16 Things People Found And Never Would Have Been Able To Identify Without The Help Of The Internet
Though it often feels like the world is a source of unending change, one thing remains constant: people find weird things they can't quite identify. Fortunately, we have the fine people over at the r/whatisthisthing subreddit to come to the rescue. Here are 16 recent finds from the sub and what they turned out to be:
1.This plastic cone with internal circuitry found in a desert north of Las Vegas:
"I believe it is the transmitting antenna for a radiosonde, like this one."
2.This amber-colored vial filled with liquid in a leather-corded pouch found in a shipwreck:
u/insomniac-mannequinn / Via reddit.com
"Soviet perfume: 'Жасмин 76.' Жасмин = Jasmine."
3.These gray posts with moveable flaps found in a new park:
"According to the city plan, this is a 'Changeable Maze with Play Panels & Control Posts'."
"You just pretend there’s a pane of glass between two of those flaps that have been flipped out and configure it as such."
4.This old, cylindrical leather case with a handle and strap:
u/Porcelina__ / Via reddit.com
"Clarinet case. I have an old military band clarinet in a very similar case."
"Yes, looks like this one."
5.This heavy, brass, hand-sized item found under the floor of an old home in England:
u/Gingerninja_hcl / Via reddit.com
"This looks very much like a crest from a Royal Navy ship. A brief Google (of 'HMS UNA') shows a crest that looks the same as this. I strongly suspect it is a commemorative artifact from HMS Una."
"These days, they tend to be made of plaster and are often gifted by Captains to groups/organizations/individuals that the ship has a connection with."
6.These cardboard tubes purchased at an estate sale:
u/kawaiikatmegu / Via reddit.com
"Old school sanitary napkin. These would be pre-self-adhesive."
"Yup! This is what it is. They were attached to a belt with little clips, like a garter belt for pads. I remember learning about them when reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, as a pre-teen. I was so glad we had adhesive, so I didn't have to wear a dumb period belt."
7.This tiny vial of yellow liquid found near a sidewalk in Victoria, Australia:
"It's the dye capsule from an anti-theft device attached to clothing. It's meant to break when you try to remove the device, thereby ruining the clothes. Someone's been doing some shoplifting."
8.This round, three-inch plastic container with a rough disc inside:
"Nail file. Similar to this one."
9.These metal structures in Heidenheim, Germany:
"A lot of bikes have quick-release seats where you can just flip a lever and pull out the seat and seat post together. These make it harder to pull them out if it sits close enough to your seat."
10.This four-foot long, 50 lb metal piece found on the back counter of a planetarium that closed a few years ago:
u/bellekid / Via reddit.com
"This looks like it could be a prototype or model of the 'Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement' for Hubble.
I think it is a display piece and not a functional piece because, in the third picture, it appears that there are small numbered stickers that most likely match a poster or display that says what each element is."
"It's indeed a COSTAR model. The real one is at the Smithsonian."
11.This small, metal object with a removable plastic edge:
"Slide guitar two-finger slider."
The original poster, u/Subcritical-Mass, replied, saying, "I dug around on the steel guitar forum and found a post from 2015 of people showing off their tone bars. The bottom middle is the exact same, thanks!"
12.This bell-shaped porcelain cup with two separate pieces:
u/Yoshi-the-green-one / Via reddit.com
"Butter crock, for saving butter outside of a fridge, in water. The butter goes on the lid side, the rest is filled with water."
13.This square piece of metal with an "X" across it found while metal detecting on an old logging trail:
u/AsDaUrMa / Via reddit.com
"Pretty sure you have part of a vintage padlock. The X design seems popular for the late 1800s up to 1940s."
"It is. I have the same piece, plus a full one I also found metal detecting."
14.This small, plastic rectangle with tiny moving parts inside:
"Holy smokes, I actually know this, I think. It's to check if a microwave is working, it's called a 'magic light.' You stick it in a microwave, and it'll glow red when the magnetron energizes."
"Ok, after reading this I absolutely had to go search YouTube. Here's a one-minute demo video."
15.This large, rusted-out piece of farm equipment:
u/aubaub / Via reddit.com
"This is a horse-drawn stalk cutter."
16.And finally, these fiberglass-like strands found packed together in a Cold War-era bunker in Croatia:
If you enjoyed looking at all these interesting objects, check out some other items identified by the internet here:
18 Weird Things People Found That They Were Only Able To Identify With The Help Of The Internet
15 Things People Would Never Have Been Able To Identify If The Internet Hadn't Come To Their Rescue
14 Times People Found Something They'd Never Seen Before, And The Internet Solved The Mystery
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
