15 Things People Would Never Have Been Able To Identify If The Internet Hadn't Come To Their Rescue
By Kelley Greene,
14 hours ago
The world is filled with unknowable things — the least of which are the little mysterious thingamabobs we happen upon while simply existing. Lucky for us, we have the kind folks over at the r/whatisthisthing subreddit to figure out what all these oddities are. Here's 15 recent finds from the sub, and what they turned out to be:
1. This porcelain, globe-shaped object found in an attic:
"They are reflective shields for dental work. They help view inside a patient’s mouth. The pad absorbs moisture and holds the little mirror in place. Here's a better photo. "
4. This enameled pot on a heavy iron base found on an old farm in upstate New York:
"It's a milk bottle filler and capper, vaguely similar to this one although obviously smaller capacity. The capper part for crimping on the old foil tops is pretty distinctive."
The original poster, u/Glittering_Duty_3886 , replied, "Dude, I think you got it. I bet you the chip clip got stuck to the bottom of a pan and melted it off, leaving the magnet attached to a pan somewhere. Thank you!!! 👍👍 Was driving everyone bonkers with mystery."
6. These small, bullet-shaped items that seemed to be made out of stone:
"Hey, I know this one. Those are crown dies for making dental crowns. The teeth are trimmed down and impressed. The model is poured up into stone, and the individual tooth that has the crown made is cut out of the model. I haven't seen any with a copper or lead top before. But that's what they look like."
"You’re absolutely right. It took me a second look after reading your comment. 100% accurate for stone die casts for making dental crowns. The shiny stuff is painted on a die-hardener to protect the stone replica of a patient’s prepared tooth while working on it. I am a dentist and have seen my fair share of these. Albeit less weathered."
In response, user ap1msch explained further, saying, "This is it. Cue tips can get smooth and shiny over time if not cared for, making them far less effective and unable to accept chalk. You need to rough them up so they can properly spin the billiard balls."
8. This small stone tablet found on a ridge line in Conway, Massachusetts:
"There was and is such a thing as a 'footstone' that marks the bottom of a burial site away from the head and main tombstone. Could be one of those."
The original poster u/Jeromiewhalen then contacted the state's Head Archaeologist and reported back, "It’s a gravestone for a child. They said, 'This object appears to be a mid-late 19th-century headstone marking a child’s grave or some sort of cenotaph children’s memorial.
This general area of Conway State Forest is part of a former agricultural homestead landscape, so a poorly marked cemetery and/or cenotaph memorial near the former home site is not especially surprising. DCR staff have not yet systematically archaeologically surveyed this portion of Conway State Forest.'
I'm scheduling a time to go with the archeologist to return it."
Later, they posted an update to the same comment: "The gravestone has been returned! Thank you to the Conway Historical Society and the Massachusetts State Archeologist team for meeting us to record its location and provide some historical background on the area."
"Worked at an old engineering firm, and there were still a few of these around. The pencil in question was more like a mechanical pencil, holding the graphite rod in place. You would pull out a bit of extra rod, put the pencil in the hole, and sort of swirl it around. Gave you a bleeding sharp point for fine line work on drawings and sketches."
"It's a ladder jack . They hook onto the rungs of a ladder such that with a pair of ladders and ladder jacks, you can put a plank between them as a work platform."
"A tool to keep track of your ship's position relative to other ships and the course. You set the arrow to the course the fleet commander ordered and mark the ships you are supposed to keep next to and behind. It helps to keep fleet cohesion. This will give you an idea. "
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
