The world is full of stuff. Most of it is useful, even if it’s something you’ve never seen or heard of before. But there’s just so much stuff out there that it’ll be hard to know what all of it is.
Luckily for us, people had some serious questions about these mystery things, and got their answers too. So if you didn’t know what these were, you will now.
“Blue powder/crystals in Tupperware at work.”
This definitely isn’t something you’d want expect to find in a Tupperware container, especially if it happens to be near food. Eagle eyed Reddit users were quick to point out that it’s most likely some kind of plant fertilizer, but they aren’t sure which brand. Not that it really matters, just keep it away from food!
“What is this thing called ‘surger glass’ from the 1950s. It is said to be from a seafood restaurant in Pensacola, Fl.”
Yeah… this one definitely has me stumped. It has all those different tubes sticking out of it, so it probably handles liquid of some kind?
Well, apparently I was pretty close. It was a device used for milking cows once upon a time.
“Saw these aluminium-ish rotating objects from the terrace of my friends house.”
You know, I’ve seen plenty of these things in my day, and I’ve never once questioned what they were. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.
But the explanation is simple for these. They’re vents. It’s really as simple as that. Who knew?
“Found this in my Corn Flakes. Has somewhat of a chalky smell and texture and leaves a powdery residue when dropped on my table.”
Yeah, I really don’t like the idea of finding a random unknown object in my cereal. Like, it isn’t fun not knowing what’s in your food. Luckily, this is supposed to be there, just not looking quite like that.
The person who posted the picture contacted Kellogg, who explained that it’s a deposit of the minerals they use to fortify their cereal, except clumped together and baked. I wonder if it would taste any good.
“Serrated Scraping Tool Found in Basement of House.”
I love a good mystery tool find. I swear, there are so many ultra specific tools out there for pretty much any situation. And this one is no different. You see, this handy contraption is a window zipper, which helps open windows that have been painted over.
“What is this plastic cleat-like thing attached to the outside of my deck railing?”
My first guess would be that it’s something used to hold pool or hot tub equipment. Like a spot to hold a tarp in place or something. But it’s not any of those things; it’s just some sort of hook you can use to hang planters.
“Found this in a thrift store in the jewelry section, but I have no idea what it is supposed to go around.”
It walks like jewelry, talks like jewelry, but it’s only jewelry adjacent. It’s a scarf ring, which is a thing you can put your scarf through to keep it secure, or just to make a fashion statement. I’ve never heard of these, but I don’t wear scarves often, so.
“Found inside a musical instrument, it is the size of a big grape but there aren’t any holes big enough for it to have fallen inside.”
For starters, I’d be afraid that there was something alive in my instrument. And funny enough, something like this is called a mouse, which is a piece of fluff or debris that forms in certain instruments with age. My guess is that it would be common with instruments made out of wood, like strings.
“Grid of small indents which may be man made or may be natural. Found at the beach, East coast of Scotland.”
It definitely looks like some kind of strange, ancient artifact. And it is most likely ancient, but surprisingly, it isn’t humanmade. It’s called a stigmaria , which is a kind of fossilized tree root. It looks really cool, so hopefully this person kept it.
“Found in my kitchen next to window. No one knows where it came from. Looks like it should go into a tube.”
Don’t you just love finding random mystery items in the middle of your own home? I sure don’t; it always creeps me out. But at least this had a simpler explanation than most.
The person who posted this to Reddit admitted that their son had removed it from his curtain rod and forgot it downstairs. It’s just an anchor screw.
“What is this medallion thing on the end of this bed’s footboard? It spins around but there is nothing underneath so it’s not hiding screw holes or anything.”
It doesn’t hide anything, meaning it’s purely decorative. In fact, it’s something called a skeuomorph , which is basically any object used to imitate another object, but without its function.
In other words, little plates like that could be used to hide screws and stuff, but people liked the look enough to imitate it, even if it’s functionally useless.
“Old vacuum tube on the wall in the living room in my new (1910) home. The thing I’m holding is the cover.”
With the cover, it looks like some kind of security light. Without the cover, it kind of looks like something used in old science projects.
Apparently, it’s neither of those. Reddit user nitro479 identifies it as a beehive light, which is a visual signal for different kinds of sounds (like the phone or doorbell ringing). It was used way back in the day for people with hearing problems.
“Plastic dual “bladed” knife with reversible sheath. 1. Wedge shaped serrated end and 2. Corrugated end.”
Dangerous? Maybe. Ominous? Probably not. It’s an item called a “food glamorizer,” which is apparently just a vintage peeler . It can help you make different shapes and decorations out of fruits and vegetables, but for the common home chef, it probably isn’t all that useful.
“Found in a sewing machine from the early 20s. About the size of a dime, silver, and Catholic.”
The what is simple enough. It looks to be a souvenir from visiting Rome. Apparently, the text on the medallion says “memories of Rome” in Latin. So that’s one mystery solved.
But why was it in a sewing machine? That’s a totally different mystery, one we probably won’t ever have an answer to.
“Closed-end bell-shaped hollow metal item with wooden handle (10 inches high, 6.5 inch diameter).”
Well it looks like a bell. But it can’t be a bell since the bottom part is closed off. It doesn’t even look like it has anything to ring.
So it being something completely different makes a lot more sense. Apparently, cocktail shakers used to look like this at one point? And this is one of them.
“What is this tuft of fake grass? There are lots around the park, but only in tiny patches like this!”
Mystery grass? No, not quite. It’s a marker, one that can be walked or mowed over. It’s apparently used by ground surveyors to mark certain locations, so they can come back to them later. I’ve never seen one in person myself, but it makes total sense.
“Little cylindrical item found on beach.”
It kind of looks like a piece of pasta. Or, it could be a really tiny filter…
…Wait. It really is a filter. A filter media , to be exact. They’re used for water filtration, like for aquarium tanks and stuff. They come in many different shapes and sizes, including the one pictured here.
“Found in wooded area overlooking ocean in Shirley, British Colombia. Rock/cement circle formation.”
My first thought was aliens. But it’s never actually aliens. Sigh .
In this case, it was once an old radio tower, from the WWII era. It’s now part of a Resort called Point no Point in the Canadian province of British Colombia. Not as exciting as aliens, but still fun.
“What is this cabinet and the things sticking out of the top of it? I thought it was electrical but it appears to have a gas warning in the front of it.”
I could probably stare at this thing all day and never guess what it’s supposed to be. But the answer isn’t even that hard…
According to Reddit, objects like these are used to measure air quality. This is just one kind, since they don’t all look the same.
“Lots of round objects embedded in rock at the beach. They look like rusted metal.”
Again, not aliens. These things aren’t even made by human hands. Instead, they’re naturally occurring balls of iron oxide and sandstone, called Moqui marbles . They just appear in sand like this, usually around Utah. The fact that they’re so naturally round is amazing. Nature is so cool!
“Found a dice, does anyone know what game it is from?”
It’s not every day you find a random die like this that has pictures on it instead of its usual numbered faces. It definitely has to belong to a specific game, because I can’t imagine them being useful for anything else.
And as it turns out, that game is called Story Cubes .
“This small white gelatinous rectangle fell out of my washed laundry on its way to the dryer.”
That’s definitely not the kind of thing you’d want to find in your clean clothes. I mean, according to Reddit, it’s nothing more than part of an Icy Hot patch that got into the laundry, but it still wouldn’t be fun finding something that’s both weird and slimy in there.
“Plastic, no markings, 3 colors, one random fork may or may not be related.”
While it looks like something that would be used for sewing or arts and crafts projects, it has nothing to do with any of that. In fact, the flower and stem make a very decorative cocktail pick, while the small fork is a cocktail fork. So it looks like the three items are related.
“Something is coming from my newly constructed wall, or maybe from the very old wooden beam. Specifically on one place, some black & wood powder.”
You never want to assume the worst when finding random black powder coming out of a wall, but you almost have to. It can pretty much never be a good thing, after all.
And this is not good. It’s frass , which is an umbrella term for the stuff bugs drop, whether it’s fecal or from boring. Either way, it’s time to get professional help.
“Leather and glass pouch with waxy residue inside.”
Well, it’s obviously a pouch. But what the pouch is used for is the real mystery. Though, Reddit was quick to identify this thing as an antique pouch used for holding travel cutlery. I’m guessing long before we decided to invent plastic forks, knives, and spoons.
“Large metal object mounted to side of house, smaller end has multiple holes, made of iron, one side has some type of wheel, while the other side has two round protrusions.”
It looks suspicious, but that may just be because it’s rusted and kind of looks like a weird octopus (it has a face and tentacles!).
But it’s apparently nothing but a vintage coal furnace. I guess someone thought it looked cool and decided to mount it to the wall?
“Mysterious Chunk of Steel Wrapped in Leather – Found in pond in Deephaven, MN.”
If only it was as mysterious as it seemed. The name “KEYS,” and the logo on the piece, give this thing away (or at least they would if you’re a gym aficionado).
It’s part of a dumbbell. It was in a pond, so you just know it’s covered in pond gunk (and not leather). At least, Reddit seems to think so.
“Random circular holes in concrete sidewalk. They appear all over town and have been there ever since the concrete was laid.”
Is… is it aliens this time? No? Sigh . Fine.
What’s most likely happening here is that someone was collecting samples from the road. There are different reasons for doing this, like checking the asphalt thickness in order to use the same amount when widening the road. It could even be used to check the road’s structure .
“What is this pool in the middle of nowhere?”
My guess, based on the barbed wire fence and the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere, is that it probably isn’t for swimming.
In fact, it definitely isn’t. It’s just a water reserve pool, probably used for fire fighting. That area does look pretty dry, so it would make sense.
“What is this bubbling out of the ground in my yard? Purplish metallic gooey inside. Keeps bubbling even if I dig a thin layer down with a shovel.”
At this point, I’d be running inside and never going back to that spot again. Even if it is, apparently, expanding foam that somehow got left in the ground and is bubbling because it came in contact with water. It’s still freaky!
