15+ Bizarre Things Made the Owners Move Their Brains, but Only the Internet’s Know-It-Alls Revealed the Answer

In our daily lives, we often encounter small objects that pique our curiosity. These seemingly insignificant items catch our attention, yet we find ourselves clueless about their purpose or origin. And the fastest way to know what this is to run online and ask the Internet’s Sherlocks.

“Glass plate with hole in the center, found as a set labeled relish dish.”

Answer: A relish dish is simply a serving dish for relish (usually small chopped pickled veggies, delicious) and the hole in the lid was to attach a handle to the lid. They usually just made the lid out of glass just like the top, but maybe the techniques were not available when this was made.

“What is this tiny saucepan thing my husband inherited? It has a removable thing with holes around the edges.”

Answer: I realized what it was after I looked at the pictures and, for some reason, it’s a really adorable concept. A tiny pan! It’s like those tiny frying pans you can get for just making a single egg.

“I know what it looks like, but what is it *actually*?”

Answer: “It’s body massager.”

“Two steps found at every playground in town.”

Answer: “A stop on an exercise circuit. There may be other cardio-type apparatus’ within a hundred yards or so.”

“What is this type of clamp used for? It doesn’t open more than this, and when closed, the holes collide perfectly.”

Answer: That’s a gang lock for Lockout/Tagout. It’s placed on a breaker when many people are working with equipment to keep them safe.

“What are these blue reflective markers for? They’re facing the field.”

Answer: They reflect cars’ headlights to the fields so that animals avoid crossing the road.

“Metal tile with slot in hallway of old university building. Standard floor tile size.”

Answer: It’s a dust collector for a built in vacuum system. You dry mop the halls then clean the dry mop using the vacuum at this slot. It used to have a lid that fit the long slot and sealed it. The round part is a hookup for a vacuum hose. My high school had them and the janitors used it.

“I found this odd set of disposable cutlery in my new flat.”

Answer: They’re clay modeling instruments or cake-decorating tools.

“This is about 3ft talk made of solid wood. It doesn’t weigh much though, maybe 5 or 10 lbs. It does not move”

Answer: Boot puller.

“Bought a house with this glass structure in the backyard, no idea what it’s supposed to be.”

Answer: Looks like a home built mini greenhouse.

“It’s about 6 1/2 inches long and made of solid brass.”

Answer: “Looks to me like a zen sand garden rake. Unless it telescopes, in which case I’ll go with back scratcher.”

“My hotel room bed leg has a red-flashing light coming from a rubber piece.”

Answer: It’s a mesh bed bug detector.

“What is this red, 3.5 inch by 4 inch cylindrical object I found in the cabinets of a rental property?”

Answer: this is likely a paw brush for dogs who walk outside and get dirty paws.

“This was in an estate auction lot. It’s made of wood and has a metal section with the letter A.”

Answer: It’s a tool for softening, making imprints, and cutting leather.

“What is this red plastic thing? light weight, 2-3” long, no text, 3 year old was carrying around."

Answer: It’s for tying balloons.

“My partner and I got this from my eccentric aunt and no one knows what it is. My sister and her husband got one too.”

Answer: Looks like a napkin holder.

“Triangular pocket on a loop. No elastic and is too small to be a hat. And no, it doesn’t fit around your waist.”

Answer: Flower basket. The loop hangs on a dooknob on a May Day.

If you like finding out facts about peculiar objects, scratching your head in bewilderment, wondering about their purpose in the grand scheme of things, you will definitely enjoy watching this:

• 17 Mysterious Objects Whose Purposes Were Really Hard to Find, but Not for Internet Know-It-Alls
• 20 Mysterious Things the Internet Detectives Helped Identify
• 16 Mysterious Objects That People Online Were Glad to Identify