14 Times Internet Users Turned Into Great Detectives and Solved Mysteries

The detective genre in literature has always been one of the most popular ones. For example, in 2021 in the UK, 3 out of 10 best-selling books belonged to that category. It seems that people love such fiction stories because they are exciting and allow us to try ourselves as investigators. However, there are those who love to solve mysteries in real life — they go to a special subreddit r/whatisthisthing and help identify all sorts of objects.

We at Now I’ve Seen Everything gathered their most interesting finds right here.

1. “Small plastic pouch with red gel and a metal disc inside”

Answer: “Hand warmer. You can ‘click’ the metal piece and it will start a chemical reaction and heat the pad.”

2. “I found this in my grandparents’ old home. It was in an old jewelry box. Does anyone have any idea as to what this could be?”

Answer: “It looks like an old perfume atomizer.”

3. “My dad shows this thing to everyone who comes to the house to try and find out what it is.”

Answer: “That’s a coconut cutter.”

4. “I’ve had this around for a while. What is it?”

Answer: “It looks like a hair pin.”

5. “Does anybody know what this might be for? The position of loops is adjustable with graduations in cms along the frame.”

Answer: “Guitar finger trainer”

6. "What’s this weird forky double headed thing?

Answer: This claw-fork is used for cutting meat. You can hold meat from above with its help.

7. “What is the Red pointy plastic used for?”

Answer: “My guess is for opening old style, push tab style cans...so you don’t cut your finger.”

8. “This came with a book. Does anyone know what this is?”

Answer: “It’s a bamboo straw with a cleaning stick. I import and sell these.”

9. “What is this thing?”

Answer: “It’s a picture frame holder. I have this at my office, it’s probably 25 years old.”

10. “A seagull dropped this beside me after I gave it some bread.”

Answer: Some bird species (mostly crows) have been known to give gifts. You’ve just gotten gifted with an abalone shell from a seagull! How cool!"

11. “Does anyone know what kind of tool this is or what it could be used for?”

Answer: “It’s a lid and jar opener.”

12. “I work in a library and we found a bunch of these tan, plastic block things with movable sides. They’re about 3” tall and weighty."

Answer: “At my library, the kids area has these carpeted pieces that you can walk on/climb on. That piece pictured looks exactly like the locking mechanism/connecting that allows the pieces to attach to each other.”

13. “Can anyone tell me what this is? It’s about 10 inches across.”

Answer: “It’s an antique telegraph switchboard.”

14. “My grandfather left me this mysterious key. I have no clue what it would open.”

Answer: “It’s a key to a safe deposit box. Go to his bank and ask what he left for you.”

Which objects’ purpose did you guess? Tell us in the comments below.