"Posts With Nets On Top On Side Of Street In The Netherlands"
Answer: "these are to help bats orientate themselves, until the trees are larger. Did they recently cut down trees along this road? Bats need to hear reflection of their sound to know where they are going. These things will replace the leaves in that."
"Found This Glass Like Tube “Shell” Washed Up On A Beach In North Carolina, Any Idea What It Is?"
Answer: "Stingray teeth"
"My Neighbors Shared An Unsettling Video Of A Woman Holding This Device Up To Their Ring Doorbell. She Walked Up, Held It Directly In Front Of The Camera While It Made A Clicking/Buzzing Noise And Then Left Quickly. Any Ideas Of What It Might Be Or If We Should Be Worried?"
Answer: "It's a frequency scanner. Often used by car thieves. These can read the codes from that distance and enable thieves to get into your vehicle, disable the security features in the process, and drive away with your car."
"Found These Soft Metal Objects While Metal Detecting Under A Pier At Low Tide"
Answer: "they’re good luck/prayer charms that are tossed in the water on purpose."
"Just Bought A Lake Home And Found Three Of These In The Water Next To The Pier. Criss-Cross Stack Of Corrugated Pipes Wrapped In Plastic Netting All Weight Down By Bricks"
Answer: "It is a fish crib. It is a device to give baby fish a place to hide from the big boys. They also make for some good fishing as the lunckers will hang around hoping for a few little ones to come out"
"Found Inside A Musical Instrument, It Is The Size Of A Big Grape But There Aren't Any Holes Big Enough For It To Have Fallen Inside"
Answer: "They have these in violins. They call them the mouse. It’s just years and years of fluff and detritus. If they get repaired the repairer will put ‘the mouse’ back into the violin for good luck. It could be something like that."
"Flying Over An Area Outside Of Tucson We Saw This Hole And It Looks Like It Has Water In It"
Answer: "Pit mine, the spiral you see is the actual road trucks drive on to transport the materials mined from the bottom to the top."
"It’s Upside But Looks To Be A Feeder Or Nester Of Some Sort, Attached To The Top Of The Fence By Previous Owner. What Is This Thing?"
Answer: "It's for bees, particularly Mason bees"
"Trunk Full Of Chemicals In 1920's Home, What Is It/For?"
Answer: "It says "International Correspondence Schools" which still exists.Probably a course on chemicals?Now, be careful. Chemical regulations in the 20's were not the same as now. Based on your pictures, you could have nasty toxic chemicals that can go through a glove and kill you (the mercury vial), explosive degradation products (ammonium) and other surprises like that. Earth near from them could be contaminated too.I suggest you do not linger near from them. Perhaps you can arrange a meeting with a university chemical lab and know more about the set, including safe disposal options."
"What Are These Strands/Threads Coming Out Of My Crackers?"
Answer: "This is 100% frayed edges of the conveyors that take the crackers through the sheeting process before being transferred to the oven band."
"What Is This Random Set Of Stairs With A Platform? It’s Located At The Entrance To A Local Forest With Walking Trails"
Answer: "This is for horse mounting."
"Blue Nets Tied Between The Trees. Found While Hiking In The Cinque Terre National Park In Italy"
Answer: "these are nets for catching the fruit from the tree - currently rolled up because there is no fruit. They were spread out to cover the area beneath the trees when I was there in late summer."
"What Is This Thing Hanging Outside My Fireplace. It Seems To Have Gears Inside Of It, And Pivots Into The Fireplace"
Answer: "it's a clockwork spit turner for turning a roast or other meat automatically."
"Full Tub With Deep Front Half. USA. Listing Calls It A Mailman Tub. Google Results In Rule 34"
Answer: "a hip bath"
"This Fancy Hotel Has A Shallow Tub With Two Sides. When The Button Is Pressed, One Side Lights Up With A Red Light And Hot Water For About 30 Seconds. Then The Other Side Lights Up With Blue Light And Cold Water And Shuts Off After The Same Amount Of Time"
Answer: "This is very common in Germany, we call it "Wechselbad". You're supposed to keep your feet in the warm water first and then quickly put them in the cold water (repeat a few times). This is supposed to help with circulation although I'm not sure if there's actually scientific evidence for that.We usually have these in spas and other wellness or health related facilities."
"I Know This Isnt Exactly An Object But Was Hoping You Guys Could Still Help Me Out. What Is This Purple Smoke?"
Answer: "it's a byproduct of burning rubbish with a high iodine content"
"What Are These Vest With Liquid Pouches Worn By Olympic Sailors For? Worn By Dutch Sailors Bekkering And Duetz During A Post Race Interview"
Answer: "They are cooling vests"
"Two Of These Buildings On A Lot Where New Housing Is Going To Be Built"
Answer: "Bat house"
"Heavy Black Balloon (?) Hanging Under White Net In A Field"
Answer: "Home made horse fly trap"
"Found This Buried. It's Flat On One Side, Concaved On The Other And Has A Hole Right Through The Middle"
Answer: "this is likely to be a prehistoric or Roman quernstone"
"Metal, Plastic, And Canvas-Looking Fabric Clips. They Are A Few Inches Long And Some Say Flatex"
Answer: "the things attached to a garter belt to hold up stockings"
"These Strange Dust Patterns Keep Showing Up On Screens Of My Apartment Windows"
Answer: "Previous tenant smoked w a fan in the window. I’ve seen this so many times turning over apartments for work."
"A Small Plastic And Metal Device, Found In The Card Slot Of An ATM"
Answer: "a Lebanese loop used in atm fraud"
"What Is This Pot Inside Of The Fireplace Of The Apartment I Am Renting In Italy?"
Answer: "Looks like a bed warmer. You put hot coals/embers in it and move it over your sheets (like an iron) to warm the bed up."
"What Is This Cling Film Type Stuff On Tom Daley’s Arms, And What’s It For?"
Answer: "Cling filmed ice packs"
"What Is This Pool In The Middle Of Nowhere"
Answer: "a water reserve for fire fighting"
"Part Of Silverware Set. It Has A Corkscrew Tip, But It Is Not Sturdy Enough To Be Used As S Corkscrew. Thoughts For Its Purpose?"
Answer: "It's a butter pick."
"Witt 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"
Answer: "It is for punching holes in leather or similar things. Like, for a belt"
"This Thing Is Made Of Terracotta And Has Sunflowers On Each End"
Answer: "That’s a taco holder."
"My House (Built In The Mid 70's) Has One Of These In Almost Every Room. Same Size As A Switch Plate, With Copper Wire Strung To The Eleven Sockets"
Answer: "The three prong ones were for TV and FM antennas, and the center one was for an antenna rotator, to get better reception."
"Any Ideas What Someone Left At My House Party? Small Green Ridged Brick, Hole In The Middle, Crumbles When I Scratch It"
Answer: "rat/rodent poison."
"Stainless Steel Curved Rods. Largest Is About 9 Inches. They Have Been In Family Since The 40s They All Fit Inside Of One Another. Best Guess So Far Is Glove Finger Stretchers"
Answer: "Nested set of seven plated medical cervical dilators"
"A Kitchen Utensil With A Wooden Handle, Attached To A Round Metal Cup With 3 Spikes (With Holes In)"
Answer: "Funnel for making a portugese sweet called "Fios de Ovos" or egg threads."
"What Is This Pink "Dust" That Keeps Reappearing In The Corners Of My Kitchen Ceiling Within A Few Hours Of Being Cleaned?"
Answer: "grain mites"
"What Are These Small White Balls That Keep Appearing In The Corner Of My Window?"
Answer: "Styrofoam, but if you cut it in half, you should be able to determine if it's a spider egg or Styrofoam pretty easily"
"Old Object With Mirror, Foldable, Can Be Opened And From "Longworth""
Answer: "It is a laryngoscope"
"New Bra I Bought Online Has A “Microchip” Inside Of It. Looks Pretty Fake To Me But Can’t Pinpoint What Is It Exactly And Why Such Lengths To Have It Inside The Hems Like This"
Answer: "New age "healing" stuff, like the magnetic bracelets and such."
"Found This In A Random Box Of Kitchen Supplies. Is This Just For Carving Meat Or Some Other Food?"
Answer: "It's to slice bread"
"Variable Stop Sign In Illinois"
Answer: "These are blinders, typically used so the sign can old be read from a narrow angle. They're also called directional shields. You'll see them on traffic lights a lot more often."'
"This Object Is Hanging From The Ceiling Of Our Waiting Room At The Hospital. It’s A White Smooth Dome With No Numbers Or Labels Of Any Kind. Anyone Know What This Is For? My Thought Was WiFi Or A Signal Booster"
Answer: "Signal booster"
"My Metals Professor In College Does Not Know What This Thing Is. We Dont Either And He Has Multiple Of Different Sizes. The Box Has No Info Besides What Is Shown In The Photo. It Is Some Kind Of Ceramic Material With An Inverted Dome In The Center. Any Help?"
Answer: "It is a slate dish for grinding flux.
Back in the day, you put a little water in it and rubbed a borax cone in it to make up the day’s flux."
"What Is This S-Shaped Metal Ornament On This House?"
Answer: "Anchor plate or wall washer. It’s meant to keep masonry in place. And made esthetic because they are visible. There a bolt going on the other side, in the center. And hold the bricks in place"
"Opened Up An Old Motor I Acquired At A Garage Sale, Took This Part Off The Top And There’s A Sponge And Some Wires Inside. Why Is There A Sponge Inside?"
Answer: "The cover is for the start or run capacitor, foam is probably just to stop it from rattling"
"What Are These 2 Metal Studs On The Side Of This ATM?"
Answer: "Pretty sure they put those on there to stop skimming."
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