Nate
The internet can be a strange place, but every now and then, it becomes incredibly helpful. These people stumbled across mysterious objects and turned to the online hive mind for answers.
Strangely shaped tools, antique relics, and unidentifiable gadgets were all identified with impressive confidence. It’s like crowdsourced Wikipedia, but with more curiosity and less judgment.
Here’s what happens when the internet asks, “What is this thing?”
1. “I’m staying in an Airbnb, and this phallic object that squirts water is in the shower.”
Answer:
2. “Sealed Glass Vial on the Beach”
“We found this small sealed glass vial with an orange liquid inside that had washed up on the beach in Scotland. Any ideas what it could be? Should I resist the urge to crack it open.”
Answer:
3. “What is this tiny pocket on the back of my shirt”
“A small pocket on the back side of a shirt. Too small for anything more than keys!? Is this a common design feature? What is it for!?”
Answer:
4. “What are these spikes on the city gate?”
“Seen in Florence, Italy. Spikes are around 10 ft high on the wall.”
Answer:
Example:
5. “Heavy metal cone with some sort of measuring markings on it, has threads on the inside.”
“Found while cleaning out an old house. It looks like it was maybe buried based on the state of the bottom half. It is entirely metal. I didn’t get a picture of the threads but they seem to start where it’s not rusted/decayed.”
Answer:
6. “What is this elevated place in my house?”
Answer:
7. “Big wooden table with 12 integrated bowls. Bought in the Netherlands. From 1893”
Answer:
8. “Solid white block with a handle, very dirty, found at the edge of a parking lot”
Answer:
9. “These concrete things on the sidewalks attached to a small wall. This is in Toronto.”
Answer:
10. “Found this bag in the kitchen of an Airbnb I’m cleaning. It’s wet/oily and smells very strong, kind of like menthol.”
Answer:
11. “Black electronic device with 6 or 7 big buttons and a screen that displayed what looked like text.”
Answer:
12. “Spotted this weird bar at a gas station in the hood”
Answer:
13. “Small metallic ball found in my high schooler’s jacket pocket, has a waxy-ish white piece stuck inside.”
“This showed up in the pocket of a fairly new jacket. It has a small hole that contains a waxy feeling piece of something.”
Answer:
14. “My kids are calling these ‘sea turds,’ since they are round, soft/spongey and dark green but what are they really? Pensacola, Florida; bayside, underwater.”
Answer:
15. “This plastic bag with the corners cut off is one of many that my neighbor keeps finding in and about his yard. No one can figure out what the heck it’s for/from.”
Answer:
16. “What is this metal piece on my BBQ?”
“Just built this BBQ today (master chef 5 burner) and I have no idea what this metal piece is for. It is illustrated in all the images in the assembly manual, but is never directly referenced or used in any of the steps. I’ve asked a few people, and no one else seems to know.
Thanks in advance.”
Answer:
17. “Found this cabinet door in our new house. What is this supposed to be used for?”
Answer:
18. “Strange aperture found in a raised bed, about 1” diameter, with hardened mud around the entrance”
“Banana for scale.”
Answer:
19. “What is this waist-high brick thing in the backyard of my 1922 house?”
“We are the second owners, so one family has lived here since the house was built in 1922. They added on in 1950, but we’re not sure when the brick item was built. It has a cement path to it from the cement back patio (part of the addition).
I wondered if it was a grill, but there’s no blackening, which I would expect if fire was ever burned on it (also wondering if fire on concrete is even safe?). Any other ideas? Another thread guessed fountain, but the family did not have a very decorative style: pretty bare bones yard and house, so that would be very surprising.”
Answer:
20. “Found in an attic. It’s two old beer bottles, sealed with a copper tube running between them. The liquid us thicker than water. There is a wire at the top of the copper tube.”
Answer:
21. “Small heavy thing found in the sand in Dakar, SENEGAL, with the Shell logo”
Answer:
22. “Found in a book lovers’ raffle basket. Wooden object with 2 small holes & 1 large hole”
Answer:
23. “A fairly small, hard rubber ring found in the car. 50lb and 60lb arrows on opposite ends”
Answer:
24. “Found buried in my yard, Long Island New York Near the water, Non magnetic,”
“I found this buried in my yard on Long Island, NY. I’m very close to the bay; I’m thinking it’s something to do with rigging on a boat?
It seems like brass; it was about a foot and a half down in an overgrown section of my property. The neighborhood dates back to 1907”
Answer:
25. “Silver-colored metal object found partially buried in yard”
“Just moved into a new home, and I found this silver metal object partially buried in the yard while mowing. Its shape is reminiscent of a Christmas bauble ornament, but it has a rust-covered ring around it. It bears the number 304.
Unsure of its weight”
Answer:
Example:
