19 People Asked for the Internet’s Help Figuring Out These Mysterious Objects

Curiosities
2 years ago

Sometimes people don’t realize how big and diverse our world is, which means that we can’t know everything. For example, in Greece, the tradition calls for decorating a boat on Christmas instead of a tree. Now, not all people follow that tradition, but it’s something unusual that very few other countries know about. So no matter how well-educated someone is, they can’t know every little thing and detail about this planet.

Bright Side always loves to learn about unknown and mysterious objects that people find around them.

1. “An enclosed, copper gazebo type thing on a residential property, the house was built in 1929.”

2. “These pipes filled with cement were every 500 m along our hiking path.”

  • I wrote to the tourism office, and they told me that these are foundations for small religious monuments. Since there is a small chapel on top of the mountain, this path is also a pilgrims’ path. The small figures are usually along the way to signal pilgrims where to go. They were there, but they removed them to be cleaned over the winter and also to put new sockets to put them on. b***mia / reddit

3. “A clown thing — it’s made of glass and is open on the bottom end. The inside is hollow.”

4. “What is this space near the stairs? It is open to the floor above and does not appear to have a functional purpose.”

  • Maybe a planter was there at some point? We had one like this in a house I lived in. ZombiAgris / reddit

5. “An old folding desk in my professor’s office”

6. “This small plastic ball was found dislodged in my ear.”

7. “A strange ’bench’ with tubing near the parking lot of an old elementary school”

  • This is legit playground equipment from the ’70s-’80s. You lay on your back and slide through by pulling on the bars. LPHuston / reddit

8. “It’s about 1.5 m and has metal at the tip.”

9. “What are these pliers used for?”

10. “A ceramic cup with various holes in the lid”

11. “A yellow/amber glass face found by a lake”

  • Seems there’s a lot of amber art deco stuff that could be close to the same style. Sivitri617 / reddit

12. “Large brown wooden clamps, the big ones are about 4 inches and the smaller ones are about 2 inches.”

  • They’re shopsmith bar clamps. They’re used for making large surfaces for tables and such. DieselBob / reddit

13. “We thought it might be a pearl. It’s lighter than a rock but heavier than plastic. You can’t dent or break it with your hands.”

  • That looks like a burning bean! If you rub it back and forth really fast on your pants and then touch your skin with the bean, is it hot?? (It gets hot with friction). They grow near beaches or in salty areas fairly easily. brigrrrl / reddit

14. “A small blue circle with silver circles, came in a green and yellow silky pouch.”

15. “Weird glazed earthware with a handle”

16. “A very thin reel from 1959, unknown size”

17. “Weird triple outlet on the floor of my office? Located in America. Too wide for a regular plug.”

  • It will be a proprietary power outlet for a desk power distribution system built into the desks. It uses a special socket because it’s likely that the power is filtered for computer equipment, and you don’t want the janitor plugging a vacuum cleaner into it. d00nbuggy / reddit

18. “Found this behind a commercial freezer while doing renovations. Plastic casing, plastic looking balls, metal shroud, about 1.5 inches in length.”

  • Pretty sure this is a scent/pheromone capsule for a moth glue trap. -wok / reddit

19. “On the Bed in my Hotel. Doesn’t Open or Anything.”

  • This piece is a nod at Ned Kelly’s helmet, where the slit in the first picture is where the eyes would be. It’s been reimagined as a "playful leather and faux fur fascinator. thelowerupperclass / reddit

Did you already know the purposes and uses of the objects found above, or were you surprised to find out what they were?

Preview photo credit tungstencoil / reddit, thelowerupperclass / reddit

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