20+ Weird Objects That Left Us Scratching Our Heads Trying to Find Their Purpose

Sometimes we come across really mysterious objects with purposes that are unknown to our friends and family. In this case, the followers of the “What is this thing?” community come to the rescue. Almost 2 million people help find answers to questions asked by those who’ve searched for a long time, like the person from point 8 who tried to find the reason behind one mysterious object for 8 years.

At Bright Side, we, together with other Internet users, found out the purposes of different puzzling objects.

1. “I found a white blob in a bottled vitamin water.”

• I’m a microbiologist. It looks like a fungal colony to me. But I’m not sure. © Natural-Ladder / Reddit

2. “Is it a ceramic frog statue? Or maybe an incense burner?”

• This is a watering bell. Here’s a video that shows how it works. © wickedishrag / Reddit

3. “This is a plastic-like, circular object. I found it on several beaches in Sardinia (Italy).”

• It looks like a biofilm used to treat wastewater. This is how it works. © Tomorrows_Sorrows / Reddit

4. “My family gave me a bag of kitchen stuff for my apartment, and this was in it. It’s plastic, and the bottom has a little scoop. What is it for?”

• This is a Pop + Scoop cat food can opener. © VegasOld*** / Reddit

5. “I found this iron ’needle’ with Arabic writing in a canal while magnet fishing. It’s 5 inches long. I removed the rust.”

• It’s an antique Indo-Persian talismanic iron nail (nineteenth century). © shidored / Reddit

6. “We bought this strange glass vase/device in Australia. What is it?”

• Perhaps it’s a spiral oil lamp. But it’s missing its wick and wick holder. © somewastelander / Reddit

7. “This is a keychain thing. The left red part slides in and out and the black part is like felt over a piece of foam. What is it?”

• It’s a phone stand and screen cleaner combo keychain. © kineretic / Reddit

8. “I saw this in a theater, what is this piece of metal? I’ve been questioning it for 8 years.”

• It’s for sure a notes/reading light. When the room lights are down, you can turn the reading lights up. © CoffeeByIV / Reddit

9. “I found it on the bottom of a drawer. It’s about an inch tall and made from rigid, translucent plastic. What’s this?”

• I think it’s a toy hamster water bottle. I remember having something like this when I was young with my Littlest Pet Shop set. © outletsurplus / Reddit

10. “What is this heavy yellow tray, about the size of my hand? I found it at a thrift store.”

• It’s definitely a shaving bowl thing. My dad had one. You mix the shaving cream and water in the bowl. © vigilantepro / Reddit

11. “What are these yellow transparent little pebbles that I found on a hill? They were mixed with little pieces of rubber, they have no odor, and they feel solid to the touch.”

• The yellow pieces look like used deionization resin used for water treatment. So the black may be carbon, which also is used for water treatment. © SausageDogMama / Reddit

12. “A cup with a small cup on the side — the smaller cup has 2 openings on the inner side.”

• I suspect it’s a cup for helping patients take pills. You (or a nurse) put the pills in the little cup, and bring it to your lips while tipping the cup. Water flows into the small cup via the slits and washes the pills into the mouth of the patient. © d00nbuggy / Reddit

13. “What is this strange metal thing next to a playground?”

• It’s one version of funnel ball. A game where you throw the ball in the top, and it comes out of one of the holes. Sometimes the holes have points painted on them. © brock_lee / Reddit

14. “Why is this building raised above the ground?”

• It’s a grain store. It’s known as an hórreo and is raised to keep rodents from eating the grain. © togtogtog / Reddit

15. “It’s a small, heavy, metal brush thing with 2 mini brushes attached to the top. What is it for?”

• Perhaps it’s an antique desktop fountain pen nib wipe. © agelessnvegas / Reddit

16. “What is this toilet’s purpose?”

• This is a female urinal that was produced between the mid-1950s up through the early 1960s. Strangely enough, these weren’t terribly popular. © blahblahsdfsdfsdfsdf / Reddit

17. “Is this a tiny ottoman?”

• It’s a footstool. I have a needlepoint one of a similar size. We’re used to seat-height ottomans now, but these lower footstools were very common in the nineteenth century. © Cold_Situation_7803 / Reddit

18. “I found it at an antique market. It’s about 6 inches across the top. Is it a tiny spittoon?”

• It’s a child’s chamber pot. © agelessnvegas / Reddit

19. “What is this table with upward folding sides that don’t fold all the way up?”

• It’s a butler’s tray table. By the way, a new one costs almost $1,500 now. © ponytail1961 / Reddit

20. “What is this thing? It’s made of metal and quite heavy.”

• It looks like an ancient hand mirror. The relief carvings look Greek or Roman. The undecorated side would be polished to a shine. © MeggBeegee / Reddit

21. “What is this unusual mug with the scoop on top and a heart cutout?”

• It is an egg separator. The white flows through the heart opening. Yolk is left behind. © NHGayBear / Reddit

22. “What is this pot used for? It’s cast iron. The gray thing is an insert.”

• We have something similar here, and that is a milk cooker. Because of the lid, it can’t spill when boiling over. The milk comes through the big hole and falls back through the smaller ones. © annafre- / Reddit

Do you have similar objects at home with purposes very few people know? What are these objects? Tell us in the comments below.