“What Is This Thing?” — 25 Times People Asked The Internet To Identify Mysterious Objects This Week
Reddit’s r/whatisthisthing is the internet at its finest. Post a random photo of a mystery object, and within minutes, someone has the answer. It’s part detective work, part group project you didn’t know you signed up for.
I love seeing people come together to solve mysteries like this. Here are the top “What is this thing?” posts the subreddit solved this week.
1. “Plastic item found in car. Red blade can rotate slightly, nothing else moves. Hollow inside. Bananas for scale”
Answer by u/robmosesdidnthwrong (paraphrased):
It’s the red piece from the top of a spinning prize wheel—the kind used in giveaways or raffles.
Confirmation by u/Emotional-Law8638 (OP):
Confirmed! The car owner had actually borrowed one of those wheels and had it in their car.
2. “Car sized white containers with solar panels found in San Diego”
Additional Details:
The interior of the containers are sometimes lit up at night. I’ve never seen them closed, occupied, or really utilized in an obvious way.
Answer by u/jackrats (paraphrased):
They are solar-powered EV chargers, designed to charge electric vehicles using solar energy.
3. “What is this rounded tube on the corner of this school maint building.”
Answer by u/alan_nishoka (paraphrased):
It’s a roller barrier meant to prevent kids from climbing onto the roof, especially in areas like corners where they could stand on a railing to get up.
4. “Lead ‘STA-TITE’ with rubber band, about 4oz”
Answer by u/Cubby0101 (paraphrased):
It’s a Sta-Tite 4 oz duck/goose decoy lead anchor weight, used to hold waterfowl decoys in place. Identified via WorthPoint.
Additional details by u/puckkeeper28:
These weights are commonly used on Texas rigs for duck decoys. I used to get them tangled a lot, so I ended up melting them down into mushroom weights instead.
5. “Squash shaped bowl with legs, found in a 19th century NY house boat.”
Additional details:
This squash shaped bowl sits on four wooden legs with a center stretcher at the feet.
The bowl is the same wood with a lining that might be fabric or maybe or leather. It is short, too short to function as a standing work station, and not really foot stool height.
There was sink and toilet built into the house boat, so I don’t think it is either of those things.
Answer by u/Striking_Big2845 (paraphrased):
It’s a bidet, specifically a model that had a ceramic bowl fitting inside. The indentations on the sides are shaped to accommodate the thighs comfortably during use.
6. “Metal object, quite heavy, contains no markings.”
Answer by u/CGunners (paraphrased):
It’s a pick from a mining or construction machine, used to cut through coal or soft rock. The hole at the front held a carbide button that did most of the cutting work. This particular one was likely replaced because the carbide button was knocked out.
7. “Thing attached to a handlebar on a Dutch style bike”
Additional Details:
“Roundish thing with multiple knobs of various sizes. Attached to the right side handlebar of a rental bike in Belgium/ Netherlands.
No obvious reason why, and nothing appears to fit inside the knobby areas. Maybe for a shopping bag? Only on the right side, so not a cane or umbrella holder.”
Answer by u/dooie82 (paraphrased):
This is called a Versnelbeschermer, or gear shift protector in English. According to the Azor bike website, it protects the gears near the handlebar from damage, especially when parking the bike against a wall. This helps prevent costly repairs.
However, I’m not sure exactly how it’s used, and I haven’t seen it in action on any bike.
8. “Round metal object with 3 thick prongs underneath, about palm-sized, marked with a ‘3’ on the bottom — found metal detecting in Texas”
Answer by u/hi-howdy (paraphrased):
It’s a pipe end plug, commonly used to cap the open ends of fence posts or pipe railings. These plugs help prevent debris, water, or pests from entering the pipe and give the structure a more finished appearance.
9. “Found on a beach in New Zealand near some off-roading rubbish, so possibly car-related. The bottle contained a clear, volatile, and strong-smelling organic liquid under pressure. The text on the lid read ‘DDRA 10283,’ and the bottle was labeled ‘2 SGD 19.'”
Answer by u/epperPhoenix (paraphrased):
For those curious, Dectomax contains the active ingredient Doramectin and is an antiparasitic used in sheep, cattle, pigs, and reindeer to kill parasites both inside and on the animals. In some regions, that size costs around £80.
(Note: Despite some confusion, it is not an antibiotic but an antiparasitic.)
10. “White fabric (?) triangles near the fence of a decommissioned nuclear power plant. (The small green cylinder is a dosimeter, according to its label).”
Answer by u/lordsteve1 (paraphrased):
Those are called tacky shades, used to monitor emissions from nuclear power stations. They are sticky so airborne particles adhere to them. These shades are regularly swapped out and analyzed to detect any emissions, and they are placed at set intervals around the site.
11. “I seem to have found a strange machine, it’s big wooden and there are two holes on it makes me think it’s some kind of processor”
Answer by u/yermawn (paraphrased):
According to my 85-year-old farming father, it’s a device used for cleaning grain.
Additional details by u/DarkWing2007:
We had one about 20 years ago for cleaning and storing small grain seed. It contains sizing screens that shake the grain while a fan blows out the chaff, with the clean seed dumping out of the bottom chute.
12. “What is this floor cupboard in 1960s closet?”
Additional Details:
“Recently purchased a 1960s house and all the closets have these flip-top storage spaces at the back. My guess is they’re for shoes, but they can only fit a couple pairs per side and only lengthwise.”
Answer by u/wehave3bjz:
My guess is that someone swapped out their winter shoes for summer shoes using this storage. You’d likely have to empty the shelf on top to access the shoes on the bottom.
Comment by u/hey-bubblicious (OP):
Yes, it only opens from the top hinge, and because it’s so shallow, it probably wouldn’t open very far if anything were on top. I think shoes would need to be in airtight bags to store inside—there are so many spiders!
Additional insight by u/ShihTzuSkidoo:
My mother-in-law had these shoe storage units in all the closets of their custom-built 1960s home. They were specifically for shoe storage—off-season shoes went inside, and current-season shoes were stored on top.
13. “Thin plastic tube, weightless, appears to be filled with fuzz; found in a university practice room underneath a piano”
Additional Details:
“I’m a musician, but I’ve never seen this before. Is it perhaps for shweed/cart storage?
I’ve seen doob tubes but this is far smaller and thinner. Is it something music related?
Why is there only a small amount of fuzz (I don’t dare take it out to determine what type of fuzz, but i assume cotton)”
Answer by u/gc1 (paraphrased):
It’s a holder for something like an oboe reed, designed with cotton to protect the delicate wooden end.
14. “Flash drive-sized device with some kind of internal battery and buttons?”
Additional Details:
“Weighs maybe 2oz, has a little carabiner on one end.
Maybe made out of aluminum or something like that. Has charging port for internal battery.
When turned on, there’s a little LED that goes blue and red.”
Answer by u/jackrats:
“It’s a voice recorder.”
15. “What is this for? A metal panel with a mesh of drilled holes, located next to a the fire exit of a local bar. It is the full height of the door but only one foot wide.”
Answer by u/Halal0szto (paraphrased):
It’s a device that allows you to lock a door partly open, providing ventilation while preventing people from passing through.
More details by u/itsnotmebob (paraphrased):
This is correct, but to clarify: since the door swings outward, the mesh must swing about 180 degrees outside, probably using double or offset hinges.
The flange on the door slots between the door flange and the three plates on the mesh, and the latch mechanism engages with the four cubes (which likely have hidden holes). Overall, it’s extremely overbuilt.
16. “What is this clunky metal ‘handle’ assembly that i’ve seen next to windows in older homes – banana for scale”
Answer by u/reluctantlyawesome (paraphrased):
It’s a safety release mechanism for exterior window bars, designed to allow quick escape in case of a fire or emergency
17. “What is this thing? Found it in my backyard. It’s metal and it’s kinda hard to pull. Faded green color and a pin kinda thing on it”
Answer by u/jackrats (paraphrased):
It’s a dog tie-out stake, designed to be driven into the ground to secure a dog’s leash or tether, allowing the dog to move around safely without escaping.
18. “Solid brass, with an unscrewable knob that attackes the smaller piece, found in a flea market in Gloucester, UK.”
Answer by u/SoggyPoetry (paraphrased):
It’s a knee, also called a shoe, from a composing stick used in letterpress printing.
The knee is used to set the line length so that all lines of type are justified evenly.
Although a part is missing—the handle you hold—the knee helps lock the type in place for printing.
19. “What in the world could this be? Found it in therapy, was just standing alone. Fairly light, made of plastic with metal balls around it as seen in the image.”
Answer by u/bihtydolisu (paraphrased):
It’s an air hockey or roller hockey puck. I found an image once showing it as part of a set that included air hockey-style paddles.
It’s designed to glide smoothly on air hockey tables or similar surfaces.
20. “Small dog with odd shape in back. Seems to be metal plated over ceramic or something.”
Answer by u/realsalmineo (paraphrased):
It looks like a pipe holder or rest, designed to support or hold pipes in place.
21. “What is this wooden board with movable metal rods branded by Guinness?”
Answer by u/askingducks (paraphrased):
It’s a Shove Ha’penny game board, a traditional British pub game where players slide halfpenny coins up a board, aiming to land them cleanly between horizontal lines to score points.
22. “Heavy metal item with picture of hunting dog and weird metal wire on back found in Canada”
Answer by u/Reel-Footer69 (paraphrased):
It’s a horse bridle rosette, and a particularly nice one.
These decorative pieces are attached to a horse’s bridle, often on the browband or cheekpiece, and were traditionally used to add ornamentation or indicate affiliation.
23. “Black basketball-sized hollow sphere (possibly made of ceramic or metal?) with prevalent pencil-thickness holes used as a hanging lamp in a tiki bar”
Answer by u/JackKnife_EDC (paraphrased):
It’s likely a glass fishing buoy that someone repurposed into a lamp, possibly by adding a cord or fitting inside the netting commonly found around these buoys. These were traditionally used to keep fishing nets afloat and are sometimes converted into decorative lighting.
24. “Some kind of lock, solid, red plastic.found in the warehouse of a solar install company. No markings. Marker for scale. Possibly some kind of LOTO type safety device?”
Answer by u/its_just_him_94:
It’s a gladhand lock, a red plastic device placed over a trailer’s air line connector to prevent it from being hooked up.
It stops unauthorized movement by blocking the air supply needed to release the trailer brakes.
25. “Small wooden object found in drain pipe”
Answer by u/carpe_simian:
“Looks like half of a wooden toilet paper roll holder?”