"These have been in our kitchen drawer for ages, but we haven’t figured out what they are used for."
A: "The green one open bananas. The purple one may be a potato bug for cutting out eyes in potatoes."
"1.5 inches long, hard and glossy. Found 5 feet below the bottom of a Virginia river"
A: "Fossil snail casting would be my vote."
"I found this in a oyster it’s hard to the touch but the inside is slimy"
A: "Pearl wasn’t completely done forming yet. They can take a couple of years. Bonus parasite. (Don’t eat it)"
"Found this odd steel tool after a break-in"
A: "It’s pull arm for a soft serve ice cream machine. You pull down on it (the screw part usually has a knob on it)."
"A leather glove I found in an antique store"
A: "Its a corn husking tool!!"
"What is this thin metal tool I found in the laundry?"
A: "Looks like a rake lock pick"
"What is this small bathtub-like thing in this picture? My mom is house shopping and asked me, but I have no idea, so I came here. It’s in a bathroom in an old-timey house in Illinois if that matters."
A: "Antique sitz bath."
"I found in the garage, a tube with notches made of brass, the rest of the cover on top. Copper rod with wooden handle."
A: "Hair curler? Wind strand of hair round central thing. Hold in place with outer ‘things’. Heat up copper thing in fire. Insert hot copper thing into brass thing."
"These rings frozen into the reservoir at Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul."
A: "That’s a RA2 Diffused Aeration System the rings are from where the bubbles go and as it was freezing it has trapped air in the ice making it white kind of like a snow cone turns white."
"Got this in a small package from china today, didn’t order it tho. Its a small cushion with a little balloon you can squeeze to inflate it. No clue what its purpose is. (Pen for scale)"
A: "It’s a car door wedge. You can slip it into a car door jam, pump it open a little, then you can get a rod in to unlock the door."
"We found this on the sidewalk near our house. This rotating barrel on is clear plastic and half filled with a dark liquid."
A: "Bob the Builder kid’s toy Steamroller Attachment"
"8 foot metal cylinder in the woods near a stream. Many holes/tubes going through it’s center."
A: "It’s certainly an old boiler. It may have been used to power some type of equipment, like logging or mining."
"Mini dumbell looking items, flexible in the middle, very light and no markings anywhere, found in pack of 4 whilst cleaning"
A: "6 second abs replacement bands"
"Hard, metal object found near fireplace. It doesn’t bend, twist or open in any way."
A: "It’s a match holder. You’re supposed to slide the coil at the end toward the heart allowing the tips to open so you can clamp a match in between, then slide the coil forward again. It allows you to light the fireplace while keeping your fingers safe."
"What instrument (clarinet, oboe, soprano sax?) is this? Gifted by a friend who was cleaning out attic, of unknown origin."
A: "What you have is a victory brass clarinet. You can tell it’s a clarinet and not a saxophone because of the open holes rather than the button caps that are usually on a saxophone. This is pretty cool because I personally have never seen a brass clarinet, I’ve only ever seen wood or cheap plastic ones."
"What is this thing in southern Florida?"
A: "Water cooling canals for the nuclear generating station"
"Solid metal object, has a coat of arms on the front. Other surfaces are blank and roughly cut while the front is polished"
A: "Looks like a signet, for sealing wax."
"This is in the wall at our new house. Any ideas?"
A: "I believe that is a telephone nook. They used to put them in houses when build."
"Found at an estate sale. Look like end mills, but the two cheese grater looking ones are confusion. What would they be used for? Valentines chocolate for scale…it was closer than the bananas."
A: "These are die grinder bits."
"What is this? My mum lives in Ibiza and she cleans villas etc. She sent this to my family group chat asking what it is and we have no idea. The apartment belongs to a rich guy (who does not know what it is) and is located in the master bedroom only, on the wall by the door if that helps"
A: "It’s a wall hook"
"This item listed as “Case and contents” on online auction. orange pen for scale."
A: "It’s a portable sign, I used to have a few when I used to recruit at job fairs"
"2 unmarked thermometers? Glass tubes with metal caps on the ends, looks like mercury and a capillary inside."
A: "Looks like mercury switches"
• Don't insult other visitors. Offensive comments will be deleted without warning.
• Comments are accepted in English only.
• No swearing words in comments, otherwise such comments will be censored.
• Your nickname and avatar are randomly selected. If you don't post comments for 7 days, they both are reset.
• To choose another avatar, click the ‘Random avatar’ link.
You are welcome to use the scroll past feature.