There are many things in the world that we see everywhere on a daily basis, and yet never really pay any attention to.
Well, odds are you’ve encountered a form of these weirdly annoying metal circles on staircases before and had no idea what they are for.
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So, when one person encountered them, they took to the only place appropriate.
Yep, you guessed it, Reddit. The spiritual nirvana of procrastinators everywhere. The place where memes are born, only for them to return to when they are ready to die.
One user took to the Reddit thread r/whatisthisthing and posted a photo of the weird little metal circles.
The user wrote, “What are these circular metal things on these stairs? I just hit my knee and goddamn did it hurt.”
The post quickly gained thousands of up-votes as the Redditors rushed to figure out what they were for.
There were many wrong guesses, with a lot of people assuming that they were a form of modern art.
Although this wasn’t the answer, I would much rather repeatedly smash my knees against these things over being forced to attend a Tracy Emin exhibition.
One very panicky person even told the person who posted them to report them to the council for being so dangerous…
Because where would the internet be without at least one panicky person warning of the dangers of a thing?
Another user guesses that they were used for structural integrity to the concrete.
They wrote, “It could also be that those are anchors to keep the wall from buckling / cracking as soil settles or rain water collects.”
Now, I don’t know anything about architecture, construction, welding, metalwork, landscaping, or even cement – but , my qualifications in the field of English Literature lead me to believe that that is definitely not the case.
Eventually the internet got close, with one person suggesting that they were a deterrent against homeless people.
One user wrote, “Acts as a deterrent like other things you may see around your city, things like spikes on window sills or around underpasses to deter the homless, intentionally uncomfortable public seating, benches that have arm rests to prevent them being used as beds by homeless folks.”
However, it turns out that the real purpose of these is to deter skateboarders from grinding.
They are more commonly known as Skate Stoppers.
Skateboard deterrents can come in a variety of shapes, styles, and sizes.
The purpose of these devices is to deter skateboarders due to the claims that skateboarders grinding on property causes damage.
One user, who I imagine is always banging on about young people in his garden, also commented, “Has nothing to do with ruining property. It has everything to do with not wanting kids of that ilk hanging around.”
The poster received so many down-votes that he had to edit his post to say, “why are you booing me”, which is unavoidably funny.
The majority of people in the comments leaped to the aid of skateboarders.
One person wrote, “Why all the social hate for skaters? I’ve never seen them behave poorly (as in harassing people or scaring them bybskating at them when they’re using the public space). I personally like watching them, although I accept some people might not be interested. Regardless – they don’t cause harm?”
I don’t really see the harm that skateboarders do personally, and the idea that all skateboarders are trouble-causing ruffians feels a little Scooby-Doo-Esque in this day and age.
