“Small dimpled rubber ball that was thrown at a cyclist. Very squishy and about the size of a paintball.”
Answer: "Nerf ball for the Hyper or the Rival."
“Stretchy metal bracelet with sharp hanging blade. The bit at the end is sharp and moves on the pin.”
Answer: "You put a spool of thread on the bar and put the circle on your wrist, so you can work on needlework or embroidery."
“I now own these neon rainbow acrylic mystery sticks I found in the Goodwill bins. Anyone know what I bought?”
Answer: "They are colorful mahjong racks."
“Cast iron shaft in the marsh on my property”
Answer: "It’s the worm and driveshaft out of a 28-29 model AA Ford. Driveshaft and worm likely 6-7 feet long."
“Light ’fixture’ I noticed at a restaurant. Appears to be some sort of old machinery.”
Answer: "It’s the lift mechanism from a dumb waiter."
“Found these glass tubes in the attic of my 100 year old home.”
Answer: "Ampules that can be filled with something. They get sealed by melting the glass with a flame."
“What is the intended purpose of this very thin, glass covered drawer?”
Answer: "It’s a bedside cabinet and it’s to put cups of coffee/ breakfast on, so it doesn’t leave coffee rings/stains on the top."
“Metal triangle-shaped hand tool with an offset wooden handle. 5 shallow circle indents on the surface.”
Answer: "It’s a Masonic shot glass holder."
“Spiky plastic thing”
Answer: "Bottle holder for babies bottles. You use it as a drainer after washing them."
“It looks like a plastic key of some sort, but with a ridge pattern instead of a normal key pattern.”
Answer: "Looks like it could be a ’Zig Zag Waffle Key for Leonardo Versatwin & Kruger toilet paper dispensers’.""
“Found this at my internship. It is a relatively small, metal plate.”
Answer: "Looks like a Witkar key. Even the design in the flat part looks like the company logo."
“Found on the beach, it’s solid, and the green casing feels like stone, but is almost a little stretchy when I try to pull at the edges.”
Answer: "Could be a capacitor. Looks like the 2 wires can be seen at the bottom."
“Weird hollow lens-shaped things stuck together with no pattern. Found on a beach.”
Answer: "Whelk eggs. There’s a picture here if you scroll, plus a cool one of the whelk actually laying some eggs."
“What is this weaved object hanging on the wall of my local pub? I vaguely remember one hanging in my grandparent’s old house.”
Answer: "For beating the dust out of rugs, I believe."
“What is this 6-floor tiny tower in the middle of a parking lot, adjacent to a baseball field?”
Answer: "They use that whole area for training of all sorts, including high-speed chase training for cops, as well as a firing range."
“Old heavy key with ‘GOOD HEALTH’ engraved”
Answer: "It’s obvious. It’s the key to good health. These ’motivational’ knickknacks have been a thing for generations."
Answer: "It’s a prime factorization chart. Almost the same one, but I see this one is shifted one down."
Answer: "It’s a hot chocolate stirrer/whisk. Known as a molinillo."
Answer: "They could be old carriage steps, used to help people get in and out of horse-drawn carriages."
Answer: "This is a Victorian folding clamshell biscuit box."
Answer: "It’s a shared access gate. You can open the gate if you have 1 key that fits one of the locks. It’s necessary when the keys belong to different people or organizations. If someone loses the keys, you can just restore 1 key instead of making new copies for everyone."
Answer: "They say it’s an astrolabe. It is one of the most ancient astronomical tools to measure the horizontal angles and find the longitudes and latitudes of celestial bodies."
Answer: "It’s the top (closure part) of a purse or small handbag."
Answer: "It looks like a plantation/planter’s chair. You’d put your sore, swollen legs up on the arms after sitting on a horse all day, like a pregnant woman with her legs up in the same fashion. This is why the back is so sloped as well. If you sit up straight, it wouldn’t be comfortable to put your legs up like that, but in a reclined position, it’s good for blood and air flow."
Answer: "It’s an antique heater."
Answer: "It’s a portable men’s urinal for bed-bound patients."
Answer: "It’s for carrying books."
Answer: "It’s a hair curler."
Answer: "It’s a magic square. It’s a popular sort of decoration to put outside math departments. If you add the numbers horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, it will make 34."
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