20 Things Even Sherlock Holmes Wouldn’t Know How to Use

The world is full of mysterious things and you don’t have to be an archaeologist to find something unusual. But discovering it is only part of the job — it’s also important to understand what it is. Sometimes, you might find something so unusual that only experts from the Internet can crack the mystery.

We at Bright Side have examined a new study of intriguing finds and we’ve chosen the most interesting ones.

1. “Poured a glass of water last night from the tap and left it under the light on the nightstand. The next morning, I found this floating in it. What could it be?!”

• Answer: “It could be melted plastic residue from the light above (possibly a lampshade?) that coagulated in the water.”

2. “What is this small round ’shelf’ in the old mail box?”

Answer: “It was used to leave change for the postal workers.”

3. “Found this in an unfinished basement of an old home. Looks like a coin but it’s hollow and opens up.”

Answer: “Possibly was a coin lighter but now it’s missing some parts.”

4. “Found this building while I was hiking in west Kerry, Ireland.”

Answer: “It’s a water tower, formerly used to refill steam engine tanks or tenders. There used to be a railway there from 1891 to 1953.”

5. “I found this squishy thing in my coffee. I don’t know what it is and I’m pretty grossed out.”

Answer: “It seems more like a sweetener that has hardened — something like molasses or some other ingredient that has hardened, like xanthan gum.”

6. “Near Agate, Utah, my dad and I came across this on Google Maps but no search on Google gave me an answer.”

Answer: “These have to be evaporation ponds near some sort of mineral mine.”

7. “Is this a hole in the bathroom wall on the door side? Our apartment was built in the 1930s.”

Answer: “There was a wood stove or something there. It’s for a chimney.”

8. “Weird seedlike things are showing up in my roomie’s bed.”

Answer: “Buckwheat hulls, probably from a pillow of some sort.”

9. “What is this on a pillow at a hotel I’m staying at?”

Answer: It contains some chemical that repels bedbugs so they can’t get inside the pillow. Zip-N-Click provides added security by ensuring that dust mites and bed bugs cannot enter or escape the encasement at its most vulnerable point: the zipper.

10. “This hollow bumpy thing was in my care package.”

Answer: It’s a hand massager.

11. “Bought this at a Chicagoland estate sale this past weekend. What is this?”

Answer: This is an art object.

12. “Something is growing inside of a bottle of bitter orange juice I left out in a cabinet for over a year. Before I open it, what is it?”

Answer: “It looks like SCOBY, which is usually formed when kombucha is made.”

13. “I saw these towers in California last weekend on the I-15 headed West, a few miles from the CA-NV state line.”

Answer: “It’s a generator plant. If you look on the ground, the spots that look like water are actually mirrors that are reflecting the sun to the towers. So the white ‘mist’ you’re seeing is actually the sun reflected on the tower. That’s why it looks like the towers have a really bright white light. The towers, in return, have water at the top that’s converted to steam by the mirrors reflecting the sun, and the steam drives a turbine which creates power.”

14. “This is a wooden wiener dog. The tail end is removable and the body is hollow. Is this more than a decoration?”

Answer: “It’s a novelty crayon or pencil holder.”

15. “This black square thing on the door has white in the middle and what seems to be data chips on the top on the door. Don’t recall this being there yesterday. Any ideas?”

Answer: “It’s a mounting plate for a ring camera or a knockoff.”

16. “A local music shop is offering free strings to anyone who can tell them what this is. Not even the owner knows what it is. Anyone want to help a brother out?”

Answer: “That’s a rope wrench (spreader) for small ropes or wire bundles. The bar in the middle of the handle is there to help control tension on the line while you work on it, and the forks allow you to spread the strands so you can splice into it or fix a broken strand.”

17. “Found this among my grandma’s things. All the snowflakes go into a box, and there’s a spring clasp on the box.”

Answer: “These are charms symbolizing peace, love, and happiness.”

18. “What is this rodent that just climbed out of my toilet?”

Answer: “It’s a flying squirrel. They’re super common in the NE but they’re nocturnal so folks don’t realize they’re around.”

19. “Found this in a bag of prawn crackers. It’s very hard and translucent.”

Answer: “That’s what prawn crackers look like before you deep fry them.”

20. “I’ve owned this for as long as I can remember. What is it?”

Answer: “It looks like a mezuzah bracelet or necklace. It holds a piece of a parchment known as a klaf, which has a verse from the Torah on it.”

Did you manage to guess the right answer to some of these mystery cases?