“A round, cog-like metallic ’tag’ that came with a hairdressing kit”
"It’s a hair scissors key used for adjusting hair clippers."
“A compressible sponge soaked in clear oily odorless substance — I received it at a conference.”
"It’s a shoe polisher."
“There’s a guy wearing this ankle thing at a resort in the Caribbean.”
"It’s a mosquito-repellent device."
"What’s the bottom segment of this pedestrian stoplight in Germany?"
“I believe it’s a speaker giving a sound signal for blind people to let them know they can cross.”
"I found this thing on the beach. It’s solid and smells like seaweed, what is it?"
“Codium bursa is a medium-sized green marine algae.”
"A strange tool with a rotating head — it’s like a wooden hammer/roller, but what would it be used for?"
“Looks like this. It seems to be part of an antique or retro Swedish berry/fruit press.”
"A weirdly shaped piece of metal found at the bottom of a McDonald’s bag"
“It’s the clip that holds the lid on the sweet and unsweetened tea urns.”
"Non-magnetic copper colored balls found while tilling soil in the Santa Barbara area"
“They’re copper plating balls.”
"I found this in Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii. It’s glass, but I’m wondering if anyone knows what it’s a part of."
“Looks like it could be a pre-1954 bottle from the Owens Illinois company based on the maker’s mark.”
"I went away for 6 days and came home to these little brown balls spread out on the bathroom floor. They are hard but breakable, 1-3 mm."
“Desiccant balls”
"I saw this one taxi in Germany had this. It’s a 10 cm x 5 cm taped box. 2 or 3 cables lead into the trunk from that item."
“Looks like some sort of antenna. Apparently, exterior boxes can be used for anything from GPS to transmitting video/radio, etc. Because this looks DIY, I suspect it’s not GPS put in by the company for insurance reasons, etc. Probably something the driver did for their own comfort, like Wi-Fi or some other entertainment type thing.”
"White rigid plastic with rubber inside and a circle end"
“A bottle cap opener for those with limited hand strength suffering from arthritis or disabilities.”
"My husband and I moved into our first apartment with a dishwasher. In the utensil basket, we found metal."
“That looks like a dimpled or countersunk washer to me. They are used in a wide variety of applications, however, I doubt they would have used a mild steel variety in such an inhospitable environment.”
"I found this secondhand, and it opens up. It’s made of metal. What is it?"
“Could be a lettuce drier. My dad used a basket like this to dry off lettuce he just washed. Spun it around outside.”
"My dentist gave this to me after a checkup. How do I use… whatever this is?"
“You put it on the end of your toothpaste tube and slowly move it up the tube to squeeze the toothpaste out.”
"A small elephant filled with water was left at the flat after a party. Debating with my flat mates over what its purpose could be."
“It’s a melted, reusable ice cube.”
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