The answers come to those who seek them. Especially on the subreddit 'What Is This Thing?'
This online community is home to 2.3 million members who are always ready to help people identify the mysterious objects they found.
The gig is simple: someone uploads a photo of whatever it is they want the name of, and the gang starts commenting under it, offering their input until, inevitably, a person shows up who knows exactly what it is.
However, even if you're not posting anything, scrolling through their solved cases feels like an interesting challenge, where you can test (and expand) your own knowledge. So we invite you to do just that!
#21 What Would This Antique Silver “Locket” Have Been Used For? It Looks Like Possibly Ink Residue On The Two Pads Inside, But No Indication That The Inside Door Would Have Been Sealed Tightly Enough To Be A Reservoir
Answer: It's actually a purse. There's space in there for some coins for bus/cab fare, some powder makeup (behind the little door), and calling cards.
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156points
#22 A Short Thick Metal Coil That Can Be Plugged Into An Outlet. Doesn't Seem Very Safe At All. I'm Thinking It's Missing A Larger Piece That Creates It's True Purpose
Answer: Immersion heater. The metal piece goes into a cup of water and heats it.
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153points
#23 Found This Spiked Metal Collar Hanging In One Of The Upstairs Rooms In The House I Just Bought In Spain
Answer: Anti-wolf collar for sheepdogs.
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153points
#24 Small Trailer With Individual Openings. Seen While Driving, No Obvious Marking That Would Indicate What It’s For
Answer: It's for transporting racing pigeons.
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150points
#25 What Is This Cabinet On Wheels I Got At An Antiques Market? The Drawers Can Be Accessed From The Front As Well As From The Back, There Are Also Two Compartments With Small Key (???) Hooks On Each Side
Answer: This is just a scientific specimen cabinet, which could be used for anything from geology to lepidopterology.
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147points
#26 Found This In Our Donation Bin, We're A Nonprofit, We Recycle Eyeglasses And Hearing Aids. It's A Gold Plated Speaker With A Short Cord With 2 Prongs At The End, It Also Has A Gold Plated Clip With An Opal-Like Material Of A Horse On It
Answer: An old Beltone type hearing aid. There's a transistor in the tie clip, and it plugs into a cord for the hearing aid.
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146points
#27 Wooden Block With 6 Metal Fins, Inscribed 'Hemma Patent'
Answer: Cabbage sliced for making sauerkraut.
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142points
#28 Strange Looking Hook Thing Found Buried In A Hutch. The Inscription On The Hook Side Is In French. Any Ideas?
Answer: It's a butter curler, for making fancy bits of butter.
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140points
#29 What Are These Little Knit Tubes?
Answer: They can be used to avoid chairs scratching your floors. So they are socks, but for chairs rather than humans.
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139points
#30 Found In A Safe In A Deceased Man's House: 11 Identical Stacks Of Thin Black Paper Strips, Wrapped In Plastic Foil, Covered In Fine White Dust. Measurements Of Each Strip Approximately 16 Cm X 6,5 Cm, Height Of Each Stack Approximately 5 Cm. Other Than That, The Safe Was Empty
Answer: "Black Money Scam". It's construction paper or similar, he was scammed to believe it was currency dyed to be smuggled and could be restored.
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133points
#31 Plastic Ring With Three Relatively Sharp Metal Claws, Found On Beach In Scotland
Answer: It's a "claw" to help pull in fishing nets.
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132points
#32 We Found This On Top Of A Bookcase While Cleaning Our Office. It Appears That The Jar Is Sealed. The White Things Inside Weigh Next To Nothing. We Didn’t Want To Open It Until We Have Some Idea As To What It Is. They Look Pretty Soft. Nothing Identifying On The Jar Itself
Answer: They look like silkworm cocoons.
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131points
#33 What Is This Wavy Pattern On The Back Of A Piece Of Mail I Received?
Answer: Obfuscation pattern, it's there to hide info or keep people from trying to read through an envelope and look at personal information.
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129points
#34 Plastic Device With A Blade That Cuts A Chunk Out Of Paper
Answer: Wow, that's a blast from the past. It's for write protecting a 5.25" floppy disk.
It’s for making a single sided disk double sided.
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123points
#35 I Spotted A Few Of These Wrought Iron Poles On A Road In Central London, They Must Have Had Some Historical Usage, But I'm Not Sure What. Perhaps For Lamps? Did The Circle At The Top Used To Hold Something? Was The Arm On The Right For Hanging Something?
Answer: It's an early 19th C Gaslamp. The gas is piped up the pole, and a copper pipe would have extended into the glass lamp house, which fitted into the hoop.
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116points
#36 I’ve Ruled Out With Experts It Being Any Type Of Electrical Insulator Which Is The Main Answer I Get. Found In Western Ma River While Artifact Hunting, Village Settled Circa 1750s & In 1845 Boston Rail Line Went In. Def Old Dump Site. Glass & Porcelain. Ornate Swirls, No Makers Mark. Have Videos Too
1point
#37 What Are These Rails Between The Main Rails Called And What Is Their Purpose?
1point
#38 Large Two Chambered Concrete Object Found In The Rural Woods Of Iowa
0points
#39 Strange Tower Made Out Of Storage Containers On A Construction Site. Has Doors In The Middle And Also A Roof Hatch. The Inside Is Lighted With Lamps
0points
#40 Found In The Middle Of The Woods Near Suburbs. Several Tubes Along The Edge. Obviously Some Kind Of Burn Pit
0points
