I have always enjoyed the mystique surrounding antiques. There's something enthralling about an object that has stood the test of time. It's not just a product. It has a story. A personality. And if you're also captivated by them, then look no further, for we bring you a subreddit that celebrates the wonders of bygone eras.
Welcome to r/WhatIsThisThing, a thriving community of 2.3 million internet detectives who gather to identify whatever things people submit to them.
Established in 2010, r/WhatIsThisThing has become a true gem on the platform, ranking in the top 1% based on its impressive size. From intricate Victorian-era trinkets to beautifully crafted Art Nouveau relics, let's take a look at some of the gorgeous stuff it has seen.
#1 A Scissors Like Device I Bought Years Ago On Flee Market
Answer: It’s a vintage umbilical clamp. That’s why it’s shaped like a stork! Eventually this style did evolve into several types of embroidery scissors that the midwives would use while awaiting labor.
Report
351points
#2 Landlord Found It In The Basement. Heavy Metal. Google Isn't Responding Well To "Scary Wand" Or "Aggressive Pleasure Instrument"
Answer: Soldering iron. The end you are holding is the head, and is usually copper. The other end would normally have a wood handle.
Report
312points
#3 Metal And Glass Locket With Writing
Answer: It's called a "theca" and it has relics from saints in it. If it can be confirmed authentic, it's very valuable. Each one of those relics is hundreds of dollars, each.
lisabrr's answer:
Saint reliquary made up of bone shards that supposedly belonged to said saints.
Report
305points
#4 Friend Received This Passed Down From His Great Great Grandfather. It’s Believed To Be From Persia & About 2,000 Years Old
Answer: It’s a hairpin or a clothes pin/brooch. If it’s something 2000 years old, you need to see a professional at a museum/institute of archaeology to get it evaluated AND then get it insured.
Report
283points
#5 Ok, I Know It’s A Chair, But What’s With The Extended Arms?
Answer: It looks like a plantation/planters chair. You’d put your sore swollen legs up on the arms after sitting on a horse all day, like a pregnant woman with her legs up in the same fashion. This is why the back is so sloped as well. If you sit up straight it wouldn’t be comfortable to put your legs up like that, but in a reclined position it’s good for blood flow and air flow.
Report
282points
#6 Glass Bulb, Filled With Liquid, Metal Disk Floating Inside
Answer: Fire Extinguisher. Beware contains Carbon Tetratchloride.
Report
275points
#7 Found In A Creek Bed In Oak Hill, Texas. Has A Small Hole On Top Of The Head That Goes All The Way Through
Answer: "Seems to be a pendent head from the Caddo tribe. Looks legit and definitely pre-columbian. There's an oak hill Caddo site near there. Could be an import as well but unlikely." -My Archeologist Father
Report
268points
#8 Found In My Backyard In East Nashville, Tn
Answer: Looks real for sure! It's a decent fit for Hopewell type points from about 2000 years ago, but a local expert would certainly know more. If it's found in your yard it's definitely yours and nobody would take it if you reported it, and I'm sure your state archaeologist or archaeological society would be happy to tell you more and make a record of where you found it!
Report
266points
#9 Help Identify What These Are And What They Were Used For? Passed Down By Family - UK
Answer: Cover plates for a book. They are generally riveted over the normal cover. Probably for one involving royalty or heraldry from the engraving.
Report
266points
#10 Witt: Silver-Handled Vintage/Antique Clamp Of Some Kind. "Beak" Of Clamp Is Hollow - So Not Umbilical. Clamp Does Not Open Wide Because. US Quarter For Scale
Answer: That looks like a glove stretcher. To loosen up the fingers in leather gloves.
Report
266points
#11 I Think Brass Man, Head Comes Off And Backpack Opens
Answer: Definitely looks like tobacco paraphernalia. My father-in-law has a huge collection of tobacco jars, pipe stands, and the like, and many of them share similarities with this.
Matches would be kept in the backpack, the head used to tamp tobacco down into the pipe, and the walking stick used to clean out the pipe.
Report
265points
#12 Found At A Used Book Store. All Parts Rotate And The Markings/Months Makes Me Think It Could Be For Mapping?
Answer: An astrolabe, the ancient times GPS. Used usually for navigation, also for time measure and other science uses. I got one similar as a keyring.
If it's too small It won't be easy to use, by my experience.
Report
255points
#13 Antique From The 1800’s, Have To Figure Out What It Is For A School Project
Answer: Antique Soap Saver. Small scraps of soap were put in the cage and when people did dishes by hand the soap saver was swished though the dishwater to made suds
Report
248points
#14 I Found This Under The Floor Boards In A 1800's Era House
Answer: It removed the top of soft boiled eggs.
Report
241points
#15 It's Made Of Really Heavy Hardwood. Unsure Of The Age Unfortunately. Given By Family Friend. Thanks
Answer: It's half a Viking chair
Report
226points
#16 This Thing That My Friend Found In The Water
Answer: "This is a figure of the Santerian Orisha Olokun. One hand holds a snake, the other a mask. They typically come off because these figures are kept in water 100% of the time. If you found this in the ocean, then this is more evidence towards that as Olokun is tied to the ocean. This was probably disposed of ritualistically and replaced with a new one.
Report
220points
#17 Blue Glass Thing Found At Goodwill. About 5 Inches High With A Hole In Top
Answer: That is a whale oil lamp. Hand blown glass. Very odd blue color. Not cheap
Report
215points
#19 My Grandfather Told Us To Not Remove This When Renovating
Answer: Aztec calendar. Funny thing, I remember a bunch of these a while ago being smuggled over the border and they were made of meth
Report
205points
#20 Found In A Garden. Metallic Object That Closes In On Itself
Answer: a Hindu ritual box. It is missing the middle piece that would sit in that central hole.
Report
204points