“What Is This Thing?” — 25 Times People Asked The Internet To Identify Mysterious Objects This Week

1. “This was received as a gift but neither of us know what it really is. It’s wooden, seemingly handcrafted, has a leather loop. Kinda a bowl… but like not? We are at a loss.”

u/hypeddunk:
It’s a cup! In Swedish it’s called “kåsa.” I didn’t know this was a local thing. It’s very common to have on a hike or hunting, etc. It’s a traditional Sámi thing to do them out of these burl wood pieces. The leather loop is to fasten it to your belt or on your backpack, then you use it to drink water from streams when out hiking, or to pour your coffee from your thermos in 🙂

u/KryptosBC:
Yes. Way back in Boy Scout days, we made these (or something very similar), usually from pine tree branch knobs (edit: or a chunk of burl). They were used as drinking cups that we carried on our belts or hanging from a backpack. They’re still seen in woodcraft and survival skills books.

u/BillyBobSwede:
This is it. I have one of these. Really nice on a hike in the Swedish mountains, where you can find crystal clear water pretty much everywhere. And for coffee. Sometimes with vodka in it. Kaffekask!

2. “What’s this red plastic stick that came with my boots? I got them from a French man if that’s relevant.”

u/Winnigin:
Look at the bottom of the soles. If it’s got red plastic bits, this is to flip them over. They’re spiky things to help with traction on ice, but since they’d damage floors, you want to be able to flip them over to hide the spikes.

u/The_Dets:
Holy shoot, this is definitely it! Just tried it — solved!

3. “Clear glass with liquid in it and metal wrapped around it. It is about 3 pounds or less.”

“We found this cleaning out my grandmothers things and wanted to know what it was. Thank you in advance for any help!”

u/nw342:
Looks like an old throwable fire extinguisher.

DO NOT BREAK IT. It will be full of carbon tet, which is super cancer juice and turns into a bunch of really toxic chemicals.

u/PXranger:
It’s not “super cancer juice,” it’s a “probable carcinogen.”

It’s dangerous because it’s highly hepatotoxic — just a small amount ingested will kill your liver, and you’ll die of liver failure long before any potential cancer could k**l you.

4. “Found in the forest. Stick with a two layer fabric and some sort of electronic device.”

u/Larry_Safari:
Do they do orienteering in that area? Looks like a checkpoint.

u/AvonMustang:
They should add a little sign with what it is and to please not disturb.

u/hrm:
That would heavily depend on where it is. Here in Sweden, orienteering is always part of PE in school, and thus basically everyone knows what it is.

u/ondulation:
Yep, orienteering is one of those things Swedes find perfectly common and ordinary since everybody has tried it, but which is totally unknown to most other people in the world — like cheese slicers and Kalles Kaviar.

That’s because orienteering was invented in Sweden.

Just like Kalles Kaviar. But we’ll have to thank Norway for the cheese slicer.

u/Substantial_Equal452:
I went to school in northern Scotland in the early ’70s. We had a great headmaster who believed in kids spending time outdoors, and one of the sports we did was orienteering. Half the class, me included, used to run the route, and the other half hid in the bushes smoking until it was time to go back.

u/Notmykl:
Signs do nothing. If people can’t leave geocaches alone, they won’t leave that alone.

u/Yreptil:
Solved!

5. “Some type of controller with a metal frame found in the River while fly fishing”

Found what looks to be some type of remote controller with a metallic (aluminum?) frame and some plastic buttons submerged in a local river while fly fishing. It was maybe 100 m downstream from a waterfall that contains the ruins of an old mill, but this is obviously much newer. The river is inside a provincial park, and there hasn’t been any construction nearby for many years. The large cylinders inside almost look like they’re capacitors, but there were also some mechanical elements inside, including a wire and some hinged brackets. The fact that the case is broken apart leads me to believe it perhaps went over the falls or fell down into the gorge, but I can’t figure out what it is. Any help would be most appreciated!

u/swatlord:
Looks like the remnants of a trail or wildlife camera. It’s curved on the back with a strap to mount it on a tree. There would be a door on that lower half that would protect the control panel and batteries.

u/SkepticalHippo93:
Not sure of the model, but that is definitely what it is (or was).

u/Terapr0:
Solved! Dang, you guys are good!

6. “Rare earth magnets set into some sort of rubber strip, out of nowhere, possibly passing aircraft?”

About 2’ long but clearly ripped off of something longer. Magnets are easily removable from the settings. Soft rubber like material.

First thought is some sort of magnetic strapping system for aircraft?

Dunno why, but it showed up out of nowhere magnetized to our pool fence.

u/SoccDoggy:
Looks like the magnetic closing strip on a soft-sided Yeti cooler.

u/Frat_Guy_PA:
Solved!

Had the thing hanging there a month ago, but I swear it didn’t get ripped. I wonder when or how it was ripped and left there?

u/BattleSausage:
These are recalled, by the way, for this exact issue. I had mine replaced through Yeti a couple of months ago. I was able to replace it with the exact model but with upgraded magnets.

u/Frat_Guy_PA:
Good to know! I’ll look into that ’cause mine’s broken!

7. “What is this wooden thing? It has a sliding drawer with a hole on it. Once its closed, the hole is directly under a mason jar. The hole is maybe the size of a quarter”

u/ronan7557:
Homemade candy dispenser. Like M&Ms — I helped my kids make them one time.

u/003402inco:
Agreed. This is a pretty common woodshop project.

u/Upper-Coconut69:
Solved!

8. “Box of 3/4″ Reddish square tube things. Found in the art room of an elementary school that’s at least 50 years old.”

The objects are hard but leave no mark when attempting to use as crayons. They are too strong to crush by hand. They appear to be manufactured by an extruder of some sort. They smell like crayons and oil pastels but were found in close proximity to both, so that may be irrelevant. The art room has a kiln, so I’m leaning toward it possibly being related to that. The box is unlabeled apart from the stamped numbers and a handwritten teacher name from the past.

u/tak0kat0:
They’re shelf supports for inside the kiln.

u/Temporary-Return-300:
That makes total sense — the material and shape fit perfectly for kiln shelving.

u/AKeeneyedguy:
100% correct. Used these a lot as the art teacher’s aide.

9. “Thing that came out of the dryer after unloading. Feels plastic, about 1.5in”

u/Hulagain62:
Could it be the light switch off the dryer door?

u/RyanPGoldberg:
Solved!

10. “Long wooden lever thing with angled metal plate and metal rollers on one end”

Found at a warehouse at work. About 6 feet long. Hardwood handle. Widens out to about 6 inches at wheeled end.

u/jackrats:
It’s a lever dolly — used to lift an edge or corner of a pallet, piece of equipment, etc., in order to get something else underneath.

u/BOiNTb:
J-Bar, we used to call it at the warehouse. I sure could have used one today with a big piece of furniture I needed to move.

u/LazyAHiker:
Yeah, Johnson bar.

11. “This palm-sized plastic thing found in my ship’s office.”

u/crysisnotaverted:
That is a document stopper off a Brother copier with one of these model numbers: DCP-L2550, B7535, MFC-L2710, 2715, 2730, 2750, B7520, 7190, 7195.

It’s the flip-up paper-no-f-off thing. Hopefully you can find the printer it goes to, because it keeps scanning jobs above like 10 pages from throwing the pages off the printer out of order.

u/Bosuns_Punch:
SOLVED!

GD. $26 for that little thing? I’ll just glue a box to the printer, thanks.

12. “Solid wooden box: Square, solid wood. Lid with recessed hinge. Tray that opens when lid is opened. Felt on the bottom. Feels about 3-4lbs in weight.”

“My friend found this wooden box. Said it may have been for cigars, so that is why he gave it to me. Has 6 storage compartments inside that raise when lid is raised. Little slots on each one. Could be to display cigars, but seems weird. Found one online, but they do not know what it is either.”

u/70sRitalinKid:
I have one of these. Mine holds six individual decks of playing cards.

u/Lafayettecomedy:
Solved! It seems it was made to hold six decks of cards.

u/timthetollman:
A deck of cards might fit, but it doesn’t explain the curved bottom.

u/crypt_moss:
Someone commented that the curved bottom might be so the cards are easier to pick up — as in, the bottom cards don’t stick to the case as easily.

u/Lafayettecomedy:
The guy who had the box with the cards said it was original, so that’s why I’m going with that. I tried it today, and it does make it easier to pick up items.

Trying to think of a way to repurpose it. I could put business cards and stickers in there, but I kinda want to cut out the dividers and use it for other storage.

13. “What is this that was on the side of the desk of the library I work at? It’s a metal and plastic device (?) that is screwed in the side of the desk.”

u/LameBicycle:
Maybe the library had theft deterrent devices? Like plastic cases for DVDs or something? And these magnets would be to remove it. Only thing I can think of.

u/Herrinan:
Librarian here — yep, this is exactly what it is. In the mid-2000s at my library, we put the entire DVD case inside a clear plastic case with a magnetic lock on top. When people checked out a DVD, we would unlock it for them with the device in the photo.

u/Corporate_Sandbag:
Solved!

14. “Looks and feels like a brass cowbell except no clapper. Instead those weird parts at the bottom. The pointed at thing in the photo spins. The item is 12cm tall, 8 cm wide and about 4 cm deep.”

u/BreakerSoultaker:
Grab the flanges on either side of the rolling part and pull it out with a firm tug. It’s definitely for dispensing matches or cigarettes, but you wouldn’t load them one by one. You’d remove the roller, fill, and replace.

u/Jonas_Gj:
I tried, and it does pull out! I’m gonna go ahead and mark it solved!

15. “Compartment/door between hallway and basement stairs in 1939 home in USA”

I just bought this 1939 home in the Midwestern USA. In the main floor hallway, there is this small recessed compartment in the wall separating the hallway from the basement stairs, with a door opening into the stairs. The opening is about one square foot, maybe slightly larger. The thin horizontal piece of wood near the top of the compartment does not move. There is some sort of pivoting metal bracket seen in close-up in the second photo.

u/nitro479:
Old telephone niche. The black connect block is a dead giveaway.

u/Fakename_Bill:
Solved! It’s a telephone niche. The metal piece is the connection block, and it opens from both sides so it can be accessed from the basement.

I’m guessing the thin shelf near the top was for storing a notebook with people’s contact info — or a phone book, if they were ever that thin.

u/chickey23:
The first phone books were just pamphlets. They sometimes only covered local subscribers in your own neighborhood.

16. “2 cement cylinders found just off the path of a neighborhood nature trail in PNW”

They are close enough to touch but are 2 separate cylinders, about 3–4 ft tall, made of cement. Each has a “hole” that doesn’t look like it goes all the way down or could be an opening to show the cylinders are hollow—they look like they’re just rectangular cutouts about 4 or 5 inches deep. Not in the middle of nowhere, in a neighborhood nature trail loop, but there are no buildings anywhere close to it. Couldn’t see any markings. A few feet off the trail, on the side of a small hill. Any ideas?

u/Satans_Ball_Sweat:
Close — looks like a buse de puits, which basically means a well pipe or well ring in French. It’s one of those heavy concrete sections used to build or reinforce wells and other underground structures.

Example: leboncoin.fr/ad/bricolage/2992412840

u/stalkenwalken:
I think this is close enough to call it solved! May still poke it with a stick.

Edit to add: this pic looks like it has an opening like the ones in my pics, yes? In the upper right area of the well head? Anyone not seeing that?

u/ThorAlex87:
I think yours are from a sign though. They’re made from standard concrete rings used for a lot of things like wells, manholes, culverts, and plenty of other things.

In the case of your picture, they set the rings up, put the posts in for the sign, and then filled them with concrete to form a cheap and easy foundation. Might have been intended as a temporary thing, as they make a very sturdy base with no digging needed and can later easily be removed by an excavator or other construction equipment.

It probably held a large wooden information sign — maybe a map or bulletin board — something along the lines of this: https://www.radiusdisplays.asia/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/IMG_1353_1.5ratio.jpg

u/stalkenwalken:
Very well could be. I don’t think the chances of it being anything other than either of these things is very high. Marking it solved, but could be either of the two. That’s good enough for me.

17. “Heavy suitcase cabinet, for some kind of electrical use??”

u/nitro479:
Diathermy therapy machine.

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/diathermy-apparatus-physical-therapy-1942-303-c-60c485b9a0

Edit with explanation of diathermy: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24926-diathermy

u/netflixchinchilla:
“Diathermy is a treatment that provides deep heat to your tissues. It helps relax muscles and joints, reduce swelling, and improve blood flow. Diathermy uses radio and sound waves to warm up the tissues beneath your skin.”

(From the link to the Cleveland Clinic page.)

u/-dripgod-:
Sounds like full-body cancer lol.

u/jonustron:
Solved! Thanks.

18. “Solid wood object, about 3″x7″ with rounded edges and no markings,”

u/jackrats:
It’s a massage tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Massage-Therapy-Lymphatic-Drainage-Cellulite/dp/B08XZHN6ZC

u/Leezardy:
Solved! Dang, are y’all quick.

u/DICK_WITTYTON:
Hot dog, this is why I follow this sub

19. “This came with an electric standing desk. Lightweight plastic the size of my hand”

u/HcR1B9hDSg:
Does it clip under the desk and act as a hook to hang your headphones on?

u/Mos5180d:
Appears to be exactly that. Thanks!

u/AbdulClamwacker:
If you have a 4-year-old, they can also be used to break your headphones.

u/Mos5180d:
I only have a 3-year-old, so I must be safe!

21. “Piece of metal found in my tire, 4 inches by 1 inch.”

“Hi! found this lodged in my tire, with barely any of it sticking out. Approx 4 inches long, 1 inch wide, feels like metal. Adult male finger for scale”

u/DobiusOfTheSneak:
Step treads off of a semi truck, maybe?

u/TMax01:
That’s almost certainly it. The side notches match up. Some truck probably got in an accident, and this piece found its way into OP’s tire — maybe months or even years later.

u/subjec:
That would definitely be it. Thank you.

u/Pitiful-Sympathy-653:
Solved!

22. “What is this? Looks like it’s broken off something, metal and plastic, 2cm. Found on the floor in the back of my car. Can’t find any matches off Google images.”

u/Poekienijn:
It looks like the pull part of a zipper, broken off.

u/noofinbutta:
Solved!

23. “What are these two oval magnetic things? They are about 1.5″ long, highly magnetic,weigh a couple ounces each and they came in a silver tin case. Microsoft is printed on the magnets as well as the case.”

u/scottmacs:
Singing magnets.

https://www.amazon.com/singing-magnets/s?k=singing+magnets

u/AstraiosMusic:
This is the answer. Take one in each hand and toss them slightly toward each other — when they meet, they make a noise. I have some on my desk with my other knickknacks.

u/shadow-banned:
Correct. I own this exact set. Source: worked at Microsoft, bought them for my kids at the company store 25 years ago.

24. “A pair of suction (?) mounted brackets on the windshield of this Mazda with some kind of loop things attached to them”

u/zachsilvey:
They are for carrying fishing poles.

https://hooke.com/products/sumo-suction-mount-rod-carrier?srsltid=AfmBOordJu5hekEZS9618zhZJvRVCPwi_uwe2Y1oCJ-M7xmZ09HUqara

u/snorch:
Solved! Thank you!

u/SmokedBeef:
Pretty common sight in the Rocky Mountains.

25. “Metal thing attached to a tree branch. It can be stretched like a spring, but not very far.”

u/TheLordFool:
It might be a bird or wildlife feeder. Pull it to open it up a bit, put food in, and let it go to close it.

u/chanciehome:
Absolutely! Dried corn cobs or peanut butter pine cones are often shoved in them around here.

Some people also use these for scrap yarn, cloth strips, hair, or other “nesting” materials. It’s an unfortunate act of kindness, though, as it can cause tangling issues for baby birds. While it seems like a good idea — don’t do it!

u/HarryDresdenDVM:
Solved! Thank you.