15 Mysterious Objects That Stunned the Internet

Mysterious objects discovered by online users can be intriguing. The subreddit r/whatisthisthing is a well-liked forum where users post images of unidentified objects and request assistance figuring out what they are. These objects often include vintage tools, devices, unusual artifacts, and unidentifiable creatures.

1. “What is this leather belt thing with a cup in the middle?”

Answer: Looks like a very old belt fishermen and anglers wear to sit the end of their fishing rods in when reeling in something big.

2. “Metal post in a bathroom alongside the toilet, found in hotels in Japan.”

Answer: It’s a post to hang sanitary napkin disposal bags. You can see the bags in the featured image on Wikipedia here.

3. “Metal square, about 1” x 1″ with 5s written on it. About the weight of a quarter."

Answer: It’s a 5 pennyweight. Pennyweights were and are used in weighing precious metals and are still used by dentists to measure the metal used in dental crowns, etc.

4. “Plastic ring with 3 relatively sharp metal claws, found on a beach in Scotland.”

Answer: I believe it’s for grabbing and pulling in a fishing net.

5. “What is this rodent that just climbed out of my toilet???”

Answer: The flat tail makes me want to say flying squirrel. It probably fell into the sewer vent on your roof.

6. “Driving through Erie, PA. Weird circle in the sky. Lots of folks pulled over taking pics of it.”

Answer: It’s a blown transformer smoke ring.

7. “Interesting ceramic found on the street in Soho, New York. Pretty heavy, about 1 lb.”

Answer: “It’s an old telegraph-style insulator.”

8. “I found it on a curtain in the room I’m currently staying in.”

Answer: Looks like a mud dauber nest. Those wasps generally don’t bother humans unless humans bother them first. It looks abandoned, though, as the hatchlings have already left the nest. It should peel off.

9. “What is this doorway in a French renaissance town? I cannot understand why it looks like this.”

Answer: Total guess: there is/was a shop there. The larger top portion of the door opens to leave the lower part as a counter to pass goods across. The smaller door is how the shopkeeper gets in and out.

10. “Glass sphere filled with water, magnifying glass, and candle, all on a metal stand.”

Answer: The glass is supposed to focus the light in a specific direction. Candles are relatively dim, which helped to use them for work, reading, etc.

11. “Hotel room bed leg has red flashing light coming from the rubber piece...”

Answer: “It’s a mesh bed bug detector. The red light means it has caught bugs.”

12. “Wooden elephants with a rod through them. Rod slides out and elephants are removable.”

Answer: It’s a rack for all those elephant-shaped napkin rings.

13. “What is this thing? These plastic hooks have been hanging in our ceiling in one of the bedrooms since we moved in.”

Answer: It is a ceiling mount. Ikea had a whole line of these swings with hardwood components. Swings, Trapezes, Gymnastic rings, etc.

14. “Several of these went up in a county park near me — small wooden boxes, some of them have jars underneath.”

Answer: They are carpenter bee traps.

15. “Renting a house and the basement has these ropes with some sort of plastic hooks/clamps.”

Answer: Looks like a display for baseball hats.

Want to read about more mysteries solved by netizens? Check out these articles:

• 16 People Who Had to Ask for the Internet’s Help to Identify Mysterious Objects They Discovered
• 22 Mysterious Objects That Were Too Tricky Even for Google, but Not for Clever Internet Users
• 19 People Asked for the Internet’s Help Figuring Out These Mysterious Objects