The number of talented and perceptive people found on the internet is staggering. Take the sprawling ‘What Is This Thing?’ online community, for example. It is filled to the brim with experts and sleuths who help people identify mysterious objects.
Today, we’re featuring puzzling and bizarre antiques that confused people to no end, only for brilliant online detectives to help them out with their niche knowledge. Keep scrolling for a crash course in weird object functionality, and to learn something new so you can show off the next time you’re at an antique store.
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#41 Bought This From An Antique's D****r A Couple Years Ago. All I Know Is That It's From India They Said
BusterBloodvesselBR:
It looks like a dowry chest (massive antique Indian carved wood dowry chest).
It looks like a dowry chest (massive antique Indian carved wood dowry chest).
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#42 Teeny Tiny Flask-May Be 100 Years Old And Smells Like Cloves Inside
Small flask-nickel photographed alongside for comparison. Smells like clove inside. My 90-year-old grandma thinks it may have belonged to her grandmother, or she may have found it at a thrift store.
notimefortalking:
It is for toothaches, not perfumes. The clove and design give it away. The perfume necklaces are usually very delicate; they are usually made of silver, and those are the ones that survived to be antiques today.
notimefortalking:
It is for toothaches, not perfumes. The clove and design give it away. The perfume necklaces are usually very delicate; they are usually made of silver, and those are the ones that survived to be antiques today.
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#43 Cylindrical Unfolding Artefact. It’s Quite Heavy With Metal Hinges. Recovered From Grandparents' Home
jackrats:
It' a travel triptych.
It' a travel triptych.
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#44 Old Mechanical Device Found In A Dumpster. Extreme Heavy. Cash Register? Mechanical Calculator?
lordsteve1:
It is indeed a mechanical calculator, an Odhner 1950/60’s model.
It is indeed a mechanical calculator, an Odhner 1950/60’s model.
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#45 What Is This Antique Fork Looking T**l, And What Is It Used For?
jackrats:
It's an ice breaker.
It's an ice breaker.
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#46 Picked This Up At A Local Antique Shop. The Left Side Is Copper Lined, The Right Side Is Not, And The Center Divider Is Concave
JasnahKolin:
It looks something like an old "smokers table". The copper could be an ashtray and the curved area could be for bottles as well. Combined booze and tobacco table?
It looks something like an old "smokers table". The copper could be an ashtray and the curved area could be for bottles as well. Combined booze and tobacco table?
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#47 Wall Mounted Wooden Antique Cylinder With Belt Mechanism That Rotates The Cylinder - Labels Says "Charles Parker Manufacturing"
The shield with wheels on top of the cylinder will prevent a piece of paper from being displayed. Unless you are suggesting when you find your map, you reverse roll slightly in order to make the paper bow out giving you access to then pull on it by hand to then expose it entirely for display.
KryptosBC:
I believe it is a map roller for multiple maps. Each map would have been attached in one of the visible slots. The map would be selected by pulling down on the rope close to the wall, then reversed to display the chosen map. My memory of it is vague, but I once saw something like this in an old bank office that was being dismantled in about 1960. I do not recall seeing it operated. There is likely some sort of spring loaded ratchet mechanism involved, hence the noisy operation.
KryptosBC:
I believe it is a map roller for multiple maps. Each map would have been attached in one of the visible slots. The map would be selected by pulling down on the rope close to the wall, then reversed to display the chosen map. My memory of it is vague, but I once saw something like this in an old bank office that was being dismantled in about 1960. I do not recall seeing it operated. There is likely some sort of spring loaded ratchet mechanism involved, hence the noisy operation.
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#48 Found In A Garden. Metallic Object That Closes In On Itself
Treefrogprince:
Looks like a Hindu ritual box. It is missing the middle piece that would sit in that central hole.
Looks like a Hindu ritual box. It is missing the middle piece that would sit in that central hole.
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#49 Found In An Unfinished Basement Of An Old Home. Looks Like A Coin But It's Hollow And Opens Up
dont_say_choozday:
Possibly it was a coin lighter, but now it's missing some parts.
Possibly it was a coin lighter, but now it's missing some parts.
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