20+ Mysterious Objects That Puzzled the Entire Internet
Even people with a wide variety of knowledge can come across objects they’ve never heard of before. Interestingly, this often happens in places where we least expect it: at home, during an afternoon stroll, or in a thrift store. And it’s not that easy to figure out what exactly we’ve found.
At CHEERY, we love to look at the photos of random finds whose purpose could be identified only with the help of Internet users.
1. “A wooden item with a jar attached. The wooden stick with dowels on the ends slides both ways and has a small hole notch on each side.”
Answer: “It’s a shop project dispenser for peanuts, gumballs, or M&M’s.”
2. “What are these holes at the side of a residential building?”
Answer: “Almost certainly kitchen exhausts — they’re up at the level of the top of the window. I managed construction and maintenance in buildings like this, and the kitchen exhaust fans ran through a bulkhead inside and out to a vent opening like that.”
3. “A silver plated thing that opens up. It has little legs.”
Answer: “It’s definitely a trivet. My mother had one exactly like this — you could adjust it to accommodate a larger hot dish, to keep it stable on a dining table.”
4. “What are these wooden frames on a balcony in a church?”
Answer: “They are at the aisle breaks. It’s to stop people that may trip going down the steps from taking a header over the balcony.”
5. “A thumb protector possibly, but for what? I found it at a yard sale.”
Answer: “It’s an antique butcher thumb guard.”
6. “A small torpedo-shaped metal and wood thing about the size of a pair of sunglasses. It’s mounted for display, found in an Airbnb with several others.”
Answer: “It’s cedar plug fishing lure.”
7. “I saw this while walking down the street. A zip lock bag tacked above a door. It seems to contain water and a few pennies. What could this be for?”
Answer: “It’s a homemade mosquito/fly deterrent. The light reflecting off the water and pennies is supposed to scare off pesky bugs.”
8. “A blue and rubbery/silicon thing with bumps.”
Answer: “It’s a baby teether.”
9. “A concrete cylinder with a window found in the middle of a field”
Answer: “It’s an old railway call box. They were often used by the train engineer, conductor, and/or brakeman to report the location of a train and to receive information about track conditions in the days before radio.”
10. “A wooden pegboard with numbers 1 to 6 and holes counting by fives. Round metal pieces on the left open to reveal an approximately 1-inch deep container. Found in a vintage 1920s kitchen.”
Answer: “It’s billiards and pool pin scoreboard.”
11. “A yellow plastic spout with perforations at the end. What is it for?”
Answer: “It’s a spray nozzle of a do-it-your self fertilizer kit that connects to a garden hose.”
12. “2 leather pouches with a string of rope between them. A friend of mine found it at the Île de Ré in France.”
Answer: “It’s a heaving line bag, used to throw a line on the dock a ship.”
13. “Any clue what this thing is? A mesh box without any openings. My sandal for size.”
Answer: “It’s a ‘pop-up’ stand for the middle of a table to stop water collection, and the cover comes with a handy storage bag.”
14. “It’s about 12 inches in diameter. Hooks look to be for knitting, but the glass bulb confuses me. It’s cast. The handle is quite sturdy.”
Answer: “It’s a lid for a pan, preventing fat from spraying all over the kitchen. The hooks are to let steam out so that stuff gets crisp.”
15. “A cast iron tiny pot thing. It’s double-walled.”
Answer: “It’s a bain marie pot for wooden glue.”
16. “A small wooden door with 5 even smaller doors on it. It’s just over another human-sized gate. Found in a small town in central Italy.”
Answer: “That’s a dovecote.”
17. “A horn-like object, painted metal with a retaining clip”
Answer: “This is what remains of a horn speaker. It’s top heavy because the magnet and diaphragm assembly are no longer in the base.”
18. “An ornate object found in Raleigh, North Carolina while metal detecting.”
Answer: “It’s a boy scout neckerchief slide. It keeps the neckerchief around the neck.”
19. “This thing is about 3 1/2 feet tall and heavier than it looks. It’s made of some type of metal and is at least plated with copper. The top piece is strangely curved, and there is a ship embellishing it.”
Answer: “It’s an antique fish bowl stand! Fantastic find.”
20. “This metallic tool looks fairly new. I’d like to know what it is used for.”
Answer: “It’s a holder for a sugar cone.”
21. “It’s just a little cage with a sphere. I don’t know if it’s used to clean something or to avoid bubbles in hot liquids, like milk or what. Can you help me?”
22. “White plastic with bristle-like ends which are pliable, 2-3 inches long. Found in a kitchen drawer of an Airbnb”
Answer: “It’s part of a bottle cleaning kit. It’s used to clean out nipples on bottles or soppy cups.”
Did you recognize any of these objects? Did you happen to find any unknown things whose purpose you’d like to know? Share their photos in the comments below.