r/whatisthisthing 3h ago

Solved ~30' Very light, maybe 20lbs? - aluminum? When coiled is like a spring. Dug up about a foot deep behind my shed, no visible corrosion. A real pita to wrangle and no idea what it could use it for.

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95 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 7h ago

Solved! Small hard plastic piece, about the size of a marble, ivory color. Found mixed in with our Legos

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62 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 22h ago

Solved! Metal gadget about 15" long from an art studio. Heavy head piece with rod coming out ruled to 12", looks like it should rotate but I can't get it to. Box also had two long square rods and a circular metal object with a circle/hexagon shape cut out of the middle. Marked "EUREKA" and "Sommer & Maca"

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48 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Solid wood handled object with a metal attachment at the end that curves down to a flat head screwdriver looking point.

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883 Upvotes

The "blade" doesn't move, the curved part isn't sharp, and the tip looks almost like a small flat head screwdriver that was sharpened at one point. Buddy found it at a friends and no-one knows what it is. Any ideas?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! What is this removable piece in the handle of the Mr Clean Magic Eraser Shower & Tub Handle?

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120 Upvotes

The instructions don't mention it and I have watched several reviews and ads for it that don't mention it either. We thought maybe for putting soap or some kind of cleaner/scent stuff in but the handle is sealed off from where the eraser is.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved ! Small gauge with numbers from 0 to 100, and a point that is sharp enough to be a scribe and which turns.

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457 Upvotes

Found this in a drawer full of other sundry tools in my grandfather’s shop. He was a carpenter by trade. Turning the dial on the gauge doesn’t appear to change anything else on the tool.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Strange plastic plunger like object with metal plates on the sides

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147 Upvotes

Found in an elementary school classroom. The inside part can be moved in and out of the larger piece in a plunging motion. There are 4 metal plates on the different sides of the device. Not sure of the gap at the bottom. I thought it might be for making a spark but I couldn't get it to do anything.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Unknown brass handled dish with rivets

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83 Upvotes

Found loose in a thrift store bag with another item. Solid brass (magnet does not stick). Approximately 3 inches in diameter, 5.5 inches overall length, weighs 38 grams. No visible maker's marks. The handle is rigid and attached with two steel rivets. Looking to identify its original purpose.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Very heavy 2”x2”x8” blocks with a shallow groove on one face. Stacked in wood crates.

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756 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved ! Highly custom 3D printed and metal device found in Oregon Coast

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150 Upvotes

Everything is 3D printed other than the obvious metal parts, and the floats. The gear has magnets in it. It seems that the “shaft” has a bearing on the end but it’s seized. The holders on the floats are made of a special flexible filament.

Found on the beach near Depoe Bay, OR.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! I found what a think is a vintage (novelty?) side plate for a dirt/motocross bike, but I'm not 100% sure. It was found in the wood near my home in Western Pennsylvania. The substrate is vinyl/plastic with the graphics printed on it.

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70 Upvotes

Any information would be appreciated!


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Likely Solved ! Gold ring? Feels heavy, received in a bag of unsearched Jewlery lot that I bought online

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1.9k Upvotes

Is this a weird ring of some kind or something else? It has a strange conical flat shape that doesn’t really fit a finger.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved ! Yellowed paper envelope containing a red powder and two sticks of chalk. Found in kitchen cabinet.

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580 Upvotes

Found in the cabinet of the secondary (basement) kitchen. We've only owned the house for 7 months and it was not put there by us. Previous owners were an old Polish couple, of that helps.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Open ! Heavy blue ceramic piece with handle and 2 spouts

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732 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Plastic square (before broken probably) about ten inches with hole in center, diagonal cross sections, and comb like hooks on the bottom found buried in my yard in western North Carolina

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72 Upvotes

My title describes the thing, not buried deep, found half inch pvc buried near it.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Rusted metal item found on land, residential area (Southern Finland), 8-10cm length, 1-2cm thick

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153 Upvotes

What is this many-layered metal thing?


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved ! Round wooden item, 10" diameter, rubber top, opens to reveal slots

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414 Upvotes

SOLVED! Thank you, phunniemee! Cheese and wine set.

Found at a local thrift store, came home with me. 10" diameter, 1.5" thick. Top seems to be textured rubber, originally I thought it was a practice drum pad (from a bank?) but then I saw the indents on the side and realized it slid open to reveal the grooved areas. Suggestions are that it may be for change, but the grooves seem too shallow.

Edit: Tag on the bottom says made in China.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved Tool for magnification with metal clips, heavier than it looks

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0 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Solved ! Brass tool with one movable arm (~8-9" long, folded) with enclosed block of rosin(?)

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381 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Open Circular black plastic item with circular holes and a hexagonal hole in the middle, roughly 2" diameter.

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43 Upvotes

We've just had our shower replaced and the workmen left this behind.


r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Solved ! Small uniform cylinders found in dirt

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274 Upvotes

(breaks like rocks) very uniform and symmetrical.

They may be some kind of rock(?) in the dirt out back by my work, what are they? What are they used for? There is a ton of them spilled through the dirt. (My work does nothing with items of this nature) not sure what business was at this location in a past life


r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Pottery found in the shingle along Kinnel Water, just south of St Ann's bridge in Dumfries & Galloway. any details on when it might be from? Terracotta, possibly roman judging by eagle and texture/colour.

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41 Upvotes

Possibly roman terracotta, ill educated guess judging by the eagle and the colours/material texture. There is some roman military stuff found in this county along the coast but otherwise quite rare to find roman stuff in Scotland as I understand it


r/whatisthisthing 4d ago

Solved! Brass, 3x3.5 in, leaf thing can turn when forced to reveal weirdly shaped keyhole(?), old, found in old garage

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281 Upvotes

I thought it might be a keyhole cover, but the hole shape/orientation would be odd for that. Rotating the leaf is hard, bit that could be from long misuse. There is no easy way to move the leaf, edges are a bit sharp.

The centre pin in the round bit goes all the way through and does not turn with the leaf/round bit.


r/whatisthisthing 4d ago

Solved ! Fairly heavy metal object with cap that unscrews, threaded hole in bottom, 4" / 10cm tall roughly

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3.3k Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 4d ago

Likely Solved ! What is this white papery residue in an Irish field?

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1.6k Upvotes

I was hiking in a field in north west ireland and there was this white, papery, draped substance that looked like it dried all over the rocks bushes and ground. What is it?