I’m constantly amazed by how much stuff there is in this world. You can tell that the amount of stuff is basically infinite by the way there are so many things people don’t know about.
Like these weird things that people had to ask for help figuring out. It just goes to show that something one person may find common can totally stump someone else.
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“Copper bar with 13 threaded holes, 2 smooth holes, and a cutout. About 5 in x 1.5 in x 0.5 in. Anyone know what this is for?”
Reddit user nusual_method commented, “High voltage Busbar is my best guess, it looks similar to the ones I’ve installed.” And, it looks like most other comments were swaying in that direction, too.
“A small 5cm (2inch) plastic thingy with a blinking led light and beeping sound. I found it near my condo.”
This was actually a pretty easy one to solve. As a bunch of the comments on the original post stated, it’s an anti-theft device that someone likely tore off of a stolen item. Looks like it didn’t do its job all that well.
“What is this? Found among WWII and Korean War items. Small beige zipper pouch with a divider and leg/waist strap.”
According to the comments, it’s a war-era money belt. I… have no idea what that is, but it looks like Redditor codece does:
“It has the extra material in front and flap on the top of it so you can tuck it into your clothes and it is less noticeable, it spreads out so it doesn’t ‘print’ under your shirt as much.”
“Large machine with treads and rollers.”
This is one of those things that I feel like only a few people out there would know anything about. In this case, it’s a logging arch, which is used to help transport tree trunks during the logging process.
“Two solid brass halves around a solid aluminum nut.”
I think the best guess for this thing here is that it’s a doodad. As in, it probably doesn’t have that much of a purpose.
Reddit user horriblebearok had a guess that seems to be the closest thing we have to solving it: “I would have to say some kind of desk/paperweight art piece meant to resemble a sunflower seed and shell or something similar.”
“What is this door? Found in Pollença, Mallorca.”
According to Redditor Wanderer_67, “It’s to prevent rainwater from flooding in under the door. It’s called an anti-inundation panel.” Now that it’s been explained like that, it makes so much more sense!
“A small tank with electrical connectors and tubes.”
After a bit of back and forth in the comment section, Reddit user PanJaszczurka ended up figuring out that it’s some kind of water filtration/purification device. From the looks of it, it’s probably kind of old.
“Rusty metal piece on my windowsill, visible from my balcony.”
If you live in an apartment building that doesn’t have some kind of central air conditioning, something like this may be familiar to you.
As the comments overwhelmingly suggested, it’s a support for a window A/C unit.
“What is this small metal piece sticking out on our staircase? It’s about 3 inches tall and the protruding piece doesn’t move.”
There were a few different theories about this one (some involving some kind of connection to the stairs themselves), but it looks like Reddit user Shnoochieboochies had the right idea:
“It looks like where you would tie off an old drying line to set the height.” How about that.
“Heavy rounded plastic from the beach, warnings in English and French, seems like it was part of a sphere?”
A couple of people guessed that this thing is part of a firework shell. And what do you know? That was the right answer! Amazing how people can figure these things out just by looking at them.
“Ammunition with a weird shiny tip, could be 30mm. Worried if inert or not. Found on glacier in Switzerland.
Yeah, so, it probably wasn’t a good idea for OP to pick the thing up to take pictures of it, seeing as it’s ammunition. But nonetheless, an artillery expert who goes by wings_of_wrath on Reddit knew exactly what it was: “What you have there is a projectile from the 35x228mm Oerlikon Flab Kan 63/90.” Sounds dangerous.
“1.5” hex tool found in a toolbox.”
According to Reddit user gary6043, this cool little thing is a watchmakers anvil. I think that description is kind of self-explanatory (it’s an anvil that watchmakers use to… make watches, what more do you need?).
“Three-part metal thing. Only marking is ‘AB.'”
Since Reddit user jackrats has all the info on these kinds of things, they posted the perfect response: “It’s used to suspend the phone line between the pole and your house. The cable gets crimped in between the two pieces and the loop attaches to your house.”
“What are these plastic frames with mesh covers from a biology lab?”
Though some people thought they could be hatcheries for insects like butterflies, the right answer (that OP later ended up confirming) is that they’re hatcheries for fish. But really, they’re two very similar things at the end of the day.
“Looks like black vinyl or cloth sheets of material stretched between two rows of black pvc pipe. Can see some exposed wiring and the pipe on the close end of the roof looks like it drains to the ground beside the near gutter downspout.”
Once again, Reddit user jackrats came to the rescue, stating that the things on this roof are, in fact, solar pool heaters. Interesting…
“Lots of strands found in a desk.”
The correct answer to this thing is brought to us by Reddit user Physics_Dude: “Just pre-cut and stripped hookup wires. Good for bodge repairs or wire wrapping. I wish I had some.” I, on the other hand, do not wish I had any.
“Was digging through an abandoned toolbox at my work (I work at a jet engine shop) and found this. It twists and the center retracts. And the center extends when pushed in.”
Reddit user jackrats, who must love sharing their knowledge online, confirmed that this thing is a screw starter. Gotta love how easy some of these answers are.
“Small ‘Big Cat’ token. Found while cleaning out childhood bedroom.”
Reddit user captaintrips_1980 said, “It’s from a First Robotics team. 3039 is Wildcat Robotics. It’s probably something they made to give out at competitions.” But what is it exactly? Well, probably nothing super exciting.
“Odd extension to house eaves in central London – maybe some kind of gantry?”
A couple of people took one look at this thing and decided it must’ve had a shop sign hanging from it at one point. And to be completely honest, that really does make a lot of sense.
“What is this heavy piece of glass? It has six ‘cups’ to put something in and the bottom is cone shaped.”
There were actually multiple right answers for this strange little glass item. It’s a tiny tealight holder, which makes a lot of sense. I guess that’s one mystery that didn’t take much to solve.
“White crystallised substance forming square patterns. Big clump of it on one slide, randomly appeared in glass.”
You’d think that this mystery thing is something strange or foreign, but it’s actually a lot more common than you’d think. It’s salt. Literally, that’s all it is. Just crystalized in larger chunks.
“Found this thing in a German graveyard on nearly every grave – What is this little ‘bowl’-like thing? There was also a little metal stick in it.”
According to Reddit user Zarafee, this thing is some kind of container to keep holy water in. Considering it’s a graveyard, that totally checks out.
“What is this tiny 2” brass item I found at the thrift store? It has two parts.”
Some people thought it could be an incense burner, but that wasn’t the case. This thing is actually either a salt or pepper shaker. OP only found one of them, so they’ll have to choose!
“Strange mix between a toilet and a sink, at normal sink hight, anyone know it’s purpose?”
According to Reddit user shakes116, it’s called a hopper. Other commenters added that it’s used to flush biological waste in hospitals. In other words, it’s basically a toilet (that you don’t actually use ).
“These prints in the snow in Oxford, Michigan.”
As cool as it would be if these were monster or alien prints, they aren’t. A couple of different comments suggested that it might be marks left from a box that blew in the wind. I guess they should start calling it Boxford, Michigan.
“What is in this jar? It was in our attic. It has pink dust inside and has an index card with someone’s name and numbers that don’t bring up anything specific when searched.”
There were a couple of convincing answers on this post, but the one posed by Reddit user usaroamer seems to be right on the money:
“Could it say Jamo Grout ? Powder looks like grout / concrete coloring powder, that’s been put into another smaller jar for storage.”
“What is this circular mark on my car window?”
It’s pretty easy to see that whatever device caused that mark, it happened through suction. Pretty much every comment on the post agrees, though no one’s too sure if it happened during a repair, or a break-in attempt.
“What is this thing? Found on the ceiling in an under building parking garage.”
Reddit user AssaultLemming gave a guess, saying, “I think it’s a Bluetooth connection point. Could be for a security guard to check in that they’ve gone to this point in the building.” And you know what? They ended up being right!
“Cast iron thing that looks like a finial. Not threaded.”
Reddit user gn_like_lasagna is the one who ended up providing answers this time, saying that this thing is a “key tool to open wood stove door.” I love it when the right answer comes to us without any fuss.
“Found three bags of these in a basement at work.”
OP explained that they work in an attorney’s office, which honestly doesn’t help much here. But a couple of people suggested it could be a rotten chestnut, which somehow actually makes a lot of sense.
