"This key is metal, gold color, heavy. It is 3 inches long. It says CLASS on one side. I found it in a storage locker in Fort Wayne Indiana USA. Does this open a vault somewhere?"
A: "Safety deposit box key. Without a bank location and a box number it’s merely an oddity."
"What is this piece of seemingly old tech? Found in a pile at a university."
A: "That’s a very old wearable computer"
"Found at an antique market in Wisconsin USA. About 6″ across the top, the hole is about 3.5″. Tiny spittoon?!"
A: "Child’s chamber pot"
"Why does this hose loop out my house?"
A: "It will be for recycled water. Probably from a tank. The blue striped pipe is for irrigation. If you turn off the shut off valve your toilets probably won’t fill. Also external taps would be connected to it too. There would have been a device to swap between town water and recycled like this."
"Some kind of a big stone with various geometric carvings. It was found in the middle of a forest next to a ruined brick gate. Any ideas?"
A: "It’s a seat pad for a vehicle"
"What are these metal markers on a utility pole that don’t have any embossed identification tags or serial numbers?"
A: "I suspect the little bar code tag to the left is the pole identifier. The different colored tags likely indicate the phase (A,B or C) of the conductors. Note that the tags are arranged in the same orientation as the conductors, three at the top and three vertical on either side."
"What is the story behind this statue? What is it of?"
A: "Its the nickname for people from Ravels. Ravels Worms. Apparently the place has been known to be so poor that even worms didnt live in the ground. Everytime a farmer saw one coming out while working the land, it is said they rang the church bells to cheer the village."
"Prickly roller – unsolved. Reposting after 8 years!"
A: "It pretty much is a tool similar to microneedling used in modern cosmetics, but it’s purpose is more that of pain relief (hence the thicker pricks compared to the needles in cosmetic devices), especially for sore or hardened muscles; works supposedly through enhanced blood perfusion, like a massage or capsaicin-ointment."
"I started seeing these utility pole guards in Massachusetts. Many, but not all poles have them."
A: "Most likely to protect them from beavers or porcupines."
"A table with upward folding sides that don’t fold all the way up"
A: "Called a Butler’s Tray Table"
"5 inch(ish) long metal flat spoon type thing? Spikes on one side. Back says ‘stainless japan’"
A: "It’s a garlic or ginger grater"
"Seen yesterday in Columbus, OH; seems fragile to leave uncovered on a truck."
A: "Pipe pigs. For inspecting pipelines."
"2”-4” long fuzzy tubes. Soft but not easily removed. Found in a 50+ year old garage. Nothing appears to be inside them."
A: "We used to call those “Mud Dauber nests” (Mud Daubers being a type of insect)."
"What is this toilet’s purpose? No additional details available."
A: "A urinal for women"
"What is this stuff building up on my AC radiator fins. I can’t find what it is, but it doesn’t seem to be the metal itself corroding, and it is kinda like compressed cornstarch."
A: "It is a smoker or lives downwind from the wildfires to have it look like that."
"What is this stuff growing out of the nail holes in my ceiling?"
A: "That’s termite frass. You’ve got bad termites and you’ll want to deal with it asap."
"What are these plastic structures with wheels on the side of the road?"
A: "They are installation art. “Park” by Marko Simcic"
"What is this large, solid(?) metal coffin-shaped thing on the beach in Oregon? Near the site of a 1920s shipwreck."
A: "Appears to be a drop hammer for pile driving."
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