I think one of the worst feelings is the one you get when you find something and just have no idea what it is. I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel kind of helpless when I can’t find the answer.
Luckily, there’s always someone who knows what a thing is. And when it comes to this list, there were plenty of people online who had the answers .
“Made out of plastic, about 4″ long, very lightweight. Looks like some sort of organizer. Found attached underneath my car, near the back left wheel, barely hanging on. Fell to the ground when I touched it.”
“Looks like a clip for your brake lines,” Reddit user DoctorOfMeat said. Well, uh, hopefully they can get it back on there…
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“Got these in a test lead set for multimeter. No idea what they are or what they could be used for.”
So, a few different Reddit users identified these things as lamp finials, which are the fancy pieces that sit on the top of a lamp and hold the lampshade up. It probably wasn’t meant to be part of the test lead set.
“Found these in the back of my kitchen cabinet. The inside says oven safe, microwave safe, dishwasher safe. They seem to fit together and there are pour spouts on the convex side.”
According to Reddit user ctsoftbulletin, these things are bacon bowls. Basically, they’re things used to cook bacon in microwaves or ovens. Weird, but also kind of cool.
“Found at a thrift shop: solid heavy iron, silver-glazed ceramic plates. Well made – balanced with no wobbling. Little feet on the legs. It’s too short to be a convenient side table for bed or couch.”
This little thing, as a few Reddit commenters pointed out, is a buffet stand, for holding dishes and hors d’oeuvres and things like that. I can see how that could come in handy.
“What is this ceramic vessel used for? It has a black exterior and white interior, approximately 7 inch diameter, 6 inch height, with the top narrowing into a 4 inch opening.”
According to Reddit user gn_like_lasagna, this strange little thing is a vintage crockpot. I guess it’s just really small? Because it doesn’t look like any crockpot I’ve seen before.
“What is this dumpster looking thing on this roof? It’s been there for a while so I don’t think it is a dumpster.”
Spoiler alert: it isn’t a dumpster.
Reddit user brock_lee had all the info on this strange thing:
“It is an old solar system for heating either air or water (not for generating electric power). In the 1980s, there were lots of tax credits for adding solar things, and one way to get a fat credit for not much effort was a solar air or water heater, such as this.” Wow.
“What are these things? Under the rails on the London Underground Piccadilly Line, at Covent Garden I believe.”
As pretty much every comment would tell you, they’re vibration dampeners. According to Reddit user tjfvanoss:
“They provide some dampening depending on the model, they can also provide electrical isolation for track signaling or traction power.”
“What are these metal eggs with unique numbers stamped into them that showed up at a local farm sale?”
Although there were a bunch of people guessing that they were fishing weights, the right answer seems to be… not that.
“Looks to me that these are fake eggs that are used to test an egg sorter/grading machine. They are called test poises,” said Reddit user JustOkCryptographer. Interesting indeed.
“Metallic, about 80-100 years old. Size of a baby carrot. Some moving pieces. All metal.”
There were a few guesses, but it looks like Reddit user TaikongNiuzai was right when they said that this thing is a fleam. What’s a fleam? Well, it’s a bloodletting tool, which is something doctors definitely don’t use anymore.
“Found while magnet fishing in the Midwest. It’s magnetic, maybe part of a statue or an old weapon?”
A few people guessed that it could be something off a wrought iron fence, but it isn’t that at all. Instead, as others guessed, it’s a piece from a sickle bar mower. It probably just fell off the mower and into the water.
“Fan shaped structure/pad in the desert near a town outside of Phoenix AZ. Looks kind of like a bunker?”
According to Reddit user sdtacoma, it’s called a “wildlife water guzzler.” Apparently, it collects rainwater runoff for different animals like cattle to drink from. That’s a pretty interesting invention if you ask me.
“What is this filter for? I found it in my new apartments dishwasher. It has no marking of any kind.”
I actually know this one! It’s the vent that goes in a range hood fan. The previous tenant or landlord probably stuck it in the dishwasher to clean it and then forgot to put it back.
“Blinking blue light found in street after derecho high winds.”
A few different Redditors could easily tell that this thing is part of a vape pen. Honestly, it’s pretty surprising how many people find a weird electronic-looking thing, only for it to turn out to be part of a vape pen that someone dropped on the street.
“A few wall plates like this throughout house. Appears to be connected to a grey PVC pipe behind it. “
A bunch of different comments on this post suggested that it’s a cover plate for a central vacuum system. Considering central vacuums have different outlets around the house that are around the size of an electrical outlet, that would make sense.
“What is this small butterfly-shaped flat paperweight looking thing? It is about [2″] and has a circle carved into the back, as well as three similarly shaped holes.”
“It’s probably actually a bat and a coin, a common Chinese motif representing fu (bat = fu = good fortune),” said Reddit user Kanadark. Yeah, I totally see that.
“Stainless swing top container with adjustable perforations on the side.”
Reddit user gn_like_lasagna figured out that this thing is a minnow bucket, which is apparently a thing fishermen use to keep minnows in as live bait. This is honestly such a random thing to find.
“What is this round, grey, hard plastic plate-sized thing with starburst holes and circular holes, ridges along edge and one side, and slightly concave?”
Apparently, this thing is a paper plate holder. I didn’t know such a thing existed, but now I want some of them for my own home. It seems like the perfect thing for barbecues and stuff.
“This small black dot underneath the glass of my friends rearview mirror.”
Reddit user jackrats said, “It’s a photocell — a light sensor — used to activate the auto-dimming function of the mirror when someone is behind you with bright lights at night.” I, for one, had no idea this was even a thing.
“What are these things? They are small, cylindrical shaped, wrapped in a little paper coating and they’re made out of what seems cotton.”
A few different Reddit users commented that these things were cigarette filters (the white part of a cigarette). What a whole pack of them is doing on someone’s car windshield is beyond me, though.
“PVC pipe with drilled out holes in the woods. There were many of them, 10-30 feet apart, seemingly randomly.”
A few Reddit users guessed that these things are for percolation testing for septic tanks. Reddit user JoeKnotbush gave a good explanation as to why they’d be in the middle of nowhere:
“The holes are there because they allow water in and out of the pipe. If the water you add doesn’t drain then it indicates over saturation and you aren’t able to get permits to build.”
