17 Mysterious Objects That Spur Our Imagination
Imagination is so powerful, it is even capable of creating objects so unique that not everyone can understand what they are for. Nature is not far behind and also shows its inventiveness in, for example, plants that are common to some and a mystery to others. Fortunately, there is no need to hire detectives to find out what we have in front of us.
1. “Cleaning out my grandma’s house to sell and found this. What is it?”
Answer: “It’s a flour duster. You use it to sprinkle flour across your work surface. You can use it to dust powdered sugar over cookies and whatnot too.”
2. “Somebody, please tell me what substance just exploded out of my kitchen sink?”
Answer: “What you see in your sink is what is in the drains below your apartment, so all the gross water from the sinks and dishwashers above yours. I’m guessing you live on the bottom floor, and that means there is a blockage in the drain line below your apartment.”
3. “What is this fabric thing I found at the thrift store today? It only has one opening, which is stretchy.”
Answer: “It’s a chair cover. You fit it over the back of chair, then pull it down and over the seat. The elastic area will be under the seat. I’ve got some just like it.”
By the way, thrift stores can be a true treasury.
4. “It looks like a tool to create art — or maybe it is art — I’m not sure.”
Answer: “Looks like an Indian batik or textile stamp. It’s used to print wax onto silk as a dye resist.”
5. “What is it? It’s magnetic, and I think it’s metal. Cold to touch but warms up in my hand.”
Answer: “It’s one of a pair of ‘rattlesnake eggs.’ You hold them separated slightly in your hand, and toss them up in the air, and they make a cool noise when they magnetize together. That’s about it.”
Sometimes, mysterious objects can be found just around the corner.
6. “I was given a present.”
Answer: “It’s a bookmark. The long flat (wiggly) part goes between the pages, hooks over the top, and the charm then hangs over the spine.”
7. “20 years of research and Reddit is my last hope!”
8. “What is this thing, and what’s it used for?”
Answer: “Bellows to blow on a fire”
Usually, the purpose of these strange things is quite obvious.
9. “It looks to be a very small concrete bench or seat facing away from the road near the curb. Too small for a child.”
Answer: “They could be old carriage steps, used to help people get into and out of horse-drawn carriages.”
10. “Given by a neighbor who doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Chinese.”
Answer: “This is called Zizania latifolia. You can cut it into slices and stir-fry for a minute or so, then cook with some soy sauce until the flavor goes in a bit. It has a nice unique texture, firmer than zucchini.”
11. “Pressed my oven’s button and this container thing popped out.”
Answer: “That’s for pouring water into to get steam in the oven.”
If you pay a bit more attention, you can find unbelievable objects right at home or exploring somebody’s house.
12. “About the size of my hand, found in the trash (I’m a trash man.)”
13. “What is this thing? The part above the handle rotates.”
Answer: “It’s a kite spindle. I used to have one.”
14. “Metal spring with plastic ends, 20 cm long, no writing or markings”
Answer: “It’s a hair remover used for little hairs on one’s face.”
15. “What is this bubbling out of the ground? It keeps bubbling, even if I dig a thin layer down with a shovel.”
Answer: “It turned out to be from a can of expansion foam the builders had left in the yard. Water got to the can, which rusted and leaked, causing the foam to reach the surface.”
16. “A weird door I saw in the sea wall in Biarritz, France”
Answer: “I would guess that it is a gate for storm water runoff that drains into the ocean.”
17. “The base is concrete and very sturdy. It’s about 15 feet high and has metal fins along the inside of it.”
Answer: “A possible bat house”