18 Weird Things People Found That They Were Only Able To Identify With The Help Of The Internet
Kelley Greene
·8-min read
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:
2.This brown, flaky briquette with the letters "B" and "N" on it:
"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."
"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."
"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.'"
"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."
"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.
"I married when I was 17, and my ex was 19. Seven years and two kids later, I decided I wanted to be free and live single. I hurt myself, my children, and my family, but most of all, my husband — he didn't deserve what I did to him. I will never forgive myself."
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