16 Weird Objects People Never Could Have Identified If The Internet Hadn't Helped Out
We may be in a new year, but one thing that isn't new is people randomly coming across weird objects that they can't quite identify. Luckily, the kind folks over at the r/whatisthisthing subreddit are always happy to help. Here are 16 recent finds from the sub and what they turned out to be:
1.This 6" metal item that separates into three pieces:
u/Pyramus2 / Via reddit.com
"Roughly late 1930s hair curling tool."
2.This stiff round disc found on a beach in New Jersey:
"Very hard picture to interpret, but it could be the epiphysis (growth plate) of an immature whale's vertebra. Example 1, example 2, example 3."
The original poster, u/Borksnor, replied, "I think you’re probably right; a website that showed an epiphyseal disc from a whale was pretty consistent with my picture and what I saw."
3.This metal plate on the baseboard of an old house:
"It’s a coal furnace damper. It would have rods or a chain connected to the furnace in the basement or other room."
"I think this is the exact same one."
4.This wooden barrel strapped to a tree in Yorkshire, England:
u/agnesb / Via reddit.com
"That's a beekeeper's swarm trap. The natural reproduction of a honeybee hive is to spin off one (or more) swarms in the spring. Those swarms hang in a tree or under an eave while they send out scouts to look for a place to establish a new hive. Once a suitable place is found, they move in and start building.
These traps give them a place to move into, but the beekeeper will keep an eye on them and transfer them to a hive before they get too far along. It's a free colony and is easier than having to remove them from someone's shed or BBQ grill."
5.This box containing an instrument of some kind found at an antique store:
"That is a Shore Scleroscope! It's an instrument that was used to test the hardness of metals. It does so by dropping a weight down the tube and measuring how high it bounces back, hence the numbered marks.
Here's a low-resolution video of one being used."
6.This stone box containing small stone objects:
u/ShallowHowl / Via reddit.com
"It’s a seal/stamp set. If the bottom of each small piece is smooth, they are for you to custom carve your name (pen name). A lot of workshops in China can do it easily. Maybe your local Chinatown will be able to do it as well. Cool stuff.
Probably too much additional info, but the words on the top of the box are 东壁图书, which should mean 'the two stars, 东and 壁, rule over all the books and graphs in the world.' It comes from some old Chinese poetry: 东壁图书府，西园翰墨林。 诵诗闻国政，讲易见天心。 位窃和羹重，恩叨醉酒深。 缓歌春兴曲，情竭为知音。
Roughly translated, 'In the east, a library grand, in the west, a forest of brush in hand. Through poetry, the nation’s course we hear; through the Book of Changes, heaven’s will appears. A high station, honored, yet lightly borne, with gratitude for favors deep as morn. Soft songs evoke the joy of spring; true friendship inspires the heart to sing."
7.This plastic bust containing two metal balls held in with a metal clip:
u/Mister_Cornetto / Via reddit.com
"It seems to be a bar puzzle that goes well with a few drinks."
"Found one with instructions."
8.This heavy metal cone with some type of measurement dial:
"Looks like an artillery shell detonator. Set it down gently and notify the authorities."
"100% the fuse to an artillery shell. Place it on the floor, and walk away. Call the local authorities. It probably won't explode, but I have no idea what type of explosives the fuses contain."
"Yep, that's an artillery-timed fuse. You set the time to detonation by rotating the rings. Don't play with it; call EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal]. Here's a similar item, although from a different round."
9.This wooden storage unit designed to be mounted on the wall:
u/leftoverpieceofcake / Via reddit.com
"Fold out recipe card holder like this one."
10.This matchbook containing some type of spring-loaded device:
"It's a bingo matchbook, a prank device."
"To elaborate on this, you would put a 'cap' inside the matchbook, then the flap would hold a spring-loaded striker down. When somebody opened the matchbook, it would release the striker, hit the cap, and set it off ('bang!'). Cap in this context is like a 'cap gun' noise-making blank toy for kids."
11.This oval-shaped, braided thing found in a box of antiques:
u/unclemurv / Via reddit.com
"A seal from a formal document of some sort. There are some pretty similar examples here."
12.This slimy, orange goo covering some tree stumps in Germany:
"Fusicolla merismoides is an orange fungus that can grow on tree sap."
"That is a fluxy stump! Its cause is that the roots aren't completely dead and send sap up, and there's a complex colony of microbes living off the sap."
13.This small, hand-held metal tool:
u/CarrotRoom / Via reddit.com
"Looks like an antique knotter."
14.This Pyrex-branded glass object:
"The base of a Pyrex Un-candle Captain's Lamp."
15.This brass cylinder with a wooden handle:
u/ZombieSeamin / Via reddit.com
"This is likely a powder measuring tool. It would have an outer brass sleeve that this would have slid into. You pull down on the wooden handle to get it to the right line, then fill it up. Pretty common in black powder rifles. Think old-timey muskets. Black powder is often measured in drams or grains, which are two units of measure that are not very common."
"It is an antique black powder measure. Not for shotguns, though, for muzzle-loading antique guns."
16.And finally, this wooden box with a large magnifying glass and mount of some kind:
u/Cmsarc / Via reddit.com
"This is an illuminated stand for a pocket watch. Sitting on a mantle or dresser, the pocket watch could be seen at a distance as a room clock."
"It’s a watch stand. I found this link, which I hope helps."
If you enjoyed looking at all these interesting objects, check out some other items identified by the internet here:
17 Bizarre Items That Left People Baffled Until The Internet Came To The Rescue
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
