Have you ever seen a thing and asked yourself, “What is this thing?”
Before the days of the internet, this question would sit in your head, forever unanswered. But fortunately, there’s a place on the internet — a subreddit literally called r/whatisthisthing — that can provide answers , no matter how weird or obscure the thing in question might be.
“Dice (2.5cm side) with different numbers of indentations of different sizes on each face.”
This is a steel dapping block, something that would make perfect sense for a jeweler to have and almost zero sense for anyone else to possess.
“Airbnb guests left this plastic package behind. It’s wavy thin plastic, like a disposable glove. Packaging is 15cm long.”
With packaging like this, you know it’s a disposable something-or-other. After a closer look, this one seems to be a disposable, one-use shower cap.
“Has anyone ever seen china with teeth in the cups? Does anyone know what this may be for or why this is?”
This is a footed orange bowl , something that approximately no one has in their kitchen. The little teeth hold the fruit inside the bowl.
“This strange plastic cylinder with 2 square holes in it I found in my closet.”
Believe it or not, this boring, un-fun thing is a…toy. Specifically, it’s a Big Country Toys Hay Bale . Have fun with that, if you can.
“It’s a very stiff, thin towel…what is it for? it wouldn’t be very good at soaking up anything.”
It looks like a cheesecloth, but most likely is not a cheesecloth. It is a cloth, though — probably used by bar or restaurant staff to clean up spills.
“Metal tool with wooden handle. Unlabelled at the thrift store.”
This is one of many purpose-built things you might find in a pastry chef’s bag. In this case, it’s a rolling dumpling cutter. It’s for, well, cutting dumplings.
“4 inch, heavy metal object, nothing written on it, no movable parts, very polished surface.”
Boaters already know that this is a boat cleat. Boat cleats, as it turns out, are not shoes for your boat, but rather things that you can wrap rope around for docking purposes.
“Found this weird giant rectangle on Google Maps in Russia. It’s look like a bunch of identical half-destroyed buildings surrounded by forest.”
It’s hard to know for sure without contacting the Russian government, but this is most likely a munitions store. That would explain why it’s far away from civilization.
“What is this thing? Cup with an extra, smaller cup on the side?”
The smaller cup on the side is for discarding a used tea bag. It seems like an over-engineered mug to me, but what do I know?
“Yellow/amber glass face, found by Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada.”
This thing is, more than likely, part of an old glass bottle or decanter, styled in an art deco motif. Ornate decanters used to be far more common than they are today.
“Green circular tool with spikes? We found this at an antique store and nobody knew what it was.”
The faint of heart might not want to hear this, but, well, this is a castration device. It would probably be a nice antique pickup for a certain kind of farmer.
“Metal item attached to wall of a hotel room. Has a divot in the front and two pairs of thin metal prongs in the back.”
This is a purpose-built device for holding candles, while the little spikes in the back are for holding up postcards. It clearly isn’t a common item.
“Found this plastic device buried in the garage. About 13 inches long, and when you pull back the trigger where your hand goes it lifts the little knob on the end upwards. The bottom side of the knob has Velcro on it.”
It’s weird that this was found in a garage, because it’s one of those wands the TSA uses to test for explosives. Attach a piece of cloth to the end, rub it on stuff, then put it in an explosives detector.
“I found a bunch of these weird cartridge cases at a military shooting range. The tip seems to be made of plastic but the bottom is brass.”
If you hang out at gun ranges, you probably already know that this is milsim ammunition. Short for military simulation ammunition, it’s, well, a simulation of real ammo.
“Found this weird electric tool. When plugged in and turned on it vibrates very intensely. Has some spring like coils on the bottom.”
If it vibrates like crazy, there’s a good chance it’s a massage device — and that’s exactly what this is. Put your hand through the springs and it’ll give you a buzz as you massage someone.
“I’ve seen this cane shaped (usually) brass post at numerous bars and pubs, and wondered what it is and what it is used for. l have been unable to Google the correct sequence of words to get a result.”
Here’s a case where the simplest explanation is the correct one. This is just a divider, something designed to keep people from congregating along a certain section of the bar.
“Metal object 6″ long, found outside of my car.”
If it’s a weird tool and it’s found near a car, I automatically assume it’s designed for breaking into cars. But in this case, it isn’t. It’s a tool for lifting up the grate on drains.
“There is a small red ring in my unopened bottle of wine. Anyone know what this is?”
I was wondering if this serves a purpose, and it turns out it was all just a big mistake. That’s the gasket from a bottle-filling nozzle. It isn’t supposed to be in there.
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“Hard button in the middle of granny style panties.”
It doesn’t look high-tech, but it sure sounds high-tech. This thing is known as a quantum chip, and it’s supposed to provide (possibly questionable) relief from menstrual pain somehow.
“Brass or bronze ball with dividing lines.”
I was really hoping this would unscrew and reveal all the secrets of the universe, but it’s simply a petanque ball. What’s petanque, you ask? It’s a game that’s similar to bocce and is popular throughout France.
