People Explain What These 93 Strange And Weird Things In Old Homes Are (New Pics)

That looks like half a fluorescent lamp set up with the ballast still there

A damper control for a coal furnace. If the floor hasnt been covered over you will find two small holes in the floor below if that the damper chains would have passed through

It’s a mechanical doorbell where you turned a knob on the outside of the door and it rang the bell, I just about bought a house that had one of these but a more modern version from the 1930s.

Speaking tube , some you’d blow through and they’d whistle and then you’d talk to the person on the other end.

That is an old utility transformer / service entrance distribution point, likely from the 1930s–1950s era.
It’s basically the building’s main power feed, long before modern breaker panels were standard.

That is a decorative element called a drop finial. There is probably a newel post above it.

Missing parts to a water well pump. We see them here a lot and people take them apart for lawn ornaments . They don’t work - just for decoration

They are called whistles. You use them to nail into . You can install trim or flashing using them

Card tables? Maybe they hosted a lot of game parties? It was a much bigger thing back in the day. I found out that the first few owners hosted all kinds of events in my house through searching the local newspaper for my address. They had bunko and bridge parties, "fashion" parties for wives, all kinds of community organization parties, etc. They didn't have social media, so they put ads in the newspaper when the next party was scheduled

1930s bakelite outlet. These were usually surface mounted for use with multiple plug types.

I remember before these they were in walls to allow heat from fireplaces to get to other rooms, in the 1800s things changed a bit, but there was always a way to make sure the heat traveled through,whether from coal stoves, or wood or other there were always forms of making heat travel through old houses

It's what they call a dry. Well you have a septic tank before that and then as it comes out of the tank it goes into the drywall and then leeches into the ground. That's what I have at my house and it works perfect

The scales like that were used in assay offices. You put the precious metal on one side and you added weights to the other side until it balanced. They also use those in General stores to weigh merchandise that was sold by the pound

Telephone shelf

It’s was for the horse and cart

Its a Garbage disposal, someone would pick up the old waste food to Feed pigs at a Farm near by. After heating g it with Steam, from a boiler

The horseshoe signifies good luck. Point up like in the photo means catching good luck. Pointing down means showering with good luck.

That’s an old telephone lol
You could hear when it’s time for dinner
No central heat then, each kitchen had a stove and that was the hvac of the day
Also a rock by the stove was there to take to bed to keep you warm at night

Keeps the witch's out of the jacuzzi