It's not every day that you come across something totally strange and random that just has you stumped. But when that happens, you're probably going to take to the internet to get some answers.
These things don't really look like much at first, but internet sleuths at Reddit's r/whatisthisthing subreddit have them all figured out. It just shows that everything has a function, even if it's not apparent at first.
One Reddit user figured this one out pretty quickly: "It is a filter bag. Often used when dredging a pond. The dredge pumps the sludge and sediment along with water into the filter bag."
You might think this is some kind of strange piece of lab equipment. Or, you might be like the Reddit sleuths, and know that it's for opening old windows.
A user commented that it's a lancet for blood tests, to which OP responded, "That makes sense, I was picked up by ambulance and I guess they measured my blood sugar or something."
One Reddit user suggested that this hole might have been made by a carpenter bee, which is something I didn't know existed until today. What likely happened is that OP's landlord filled it in at one point.
I guess at one point, there were a lot more boats along the Seine than there are now. A lot of commenters knew that these rings were for mooring said boats. Neat!
The Reddit commenters were quick on this one, identifying the thing as a lens for a magnifying lamp. Seriously, how do people figure these things out as quickly as they do?
A lot of commenters knew this one, actually. It's an incense burner. Is this common knowledge or something? Because I would've had no clue what it was without the internet's help.
This is another thing that a surprising amount of Reddit commenters knew. It's a pipe stand, because apparently pipe smokers have a whole rotation they go through on a weekly basis.
According to a commenter, "This was posted [on the sub] once before. It was the base of an OLD cistern which held water to water down the dirt road and prevent dust." That's really cool!
I feel like I've seen something like this online before. According to the Reddit commenters, it's a delivery door for milk. Which would make sense, based on when the house was built.
Here I was thinking this was some kind of farm tool. But according to the Reddit comment section, this is an old jack, for lifting things. Didn't realize they ever looked like that.
According to one Reddit commenter, "Its a concentric vent flue for furnace or tankless heater." Other people backed that up, and it ended up being the right answer!
A few Redditors figured out that this thing is a blade for some kind of craft cutting system. I wonder if OP lives with a crafter.
The Reddit comment section did it again, identifying this thing as a vintage icepick. Apparently, it's broken.
One Redditor had a really good explanation: "It's to shunt the track and activate signals or crossing lights/gates. When the train touches both rails near a crossing it activates the lights and gates, this is used to either test the system or to force a signal/crossing for maintenance." Makes sense.
According to the Reddit comments, it has very little to do with blood pressure. It's just some kind of science toy for kids.
The Reddit comments identified this piece as something from a push-to-talk headset, which is mostly useless on its own. Nothing to worry about, thankfully.
The Reddit comment section figured out that this is a dichroic filter. It shows different colors because of the light it's filtering. Apparently it was used in LCD projectors.
According to the cyclists of Reddit, this little doohickey was used to hold a bicycle pump. But it looks like it's not very common these days.
Well, it's definitely a gear for some kind of large machinery. Some commenters said a crane, but others insisted it's for a rotary dryer, which seems to be the best bet.
