Here are 70 people who had no idea what they were looking at but the internet knew right away.
These people took to the internet to try and find out what it is they were holding, looking at, or buying – not only did get their answer, they got a lot of interesting, funny, and cool information too!
#1 “I found this ring in my backyard while doing gardening. After cleaning it, it doesn’t look like a normal ring. Any ideas ?”
“It’s a Georgian/early Victorian mourning ring. The initials belong to the lost loved one.
They were typically made from gold (18k+) and enameled in black. Yours looks like it was made around 1820s-40s.”
#2 Found in Myrtle Beach, S.C. What the heck is this thing?
#3 “This weird wrapped car. The lights were wrapped in cloth. Serial numbers all around. Anything significant or just tacky?”
“It obscures the car while being test driven, so the yet-to-be-released models are not photographed and published. The random “wave” patterns effectively hide the body contours and lines.”
#4 “A ruler + letter opener + ? What is the use of these numbered buttons?”
“To weigh a letter you clip the letter to the opener, then you hold the bead and if it is balanced that is how much the letter weighs.”
I’ve never seen one of these things, have you?
#5 “What is this big hole that is usually found on milk cartons?”
“It’s a pressure relief hole. If you dropped it, instead of exploding, the hole would pop out.”
Thank goodness for smart people out there.
#6 “Scanning family slides from 1964 – this was over my parent’s house in Texas. What is it?”
“It’s a residue of a rocket launch. It’s called Twilight effect. It was done right at sunset so the sun lit the vapor/exhaust trail from underneath.”
Gorgeous! It looks like the Northern Lights.
#7 “Saw this cat in texas first thought it was a domestic cat but when we got closer that seemed less likely…”
“Black bobcat. Call tpwd if critters suddenly come up missing but they’re really solitary critters and will move on. They aren’t something to approach.”
Yikes! Keep your distance from this kitty cat.
#8 “Found this small kettle years ago. Tried searching for a similar one but have always come up with nothing. Anybody have an idea why this has this unique shape? Wallet for scale.”
“It’s a portable men’s urinal for bedbound patients. It is used to pee when you cannot get out of bed.”
You might not want to make your tea with this “kettle.”
#9 “What is this random structure I found in the middle of the forest?”
“Looks to me like a ww2 one man bomb shelter. Similar one here: https://www.tracesofwar.com/upload/3917101027181156.JPG”
Isn’t history cool? And you might not even know you’re looking right at it!
#10 “In a multi storey car park. Is it a passage for rats? There are also small holes in the floor and ceiling with a tiny ladder connecting them.”
“Secret Industry by John Pym: The stairwells and lift lobbies of multistorey car parks are not usually areas where people pause to admire the architecture, so John Pym used this to his advantage. The model walkways and ladders replicate their full-scale counterparts and are a playful way of suggesting an alternative, unseen service industry at work within the building. Superficially mundane, some people may use the car park for years without being aware of their presence, while others will notice straightaway. The artist sees it as a reward for those who look more closely at their surroundings.”
#11 “Found in my aunts “treasure” collection. Seems like a heavy metal weight inside. What is it?”
“This is not sea glass but a hard resin ‘tracker pebble’ used along this piece of coast to track longhore drift. The pebbles have a serial number, are buried in a location and then refound further down the coast in the shingle by metal detector. The metal coil is included for this reason.”
Just another reason to want to own a metal detector.
#12 “What does the color-coding mean on this clock in an assisted living facility?”
“It’s used for bedsore prevention. You would refer to the two hour intervals as a turning schedule.”
Isn’t it crazy the things we don’t think or know about? This is definitely one of them. Thank you to our caregivers!
#13 “This just trundled across the road in front of me, zoomed down the sidewalk before I could get a better look at it. Spotted in Melbourne Australia. What is it?”
“It’s an automated delivery, possibly for food.”
We don’t know whether to jump up and down for joy or hide in our house and never come out. The future is here.
#14 “What is the purpose of this mirrors? I came across them in Trosa, Sweden, near the river. They are on almost every house.”
“In Denmark they are called a “gadespejl” It is an old invention, basically a mirror that made it possible to view the street from the comfort of your couch.”
We appreciate the ingenuity of this simple little trick.
#15 “Noticed this weird urinal in a brauhaus bathroom in Cologne Germany. What is it?”
“It’s called a Papst (german for Pope). It’s for puking.”
Is puking in public a common thing in Germany? We’re concerned.
#16 “What is this fish with strange writing?”
“The Lucky Iron Fish. I recall hearing that iron deficiency was a serious problem in developing countries due to improper diets that consisted of mostly pastas and rice, which are a poor source of iron.
The solution was to boil chunks of iron with food to increase the iron content but many were skeptical and hesitant to cook with chunks of metal in their food. The iron was shaped into a ‘lucky fish’ that would provided addition health benefits when you boiled water with the fish in it.”
#17 “All-wood things seen with someone’s trash set out for pickup, about 1 foot high. What is it?”
“We call em bee hotels, like many people already mentioned, it is for ‘solitary’ bees (solitary because they don’t love/work/do in hives, but clearly, they live close to one another in this setting) although it can also attract many other animals. These things help the ecosystem”
Everyone should have a bee hotel in their yard!
#18 “What is this paintball gun looking thing being used my police in a real life drug raid?”
“Pepper Spray Paint Ball gun. Technically it is a paintball gun, however the paintballs it fires have pepper spray powder inside of them. It’s less than lethal defense.”
That seems much, much worse than a paintball. Much worse.
#19 “It’s been submerged in water for years near a creek where I live. Can’t google because I don’t know where to start. What is it?”
“The Quester, the private submarine built to salvage the Andrea Doria, now in need of salvage itself.”
Aren’t internet sleuths amazing? They can pretty much find out anything!
#20 “20 years of research and reddit is my last hope!”
“The Black Drum fish fossils. The Black Drum had a short deep body with a high arched back, but a flattish belly. The jaw teeth were small and pointed, but the throat was armed with large, flat, pavement-like teeth with which the drum crushed shellfish, for food. This characteristic separates it from the weakfish and the king fish.”
We want to see what this thing looked like alive!
#21 “We had a party the other night and found this on the kitchen counter in the morning. It has white powder in it and the cap just comes off, it’s not secured in any way. Bottle cap for size reference.”
“It’s a refill container for a marking tool used in sewing. The tool dispenses a fine line of powdered chalk when drawn across fabric. They come in several colors.”
Let’s just hope that’s really powdered chalk inside. You know…after the “party.”
#22 “Bit into a McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with a Cheese and noticed a chemically flavor. Opened it up and saw this. What is this!?”
“Former employee, it’s more than likely from their gloves they use to put the meat on the grill.”
You’ll probably want to do your own quality check before you bite into your next fast food burger.
#23 “Found under a bed. What is this thing?”
“Small scale meth making device.”
This is so wrong on so many levels. And who’s bed was this found under?! We have so many questions.
#24 “This was found by a cleaner hidden under my dresser in my bedroom (she told me very discreetly about this which has me concerned), I’ve tried to google it to no avail.”
“Voice recorder, doesn’t transmit using wireless though so whoever placed this thing there will be back. If this was on your home chances are there are cameras as well.
I would call somebody (if you don’t know how to find this kind of stuff) to look throughly, lamps, beds, sofas, walls pretty much everything. Also call the cops.”
Well, if that’s not super creepy, we don’t know what is!
#25 “I saw this in my yard. Is this just a type of worm? Or is there a parasite on it? (I saw it breathing/have some sort of heartbeat, so it’s alive)”
“That’s two worms making more worms.”
Maybe there are just some answers to questions that you just don’t ever want to know or see.
#26 “4in by 4in scissors. Uncomfortable to hold, in either hand, two or four fingers.”
“They’re childrens’ training scissors. Like for pre-schoolers. The extra holes are so a grown-up can co-scissor and help the kid.”
Why did we stop using and making these? Did they not help little kids? Some things are just a mystery.
#27 “Found in my dads room, really hoping its not a sex thing.”
“It goes over shoes to give grip on ice. They are called yak tracks.”
This person is seriously relieved.
#28 “Looks suspicious but has several interchangeable sized tips and appears to have a purpose. What is this for?”
“It’s a snowman kit.”
Sometimes? The answer is about as simple as you can get. Looks like it’s missing the pipe!
#29 “This purple sky in Southern California seen at 1:30am and lasted for only about 5 minutes before fading away.”
“The glow is related to a commercial cannabis growing operation. That’s the color of grow lights.”
Looks like you don’t even need to smoke the stuff to think you’re seeing things.
#30 “My friend just moved in to a new flat and this is her neighbours garden. What is this thing?
“A voodoo altar.”
Alrighty, then. Maybe your friend should consider either moving or getting on the good side of this neighbor.
#31 “Silver capsule camouflaged inside a wooden container hanging in a tree in a public park. What is this thing?”
“It’s a geocache. Judging by the size, it’ll likely only have a list inside for people to sign that they found it. Cleverly hidden though!”
Seeing this cool little thing makes me want to start going out and geocaching!
#32 “Found this while beach combing in the Olympic Peninsula. I’ve never seen anything like it. What is it?”
“Squid eggs!”
Woah! Now, that’s something you aren’t likely to see ever in your lifetime. What a cool beach find.
#33 “Took this picture from my airplane window on trip from DC to Las Vegas. Any idea what it is?”
“It’s a mineral mine. It’s the world’s largest lithium deposit.”
There are some strange things going on in the state of Nevada.
#34 “What is this signs purpose?”
“It means do not scare the flamingos. Many people would cross that sign to scare them so that they could fly and get a picture.”
How would anyone understand that’s what it means? There should be some text.
#35 “What is the purpose of this chain?”
“It is a rain chain, an alternative for traditional downspout of a gutter system.”
What if you attached some small bells to it? It could make a lovely sound when it rains!
#36 “What is this weird half truck and why is it pushing a flatbed trailer? Is there any sort of advantage of pushing rather than pulling it?”
“Float Plane Mover. This truck’s job is to move planes up and down a boat ramp into the water. Backing up an ordinary truck+trailer combo down a boat ramp is not easy. With this vehicle, the driver can look straight forward down the ramp rather than in his rear-view mirror, and since the steering wheels are at the back it’s easy to align the truck’s bed with the plane. Most trucks only load at a boat ramp once in a while, since this one does only that, it makes sense to design it specifically for that job.”
#37 “My mother left bleach in her sink for about a week while we left on vacation, and we came back to this. Is it mold?”
“Science. The bleach oxidized the metal parts of your sink.”
So, now you might want to bleach the bleach out of your sink.
#38 “What are these perfect sets of beach holes? Flip flop for scale.”
“These are the the remnants of a scientific clam survey.”
Thank goodness someone knew otherwise I would have definitely thought it was aliens.
#39 “What are these blue tubes that I keep seeing in Berlin?”
“To transfer groundwater to rivers because of the water level. Since the early 1990’s the groundwater level in Berlin has been rising. Due to lower water consumption the abstraction of groundwater has diminished and the city now has to cope with an extraordinary high level of groundwater.”
#40 “Falling out of the sky? What is this thing?”
“Contrails from a passenger plane. Being close to sunset, the vapor clouds are taking on the same color as any other cloud would have under the same late-day sun.”
It looks like a meteor falling from the sky! We’re glad to hear that it’s not.
#41 “Empty gel container in a sealed Coca-Cola Bottle. What is it?”
“Ibuprofen.”
How this ibuprofen ended up in a sealed Coca Cola bottle is really strange. And a bit scary.
#42 “Found this in a house built in 1930’s. Colored part made from glass, handle is brass and screwed into it. What is it?”
“Candle cover, possibly home made. You’d have a glass or metal tray with a candle or two on it, put this over it to diffuse the light and make it prettier. They’d slowly snuff the candles as the flame ate up whatever oxygen was under the dome, so it was kind of like a night light that would ‘turn itself off’ after a couple hours.”
#43 “Found in the yard of my old house (Agra, India). What are they?”
“They are Portuguese Terracotta figures from the 3rd to 4th century.”
Could you imagine finding such an incredible piece of history in your own yard? These need to be in a museum!
#44 “What is this thing? Found it clearing out my great grandfather’s loft.”
“MG-42 that can fire 1200 rpm. This is an exceptional original WWII fully functional German MG42 light machine gun. These were probably the most feared WWII German weapon on the battlefield. They were mass produced, highly effective, had a high rate of fire and were easily transported by the average German soldier and they were the corner stone of every German Infantry company. These MGs were actually a wartime improvement over the early fully machined MG34, in that they utilized new and innovative mass production techniques of stamped steel parts that were welded or riveted and combined with limited machined parts. Together they allowed the German factories to manufacture well over 400,000 of these MGs during WWII.”
#45 “Just moved to new apartmant, found this in the living room. What the f is this?”
“This is an antique Turkish-style bell brazier. Referred to as a mangal. Typically used by nomadic peoples of the Middle East for heating and some cooking, since you cannot have a hearth in a tent. Instead, you burn charcoal in a specially designed brazier, which contains the fire and radiates the heat. This one is compact and plainly decorated, with a short base to hold the fire bowl and a simple cover. This style is known as a suleymaniye brazier, for the district in Istanbul in which is was popularized. Other designs feature a taller decorative base, a tray to catch sparks, and elaborately designed covers. It may have come with a pair of tongs.”
#46 “Found in grandfather’s basement. What is it?”
“Ocarina! Musical instrument, you blow into it.”
What does it sound like we wonder? Like a recorder? Like a kazoo? We’re so curious!
#47 “Bony marine skeleton found on a beach near Charleston, SC. About 3.5 feet long and slightly leathery in some places. Dog for scale.”
“Sturgeon. Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae.”
Doesn’t this look like some prehistoric creature? It’s rare that you see one of these giant fish wash up on land.
#48 “A local bar found this giant wheel beneath the floor while renovating. Any idea what it is/was? The space was formerly a garage.”
“A turntable for rail cars. They would bring in the cars and rotate the wheel until it lined up with a short section of track. Then they would move it to there and work on it while being able to move additional cars to other “spoke” rails to be worked on.”
This bar should definitely make this piece of history a part of their establishment. It’s way too cool to remove or hide.
#49 “A ring my sister picked up of the ground in the woods, the writing is all around it and there are two pool-green jewels on either side. Anyone have any idea what the symbols mean?”
“OM MANI PADME HUM – Indian mantra (Sanskrit). The blue green stone is most likely turquoise. Turquoise and silver are common combinations in Tibetan jewelery.”
We wonder if this is really old or just looks that way? The fact that it is from Tibet is cool either way.
#50 “Found this door at an empty hospital floor that leads to the patient room. What is this smaller door used for?”
“The small door swings the other way from the main door. The main door swings into the room so as not to impede traffic in the hallway. The small door swings opposite so that if patient barricades themselves into room staff can gain access.”
It’s nice to know that people have thought of innovative safety features as simple as this.
#51 “This shower knob marked with an H is behind the bathroom door. We just bought this house and have no idea what it is for. Water rushes through pipes when we turn it on but have no idea where the water is going.”
“Heated floors in the bathroom.”
Nowadays when people have heated floors, it’s usually just the flip of a switch. This is old school!
#52 “On a kitchen cabinet, above the sink. The piece only swivels side to side.”
“It is a recipe card holder… It swivels down to clamp on the card (or sheet of paper), so you can read your recipe and not worry about getting it dirty or stealing counter space away from you cooking efforts.”
Cute! More kitchens should have this little functional piece of decor.
#53 “My friend sent me this, was found in an oil mine. What is it?”
“Thrombolite fossil. It’s a colony of a type of photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria (bacteria that pretty much started photosynthesis and oxygen I think). They basically collect sediment bits and cement this layered structure together in shallow water and there are still some around today. Thrombolites are different from stromatolites because they have a more honeycomb shape vs the stromatolites flat layered shape.”
#54 “Hit and run tail light. What model?”
“Acura RL MY2004”
It’s hard for people to get away with anything anymore. Watch out, people. The internet will find you.
#55 “This little brown sack on the bottom of a cup?”
#56 “It is a fairly strong magnet I found with a metal detector. Found in a person’s yard in a small town. It is really smooth. What is it?”
“That’s 1 out of 2 rattle magnets. Used to have them in school. You throw them up in the air and they make a crazy loud rattle.”
These are so fun to play with! Did you have these as a kid?
#57 “Weird sealed pouch inside a baggie filled with some sort of gel and some metal oval with raised lines on it. Randomly appeared inside someone’s backpack in New Zealand.”
“It’s a reusable hand warmer, ‘pop’ the metal and the gel with begun to crystallize creating heat then simmer it in hot water to reset.”
So, just calm down. Someone was trying to keep their hands warm and you took that from them.
#58 “Medical devices? But for what kind of surgery?”
“The drills in the kit are called trephines, and sometimes the word “trephination” is used for this variation of the procedure. “Trepanning” is more of a catch-all term referring to surgery in which a portion of the skull is removed.”
Now…why, exactly, is this person in possession of this?
#59 “Was my grandmother’s. A small ivory ball with ivory nails poking through. What is it?”
“Chinese Ivory, Spiked Balls. These devices are termed “ladies pleasuring balls,” and that they were used, or originated, in China for this very purpose. How widespread their use, or how actual, is up to the viewer’s imagination.”
I’m not sure if this person ever really wanted to know this about their Grandma.
#60 “My parents saw this rubber looking thing strapped to a truck in a parking lot and haven’t been able to identify it.”
“Art, “Molecule 2″, By Mario Martinez (Mars-1).”
Sometimes the weirdest things can only be explained by one thing – ART.
#61 “Can someone please explain what is eating the fish?”
“These are nassarius snails. They are scavengers and when they smell the dead fish, they pop out of the sand to eat. They will make short work of that fish, by the way.”
Think about all of the things you don’t know about Mother Nature. It’s a great big world out there.
#62 “This thing that my friend found in the water. What is it?”
“This is a figure of the Santerian Orisha Olokun. One hand holds a snake, the other a mask. They typically come off because these figures are kept in water 100% of the time. If you found this in the ocean, then this is more evidence towards that as Olokun is tied to the ocean. This was probably disposed of ritualistically and replaced with a new one.”
We think you should probably put this back.
#63 “Found inside the white of an egg. Are these more, future eggs that unfortunately got inside another egg? Did the chicken lose all future eggs? A parasite?”
“Those are lumps of calcium deposits, like what the rest of the eggshell is made of. They’re harmless if they’re on the outside of the egg. I occasionally get eggs from our chickens that have shells that are “grainy “ or bumpy rather than smooth.”
I’ll pass on those scrambled eggs this morning, thank you.
#64 “Antique from the 1800’s, have to figure out what it is for a school project.”
“Antique Soap Saver. Small scraps of soap were put in the cage and when people did dishes by hand the soap saver was swished though the dishwater to made suds.”
Well, looks like this kid outsmarted their teacher by simply turning to the internet.
#65 “These things hanging on my apartment ceiling? At first there were ~3, 6-9 months later there are 12.”
“They are Clothes-Moth cases for the larvae.”
Wait..why did this person just let them hang there in the first place? They just watched them multiply and didn’t do anything?!
#66 “A knife I recieved from a friend. His grandparents had owned it. Seems pretty old and rustic! Any ideas?”
“An early 20 C. Moroccan Koummya dagger.”
It seems like grandparents have been holding onto some pretty cool and interesting stuff for their lives. Where does one acquire a Moroccan dagger anyway?
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#67 “Walking the dogs when one of them bought this to me. 2 AA batteries inside it, black plastic and doesnt appear to have any function. What is it?”
“Remote controlled female sex toy.”
Yeah…so…go ahead and just toss that in the garbage and then go thoroughly wash your hands.
#68 “Found at Luzon in the Philippines, taken at 5:30 pm. What’s happening?”
“Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon.”
Isn’t the earth a glorious and magical place?!
#69 “This tank looking thing on top of an office building in Atlanta, Georgia. What is it?”
“It’s a boom for window washers (and, presumably window replacers) to access the windows.”
Don’t you just love people’s knowledge about random things? We sure do!
#70 “My brother found this (missile?) in the woods in Tennessee. What is it?”
“The MGR-1 Honest John rocket. It was the first nuclear-capable surface-to-surface rocket in the United States arsenal.”
And now it’s just laying on the ground in the Tennessee woods? Hmm.
The world is a wonderful and weird place. And thanks to the internet? We can learn so much more about it!
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Source: Reddit
