20 Bizarre Findings That Raise as Many Questions as There Are Stars in the Sky

People are curious by nature and we always strive to gain more and more knowledge. Our world, that’s filled with amazing discoveries and inventions, helps us satisfy our quest to learn more because they are able to excite our imagination and inspire us to find the answer to the question, “What is this?”

Thanks to the internet and its users, we continue learning about the true mission of unusual findings. Bright Side studied the communities and groups on the internet that discuss weird things and chose the most interesting ones that Reddit users have found recently.

1. “My friend found this scaffold-like structure on a trip. There was a paintball/airsoft field nearby, but I’m confused about the purpose of this. Located in Czechia, Europe.”

The answer: It’s a 3D maze. Used in kid’s camps or other outdoor activity clubs (like Paintball, Airsoft, Trekking, etc.) In a paintball setting, it could be used to hold a flag or another capturable objective.

2. “What is this X-shape on the wall, often seen around old farms/barns/stables?”

The answer: It’s the anchor plate of a “tie” — a big steel rod that stops the walls from bowing outward. Often added to older buildings, to help keep them together.

3. “It is not a pen, the tip is sharp metal and doesn’t write. No place for ink or graphite or anything. All one cohesive piece with a plastic cap. What is it for?”

The answer: It’s a scriber. They’re used to make lines or marks on metal, wood, or a number of other materials.

4. “This old hand tool my father found”

The answer: Appears to be a bladed ice chipper.

5. “These came with a pool table I bought from someone, he said it was some kind of game but had no idea how to play it or what it was called.”

The answer: This game is called “Kelly pool.” Everyone takes a number and if your numbered ball gets sunk, you’re out. Last person standing wins.

6. “I started to peel and separate this orange into segments when I found this inside. Its ridges were growing between the orange segments where the pith would normally be.”

The answer: Sometimes navel oranges can have a second orange growing inside the first one. This looks to be what happened here, but the second orange died and began to decompose.

7. “Found this sewn into the hem of a pillowcase in a hotel. Why is it there?”

The answer: It’s an RFID for identifying the owning hotel at the industrial laundry place.

8. “Are my parents’ neighbors engaging in psychological warfare? This is attached to a dolly pointed toward their yard and sounds a very loud alarm twice a day for 10 minutes.”

The answer: Looks to be a vibrating horn. The datasheet states an output of 103dB. These types of horns are usually used in an individual setting where ambient noise is high.

This is how this horn sounds.

9. “Small plastic figurines found buried in the backyard”

The answer: Hasbro produced a Monopoly mini-game in 2009 called Monopoly: Get Out Of Jail. It looks like these were the game pieces used.

10. “My parents have had this hanging on the wall for years, it’s like a French-to-English abacus.”

The answer: This is a board that teachers hang in a classroom for learning English vocabulary/grammar.

11. “Some kind of metal faucet looking device in the bathroom of union hall in Lewiston, ID”

The answer: It’s an old ashtray. Push the button for it to empty into the container below it.

12. “What is this thing in a lake in Ohio? Drains into a big pipe at the bottom of a hill.”

The answer: It’s an overflow — the most important safety feature of the reservoir. Without a designated spill point (overflow), if the reservoir overflows, it will happen in an uncontrollable way, with the potential to undermine the foundations of the dam, resulting in the collapse of the dam.

13. “My dentist gave this to me after a checkup. How do I use... whatever this is?”

The answer: You put it on the end of your toothpaste tube and slowly move it up the tube to squeeze the toothpaste out.

14. “Found on the shoreline of a beach in the Scottish Isles. They were scattered, not in one area. Feel like glass, one clear and the rest black.”

The answer: The black ones are carbon rods from batteries. The clear one is a part of a broken thermometer.

15. “Wife found a jar of what looks like glass plugs.”

The answer: They are glass bottle stoppers. They helped seal bottles before screw caps were invented.

16. “It looks like an old telephone but it has no speaker or way to plug something else in besides the plug attached.”

The answer: It is an old-school number pad used for faxing/dial-up on old-school computer systems.

17. “Found this thing on the street ~2 years ago. The red light was glowing brightly for about 5 days and then dimly for almost 3 weeks before fully going out.”

The answer: This is a bike backlight.

18. “A piece of metal 3-4 inches wide, with glass balls.”

The answer: It’s an old reflector that could be used at railways.

19. “I’ve had this for like 15 years. I used to use while playing soldier as a kid. No idea what it is.”

The answer: These devices were used in operation Igloo White, this particular piece appears to be either an Air Delivered Seismic Intrusion Detector or an Acoustic and Seismic Intrusion Detector. The camouflage paint leftover is original, as the whole point of these devices was to listen and not be found by the enemy.

20. “What are these square patches for on ‘military’ or ‘tactical’ clothing items I see, like this military sweater?”

The answer: Generally, those were put on in high wear and tear areas. The shoulder ones were for the bag straps, and elbows are pretty obvious wear and tear spots.

Have you ever come across something you couldn’t figure out the purpose of? Please share it with us — let’s find out what this thing is together.