal Use. Horse Family Does Not Recognize It As Horse Tack.
Answer: Rare vintage Austrian draft horse brass
Cups On Lanyard Found On Lake Mi Beach (Glasses For Scale - Didn't Have A Banana)
Answer: Kayak plugs. Keeps water from entering holes intentionally built within the boat
Dammit, Well I got this totally wrong. thought it might have been a more classier version of cup phones lol.
Found Next To A Cliff In The UK, Has Chains In It. Any Ideas What This Thing Is?
Answer: It is line workers hut, used to store equipment and bits and pieces. With the casualisation of the workforce these huts have gone out of use.
I Think We Found A Military Helmet While Digging Up A Stump In Our Yard. Maybe Ww1? And Another Rusted Part That Looks Like A Gear Shift.
Answer: It's an M1917 Civil Defense Helmet. Manufactured 1917 to 1942.
Found In An Unfinished Basement Of An Old Home. Looks Like A Coin But It's Hollow And Opens Up
Answer: a coin lighter but now its missing some parts
Hole In The Bathroom Wall On The Door Side? Our Apartment Was Built In The 1930s
Answer: There was a wood stove or something there. It’s for a chimney.
Found This Buried In My Front Yard Years Ago
Answer: a push dagger or push knife
yeah these are very popular self defense weapons that you are legally allowed to own in case of an attack from somebody very handy
Found In An Old Leather (Possibly Medical) Suitcase. 12cm Long, Pincers Open When Red Top Is Pushed Down. '02406chr' Printed On Back Of Old Card Container
Answer: : Olive Pickle Grabber Tongs Red Bakelite
looks a bit like what Arnie uses to remove a tracking device via his nose in 'Total Recall' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSiFXhrxE3Y
Old Mechanical Device Found In A Dumpster. Extreme Heavy. Cash Register? Mechanical Calculator?
Answer: a Odhner mechanical calculator
I Found These In My Grandmothers House (Germany), They Are Made Of Thin Glass. Unfortunately There Is No Box Cover Explaining What They Are
Answer: They are for flower decoration. One singular flower goes in the tube. There is probably a stand for them somewhere around, but some people like to stick them in foam together with other decorations, or in pieces of driftwood with holes drilled into them, or even into other flowerpots.
I saw very similar ones in the Bodenmais Glasmanufaktur.
There is no stand. The tiny white feet are the stands that lift the opening a bit higher than the back. My gosh, now I'm feeling old. I used to know these from my childhood. My grandma had them.
Mounds Outside Of Hotel Near Seoul
Answer: Korean burial mound
"Assembly Tape" On My Pop-Tart This Morning. It's Also On The Inside Of The Wrapper.
Answer: splice from film change on flow wrapper during processing. When one roll of "wrapper" is exhausted the next roll is taped to the tag end to run it through the equipment. High visibility tape typically ensures it is removed downstream in the production process.
Like the red lines on receipts when the roll needs to be switched. Rather common.
What Is This Keyhole In The Wall Next To An Outer Door?
Answer: It’s probably for the fire department. We have a key hole just like it next to our parking lot gate. This way they can open it in case of an emergency
Looks like a wall safe for access keys and cards for services, fire brigade, police etc.
Found Slung Over My Son's Headstone.
Answer: It's a rifle sling. A sling is simply a strap that lets you carry a rifle around.
Someone was out hunting in a cemetery? Hope it's just a memento from a friend of the son
What Are These Fiberous Tabs In A Sealed Package?
Answer: anti-fog inserts for Go Pro waterproof housing
Found This Odd Steel Tool After A Break-In
Answer: It’s pull arm for a soft serve ice cream machine
This Thing Is Above My Hospital Bed... None Of The Nurses Know What It Is/Is For
Answer: Battery powered emergency light. The red light shows it has power and the battery is charging. When the power fails that light comes on automatically to light your escape
I Found This Strange Thing Behind An Abandoned House In Mid-Michigan. It's A Weird Cone-Shaped Metal Structure With An Open Inside.
Answer: a charcoal kiln
Found In A Coinstar Return Slot. Looks Like Some Type Of Key In The Shape Of A Gun.
Answer: it's a keychain gun. It's for a steering wheel lock, I've got a couple of those exact same keys for mine.
Found This Building While I Was Hiking In West Kerry, Ireland.
Answer: It's a water tower, formerly used to refill steam engine tanks or tenders. There used to be a railway there from 1891 to 1953.
I live in Ireland. Anagap is the name of the old Station master's cottage in Annascaul, Co. Kerry. Go mall is the Irish for go slow. Road signs in Ireland are in both English and Irish. Also you find lots of these dotted around the country. There's one in Drumshanbo Co.Leitrim where I used to live. Ireland used to have a lot more working railway lines than it does now. Once the car became more popular the vast majority of them were closed down especially in more rural areas. Today, while the circa 30 mile long rail line has long been ripped up (it ended its last decades carrying only livestock), that link to bygone times is recalled still on the roadway opposite this quite charming and old-style cottage, in the presence of a large water tank on a stone support with the Anagap address proudly written on it in beautiful old Celtic script.
What Is This Hook Thing In The Kitchen Cabinet?
Answer: It's a mug rack.
Wall Dongus In Our New Apartment. It Is Loose And Pulling It Out Of The Wall Shows That It's Attached To A Cable. The Little Rondell On The Front Is A Butto
Answer: An emergency alert button for an in-building nurse. The apartment building may have once been an assisted living facility.
Buried Structure In The Woods Near Suwanee River State Park Not Certain On Depth Maybe 15ft Deep And Bowls Out Very Wide. Witt
Answer: it is a water cistern
Witt: Its Made Of Really Heavy Hardwood. Unsure Of The Age Unfortunately. Given By Family Friend. Thanks
Answer: Its half a Viking chair.
Hawaiian or Polynesian. Don't think the Vikings made it to the tropics. It's also modern.
These Have Been In Our Kitchen Drawer For Ages, But We Havent Figured Out What They Are Used For. Any Ideas?
Answer: Green one opens bananas, the blue one to Peel oranges
Isnt Paul Mitchell a brand for hair products? Why would they have fruit peelers?
Drawing Found In My Father In Law’s Effects
Answer: That is an old school photo copy of a patent drawing . Looks like some kind of trocar.
Found In The Attic Of An Old Country House In Czech Ia. Top Part Is An Open Container That Rolls On The Round Sticks Under It. Bottom Is Likely Just A Stand With Storage (Has Little Doors From The Other Side)
Answer: a mangle, possibly mangel. Used to press linens, sheets, tablecloths.
This must be an industrial size mangle. I have seen smaller ones without the storage part. Where I lived in 1985/6, my neighbour had one.
Black Square Thing On The Door With White In The Middle And What Seems To Be Data Chips On The Top On The Door? Dont Recall This Being There Yesterday. Any Ideas?
Answer: Mounting plate for a Ring camera or a knockoff
Found By An Old Lakehouse, 5 Gallon Bucket For Scale. Lid Is Stuck In This Position, Only Text To Be Found Is Pictured On The Lid. Reads No 7 194 C.
Answer: an old underwater pump housing/filtration system
What Is This Thing? Found It As A Kid And Have Never Known What It Is. Slightly Heavier Than It Looks. Says Us 4 Inch On One Side That Also Has An "L" In A Diamond, The Other Side Has Some Mark I Can't Make Out. The Triangle Is 4 Inches From Base To Tip.
Answer: I believe this is an “earth anchor” sometimes called an “arrow head anchor”. The part that sticks up opposite the point fits into a shaft and it gets driven into the ground. There’s usually a steel cable that gets routed through the holes.
Two Plugs On This Outlet, Not Sure What Either Of Them Are For! Found In Master Bedroom Of A House Built In Late 1970s
Answer: Old TV antenna. The kind you could remotely rotate to get better reception.
Found In A Storage Cupboard At Work. The Black Bits Come Out. The Number Order Is ... Weird?
Answer: These are button samples or templates for cutting the button holes in an old push button train control panel. I caught up with an old timer that remembers them from the 80’s
Bought A Load Of Old Surgeons Tools And Need Help Identifying What They Are
Answer: The big thing is a RIB cage/sternum scissors. The three in the top lefthand corner are parts to a vaginal speculum. Three things to the right of these are clips for holding sets of instruments, eg.scissors, and to the right again a trephine. The one below the trephine looks like a molt gag retractor.
Well the speculum hasn’t changed much except some are now plastic. At least the plastic isn’t as cold as the metal lol.
This Device In A Nursing Home That Appears To Be Halfway Between A Sink And A Toilet
Answer: Clinical sink
Tiny Glass Cylinder With Magnetic Balls And Dark Liquid Inside. Found Magnet Fishing In Se United States.
Answer: The rattle out of a fishing lure
Removed A Wall Plate And Found This Mirrored Contraption Fitting In Some Sort Of Electrical Junction Box. Any Idea What It Is?
Answer: It’s an old alarm motion sensor. Break the beam, set off the alarm. Look at the perpendicular wall for its other half. Could just be a small mirror or reflector as well on the other wall to bounce the beam back.
Strange Object From Tiffany's Mysteriously Given To My Wife By Her Grandmother While Refusing To Say What It Was. Probably Bought In The 1930s Or 1940s. About 10cm/4" Long. All She'd Say Was "She Used It As A Young Woman But Didn't Have Much Use For It Nowadays". Any Ideas?
Answer: Tree Branch Muddler
A 'muddler' is a bar tool used for crushing fruit and/or herbs for cocktails. Like the pestle half of a mortar and pestle. 'Tree branch' just describes the handle design.
These Rings Frozen Into The Reservoir At Changdeokgung Palace In Seoul. Details In Captions And Comments
Answer: That’s a RA2 Diffused Aeration System the rings are from where the bubbles go and as it was freezing it has trapped air in the ice making it white kind of like a snow cone turns white
Found This Tool In My Grandma's Basement
Answer: A clarinet stand, or some similar musical instrument.
It's Kind Of Rubbery But Hard. Banana For Scale
Answer: Bump stop off of a Peugeot car of some sort. Keeps the springs from bottoming out
Silver Drum/Disks, 1 In 40 Had This Inside, The Rest Were Empty
Answer: It looks a lot like the optical element of a ring laser gyroscope.
What Is This Vent That Comes Out Of My Neighbors House And Smells Like Natural Gas?
Answer: Left is a concentric vent, it's used for high efficiency furnaces instead of the standard "two pipe" intake and exhaust setup. Right seems to be another vent, whether it's still used or not is a guess, it may have been replaced by the one on the left. The one on the right might also be a dryer vent, hard to tell from this angle.
Small Plastic Cylinder On Side Of Gas Pump Card Reader (Cut Open, Nothing Inside)
Answer: The only function I could see it fulfilling is preventing somebody from attaching one of those skimmers that slides over the entire mechanism, or to act as a quick visual check that a skimmer hasn't been attached.
My Neighbor (Who Has Recently Installed An Amazon Doorbell Camera, Which Is Weird For The Netherlands) Has Just Put This On His Roof. It Seems To Be Aimed Directly At My Female Housemate’s Bedroom Window And She Is Concerned It’s Another Camera
Answer: Integrated GNSS System
Look in the mirror. Technically you now have them all ;)
Load More Replies...This is one of the most interesting and educational articles I've seen on BP.
https://www.boredpanda.com/weird-uncommon-things/
Load More Replies...Just don’t mix the answers up! A lot of those things were definitely not speculums and shouldn’t be used as such.
Any idea what this is? You can see the one side of the square part has texture on it similar to a file, but there's no tooth to it. My kid found it gosh knows where. Screen-Sho...21-png.jpg
Why read the NYT or the WSJ when you can enjoy smiles and crazy info with BP? Thank you.
That voodoo doll one scared me a lot and I'm not brave enough to put my feet down onto the floor again
Look in the mirror. Technically you now have them all ;)
Load More Replies...This is one of the most interesting and educational articles I've seen on BP.
https://www.boredpanda.com/weird-uncommon-things/
Load More Replies...Just don’t mix the answers up! A lot of those things were definitely not speculums and shouldn’t be used as such.
Any idea what this is? You can see the one side of the square part has texture on it similar to a file, but there's no tooth to it. My kid found it gosh knows where. Screen-Sho...21-png.jpg
Why read the NYT or the WSJ when you can enjoy smiles and crazy info with BP? Thank you.
That voodoo doll one scared me a lot and I'm not brave enough to put my feet down onto the floor again