12 Enigmatic Items That Are Unveiled Through the Collective Efforts of Internet Users

There are a lot of strange-looking objects around us that may leave us entirely baffled. It’s often impossible to understand their intended purpose on our own. Thankfully nowadays, we are capable to decode any enigma that comes our way, thanks to the collective intelligence of some of the most brilliant minds on the internet.

1. “My neighbors shared an unsettling video of a woman holding this device up to their ring doorbell. She walked up, held it directly in front of the camera while it made a clicking/buzzing noise and then left quickly.”

• Answer: “It’s a frequency scanner. Often used by car thieves. People have a bad habit of keeping their vehicle keys close to their front doors. These can read the codes from that distance and enable thieves to get into your vehicle, disable the security features in the process, and drive away with your car. Especially if the vehicle doesn’t require a physical key to be in the ignition.”
• Answer: “Ultrasound scanner. That would explain the clicking and buzzing noises, so they are not only looking for car keys in the area of the door but exactly where it is as well. When they didn’t find anything they left. You should tell your neighbor to turn this whole video into the police, if they saw a face then the person can probably get arrested.”

2. “My many-years-old rain jacket has a smooth, somewhat flexible, seemingly plastic object sewn into the upper arm of the right sleeve only. What is it?”

Answer: “It’s a Recco reflector. Basically a transponder that allows ski patrol and mountain rescue teams to detect and locate it under snow.”

3. “A red and clear rubber toy-like thing I found in a playground.”

Answer: “It’s a Lego part. I can’t remember the set, but it is a pair of balloons held by a Lego figure.”

4. “Green plastic scissor handle with metal loops and plastic teeth. No identifying marks.”

Answer: “It’s some sort of herb stripper. Sprigs go in the loops; teeth are closed, and stalks are pulled out.”

5. “Small, light blue, rubber capsule with a tear-off end.”

Answer: “It’s a cosmetics serum capsule.”

6. “What is this thing? A small blue and plastic found in the house.”

Answer: It’s the antennae from a kids’ toy ’Speedy’s Magical Shell.’

7. “Someone has gifted this for a new baby with no note on what it is.”

Answer: “It is a door silencer. It wraps around and covers the latch on a door so that it doesn’t latch, and the rubber also makes the door open and close silently. The straps go around the doorknob on each side.”

8. “It’s rubber/silicone, the size of a fingertip, doesn’t erase, about as hard as a bouncy ball, but doesn’t bounce like a bouncy ball. It also doesn’t light up.”

Answer: “It’s an 80s light bulb eraser without the metal bottom.”

9. “What are these weird crystals growing on my 5 or 6-year-old wax-type highlighter?”

Answer: “Your wax highlighter has gone through varying changes in temperature in the past years and has destabilized causing oil to separate and crystallize. Same thing happens in crayons.”

10. “Too small for neck, too floppy for wrist, no marking or branding. How is it possible to wear this thing? Is it missing a piece?”

Answer: “It’s a black punk leather finger ring.”

11. “A toilet I saw in a women’s restroom.”

Answer: “It’s a raised squat toilet. Squat toilets are pretty common in a lot of places. These are easier for those that can’t manage the full squat.”

12. “Plastic strap on cotton swabs. They are rubbery plastic. No markings.”

Answer: “It’s a gag. You put the rubber part around your ear, and it looks like you have a cotton swab sticking out of your head.”

If you enjoyed unveiling these mysterious objects, you might also want to take a look at these weird finds.