15 Mysterious Things That Ended Up Having Curious Purposes

When your grandmother keeps some weird stuff in her house, you probably need it as well. Just ask her what it’s for. After all, a small fridge can be a personal sauna — just don’t be skeptical and things can reveal a special meaning.

We at Bright Side keep finding rare, weird things that need an explanation, and we’re sharing 15 of these mysteries with you.

1. “A small sterling silver ring attached to a hammered bowl”

Answer: It’s a caretaker’s feeding spoon. Looks a bit large for a baby, but would be a good size for helping feed an elderly or bedridden person.

2. “I work in recycling and have found multiple objects like this. It’s made of some kind of silicone. What is this thing?”

Answer: It’s a magnetic bottle holder strap.

3. “An iron cone on either side of a gate outside the entry to a building in Bath, England”

Answer: It’s a snuffer. A visitor to your house would use it to put out their torch.

4. “What are these metal things on the corners of these stairs, and what is their purpose?”

Answer: They’re corner dust guards. They make it easier to sweep dust out of the corners.

5. “It almost looks like a fridge with a seat in it, and an opening for your head. About 4 or 5 feet tall, I think.”

Answer: It’s a personal sauna.

6. “It’s a small, lightweight, glass item. Doesn’t drain from top to bottom, and there are no moving parts.”

Answer: It’s an essential oil diffuser, a tea light goes at the bottom.

7. “What is this cleaner used for? It’s found outside the office building.”

Answer: I think it’s for drying wet umbrellas, though the ones I’ve seen usually have the microfiber side facing inward so as to have 2 sides wiping across the surface of the umbrella.

8. “It’s about 2 feet tall, hollow like a wiffle bat, with a suction on the bottom and a loose rubber sleeve around it.”

Answer: It’s to help put a compression hose on a source, we have one at work.

9. “I found this on the beach in the UK, I think it’s something boat related?”

Answer: It’s a dock bumper that mounts to the water’s edge and stops boats from getting scraped against the edge of the dock.

10. “Looks like a bidet and has a lid with adjustable water temperature. The bowl however is a little wide to sit on.”

Answer: This type of bidet is more common in Europe. Your resort may have installed them if that’s where their clientele is from.

11. “What is this thing that you always see on an escalator?”

Answer: They help keep shoes, dresses, handbags, etc. from getting snagged in the tiny gap at the side.

12. “I walked past this many times while in Berlin and still can’t figure out what it is.”

Answer: It’s a clock specifically called Mengenlehreuhr or “set theory clock” in German.

13. “A cutting board type thing found in the kitchen section of a thrift store”

Answer: A friend of mine who had a stroke has one of these. It holds the meat while he cuts, since he doesn’t have very good use of his left hand. It is often used by handicapped people.

14. “A weird bench shelf thing I found near my house”

Answer: It’s a bench for a mudroom to sit on while putting on one’s shoes. Storage areas are underneath for shoes and larger items.

15. “A weird key — I’m not sure what it goes to.”

Answer: It’s a Yale tubular emergency key for tubular locks.

Have you ever seen one of these objects up close? Which item is the most useless in your opinion?