40 Times People Had No Idea What They Were Looking At

This was found on the pullout bed at a hotel in the Philippines. Most people identified it as some sort of insect poop, which probably didn't help with the sleep issue.

This may look like something from a mad scientist's lab, but it's actually just a siphon style brewing setup. Heating up the water in the lower vessel forces it up into the top with the grounds.

Inside the glass are small pill-like capsules containing a small slip of paper with a number on it.

These were likely used for some sort of lottery or even a draft, requiring a person to smash the glass to learn what number they received.

It's a mount to hold a camera rig when filming. It could be used in movie or TV shoots to record an actor driving, or a camera could be used when off-roading to film the terrain.

It's an old chalk eraser cleaner, but the bag that collects the dust is missing.

I didn't realize these were a thing, because at my school, banging erasers during recess was a form of punishment.

A university student wondered what this thing on the toilet paper dispenser was, especially since smoking isn't allowed on campus.

But back when it was, this gave you a place to sit your cigarette while you did you business.

ThatStickyIcky had no idea why their desk had a random piece of extra wood that slides in and out.

Thankfully, people were quite nice when they explained that it was just meant as an extra surface for working.

This may seem gross or scary, but it's actually just splattered lotion on the wall. Once that explanation was pointed out, jentrxm realized that it was likely coconut oil shaken off by the dog.

This example was found in India, but that detail just confused the issue. It's a Meinl Helix Bowl, which makes sounds by dragging the metal wand up and down the coils.

Is it life-changing to know that it simply covers an access point to the waste line in the plumbing system? No, but now your curiosity is satisfied by knowing.

This is pretty neat. It's a Victorian-era pill roller. Medicine would be ground up and mixed with wax or syrup to make a squishy Play-Doh-like paste, then the paste would be rolled into a long sausage and pressed through the metal section, which cut the sausage into perfect, rounded pills.

I've seen some cases where the device was malicious and meant to steal personal data. Thankfully, this one found by josmaate is just a cable splitter.

I've seen enough ear cleaning tools on Reddit that I assumed this was another one, but it's actually just a cuticle pusher from a manicure kit.

It's a light for bicycle wheels. You attach it to the valve and as you ride it lights up. Some models even have smart tech in them so that you can change the color or pattern of the light.

It's a neat old alarm system. Only one of the numbers is the "off" setting. If it's on any of the other numbers, a nearby noise-maker will be triggered to go off, alerting anyone nearby.

There are small buds under the plastic covers, which are called "crown buds." It's believed that by protecting those buds from animals and weather, the tree will grow straighter and make for better lumber.

It's a brick separator. If you've ever struggled to get your fingernails under a skinny block that's flush with a ground piece, then you'll appreciate how handy these can be.

They got pretty close on their own. They are called anchor plates and are often added to old buildings to help protect them from earthquakes.

It's a ribbon shredder. if you clamp it down and then pull a ribbon through it, you'll get one of those fancy, curly bundles of ribbons that look really fancy on a gift.

They are cannon-like systems for creating controlled avalanches. Instead of using regular explosives, these ones use gas combustion.

It's a sand dollar, which mrh2727 thought it might be, but they were confused by the holes that looked man-made.

But apparently that's perfectly normal for some sand dollars. Which is a neat thing to know.

They are baby coconuts! These are produced by a palm tree common on the western coast of Central America and the southern U.S. They're edible raw, or sometimes even candied as a treat.

I bet this person is wishing they hadn't opted to eat the fruit before getting an answer, because those are most likely the eggs/larvae of Asian citrus blackflies. Ew.

A pomelo is an Asian citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to take long before multiple people told them this was a shrimp peeler, which is also known as a deveiner.

There's a tool for every job, it seems.

This keyhole-like structure was found in the Sahara Desert and seems pretty large to be so clearly visible from this aerial view.

And indeed, an impressively detailed comment explained that this was an old French fortress known as Fort Aouchich, which was named after the nearest mountain peak.

Although it was obvious what this object is, they were at a loss as to what the animals that represented the letters U and X were supposed to be.

What they eventually learned was that the bird representing X was a type of gull known as a xeme, while the U was represented by a hedgehog, which used to be called an urchin in the old days.

So yeah, when some Victorian writer refers to "street urchins," they're comparing the children to hedgehogs, not sea urchins.

And it's understandable that they wouldn't know because it's unlikely that they ever found themselves having to fire an antique muzzle-loaded gun.

This device is used to measure the black powder that went into those kinds of weapons.

As one commenter pointed out, that was partially because they had it upside down.

But even then, it's unlikely that this adjustment would have made them familiar with the Rosicrucians, which The New Yorker described as a secret society of self-proclaimed mystics that supposedly sought to shape European religion and politics in the 17th century.

It's unclear whether such a group even existed but some spiritualist orders that formed later and even some Masonic groups apparently take some inspiration from them.

And it turns out they were right as this is apparently an insert that's supposed to go into a football helmet, presumably to make it more comfortable and secure.

And it's a good thing they didn't mess around with it because they may have cut off a lot of people's internet access if they had.

This is an internet service dish that is often used for long range wifi.

And to be fair, a kitchen is a pretty odd place for this tool because it's a seam ripper used in sewing. The red ball prevents people from damaging more wires than they intended.

And apparently, this person's house came with as many battery-powered lights as they would ever need.

The only problem is that they have to be taken off the walls to recharge since their purpose would be a lot more obvious if they were functioning when this was taken.

Granted, the answer probably would have been a little more clear if it had had its partner since this is one of two plastic drumsticks that come with a children's musical instrument playset.

It's called efflorescence and is salt that has migrated out of the cement and settled on the outer surface. It's unsightly, but not dangerous to your health. It could be a sign of a possible structural issues, though, since it's most common when cement or concrete regularly come in contact with salty water.

It's your standard RFID chip. The red line going around the edge of the card is the antenna, which is only strong enough to sense things up close. Hence, why you have to tap or wave your card over the card reader to unlock security doors.

They are part of a ritual to ward off duendes, which are similar to gremlins. Small gifts are placed in the socks and in return, the duendes won't play pranks on the family.

This looks gross, but it's actually sap leaking out of the wood. The best way to battle it would be to scrub it clean and then cover the whole door with a shellac-based primer to seal it.

It's aluminum oxide, which comes off as a very fine powder and can be a pain to clean off.

The inscription says "BLEU" which after a bunch of false leads finally led it to be identified as a metal embellishment likely from a beach cover-up by the clothing brand Bleu by Rod Beattie.

They have no walls and nothing stored underneath. They aren't for storage, though, but nesting structures for barn swallows to help the bird population bounce back.

There are shelves and nesting cups built into the underside of the roof, giving birds a safe place to nest.