20+ Weird Finds That Would’ve Remained Mysteries If It Weren’t for Internet Users

Antiques aren’t the only things that are difficult to understand how to use without special instructions. You can spend hours looking at them and still not figure out what they’re for. That’s why it’s great that there are people online that can help us discover these items’ secrets.

We at Bright Side also love learning new things about unusual finds and sharing the most mysterious ones with you. And at the end of the article, there’s even a bonus for you in the form of a strange-looking shuriken.

1. “Got this in a small package from China today, didn’t order it though. It’s a small cushion with a little balloon you can squeeze to inflate it.”

Answer: “It’s a car door wedge. You can slip it into a car door jam, pump it open a little, then get a rod in to unlock the door.”

2. “Cones I found in a German supermarket — what are they for?”

Answer: “It’s a so-called ’schultüte.’ When children have their first day of school, they get it filled by their parents with gifts and sweets.”

3. “They’ve been showing up on the beach by the hundreds for the last month!”

Answer: “They’re biofilters. Many aquarists use them! I wonder why they would be at sea.”

4. “This rack-type drawer is mounted in a kitchen cabinet. This is as far as it pulls out and the bars do not rotate or come out.”

Answer: “It’s a hanging rack, but they’re typically sold as a towel hanging rack. There are vertical versions for narrow spaces, but they are designed a little differently.”

5. “A gray device with a cord on it — I thought it was a game camera of some sort, but I don’t think it is. Found at a park!”

Answer: “It’s a camera to check wildlife numbers and interactions.”

6. “What are these odd pliers?”

Answer: “They’re piston ring installation pliers (a piston ring is a part of an internal combustion engine).”

7. “A ball attached to pool cue — why?”

Answer: “It’s so little kids can play and not destroy the table (like by ripping the felt with the cue).”

8. “This is on the ceiling in a hotel. There’s a smoke detector in the same room. It’s completely smooth on all sides besides the gray thing in the middle.”

Answer: “It’s a motion sensor. It detects if someone is moving in the room. It’s usually used for automatic lights or for an alarm.”

9. “What is this Commodore 64 accessory? It looks like cardboard with a separate clear plastic overlay.”

Answer: “It’s a flowchart stencil by the look of it.”

10. “What are these dollar signs on my level for?”

Answer: “That is an electrician level. An ‘S’ with a line through it is the electricians’ symbol for a switch.”

11. “The hole gets smaller when I squeeze it. Found it in the kitchen at my parents’ house. What do I use it for?”

Answer: “It’s to strip corn on the cob.”

12. “What is this stabby thing on wheels that arrived in the mail by mistake from Jamaica, NY?”

Answer: “It’s for weeding cracks and crevices.”

13. “Got this as a prize in a Christmas cracker with no instructions. What is it?”

Answer: “It’s a needle threader.”

14. “This is some sort of promotional item. What’s it used for?”

Answer: “It’s a finger/hand acupressure massager.”

15. “This solid metal thing was in our bag of candy cane kisses. Is it part of the machinery?”

Answer: This is a metal dummy version they intentionally place in randomly selected bags to test and validate their automated QC systems. Their metal detecting system must be faulty if they let this slip through, which means there may be other foreign objects out there in the same batch.

16. “This clock thing numbered 0 through 5 found in Prague, Czech Republic”

Answer: “It measures water levels in the river.”

17. “This small object hanging from a power line crossing the county road by our house — what is this?”

Answer: “Looks like an old overhead fault indicator.”

18. “A green plastic scissor handle with metal loops and plastic teeth. No identifying marks...”

Answer: “It’s for trimming thyme.”

19. “This roofed storage component full of sliced logs in the middle of a prairie preserve in Nebraska”

Answer: “It’s a bug hotel and provides a habitat for a range of species.”

20. “I went to a restaurant to enjoy a nice breakfast, then they gave me this thing. It spins like a propeller.”

Answer: “It’s an anti-fly machine.”

21. “This is in our front yard in Philly. We didn’t want to touch it so we flipped it over with a stick.”

Answer: “It looks like stuffing from antique upholstery.”

22. “Stainless steel, about the size of a tea spoon, no additional markings”

Answer: “It’s a mint sauce ladle. You can remove excess vinegar through the strainer.”

Bonus: Do you know what this is?

Which of these things do you think you’d never understand the purpose of on your own?