Don’t you just love learning new things? After all, we learn new things pretty much every day. And the best part is they never have to be super important things.
These people may have needed help finding out what these things are, but at least it meant they learned something new. And that means we get to learn something new too.
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“This shallow bath looking thing in the basement of an old house about to be demolished. Directly under the stairs in a large open carpeted room.”
Don’t worry, no one’s going to be bathing in that. According to a bunch of Reddit comments, this thing is nothing more than a weird indoor fountain.
“Found this yellow ‘button’ in the woods. Judging by the moss it had been there a while. It’s about 3 inches square.”
This one is another surprisingly simple solve. Reddit user OldfatherThames called it a survey marker: “Someone plants it in the ground where hopefully it remains unmoved so that future surveyors can find the same position.”
“Metal, about 9″ long. Belonged to my grandpa born in 1925.”
This thing is… kind of hard to explain. But according to Reddit user ksdkjlf, it’s some kind of old pointer, or possibly a writing tool. And yeah… it looks like that’s probably as good of an explanation as we’re going to get.
“2 overlapping pieces of plastic with a grid design affixed to the wall of a rental property.”
“It is a crack gauge. The device will move over time if the crack it covers expands. When installed, it’s set to the center, and over time, any slow movement can be tracked,” Redditor brock_lee commented. That’s pretty interesting, actually.
“Unusual piece of jewelry? Metal, looks like a money clip but with a large decorative hoop attached.”
Believe it or not, this thing ended up having a bit of a random explanation. Not jewelry, but as RabidusUnus on Reddit points out, it’s a towel holder. Seriously, who would’ve thought that was the right answer?
“A ‘knickknack’ with some kind of instrumental quality. Found at a thrift store.”
Though there were a bunch of Reddit users who remembered having something like this on the doors of their childhood homes, Redditor Diana_Bruce is the one who told us what this thing is called. It’s apparently a door harp.
“What is this thing? It is a 19 1/2” long super sharp metal item with a leather handle and a leather sheath. It is possibly from India from the late 1800s or early 1900s.”
According to Redditor ksdkjlf (who’s on a roll right now, it seems), this thing is called a swagger stick , which is a totally real and not made up thing that people used once upon a time.
“This is a finished wooden stand with a steel retaining bracket and a screw to hold whatever you’re supposed put in it.”
So apparently, this thing is a ham holder/slicer. I’m pretty sure there isn’t supposed to be a (fake) human leg in it, but it at least makes for a sufficiently creepy Halloween decoration.
“What is this thing I found in my local MN park? It’s between a pond and a softball field. About 10 feet tall.”
Reddit user jackrats had the answer here: “It’s a chimney swift tower – a birdhouse for chimney swifts.”
Well, today I learned what a chimney swift and a chimney swift tower are. All in a day’s work.
“Cylindrical piece is weighted and appears to have been bolted onto something (found in the road).”
According to the Reddit comments, this is a vibration damper that rusted off a Ford F-150. As specific as this is, the OP confirmed that their father has that exact truck, so it makes perfect sense, actually.
“Three sizes of flat metal pieces with punched hooks on one side. Probably stainless steel, text says Pat Pend (patent pending). Found in a kitchen drawer.”
With the holiday season coming up pretty soon, these things could come in handy. Here’s what Redditor blondmaggie had to say about them:
“They are turkey plates. You stuff your turkey, then put the plate in at the opening. The cutouts are to catch the skin, which holds the plate in place. My mother got a set for her wedding in 1957, and we used them every Thanksgiving.”
“Thought it was a butter bell but it seems to be made upside down? Any clue what it could be?”
Not a butter bell, but close. It’s a butter dish. Is there that much of a difference between a butter dish and a butter bell? I couldn’t tell you. But the main thing is that this is another mystery solved.
“Found at Goodwill. Top part pushes down and springs back up when released. No markings anywhere on the item.”
According to coffeelushed on Reddit, “This is a drawer divider. The springy part collapses down to fit in different drawer widths.” That… actually makes a lot of sense. Like, it’s actually kind of obvious when you really look at it.
“What is this thing? It’s soft and squishy and about 3/4 of an inch long. I found about a dozen of them.”
When I first saw this thing, I just assumed it was some kind of bug egg sac (eww). But Reddit user Eat_Shiznit had a different idea. “I’ve found these buried in my grass before. After asking my buddy who is a Gardner/landscaper, they are a form of fungus.” Better than an egg sac, that’s for sure.
“We bought this from a thrift shop in Ukraine, what is this thing?”
“The back seems to say Yuri Longo in Cyrillic, which is the name of a Russian stage magician, so it looks like some sort of memento associated with him,” Reddit user xopranaut said. Hey, that’s actually pretty cool!
“It’s shaped like a needle but with a spring/coil at the bottom, it has small wires coming out of the bottom. Some of them go into a hole in the wall, there is something in there but I didn’t pull it out.”
Reddit user brock_lee knew the right answer straight away, saying, “Are we going to talk about the spy camera on the right? The thing you are talking about is an antenna for said spy camera.” Creepy, but accurate.
“Came across these tools on a moor in Scotland. They’re about 6ft long with a circular wire mesh on the the end.”
After finding out what these things are, OP did a bit of research of their own. They’re fire beaters, which are used to help put fires out. That’s why the handles are so long, to keep you away from the fire.
“Round steel tube with an opening on one end, closed on the other.”
It looks like a paper towel holder to me, but I just know that can’t be right.
There were a few attempts at answers in the Reddit comments for this post, but Redditor Vandirian is the one who ended up having the right answer: “It’s a cooling tube for WMF pitchers.” Huh.
“Boards attached to my fence with chains. I can’t even think of any use for them besides annoying the crap out of me when it’s windy.”
There are a lot of conflicting answers for this one. But OP believes that the most likely answer is that this is supposed to be some sort of floating shelf. Yes, an outdoor floating shelf. With chains. Weird.
“Crescent-shaped cutting pliers, possibly veterinary? No letters or numbers.”
Plot twist: it actually has nothing to do with veterinary tools. In fact, as a few Reddit users confirmed, it’s a tool called a sugar nip, which is used to cut sugar canes. So, very different from a veterinary tool.
“What is this light, hollow, metal container? It has multiple dents. H:6cm x W:5cm. Opening at the top is 0.75cm. Found digging in France.”
This thing isn’t a container to begin with. As a bunch of Reddit commenters confirmed, it’s actually a brass knob. It could’ve been used for flag poles, or furniture. Stuff like that.
“Looks like a lock, but it is unlockable by a simple lever under it and not by a key. Looks like a holder or bike sharing thing?”
Reddit user Troll__McLure really came in handy here, having the right answer and delivering it quickly: “Mount for removable child seat.” Really, it was as easy as that! Who would’ve guessed it?
“What is this hinged frame with some sort of plastic or mesh lining with a wooden board on the back? Found this and 2 others about to be thrown out.”
The answer to this one is one that I probably wouldn’t have been able to think of in a million years. Luckily, Nintinup on Reddit exists, so I don’t have to think too much: “Screen printing frame for printing different shades/Colors on card stock or shirts or similar.”
“Found at a children’s playground. A swirly with balls on each end standing on 2 pole, entire thing is metal.”
Reddit user chemipedia somehow found the answer to this strangely confusing piece of playground equipment: “It’s a short Goric Spaghetti 4 , meant to encourage creative play with different sorts of enrichment.” Okay then.
“What is this white table with removable insert?”
Reddit user El_Duende666 wrote, “We have those at Early Education Centers. We store toys in the container, there should be a lid for it, and that’s used as a surface for the kids to play on.” Of course, that makes perfect sense!
“This thing in the front yard of a house I bought in Tucson, AZ.”
To me, this looks like one of those things people use to mix cement that just so happens to be sticking out of the ground for some reason.
And as it turns out, that’s the right answer! Wow, even a broken clock (me) is right twice a day.
“Received this in a care package, but have no idea what it is. About 4cm in diameter.”
Even though it almost has a strange, egg-looking quality to it, the Reddit comments (and my eyes) confirmed that it’s nothing more than a bath bomb. A weird-looking bath bomb, but one nonetheless.
I probably wouldn’t use it in the bath, though, if I’m being honest.
“Blue cylindrical container from Amersham. One of many from a box labeled ‘free pigs’ in one of my university’s science buildings.”
Reddit user RedneckScienceGeek said, “It’s a pig. Beta emitters like P32 are shielded by plastic.” Apparently a “pig” (not the animal) is a container used for radioactive material? Who would’ve thought? Apart from scientists, I mean.
“What are these holes near the roof of this old coach house?”
According to the Reddit comments, those holes are part of a dove cote, which is something used to house doves or other birds. I guess that would have been useful to people at some point in time, but I couldn’t see a huge market for them today.
“This fancy hotel has a shallow tub with two sides. When the button is pressed, one side lights up with a red light and hot water for about 30 seconds.”
“Then the other side lights up with blue light and cold water and shuts off after the same amount of time.”
Unlike that fountain from earlier on in the list, this is actually meant for people to put body parts in.
Reddit user notapantsday said, “You’re supposed to keep your feet in the warm water first and then quickly put them in the cold water (repeat a few times). This is supposed to help with circulation although I’m not sure if there’s actually scientific evidence for that.” Huh.
