12 Mysterious Items That Left People Too Stunned to Figure Out Their Use

Every once in a while we stumble upon something that leaves us completely puzzled. Objects so unusual that only the internet holds the answer to their purpose. Fortunately, there’s a whole community on Reddit devoted to solving these everyday mysteries.

1. “This is definitely from before the 90’s. Maybe it’s ’milk glass’?”

Answer: It’s a glass and coaster.

2. “Small plastic spoons with a brown substance, individually packaged and found in a public park exposed to the elements.”

Answer: It’s a Tamarind spoon. It’s a candy. Hit up a grocery store, get a fresh pack and try them out!

3. “What is this chair for? It was at a school.”

Answer: This is a chair for children with disabilities, common in special education rooms. The straps help a child with poor muscle tone stay upright, and the pommel keeps a child’s legs from scissoring if they have high muscle tone. The tray in the background helps them stay upright by giving them somewhere to rest their arms and also allows them to do their schoolwork.

4. “Rubbery roller with stick next to it on a street in Germany.”

Answer: It’s for holding onto the stick and walking on the roller. For children or who ever wants to. We have several of these here. They are not used very often because people just don’t recognize the purpose.

5. “Small waxy minty sticks that look like hot glue sticks. Found in the office but it’s definitely not related to our job.”

Answer: It’s wax for braces or dental work. You put on your braces if they dig into your cheeks.

6. “Found this on my walk this morning.”

Answer: I’d say that is a sample block for Behr’s metallic gold paint, made with real 99.9 gold. An interesting novelty, but with no monetary value.

7. “Three very intricate spoons that would be awful for eating soup.”

Answer: These are Victorian Sifter Spoons. Sugar sifters are small ladle-shaped spoons which were used at the table to take sugar from sugar bowls or sugar baskets and sprinkle it over fruit, puddings, or cakes.

8. “Found at my grandma’s house. It’s a glass vase with metal grill inside.”

Answer: It’s for arranging cut flowers (a rose bowl).

9. “Little green and white pyramids found on stream bed.”

Answer: It looks like ceramic tumbling media. They’re usually in a large rotating tub. You put items in the tub full of the media to “tumble” them, smoothing out the surface.

10. “Cleaning out a house and came across this. The little cup at the top swings back and forth.”

Answer: It’s a bridal cup. The small swiveling cup and inverted hollow dress were designed to allow both bride and groom to drink simultaneously to toast their wedding. The groom would drink from the larger cup (the inverted skirt), and the bride would drink from the small swivel cup.

11. “Small briefcase with its own compartment spotted at the front of a commercial plane. What is it?”

Answer: It’s some type of emergency equipment. My guess would be a medical kit with medications and supplies for a medical emergency. The tabs are so that it’s obvious whether it has been opened/used.

12. “Two small metal items with cloth inside the hole on the side.”

Answer: They are vintage kazoos, they probably need new baffles in the hole to be able to work properly.

Mysteries don’t just come in the form of objects, though. They can also be memories from childhood which haunted people until they were adults. From a strange disappearance to someone’s eccentric habit, the folks in this article finally got the answers they were looking for all along.