The world is full of wondrous things, and we are led to believe that every piece of it serves a purpose. Even the most obscure objects and findings that don’t seem to fit any category. Or do they?
Luckily, for these curious instances, there’s a bunch of Sherlock Holmes sitting right behind their computer screens ready to tackle any mysterious stuff people have stumbled upon. Yes, we’re talking Reddit’s beloved corner called “What Is This Thing” that has a solid 1.9 million followers and has been steadily growing since its creation in 2010.
#21 This Building Was Found In A Country Estate In Scotland. It's About The Size Of A Large Shed And Has Small Slits And Platforms On The Outside. What Is It?
Answer: It's a bee hotel. The bee house version instead allows for multiple complete hives where the bees live, which I suppose is less like a hotel and more like condominiums.
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166points
#22 Small Red Container. The Lid Has A Small Spoon Attached To The Inside
Answer: Snuff container
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156points
#23 What Is This Boat Off The Coast Of Long Island, NY With Three Tall Smoke Stacks?
Answer: Not smoke stacks, piles. It’s a working barge, and those piles are lowered into the sea floor to stabilize the vessel while working. They are very commonly used on maritime construction projects such as bridge and tunnel building, surveying, shore protection, etc.
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155points
#24 Old School Chem Set Maybe? Found In Abandoned Building With No Info On It
Answer: Bach flower remedies. They are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s.
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154points
#25 Bundle Of Rubbery Sheets Found Washed Up On A Beach In The Caribbean
Answer: These are rubber sheets from harvesting rubber from rubber trees. They ship them in cubes with a bunch of these
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153points
#26 Glass Vase Thing Found In A Thrift Store In Navarre, Fl
Answer: It's a kind of wine bottle used in Spain, specifically Catalonia. You drink from it by pouring a stream through the air and directly into your mouth. I'll see if I can find the actual name.
Found it. It's called a Porron
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150points
#27 Metal Sphere With Russian Writing Found On A Bahama Beach
Answer: It probably contained high pressure nitrogen (-196 C is the boiling point of nitrogen). Likely used to spin up the pumps of a rocket motor as it started. A sphere is the ideal shape for containing high pressure gas/liquid.
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148points
#28 Found This Metal Object In Auckland, New Zealand. Banana, Hot Wheels Car And Fruit Pie For Scale! Metal (Brass?) With Screw Thread At The Bottom And Coloured Plastic Rings Around Shaft, Some Opaque, Some Transparent. Found On The Shoreline At The Ōtuataua Stonefields Reserve, Near The Airport
Answer: I'm sure this is the handle to a machinists hammer. It's the common item to make when learning how to turn on a lathe. I made one nearly identical when I first started.
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147points
#29 Found In A Garden. Metallic Object That Closes In On Itself
Answer: Looks like a Hindu ritual box. It is missing the middle piece that would sit in that central hole.
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140points
#30 What Would Be Shipped In This Strange Shaped Container?
Answer: it's a ( human or equine) sperm shipping container.
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140points
#31 What Is This Thing? The Part Above The Handle Rotates
Answer: It's a kite spindle. I used to have one. It seems like a reproduction of what they used to use in the golden era... but definitely, 100% a kite spindle!
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133points
#32 Two Of These Buildings On A Lot Where New Housing Is Going To Be Built
Answer: Bat houses
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131points
#33 These Small "Rooms" That Are Raised Up From The Ground Are All Over The Spanish Countryside. Many Of The Old Houses Have One. What Was/Is It Used For?
Answer: They're grain stores called "hórreos"
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126points
#34 Found Coming Out Of A Small Hill. Water Alternates Between Either Side, Going Down Each Step
Answer: I believe this is the Lyon Creek – Cedar Way Stormwater Detention Dam. I contacted an engineer with the city because I was so curious about whether it was a fish ladder or not. They just got back to me and confirmed it is a fish ladder. They also sent an operation manual that includes some history and descriptions, very interesting.
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125points
#35 New House, And We’re Perplexed! What Is This Hole/Vent Above Our Fireplace? When We Pull The Blue Tape Off, We Can Feel Cool Air Coming In (We’re In The Southern Us, So It’s Not “Cold,” But Definitely Feels Like Outdoor Air
Answer: it’s for media cables for a TV that would be been mounted there.
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120points
#36 This Rack Type Drawer Is Mounted In A Kitchen Cabinet. This Is As Far As It Pulls Out And The Bars Do Not Rotate Or Come Out
Answer: This is to hang washcloths and gloves. My stepmother installs them under her sink, since they don’t come standard.
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117points
#37 Odd Formation In Louisiana Coast - 29.323196471225256, -89.33106000180526
Answer: coastal erosion counter measure. they use a bucket ladder dredge with a bentonite injection pump to dig trenches 20-80 feet deep that are backfilled with the bentonite added mix. This pattern allows for natural inflow and outflow and will accumulate sedimentary deposits that would otherwise have washed to sea. Eventually plants will establish over these areas when the salinity diminishes.
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117points
#38 This Was Taken This Morning. It's A Very Odd Shaped Cloud, Or Maybe Even Vapor Trail. I'm Guessing It's Illuminated By The Approaching Sunrise. This Is From Clearwater Florida, Facing East. Google Lens Said Maybe A Rocket Launch?
Answer: Rocket launch. The wind currents at different altitudes have likely caused the odd appearance, closer in time to the launch it would have appeared more "normal"
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116points
#39 This Guy Just Walked Up And Down The Meadow With This Thing. What Could This Be?
Answer: magnetometry or magnetic survey - not GPR
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108points
#40 Small Metal Object, No Idea How Old Or What It Is?
Answer: Answer: Its snuff/pill box
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108points
