Hilarious Proof Of People Running To The Internet Asking "What Is This Thing" And Of Course The Online Community Delivered
Reddit is jam packed with staggering colorful subjects and most of all, community. If you're looking for a random laugh, Reddit has your back. You want to learn something new, but totally random? Reddit is where it's at. And this is purely up that alley.
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This subreddit is specifically about the 'identification of mysterious things', and the answers the community so graciously coughed up for the things posted in other's curiosity. If you haven't already clicked the link and checked things out, I genuinely suggest doing so after you read through the ones that were chosen as highlights here.
Truth of the matter is, there is so much more to this existence that what we perceive, sometimes that gets lost in translation. This specific thread gives light to exactly that. Things may not always be what they seem, and sometimes, they're so much more simpler than that.
Take a dive. Ready, set, jump.
1. "Found this small fine pointed device in a desk drawer many years ago. The point retracts fully inside by twisting just above the tip."
Best Answer:
"It’s a retractable toothpick."
2. "Found on Guam in shallow water. 3-meter diameter disk. Top looks like polyester in a honeycomb shape that is fiberglassed to flimsy aluminum disk. I’m stumped on this one. Never seen anything like it."
Best Answer:
"There was recently a Chinese Long March 3B rocket launch that failed, and the rocket and its payload was seen reentering the atmosphere near Guam."
3. "Me and my parents found this in our backyard earlier today (it reads 'do not enter poison gas') it’s on a circular concrete thing."
Best Answer:
"It is the cap to a septic tank."
4. "I found this squishy thing in my Monster coffee. I don’t know what it is, and I’m pretty grossed out."
Best Answer:
"I’m a process chemist for a food company. Heat excursions and a tad bit too much calcium will lead to sodium alginate gelling. If you ripped it open, there would probably be a bit of a core where the alginate may not have fully hydrated."
5. "Found while clearing yard. Weighs about 6 lbs. Area has WW2 history. Should I call EOD?"
Best Answer:
"EOD here. That is definitely uxo. Everyone had the right answer, call emergency services. Furthermore, when you people find stuff that looks suspect just call it in; We’re bored."
6. "Nuclear shelter? Suicide booth? What is it actually?"
Best Answer:
"Looks like JCDecaux public bathroom (toilet) … The cabin should rotate and while it closes on one side the other side will reveal the bathroom.
I work for JCDecaux, the toilet will automatically clean themselves when the door closes and detects that nobody is inside."
7. "Weird little “room” in the peak of my old barn. No way to access it, it’s only a few feet across."
Best Answer:
"Probably just set up as a nesting area for barn owls. Barn owls are not destructive, and they eat rodents."
8. "Husband’s truck exploded, this came out."
Best Answer:
"It’s the inside bits, the catalyst, of a catalytic converter."
9. "Mystery ceramic or porcelain piece found on beach in Cancale, France."
Best Answer:
"When you hold it up to a bright light, is it translucent? Porcelain will be translucent, while other types of ceramic earthenware will not be."
"When you run your fingers or a nail over the blue detailing, does it feel noticeably raised or like you could scratch it (as opposed to a relatively smooth surface)? If so, it is likely blue transferware, a later style which developed to more efficiently replace hand painting by transferring a design onto the piece. If instead, it’s smooth and not translucent, then it likely is faience ware (Delftware)."
"Based on the image, color, and size, I would say it’s more likely to be transferware than Delftware."
"Additionally, even if it was Delftware, that doesn’t necessarily indicate Dutch origin, as similar styles of delftware were also produced in England and other places (known as English delftware)."
10. "Washed up on a beach in Florida."
Best Answer:
"It is a wave-powered desalinator that is owned by Oneka Technologies, a firm in Quebec. It takes seawater and turns it into freshwater. It is powered by the motion of the waves."
11. "What are these dollar signs on my level for?"
Best Answer:
"That is an electrician level. An S with a line through it is the electricians symbol for switch."
12. "Nazi key??? So I found this key in with a bunch of things I was given decades ago when my grandfather died. Anyone ever seen a key like this before? It’s about 2cm long an I have no clue where it came from."
Best Answer:
"It looks like a jewelry piece by Charles Horner. These were made circa 1910. It was a symbol of good luck."
"This was before the swastika was known for a symbol of Nazism. (They adopted it around 1920.)"
13. "Metal (copper?) inlay on hotel room shelf?"
Best Answer:
"I design Residence Inns. It’s for dropping your keys off when you walk in the front door (more durable than just wood, wears better over time, and adds a design element). At least that’s the brands intent."
14. "Thin slabs of ivory with days of the week on the top found in my closet."
Best Answer:
"Product Description: “…"Fabulous antique early Victorian chatelaine aide memoir from mid 1800s. Made of sheets of bone, it would have hung on a lady’s chatelaine chain or been kept securely in her pocket and she would have used it to make note and appointments for the week to come. It has 6 pages for the days Monday to Saturday, of course a lady would never have made appointments on a Sunday!…”
15. "Plaque with numbers inscribed on it. Found on the sidewalk outside a building at my university."
Best Answer:
"It’s a magic square. Each row, column, and diagonal sums to the same number (34 here)."
16. "What is the point of such a device?"
Best Answer:
"USB charging condom. This way you can plug your phone into a random USB port and be sure that no data is exchanged. Only the power pins are passed through to the phone. Also called a sync stop."
17. "Grandmother received this from her friend after his death. Nobody at the senior’s center she lives at knows what it is. What is this thing?"
Best Answer:
"Opium pipe."
18. "This belonged to my Great Grandfather. What is this thing?"
Best Answer:
"If it’s legit, that’s a really old Gibson, from between 1903 and 1933. It’s going to be worth more than you think, so be really careful with it. Seriously."
19. "Went exploring in White Sands, New Mexico and found an… object. What is this thing?"
Best Answer:
"Looks like it could be titanium – titanium spheres of similar size are a relatively commonly found space debris."
20. "My girlfriend found these in her dinner? Are they seeds?"
Best Answer:
"Pretty good picture of insect eggs."
21. "Researching plantation houses in the 1700s. What is the thing hanging from the ceiling in this dining room?"
Best Answer:
"Very early ceiling fan. The rope at the top would be pulled to create the back and forth motion to fan the air and keep flies away from the table during a meal."
22. "My sister found this when cleaning out a fish. This was in the mouth and there was a smaller one in the stomach. Anyone know what it is?"
Best Answer:
"Tongue eating parasite (cymothoa exigua). Truly harrowing. Eats the fish’s tongue and then takes the place of the fish’s tongue."
23. "Saw on my flight to Cali. What is this thing?"
Best Answer:
"Specifically, this looks like Concentrated Thermal Solar. It uses mirrors to reflect the light to a central tower which is barely visible in your picture due to the glare coming off of it. The light is then converted to heat where it drives a steam turbine, or some other heat engine."
24. "Found this thing in my food. It was just stuck to a piece of meat; it wasn’t lodged into it or anything. Anyone know what it is?"
Best Answer:
"Cattle/pig microchip for meat traceability."
25. " It is approx. 3 meters long and open at the end. Found with some similar looking ones scattered around on a hillside while hiking. What is this thing?"
Best Answer:
"This device is called Gazex and it’s used to start avalanches, so they can control when and where they happen. This avalanche control system uses specially constructedand “exploder” sites and tubes built at key locations in avalanche territory to set off avalanches at controlled times. The exploders literally detonate a mixture of oxygen and propane from the tube structures. The explosive force expelled from the tubes triggers avalanches. The explosive bursts are fueled by gas canisters stored in tanks beneath the exploders on the mountain."