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.
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“Large full sack of running water outside a home construction site on the gulf coast in southern Florida. Been running nonstop for over a week.”
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.”
“Old wooden stick/pole with brass end. Length of a shovel or broom. Found in defunct research lab.”
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.
“Found it on my desk after a hospital stay, neither my husband nor my roommate put it there.”
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.”
“There is a hole in my wooden floor containing a white structure. The hole in the floor is about 1cm or about 0.4 inches in diameter.”
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.
“Metal loops or hooks under some of the bridges and on the retaining walls along the Seine in Paris.”
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!
“5 inch glass lens I found at Goodwill.”
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?
“Made of ceramic, only hole is at the chimney – has a stove top thing.”
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.
“Notched Wood Half Tube 13″ Wide About a Pound Weight Looks Old.”
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.
“Concrete Structure near Farmland (central California).”
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!
“House in Tennessee built 1956. Small cubby, in master bed, with shutter style doors. Measures ~w24” x t13” x d15”. It extends out to the back porch.”
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.
“What is this equipment? 2 ft tall, metal with wooden base.”
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.
“What is this white thing on the outside of this house? They were placed every 10 or so feet along the whole front of the building.”
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!
“Small cylinder (tape roll for reference) small triangular razor inside yellow part, found it in a junk drawer.”
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.
“Found this in a kitchen in a beach house in Massachusetts. About a foot long, made of wood with a metal cap, and comes apart as pictured.”
The Reddit comment section did it again, identifying this thing as a vintage icepick. Apparently, it’s broken.
“I was in Amsterdam and a guy clipped these to the railroad.”
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.
“The liquid rises when you hold the bottom. We don’t know where it came from. Supposedly it measures blood pressure.”
According to the Reddit comments, it has very little to do with blood pressure. It’s just some kind of science toy for kids.
“A man stopped me in a corner store parking lot to ask me what this thing is he found under his car seat. Worried it’s a mic. Any ideas?”
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.
“Anyone know what type of glass is and what it’s used for? It’s reflective and purple from a distance, but when you look though it it is green or blue depending on the angle.”
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.
“Small pointy curved metal attached to bicycle frame, point facing front of bike.”
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.
“Massive ring gear on semi, maybe 12ft dia.”
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.
