"Found in a park near my house, in Tulsa. Old weather gauge/equipment?"
A: "I used to work on these, its a weather gauge station. The top part has a tipping bucket under a funnel and it transmits through radio every time it tips. Sometimes they have a pressure transducer running to a stream or river to calculate how much it has risen in a set amount of time."
"What is this pink “dust” that keeps reappearing in the corners of my kitchen ceiling within a few hours of being cleaned?"
A: "Clean it away and (lightly) tape a white printer paper over one angle of the corner. Do the spots reappear on the paper or on the wall underneath it?
If it appears on the paper but not on the wall, it originates from the airflow. If it is growing from the wall it should first be visible on the wall underneath the paper, then possibly penetrate the office paper.
If it really is coming through the wall and reappearing in a few hours you most likely have a problem behind it. Living things like bacteria or mold don’t grow that fast in room temperature/humidity if cleaned well. But might be a reservoir of something on the floor above that is seeping through."
"Metal bar to the right of the door in a old apartment building built in 1926."
A: "It was used to open and close the transom window above the door."
"What is the architectural name of this thing bracing an arch?"
A: "It’s a corbel"
"What is this wooden pole, with a beaded rope at the end? At a seaside cafe in Wales, with boating/sea memorabilia covering the walls. Long (approx 10m) wooden pole, with a u-shaped curve at the end. It also has a handle next to the curve and a rope ‘closing’ it with beads."
A: "It’s an old-fashioned boom."
"What is this box for? Found in the same cupboard as electrical meters and fuse boards."
A: "It tells you which general building alarm system has been triggered"
"Some sort of tool? Possibly for farming? Found in my shed, about 1 foot in length."
A: "Battery carrier"
"Inside a Pole barn/outbuilding/garage. What is this hole in the foundation used for?"
A: "It’s an oil change pit."
"Oversized load on the freeway in Arizona. Giant bucket/ladle looking thing… does anyone know what the heck this might be???"
A: "Looks like a foundry ladle."
"Made of hard plastic, about 1x1x2 feet, they are stackable. Layed down in a trench on a construction site under where will be a sidewalk."
A: "I’m pretty sure it’s for storm water management. It may be this exact system."
"Tiny white plastic balls found all over garden, any ideas?"
A: "Those look like the “beans” from stuffed animals that sit up right."
"Those metal structures, found near buildings in residential areas in Sweden. They are all slightly different, and I didn’t see them used by anyone."
A: "The upright one is for hanging a carpet on and wacking it with something to get dust off. The table like one I assume it’s for drying a carpet or towels or similar."
"Truck with camera or LiDAR sensor, any idea what it’s for?"
A: "That’s a Rivian pickup and definitely a LiDAR for some autonomous driving tests. Thanks for sharing."
"What are the tools on this pair of nail clippers? I found them in my grandpas old tackle box."
A: "They’re intended for fishing — clippers are for clipping fishing line, clearly. A small knife for other cutting tasks. the notched spoon tool appears to be a knot tying aid. (The linked one is a little different version but is a similar setup)"
"Brass ended hook/pick tool with embossed motif on handle, clearly handmade. What is this thing?"
A: "It’s a damper hook. It is used to open and close the damper in your chimney."
"Heavy, metal box. The top has a heavy lid."
A: "Leave it alone. It looks like a storage box for a high activity radioactive source."
"What is this? Scissors or clamp with a small tube at the end of both sides"
A: "Want to say piercing clamps maybe"
"Found this in the kitchen. They appear to be some kind of hooks, no idea what for though."
A: "We have one for our bread makers. To pull out the handle when its hot."
"Found in older tool box (at least 10 years old). part with spokes rotates, spokes (of different diameters) match up to hole in the oposite side of the tool. Sharpie marker for size."
A: "It is for punching holes in leather or similar things. Like, for a belt."
"White plastic clips or something inside kitchen cabinet door. Found in a house in the Midwestern US built in 1979. Anyone know what it is?"
A: "Item holders for all kinds of stuff. Mostly used for coffee filters, thin packages like those old instant soup packs. Others used them for dinner plates, mittens, kitchen towels. Basically a holding device for everything kitchen."
"Tall tower shining a blinding light"
A: "It’s a molten sodium solar reactor."
“What is this wooden spoon-like thing?”
A: “I think it’s called an ozhau, a traditional ladle from Kazakhstan.”
“What is this flaccid orange hammer?”
A: “I think it’s a baseball tee for training hitters that tend to drop their swing. The little cup thing is installed upside down but would be used to hold the ball.”
“I just moved, and this dial is in my master bathroom.”
A: “This is a humidistat. The RH% is relative humidity.”
“The new bra I bought online has a ’microchip’ inside of it.”
A: “This seems to be new age healing stuff, like the magnetic bracelets and such.”
“A tiny camera or some sort of detector on the ceiling? Found in a waxing salon.”
A: “It’s an indicator to show that the light has a battery backup in case of an emergency and that it’s fully charged.”
“A small, round thumbs-up clip of sorts”
A: “It’s a phone stand.”
“A small metallic object — its age is unknown, but possibly an antique.”
A: “It is a drafting pen for drawing interrupted (dotted/dashed) lines.”
“A small, off-white block, possibly made from ceramic or porcelain”
A: “These porcelain blocks were used to fasten an old style of black, flat telephone wire along the outside of a house.”
“My grandma was up for a walk and she found this strange wristwatch in the grass.”
A: “It appears to be a wrist remote for a GoPro-style video camera.”
A: “It’s a type of bead called a ’cannoli bead.’”
“What is this thing on the bar counter at work?”
A: “It’s an old-fashioned countertop bottle opener.”
“Someone brought this into a friend’s antique shop...”
A: “That’s the condenser stage from an old enlarger for printing from large format sheet film negatives.”
“The object, I believe, is brass. Has 3 little feet and a stamp on the bottom that says ’CELESTE.’”
A: "This is a lipstick holder."
“My partner went to an estate sale and came home with an old tin full of these things.”
A: “This is a hook for curtains.”
“Porcelain cookware by Maxwell & Williams. What is it?”
A: “It’s for escargot.”
• 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.
#26 It just indicates that the camera is in use.