I don’t know about you, but I love a good mystery . They can really get the gears in your brain turning, trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
No matter how mundane or fantastical, finding the answers to a mystery is always satisfying. And the answers to these mysterious items that people have shared online will probably scratch that mystery itch.
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“This magnetic latch keeps the shower door closed. What is this thing called?”
You know, I’ve never once thought about the name for these things. But now that this person asked, I’m dying to know.
Reddit user SlippingAbout found the name. It’s a “magnetic closing catch.” Well, now we know.
“Ran into this in my yard a good distance from my house. It has water in it but does not smell like sewage.”
This mysterious object doesn’t seem like it’s been used in quite some time. But from the looks of the comment section under this post, it looks like it’s probably part of a very old well.
“Telescoping brass item. Shorter than a pen when pushed in. No markings. Bottom does not open.”
Reddit user SlippingAbout wrote, “It reminds me of a telescoping handle to opera glasses.” That makes so much sense, especially given how fancy the thing is. If only the opera glasses were still attached!
“Wooden structure with multi-colored tabs coming out of a wooden center piece. The colors are arranged in from lightest at the top to darkest.”
See, I look at this thing and have no clue what it could be. But Reddit user jackrats had the answer in record time. “Rainbow Marble Sound Tree. You drop marbles down it to make sound.” How do you even find that?
“Found in the kitchen. The two pieces can be separated.”
Is it just me, or does this thing look like a super aggressive garlic press?
Apparently, it’s not just me, since a bunch of commenters on the original post thought the same thing. But it ended up being an ice crusher. Weird.
“What’s this thingy? It looks like a trophy although I suspect it might be used with heat due to the oxidation on the inside. I’ve just been using it to hold stuff in.”
A bunch of Russian Redditors came out of the woodwork to answer this mystery. It’s a samovar, which is a device used to keep teapots warm. I imagine in a cold place like Russia, they’d need something like that.
“16.5” long all metal tool with square jaws found in an old basement.”
Several Reddit users chimed in with the right answer to this strange little tool. Apparently, it’s a pair of tire chain pliers. What an incredibly specific use. But I guess you need specific tools for specific purposes.
“Kitchen/chimney tool with wooden handle.”
Whatever could this strange tool be? A pizza cutter? Some kind of chimney cleaner? Something else entirely?
Definitely something else entirely. According to Redditor ksdkjlf, it’s a device called a salamander: “Basically you get it hot as hell in/over fire, then hold it over the top of the creme brulee to brown it.” Cool!
“What is this small metal thing attached to the kitchen of our rented house in the Netherlands? Neither the owner nor anybody else has any idea. It is pretty securely fixed and the metal is somewhat springy.”
Several people knew something that I did not (as in, the answer to this mystery thing). It’s a towel holder, where the slot at the bottom keeps the towel in place. Makes sense.
“Piece of plastic found under a counter in a recently renovated kitchen.”
Reddit user Careful_Guarantee979 wrote, “That is used to fix the layer of an ironing board. The layer comes with tape that is usually too long. With that thing you can wrap the tape so that the layer fits the ironing board.” Interesting.
“Palm sized piece of metal. Bent like a spring of some sort.”
A couple of eagle-eyed Reddit users could see that the text on the wide end of the metal bit reads “Duff,” and from that, figured out that this is some kind of Duff Goldman (the Food Network cake guy) cake testing tool. Amazing!
“Wooden figures, with a rectangular space in the back (unopened). Any ideas where from and what their purpose was?”
“An ancestor statue. I found a couple online, from a variety of time periods and some say they’d be at an altar in the home as well. I think the little fists may be for holding incense. Link below with another photo example,” Reddit user charleybeann commented. And that’s another mystery solved.
“What is this black plastic thing? The logo on top looks like 2 connected mirrored Ks. It has teeth inside so it looks like it’s designed to fit onto something else.”
Lucky for us, there’s always someone out there who can answer these kinds of things. In this case, it was Redditor madhouse-manager, who said, “It’s a screw top for makeup or maybe nail polish… Logo is Kiko Milano.”
“Old wooden tool – slightly larger than a coconut.”
It is, in fact, a tool. More specifically, it’s a very old plumbing tool. According to the link Reddit user WeakSeaworthiness152 provided in the comment section, it was used to shape lead pipes. So it’s, like, old old.
“I found this thing near Geisenbrunn, Germany on Google maps. It is some kind of hole with a road going down. The surrounding is just Highway and some fields.”
A bunch of different Redditors knew without a doubt that this thing is a basin to manage rain water during storms, to keep flooding to a minimum. But according to user Zciurus, the German word for it is “Regenrückhaltebecken.”
Try saying that five times fast.
“It’s a small brass piece that’s hollow on the inside and threaded in the back, it has set screws on both sides and was found in the woods in NorCal.”
I probably never would’ve guessed this one in a million years. According to __–Pete– __ on Reddit, “It’s an exhaust pipe ‘turbo whistle,’ a car accessory to make your exhaust noise more annoying.” So that’s what does that.
“A very light glass tube with a hole at the top and a thinner, upwards bending tube coming out from one side. Found in my grandpa‘s attic in Switzerland.”
Before you ask, no, it’s not a crack pipe.
According to a few different Reddit users, it’s a very old device used to help clear congested noses, also called a nasal douche. Like an old school Neti Pot.
“Rollers placed by bus stop before paving.”
Once again, it’s Reddit user jackrats to the rescue, saying that these things are “dowel rods with anti-corrosive coating. They provide support against shearing between sections of pavement.” I, for one, am glad that someone out there had the answer.
“A steel rod (weighs about 12 lbs), which punctured the gas tank of a vehicle that rolled into the shop.”
The person who asked about this thing got an answer right away from Reddit user M5FARMS: “Ratchet winch bar for flat bed trailers. Someone left it laying on the trailer.” Annoying that someone just left it out like that.
“Metal structure on top of Flat Top Mountain in Utah. South facing solar panel with antennas on the north side. Interestingly enough, it has a button on the outside that activates a bell inside the structure when pressed.”
There were a bunch of comments with answers that could explain what this thing is, but the right one, courtesy of Reddit user XenonOfArcticus, is that it’s some kind of radio communication device.
