17 Mysterious Objects Whose Purposes Had People Scratching Their Heads

In our everyday lives, we often encounter things we’ve never seen before, their purpose hidden in mystery. Thankfully, there are always knowledgeable people online who are ready to offer the answers we seek.

“Foot and a half long fabric cushion hanging from interior hotel door knob.”

• It’s to keep the door from closing. You put a loop on each side of the door handle and the cushion keeps the door from latching so you can bring in luggage, etc. © lightningusagi / Reddit

“What is this bowl for? It’s got a small hole at the bottom.”

• It looks like a flower bulb forcer. © Tossing_Goblets / Reddit

“My college dorm has these things, several of them on each floor. The building was finished in 1969.”

• It looks like a phone “booth.” At one point, it likely held a phone. © NYSenseOfHumor / Reddit

“Tennis racket with a hook on the back, on a long chain with ball at the end.”

• This is used to measure the height of the net in tennis. The hook hangs on the top of the net and the net is tightened till the ball just touches the grass. © Tricky_Extreme5862 / Reddit

“Found these tiny round brown grains on top of a second mattress cover, right below my husband’s pillow. We have cats, but it’s not the same color as their litter.”

• It looks like foam from the mattress. It gets through the fabric and then turns into balls. © Cristinky420 / Reddit

“A friend found this at Goodwill. Toolbelt of some kind.”

• It’s a fishing pole holder. © wesleyharrison123 / Reddit

“Renting a house and the basement has these ropes with some sort of plastic hooks/clamps.”

• Looks like a display I have for baseball hats. © snickerdoodle79 / Reddit

“Wooden elephants with a rod through them. Rod slides out and elephants are removable.”

• It’s a napkin holder. © RickyDontLoseThat / Reddit

“Plastic ring with 3 relatively sharp metal claws, found on beach in Scotland.”

• It’s a “claw” to help pull in fishing nets. © Mackin-N-Cheese / Reddit

“What is this asterisk style wall socket/cover in my buddy’s house?”

• It’s for sending wires through the wall, there should be a corresponding one somewhere else. © Tomb2172 / Reddit

“Some sort of vintage lounge chair with a hole in the seat that reveals some sort of motor or device and there’s a cord that you can plug into a wall... Neighbors put it out.”

• Pelvic seat warmth. It’s Korean. By applying pressure to both pelvis and waist with 3 levels of pressure, it massages the pelvis and waist to relieve pelvic distortion. © Naive-Atmosphere-178 / Reddit

“Metal rocket shaped holder for something.”

• It’s a stand for bar tools. © littleheaterlulu / Reddit

“5-foot-tall solid brick structure in the woods near my house”

• It’s an old sign with the name of a district or location. Usually installed by the builders. © DOUCYIMD1 / Reddit

“Glass objects with decorative flower patterns. 600 grams each.”

• They look more like those old furniture or piano casters/cups to prevent floor damage. © aloquix / Reddit

“What are these wooden/plastic boards in front of the doors? Found in a small Spanish city.”

• They are used for protecting stray dogs from peeing into the door. © jojo-11361 / Reddit
• Pet owners are encouraged to use the liquid in the provided bottle to rinse their pet’s pee off the walls/doors/floor. It helps keep the street clean and reduce odors. © tintinomalley / Reddit

“A small cast metal table with slot for a conical metal instrument.”

• Waffle cone roller, I was a wizard with that thing. I kind of miss it, just for the fact that my entire wardrobe smelled of cones. © Ravioverlord / Reddit

“It was left at my work in what we call ’lighting world’, where the lights are made pretty at concerts. No one knows what it is.”

• It’s a fake camel toe. Usually for drag queens, trans women etc. © Unknown author / Reddit

You can sharpen your logic further by trying to guess the purpose of objects from photos. Here are a few more peculiar items that had us scratching our heads.