Sometimes, when I see a mysterious thing online that someone’s trying to identify, I do my best to guess what it is. I’m almost never right, but the fun is in the trying, I guess.
When it comes to these mystery things, I may not be an all-knowing genius , but someone out there was able to find answers for each one.
“Found with other toiletries placed in the women’s bathroom for a wedding. Slightly bigger than a quarter and pretty light weight. Made of plastic. The indentations seem like finger/thumb indentations.”
I would’ve thought this was a little hand tool for cutting thread, but according to the comments on the original Reddit post, it’s a scissors sharpener. Who would’ve thought?
“This metal coil thing heated TF up the second I plugged it in. What is this for? besides causing a fire.”
There were a lot of commenters chiming in on this post, but it was Reddit user codece who got there first, saying, “Put it in a mug to heat water for tea, it’s a submersible heater.”
I’m sure a lot of people would find this useful, but I just know I’d probably accidentally start a fire with it.
“Adjustable geometric holder of some kind. Folds in on itself.”
A few different commenters had some guesses, but it was ultimately user wjaf who had the right answer. Somehow, they found out that this thing is a collapsible coffee filter holder. I would’ve never guessed that.
“Metal object which can be opened and has a push button.”
According to Reddit user FinanceAddiction, “It’s a Chadwick battery powered eraser.” I’m not sure how they found that out, or why you’d need a battery powered eraser, but that’s another mystery solved!
“Rusty machinery about 3 meters long composed of a hollow cylinder with three bands of holes each smaller than the other, two wheels and a support frame.”
Reddit user -bobby-jackson- chimed in right away, identifying this things as a Trommel Screen. Apparently, it’s a machine used to separate materials . That’s… kind of random.
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“Disc shaped brass time keeping mechanism.”
A couple of different Reddit commenters identified this thing as a night watchman’s clock. I feel like there are a lot of people who take to the internet to ask about things that used to belong to watchmen. What’s up with that?
“What is this black hand tool with a curved and Y shaped end?”
“That there is a set of exhaust hanger pliers. It’s for disconnecting rubber mounts for car exhaust,” said Reddit user JDLang360. It must be nice to know things like this off the top of your head.
“Handmade wood bowl, what is it meant to hold?”
According to the Reddit comment crowd (which was pretty huge), this thing is called a nut bowl, and the part in the middle acts as a nut cracker. I’m surprised at the amount of people who could identify this thing so easily.
“What is this 14″ long wood dolphin with holes? There are 3 rows of holes. The outside rows each have 7 holes and the middle row has 8.”
Is it a musical instrument? A thing that you use to hold flowers? None of the above?
Of course, none of the above. It’s an hors d’oeuvre holder, according to Reddit user raygunnysack. You’d put toothpicks holding hors d’oeuvres in the holes.
“What is the purpose of the soft green circular part in the base of this small display stand?”
Yeah, this thing looks like it could be anything. But according to Reddit user gn_like_lasagna, it’s a stand that holds a cup (on the felt part) and saucer (on the rack part).
“What type of goggles are these? The lenses are transparent green and glass and the strap is leather.”
A lot of commenters thought these could be welding goggles, but Reddit user Darnitol1 specified that they’re Soviet safety goggles. Either way, you could use them for a killer steampunk costume.
“Rectangular Jade object with hole bored through it. Looks handmade, slightly irregularly shaped.”
According to Reddit user jackrats, this thing is a jade cong, which is a kind of Chinese artifact. If it’s made of real jade, it’s probably worth a whole lot of money.
“What is this vintage kitchen utensil and what is it for? It has the words ‘Dexter stainless.'”
Reddit user FusSpo said, “Looks like a bone dust scraper. Butchers use them to clean up bone dust after cutting bone-in meat.” Another user mentioned that Dexter is a kitchen equipment brand, so it checks out.
“I found this one the floor after I knocked over my sewing machine, is it a part from it?”
Apparently, someone else asked about this kind of thing that fell out of a sewing machine sometime in the past. It’s a roll pin that may or may not be important to the machine.
“What is this thing? It’s located on the ceiling of our school bathroom, and it seems to be a motion detector of some sort, only flashing a small red light when someone moves in front of it and turns off when staying perfectly still.”
Well, it is, in fact, a motion detector. According to the commenters on this post, it’s for the lights in the bathroom. Seems pretty straightforward for once.
“Opaque glass face with scalloped edge and etched in scales, too narrow to be a mask.”
Most people just figured it was a decorative mask (as in, one you can’t actually wear), but OP liked the idea that it was part of a lamp a lot better. Either way, it’s some kind of decoration.
“Avery Brand Tool or Key – Found in my classroom.”
Reddit user thewr1t3r showed up and solved this mystery right away: “It’s the open/close tab on a three ring binder. Avery is a manufacture of said binders.” Now that they’ve said it, it seems so obvious!
“Electronic component that fell out of dog’s mouth.”
A few different Reddit users suggested that this was an RFID tag from something that OP would’ve been using. Looks like their dog got a hold of it (as dogs love to do).
“Ornate cast iron triangle with 3 holes that I pulled out of a river with a magnet. About 10in along each side, weighs a few pounds.”
“It is a flush ceiling light from the 20s/30s,” said Reddit user littleheaterlulu. And here I was thinking it was some kind of really big fidget spinner.
“What is this antenna looking device wired into the cabin of this Subaru? Note it uses a thick gauge of wire.”
It might be a little hard to see the thing past all that rain, but it looks like it’s some kind of humidity sensor. Reddit user jackrats suggested that it could either be that or a temperature sensor, but OP thinks humidity is the way to go.
“Made out of steel. The center wheel spins when the shaft is rotated.”
According to Reddit user ok_this_wasnt_taken, it’s a revolution counter. Apparently, that’s just a counter , that’s used to… uh, count things? I’m not sure if it’s used for anything specific, but here it is.
“What was this Little Tikes star a part of?”
According to Reddit users who were clearly parents of little kids at some point (and maybe still are), this is a bath toy. Not the biggest mystery in the world, but still kind of cool.
“Spotted where overhead power lines are, the black and white pole, is it to determine water level?”
Well, it looks like OP’s guess about it being related to water level was spot on! Reddit user Fawksie confirmed their guess, and added, “that looks like a storm water retention basin.” Cool!
“Poles, approximately 15-30ft and wires in backyard.”
Somehow, every single comment on this post said the same thing. Those poles are part of OP’s neighbor’s amateur ham radio setup. Very specific, but hey, it’s their property so they can do what they please.
“Found at work. The handle is wooden and the rope goes through both sides.”
There were a few good guesses, but when Reddit user Stoned42069 said, “Looks like a canopy tie down. The handle allows the rope to be tightened,” OP really agreed. So that’s got to be right!
“What on Earth is this thing? Seems like it’s intended to serve something. Thought of a Turkish coffee thingy but it’s too small.”
According to Reddit user Kapedunum, it’s a Turkish coffee finjan, which is kind of like a small kettle of sorts. In other words, OP was right hen they guessed that it was a Turkish coffee thingy.
“Weird plastic object found in a box of melons brought by a supplier to my market. A red light blinks from time to time. I searched for the brand online but still don’t understand what it does.”
Reddit user HopeHostal said, “Makes sure items that need to stay cold (ex groceries, vaccines) stayed cold during the transport process.” So it’s like a thing that senses the temperature in a transport parcel, I guess.
“What is the special purpose of this 18″ ruler. There are 4 windows.”
According to Reddit user spastic-traveler, this thing is a tool used for cutting film in a type setting shop. I wonder how OP ended up in possession of a thing like this.
“What is this pen cap shape and soft fabric for?”
There were actually several comments on this post with the right answer. It’s a phone holder/stylus, with a built-in screen cleaner, too. This little thing sure does have a lot of different jobs!
“Found small thin blue oval shaped plastic/latex type item with hole in center.”
Something’s telling me that this thing is literally just a piece of a latex/nitrile glove that got cut off…
And according to Reddit user Cats_books_soups, that would be the right answer! Well, how about that.
