18 Weird Things People Found That They Were Only Able To Identify With The Help Of The Internet
These days, the world seems like a constant stream of neverending change. But there's one thing we can always count on — people finding weird objects and reaching out to the kind folks over at the r/whatisthisthing subreddit to help figure out what they are. Here are 18 recent finds from the sub and what they turned out to be:
1.This wooden octagon found in a park in central Wisconsin:
"It's a photo board installed by the Girl Scouts!"
2.This brown, flaky briquette with the letters "B" and "N" on it:
u/turkeyballz4lyfe / Via reddit.com
"The full item would have the letters BNM on it, which stands for 'Bord na Mona,' or 'the turf board,' in English.
It's compressed peat turf used in household fireplaces. It's way less effective than coal, but it's cheap, and many like the traditional smell. You need a firelighter or kindling to start the fire, but they burn well once ignited."
"Burn a small piece. When it’s glowing red, blow the flame out. It’ll give out a waft of smoke. That’s what Ireland used to smell like."
3.This rusted-out trailer with a round cage built over the top:
"I know exactly where that is, what it is, and who made it.
This trailer was sort of what many alluded to. It's a Burning Man-inspired trailer that a friend of mine made to tow around as a mobile sound stage one year at the Connect (electronic) Music Festival at Besant Campground in Saskatchewan. The dome was covered in fabric and had a generator and a small sound rig in it, a DJ setup, and seating for people to take rides.
Crazy that I saw this scrolling through Reddit on my couch 20 minutes away."
4.This pointy, silver, 6-inch-long metal object:
u/gkr974 / Via reddit.com
"It’s a hand grip for a fencing foil! Looks like a Belgian grip to me."
5.This handheld, IBM-branded die-cut punch that makes a curved cut with 3 embossed lines:
u/MoonriseThunderbolt / Via reddit.com
"It is used to cut the end (the end you feed into a take-up reel) of a 9-track computer (data) tape when it gets damaged. This will properly load on a take-up reel."
"This is the correct answer. I used to work for IBM and serviced 3420 tape drives. I used these."
6.This wooden cylinder with a metal top found in someone's old backpack:
"It's a bird call. Just remember: this is not a toy. It's a gateway to the joy and wonder of birdwatching."
7.This Brunswick-branded wooden device with ribbed detailing that has a lightbulb inside:
u/Rude-Confidence-5880 / Via reddit.com
"Brunswick makes bowling alley stuff. It almost looks like part of the old overhead projector when they would manually score bowling."
"This is a 1945 Brunswick TEL-E-SCORE, missing quite a few components. "
8.This 4-foot-long metal and wooden device that says it was patented on August 20, 1901:
"It's a machine for making wire fences. I looked for US patents granted on that date!"
9.This metal tin that was found in an old dump:
u/HogSloben / Via reddit.com
"It's one of these. 'One side of the lid is engraved with the maker: Boudoir Patties Vivaudou Paris-New York. The box is still filled with the remnants of pink powder.'
Here's an old ad. 'Boudoir Patties $3.50. These patties are for the dressing table. A large size compact powder put up in a finely finished gold or silver case.'"
10.This old wooden handle with a metal tip:
u/whirlily / Via reddit.com
"If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s the handle for a fishing rod."
"It's nearly identical to this antique fishing pole."
11.This collection of chrome and brass tubes:
u/TopherT / Via reddit.com
"An O'Dwyer Intubation Set. "
12.This wall-mounted brass cup found in a church basement:
"I think I know this. In churches, they have something called processional crosses, a cross or crucifix on a stick that is carried into the church at the beginning of the service. Sometimes, they put it in a holder on the wall. This is the lower part of the holder. You can see it in this link."
"100% this. As an Episcopal Priest, I’ve seen many of these over the years. Look around and see if you can find the top-hinged ring. There are churches who would buy this for more than the scrap price of the brass."
13.This flexible rod found in a collection of antiques:
"It’s a Samurai arrow quiver."
14.This thin, gold tube someone dug up in their yard while landscaping:
"Well, yellow is the standard color code for flammable gas. You should probably call your utility company. Don't think it should be that close to the surface."
"Definitely should call the utility company. You have to verify it's no longer in use and have them remove or re-bury it."
15.This heavy brass object found at a flea market:
u/anteatertrashbin / Via reddit.com
"It's a pantometer — an angle measurer. Basically, it's just a mirror. Rotate the mirror to bring the target to be straight ahead. The vernier scale gives an accurate angle reading."
16.This ridged, handmade ceramic piece found in a Goodwill:
"I'm pretty sure my dad made that. Did it say RC on the bottom?
We used it to steam big German frankfurters. We put water in the bottom, and the oven sits on a hot plate, keeping the dogs warm so you can snack on them all day. The dogs sit in between the ceramic fingers, and the water boils lightly, tumbling/turning the floating dogs and cooking them perfectly."
The original poster, u/leeconraf, replied, "IT DID! Wow, thanks for the comment!"
When asked why they gave it to Goodwill, u/BornLuckiest said, "We didn't. We actually sold it, for a lot, to a drunk friend who was a guest at one of our house parties, where we had it set up in case people wanted a snack.
We got an offer we couldn't refuse. The guy loved hot dogs and house parties, and for him, it was like the merging of two dreams into one. I think when he got home, his wife must have had a different opinion, hence it ended up at Goodwill. She probably didn't want to insult us by asking for a refund, as we'd actually made it."
17.This canoe-shaped cast iron item with hooks found while magnet fishing:
u/Pawpawthrows2024 / Via reddit.com
"In water-powered and steam-powered mills, the power is transmitted throughout the building with spinning shafts suspended from the ceiling. At the intersections of the hanger rods and the shafts, you have bearings. The type of bearings used at this point in time were slip bearings. The bearing is made out of bearing metal, a soft alloy with a lower melting point than the metal of the shaft and hanger.
This thing catches the oil/grease for the bearing. Fun fact: If the grease ran out, the bearing could melt and drip onto you or catch the building on fire.
You can see some in this picture."
18.And finally, this hinged door hiding a roller and chain inside the floor of an old home:
"My first thought, based on nothing at all, is the chain is supposed to be resting on that bottom roller and is what caused the dark marking. The two rollers on the lid come down on top of the chain, 'trapping' it in a two-above, one-below kind of thing."
The original poster, u/MapleSyrupKintsugi, then followed up, saying, "Ok. We figured it out. My brother-in-law fixed it so that the rollers touched each other, and by closing the hinge, he made a pedal you could press that then opened the pocket door between the kitchen and the dining room."
If you enjoyed looking at all these interesting objects, check out some other items identified by the internet here:
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
14 Things People Never Would Have Been Able To Identify Without The Help Of The Internet
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
