Our world is full of objects, big and small, that all fit into the big picture in some way. Whether it’s organic or human-made, every one of these things has a purpose. Otherwise, it wouldn’t exist.
When you just can’t figure out what something is, the good people over at Reddit’s What Is This Thing? subreddit are here to help. Let’s check out what their sleuthing has revealed.
Ditches in a field.
These ditches were spotted from the air by somebody who said they were new. They’re actually evidence of an archaeological dig. When there’s a find, researchers create a trench that looks just like these ones.
Metal plates in front of drinking fountains.
These textured metal plates were installed to help blind or vision-impaired people find the water fountains. For someone who’s using a cane, these plates help indicate that something of interest is nearby.
Spiky rolling thing.
This is known as a porcupine boiler, more specifically a “pinned tube” heat exchanger component. It was likely discarded from one of the old mines that are in the area.
Ancient ray gun?
The person who found this futuristic-looking gun estimated its age at 30 or more years old. It’s likely older, as this is a kids’ toy — the Buck Rogers disintegrator — which dates back at least 50 or 60 years.
Door at the bottom of a seawall.
This door in the seawall at Biarritz, France, serves as a gate. When storm water overwhelms the local seawage system, this gate opens up to drain the water into the ocean.
Spiky watermelon stalks.
These weird, gross-looking hard stems are pretty normal when watermelons are stressed during the growing process, possibly due to a drought. They’re still edible, but gross.
RELATED STORIES
Octagonal pit.
This looks kind of like an empty sandbox, but it’s actually known as a ga-ga pit. What’s a ga-ga pit, you ask? Well, it’s the venue for playing…ga-ga ball. Yes, I had to look it up .
Collapsing metal bracelet.
Some people might recognize this thing’s purpose right away, because it’s a common mechanism. It’s a clasp for a purse or handbag, the thing that makes them snap shut.
Pool cue with ball attached.
The short length of this cue should be a clue. It’s a tool to let little ones “play” pool without risk of them ripping the felt and necessitating a costly repair job.
Weird old outlets.
Someone found this odd power outlet in their century-old home. It can accommodate normal plugs, but has an extra hole. It turns out that this is an old tandem blade outlet , one of many obsolete old-timey power options.
This clock only goes to 5.
This strange clock found in Prague might seem like an ineffective clock, but that’s because it isn’t a clock at all. It’s a limnigraph , which helps mark and indicate water levels.
Ancient toothbrush?
It looks like an old toothbrush with no bristles, and actually, that’s exactly what it is. Specifically, it’s an early ‘electric’ toothbrush. It wasn’t really electric, but did contain a magnetized rod.
Taped over in a library book.
It looks like a sequence of staples, but it’s actually an electromagnetic security tag, which will set off an alarm if the book is removed from the library without being properly checked out.
Metal rolling thing.
This is an old type of razor, known as a “Rally Dry Shaver”. It was described by a commenter as a kind of lawnmower for the face, which would provide a (presumably lousy) shave when rolled over the face.
Newly installed short pipes.
These are temporary steam outlets, which allow steam to be blown out of steam-heated buildings. These temporary ones have been installed because renovations are likely going on at the steam plant itself.
Two-level metal platform.
Found near road construction, this odd-looking platform is designed to be a spacer for water mains. It’s turned on its side and put underground to allow work to be done on the mains.
Found floating in the ocean.
This big piece of debris, estimated at 12 by 15 feet, was found drifting off the coast of the Cayman Islands. It appears to be a piece of the Russian Soyuz launcher , meaning this piece of debris has been to space and back.
Gas-filled balloon inside ice cream scoop.
Fascinatingly, this balloon is filled with heat conducting fluid. This takes the body heat from the person holding the scoop and transfers it into the scoop part, allowing ice cream to be scooped much more easily.
Weird comb thing.
This is known as a blueberry comb or blueberry rake, and it’s used to harvest wild blueberries. It’s supposed to be held the other way, though.
Found in a prison.
The fact that these razor blades have scorch marks gives it away. If one is stuck into each side of a power outlet (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!), it’ll create sparks to light things on fire.
