15 People Who Had No Idea What They Found Until They Asked the Internet

Mystery is an element that is very popular and alluring in general. Locked doors with strange noises behind them, little houses in the middle of the woods, and items that look strange are some of the mysterious occurrences that people love talking about. But, usually, everything has a perfectly logical explanation no matter how much we want to create a story about them.

Now I’ve Seen Everything can’t get enough of these mysterious objects that don’t give away any clues of what their purpose is.

1. “Appears to be cotton, wrapped partially in burlap, and secured with steel straps.”

• We had one of these when I was growing up. It was a souvenir from some southern plantation type place we visited. Just a mini bail of cotton, ready to be shipped off. RobertCRNA / reddit

2. “What is this wooden plaque/tray with a metal(?) green insert found in a thrift shop?”

• Looks like a cheese board. Maybe the slot on the bottom edge is to store the knife. Komodolord / Reddit

3. “Found a tiny vial of thick liquid with a bead inside. There were also 4 rubber things for your fingers and it was all in a sealed black foil packet. Any idea what it is?”

• I know exactly what this is!! It’s a lotion that comes with temporary tattoo kits. The little rubber finger covers are for applications. Zuzublue / Reddit

4. “Metal object, about 5 inches in diameter, partially buried”

• The most likely answer: an axle shaft. Here’s what the inner end of an axle shaft and spider gear looks like. andrewse / Reddit
  

5. “Found this on the sidewalk in North Hollywood, CA after it rained. About 2.5 inches long. I didn’t touch it.”

• It’s one of those little octopuses that you put in water and it grows. That one is after it’s been absorbing for a while and it’s drying out on the edges. Zombiedango / Reddit

6. “An Art Nouveau-style hook made of silver”

• Maybe a boot button hook that’s used to hook all those tiny buttons on ladies’ boots. Just a guess on my part. CLShirey / Reddit

7. “Dutch origin, was told it’s a guide for cutting French beans. Approximately 3”. Not sure how to use it! What is this thing?"

• Set a knife on the counter, as in pic. Push the bean against the blade, tip-first. The guide ensures you’re splitting the bean more or less in half. Mael_Coluim_III / Reddit

8. “Plastic kitchen tool looks like a slicer or juicer but there’s no cutting edge.”

• It holds things while you slice them. Eggs, tomatoes, etc. jackrats / reddit

9. “This was found on a beach in West Scotland. It’s a tight roll about 2 inches wide made of an extremely thin metallic foil.”

• Looks like the inside of an electrolytic capacitor. The paper spacer holds the electrolyte. trackert / Reddit

10. “It’s a metal sphere, brown plastic inside, and contains a glass-like cube inscribed with KK004.”

• Since this is a part of a mass-produced series, it could be that this was a detector to be placed in one of the many nuclear bomb experiments, and this would record the radiation incoming to a spot with its directional intensity. So that radioactive dust moving around would also make a recording, not only the primary. Jane_the_analyst / Reddit

11. “Found in a library toolbox: wooden handle with metal spokes, about 15 cm long. Can be tightened or loosened by ~5 mm but otherwise, the parts don’t move.”

• It’s a type cleaner like this. Would love to say this with some insight but it was just a reverse Google image search since it’s such a distinctive-looking thing. Snikhop / Reddit

12. “Instead of the Valentine’s Day card he ordered, he received this in the mail! A white triangle net with wall fixtures...any ideas?!”

• It’s to put cuddly toys in, like a hammock. LittleGreenDreams / Reddit

13. "What is this manmade-looking hill in the middle of nowhere at 13°19’02"N, 2°23’51"E?"

• Looks like they are trying to reforest the area. These are typical berms that they dig on hills to hold more water and prevent erosion until the trees get a hold. mud_tug / Reddit

14. “What are these 2-inch long, bent metal hooks in a plastic vial?”

• They’re fingers for a tap extractor. CT_curler / Reddit

15. “It is attached to copper water pipes. Feels like thick cast aluminum. Found it in a basement I was working in.”

• I say it is a water whirler/swirler. A pseudoscience device that is suppose to give water all kinds of magic properties. They come in all forms and shapes, the common thing is that they are insanely expensive. Nemorath / reddit

Did you happen to know any of the items shown above and what their purpose is?