Curiosity isn’t a sin, so long as you don’t go poking your nose into spooky dungeons and haunted fortresses without preparation. I firmly believe that curiosity and the bright-eyed search for knowledge are what truly make us human. Many of us are willing to put our ego and pride aside to ask for help when we’re stumped. Even more fortunate still is that the world’s chock full of people willing to lend a helping hand.
That is where the popular ‘What is This Thing’ online community comes in. A subreddit that’s home to nearly 2 million members, r/whatisthisthing helps people identify mysterious artifacts and peculiar-looking items, wherever they might be found. They’ve got a great track record and it sometimes feels like there’s nothing that their collective wisdom can’t figure out. Either that or they’ve got an endless supply of Scrolls of Identification hidden somewhere safe.
Today, we’re featuring the subreddit’s best recent posts. We’re pretty sure that these will awaken your inner sleuth, not your inner sloth. Scroll down, upvote your favorite pics, and let us know in the comments if you’ve got any bizarre unidentified items at home. In the mood for more amateur detective work? Don’t sweat it, Bored Panda has got it covered. You’ll find our previous articles about r/whatisthisthing right over here, here, and here.
More info: Reddit | Frequently Asked Things
#21 Two Of These Buildings On A Lot Where New Housing Is Going To Be Built

Answer: Bat house
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148points
#22 Full Tub With Deep Front Half. USA. Listing Calls It A Mailman Tub. Google Results In Rule 34

Answer: a hip bath
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147points
#23 Heavy Black Balloon (?) Hanging Under White Net In A Field

Answer: Home made horse fly trap
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147points
#24 These Strange Dust Patterns Keep Showing Up On Screens Of My Apartment Windows

Answer: Previous tenant smoked w a fan in the window. I’ve seen this so many times turning over apartments for work.
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142points
#25 Found This Buried. It's Flat On One Side, Concaved On The Other And Has A Hole Right Through The Middle

Answer: this is likely to be a prehistoric or Roman quernstone
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141points
#26 A Small Plastic And Metal Device, Found In The Card Slot Of An ATM

Answer: a Lebanese loop used in atm fraud
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140points
#27 What Is This Pot Inside Of The Fireplace Of The Apartment I Am Renting In Italy?

Answer: Looks like a bed warmer. You put hot coals/embers in it and move it over your sheets (like an iron) to warm the bed up.
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139points
#28 Metal, Plastic, And Canvas-Looking Fabric Clips. They Are A Few Inches Long And Some Say Flatex

Answer: the things attached to a garter belt to hold up stockings
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138points
#29 What Is This Pool In The Middle Of Nowhere

Answer: a water reserve for fire fighting
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135points
#30 What Is This Cling Film Type Stuff On Tom Daley’s Arms, And What’s It For?

Answer: Cling filmed ice packs
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130points
#31 Part Of Silverware Set. It Has A Corkscrew Tip, But It Is Not Sturdy Enough To Be Used As S Corkscrew. Thoughts For Its Purpose?

Answer: It's a butter pick.
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129points
#32 Witt Found In Older Tool Box (At Least 10 Years Old). Part With Spokes Rotates, Spokes (Of Different Diameters) Match Up To Hole In The Oposite Side Of The Tool. Sharpie Marker For Size

Answer: It is for punching holes in leather or similar things. Like, for a belt
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127points
#33 Stainless Steel Curved Rods. Largest Is About 9 Inches. They Have Been In Family Since The 40s They All Fit Inside Of One Another. Best Guess So Far Is Glove Finger Stretchers

Answer: Nested set of seven plated medical cervical dilators
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125points
#34 In The Middle Of The Wall In My 1906 House; There Is Also One On The Other Side Of The Wall And One In A Different Room Without A Buddy In The Other Side Of The Wall

Answer: It's a capped off gas line from when they used gas lighting.
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123points
#35 A Kitchen Utensil With A Wooden Handle, Attached To A Round Metal Cup With 3 Spikes (With Holes In)

Answer: Funnel for making a portugese sweet called "Fios de Ovos" or egg threads.
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123points
#36 This Thing Is Made Of Terracotta And Has Sunflowers On Each End

Answer: That’s a taco holder.
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120points
#37 Any Ideas What Someone Left At My House Party? Small Green Ridged Brick, Hole In The Middle, Crumbles When I Scratch It

Answer: rat/rodent poison.
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119points
#38 My House (Built In The Mid 70's) Has One Of These In Almost Every Room. Same Size As A Switch Plate, With Copper Wire Strung To The Eleven Sockets

Answer: The three prong ones were for TV and FM antennas, and the center one was for an antenna rotator, to get better reception.
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118points
#39 Plastic And Hollow, Size Of A Big Suv, The Tide Never Reach It, Attached To The Ground

Answer: Large Ship bumper/fender. The are Used to keep huge ships from smashing in the pier.
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118points
#40 What Are These Small White Balls That Keep Appearing In The Corner Of My Window?

Answer: Styrofoam, but if you cut it in half, you should be able to determine if it's a spider egg or Styrofoam pretty easily
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116points


