People Had No Idea What These 17 Items Were Until The Internet Came To The Rescue
The world may be constantly changing, but one thing stays the same: people are still tapped into the source of finding weird little thingamajigs that they can't quite identify. Thankfully, the kind folks over at r/whatisthisthing are here to help. Here are 17 recent finds from the subreddit and what they turned out to be:
1.These cast iron pedals marked with a two and a four:
u/TheLegendaryEsquilax / Via reddit.com
"Those are dress form pedals to raise and lower a dress form. The numbers are the size."
2.This thin, heavy pen-shaped object with a loop on one end:
u/callmechaddy / Via reddit.com
"Is the ball magnetic? If so, it's a tool to remove foreign objects from your eye."
"Yes. Used most often in welding and machine shops. The other end is a nylon loop that holds a drop or two of sterile water to attract non-magnetic debris in the eye."
"It’s called an eye magnet with loop. As stated above, it’s used to remove foreign objects from the eye."
3.This mechanical object which had been badly burned in a fire:
u/Quiet-Operation219 / Via reddit.com
"It's an old Kodak Carousell 550R or 550 round magazine slide projector.
In the first image, you can see the optics on the left and the Elevate and Focus knobs on the right. On the lower left, there is also the leveling wheel. The second image shows the distinctive front cover for the tubular objective to the left and the cable storage compartment to the right.
See the manual for reference."
4.This glasses-like item featuring a tiny clip:
"It’s a loupe that clips to your glasses and offers different levels of magnification."
5.This plastic item with a spring found in a box of painting supplies:
"Almost surely a paintbrush holder. The spring should be on the top of the thing, and you insert the bottom of a paintbrush so it hangs with the hair down to keep the point. Something like this one."—u/MrIxolite
"Just to confirm, here's the patent, with the drawing confirming the springy bit is for holding brushes (though they're held hair-up in the drawing)."
6.These plastic-capped gold straight pins found at an estate sale:
"Those are metal hair roller pins, specifically for the mesh and wire rollers, not the hard plastic rollers. After spraying the hair with setting spray, roll your hair around the roller and secure it with the pin. You stick the pin into the roller. Then you sit under a hair dryer like you see in old movies. A Roll 'n Set or Roller set."
"My search of metal roller pins pulled up images of metal rolling pins for the kitchen, so I had to refine it to 'metal roller pins for hair,' and it brought up the product at Amazon."
7.This green fiberglass rectangle found in a school:
"I am a former science teacher. This looks like an insert for a ripple tank. They are used for teaching wave physics. The numbers are so you can measure frequency. The bar and lump are to create wave effects. There would be several differently shaped inserts for a full ripple tank set."
8.This metal piece with a separate handle found buried in Vancouver, Washington:
u/Darebear0707 / Via reddit.com
9.This heavy, embellished article of clothing meant to be worn around the neck:
"It's a ceremonial sash for the International Order of Odd Fellows."
"Today's items aren’t as fancy but are available from the national organization via your local IOOF lodge. You can find more ornate vintage items at Etsy, Worthpoint, eBay, and local estate sales and auctions."
10.This metal pole with a rubber tip:
"That is the end pin for a cello, possibly a bass. The notches are so the screw stops it at those levels."
11.This dog-shaped metal object with parallel rings on top:
"Fishing lure retriever. It's for when your fishing lure gets snagged on something underwater. You tie a rope on the loop and send it down your fishing line. The heavyweight will hopefully knock your lure free of whatever it's stuck on.
This specific model is a 'Jewel Bait Hound Dog Lure Retriever.'"
12.These round cylinders with conical depressions inside:
u/slambiero / Via reddit.com
"Looks like these stethoscope heads. Brrrr."
"Precordial stethoscope, to be exact — uses a sticker to adhere to a patient’s neck above the vocal cords to allow someone to monitor breathing sounds during sedation or general anesthesia. Typically, there is a length of tubing attached to the side that then runs to a custom-fitted earpiece."
13.This blue disc found in a bag of chips:
"It's a testing chip. It goes through the metal detectors to ensure they're working. There's a problem here, though. If you send X number of testers, you should get X number back. If you get X-1 or some other number, you stop the line until you find your chip. The entire purpose of the test is to make sure that stuff like this — which is supposed to simulate a foreign object — does not get through.
There's usually paperwork to document this. Write to the outfit and tell them what you found and rest assured there will be a shitstorm on the other end."
14.This long, cast iron wand found in the basement of a 1930s home:
u/nomnomsammieboy / Via reddit.com
"It's an old boiler torch. It would've had some type of wick material (rags, etc.) between those plates, which would've been soaked in coal oil or kerosene."
15.This tiny metal cone with a knob on the end:
16.This wooden, rotating drum with seven slots:
u/notculnick / Via reddit.com
"It’s a tombola. Commonly used in the U.K. in church fates and the like."
"Definitely this. I have fond memories of visiting the hospice charity office in my town with my mum and being allowed to pick the numbers as a child for their prize draw. The sections were filled with numbered balls."
17.And finally, this yardstick with an attached chalk sprayer:
u/AndPerSeAndZ / Via reddit.com
"It looks like what a tailor uses to mark hems on skirts and dresses. It sprays a little chalk line where you want to sew the hem."
"The reason it has the bulb is so you can mark the hem on yourself without needing to lean over and mess up the angle/height."
If you enjoyed looking at all these interesting objects, check out some other items identified by the internet here:
These 16 Weird Items Were A Complete Mystery Until The Internet Figured Out What They Were
16 Weird Objects People Never Could Have Identified If The Internet Hadn't Helped Out
17 Bizarre Items That Left People Baffled Until The Internet Came To The Rescue
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
