Ever find something really weird and mysterious, and just had to find out what it was? Well, that’s exactly what happened to the people in this list, who turned to Reddit’s whatisthisthing sub for answers.
As it turns out, none of the things these people found were all that mysterious. But they were still pretty interesting, at least!
“Metal object with 4 metal points and a circular frame.”
The comment section was pretty quick to point this one out. As it turns out, it’s one of those rotisserie chicken things. Definitely handy if you’re into rotisserie chicken.
“Metal thing attached to counter in an old house in Michigan.”
To be honest, I didn’t know what I was expecting it to be. But as the comments pointed out, it’s a can opener. I’ve never seen one quite like it.
“What is this mesh thing that came with a hiking tent?”
“One end can be closed with the string, the other end has a mesh wall between the mesh cylinder and some cone shaped material.”
According to the comments, it’s a diffuser for lights inside the tent. That was easy.
“Paper material with both ends screwed to inside of apartment door, that looks like it’s been cut down the middle. Thumb for scale.”
The comment section was pretty convinced that this is the remnant of some kind of door security system thing. Close enough.
“This jaffle iron type of thing, made of aluminium, with different patterns on each side. It says 4 1/2 s on the outside.”
As it turns out, this thing is an iron for some kind of waffle/flatbread food item. Cool!
“Some kind of rotational measurement device.”
Because Reddit commenters move as fast as ninjas, a user figured out that it was a speedometer in pretty record time. It’s a pretty old tool, and was used to measure RPM.
“I found this weird metal object in my bathroom, but I have no recollection of ever getting it or what it could possibly be.”
The comments almost unanimously called this thing a tongue scraper. Not even close to what I was expecting.
“Found from early 1900s. Compartments are small and slanted. Hand for scale. What was it used for?”
Apparently, because there’s a box for everything, this one was specifically for stamps. I guess if it’s a century old, that makes sense.
“Parking lot machines with four wheels and a long bar connecting them.”
After taking some advice from the comment section, OP looked over the edge and saw that those objects were holding equipment for maintenance on the other end. Neat!
“Gap in barrier on street by crossing (London, UK).”
The commenters pointed out that, right underneath the gap, it looks like there’s a cover for a drain access point. So the gap is probably just to accommodate for that.
“Light balls made of thin metal with 2 loops on the top? No holes or other features. Roughly the size of a honeydew melon. Possibly nautical?”
One commenter identified these things as devices used for net fishing. Nautical was the right guess on OP’s part.
“Is it a baking pan? For something specific? It’s 14″ long, thin metal, and has these holes all over it.”
It is, in fact, a baking pan. The comments figured out that it’s for Christmas cakes, in particular. Could be useful.
“Square hole with cracked screen over it in ceiling of apartment. Built in the 1910’s, used to be a barber shop.”
According to the comments, it was probably a skylight at some point, and got covered up over time. OP is gonna get it checked out to make sure there’s no asbestos in it or anything.
“Small metallic object found in the woods many years ago. Decent D&D prop and desk clutter.”
Props to user Not_a_Bot_NAB for having the super specific answer to this:
“This is an old souvenir coin/medallion from Parkdean Holiday Resorts in the UK! They had a couple of characters as children’s entertainment in the early-to-mid 2000s collectively known as ‘treetops grove,’ and this symbol was associated with one of them .”
“This white plastic rectangle box (thermostat?) on a wall that doesn’t come off, seems to be battery operated, has a red light and doesn’t make any noise.”
It might look mysterious and all, but the Reddit comments pointed out that it’s just an old smoke detector.
“What is this jelly-like glob found on the Gulf Coast of Florida?”
Apparently, this thing is known as “sea pork.” It’s basically just some sea-dwelling organism that looks grosser than it actually is. Still probably not that fun to come across, though.
“Wooden block with what looks like an aux chord coming out. Found in my hotel room in Rome, there are four of them in the room next to the beds.”
OP asked their host, and it turns out it’s just a headphone jack for the TV. Weird.
“I saw this laser on a field, rotating and scanning the fields around it. What is it scanning, the height of the growth maybe?”
According to the comments, it’s pretty much just a futuristic scarecrow. I dunno, I think I’d take a creepy human-like mass of straw on a stake any day.
“Boxes wrapped in duct tape with cement-like rods embedded in them, and a tray of rocks in between the boxes. Found in a river in Canadian Rockies.”
Many commenters had some theories, like these things measuring certain chemicals in the water, or possibly measuring erosion. Either way, they were put there by scientists. Probably.
“What is this bright green (I think kitchen or sports) item?”
“Text on it says Franklin Sports, Made in China, 318030006. Approximately 8-10″, it is only a couple of ounces, the black base is rubbery.”
As it turns out, it’s part of some kind of darts game. This bit’s just missing some parts.
