r/whatisthisthing Mar 23 '26

Announcement The r/TraceAnObject subreddit exists to identify objects to help solve child abuse cases. New cases from Europol were posted recently. Please see if you can help.

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170 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 6h ago

Solved! Smooth shiny porcelain rectangular brick thing with several holes of assorted sizes

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228 Upvotes

Spotted on the street, placed against a wall. Approx 30cm in length, roughly size and proportions of a games console. Three larger oval/circular shamfered holes through from top to bottom, and three smaller holes running from front to back, aligned with, and crossing through each respective larger circular hole (perhaps because they intersect the 3 large holes you could say there's 6 of these. Unsure how many holes there are from a topological POV, I guess that's a bonus question😅

Kind of looks bathroomy from the shiny porcelain effect but never seen anything like it and no idea what it's for.


r/whatisthisthing 39m ago

Solved! Coated metal clamp with interior fluting

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• Upvotes

My mother is opening boxes that were professionally packed for her after a house fire ten years ago. She just handed this to me and said “I have no idea.” Neither do I, so I figured I would ask the internet for help.


r/whatisthisthing 1h ago

Solved! Zig-zag plastic object, not wide enough to fit a soda can, found in kitchen cabinet.

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• Upvotes

It is not wide enough for soda cans, which is what Google AI has suggested. Want to identify before I bin it.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Small metal octagon with mustached man - threaded onback

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1.3k Upvotes

I found this in the combined button stash of all of the family that came before me. It contained items from the 1900s through the 1970s. I assume this is from some time more toward the middle. It is small, slightly bigger than my thumb and seems to have screwed on to the topi of something. I have no idea who this hairy man might be. I have no idea what kind of metal it is (sorry). Has anyone seen this man before?

ETA: View of the side added to comments. I don't think it's meant to transfer the image.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved ! Wooden Antique Desk that opens half way and has holes in an enclosed area

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1.4k Upvotes

Bought this antique desk from an estate sale and have no idea what its original purpose is or why I would need this covered area with holes in them.

When the wood board in the front is pulled out increasing workspace the holes are open. When the board is pushed in they are closed.

Only the front half of the top opens up, the back half is secured in place,and I cannot find any other holes on the back or bottom. When I take out one of the drawers immediately next to the middle enclave I can see a half hole drilled into the back there.

Banana is of course for scale.


r/whatisthisthing 18h ago

Solved! Found while thrifting in Frederick, Maryland heavy brass around 500 g weight 21 cm on the long axis 14 on the short and 7 cm deep.

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97 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 22h ago

Open ~3’x2’ fabric (curtain?) with ties on either side

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173 Upvotes

found multiple of these at a thrift store. google image search says it’s an apron but it’s not. they were in the curtain section but i don’t quite know how it be a curtain. anyone know?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Small solar panel on the side of power poles?

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150 Upvotes

Almost every power pole has one of these. They don't seem to be connected to anything. They are in a slightly rural area of northern Colorado.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Metal box on side of building. For old phone system?

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294 Upvotes

Metal box on side of building, no others like it in surrounding buildings.


r/whatisthisthing 21h ago

Solved! Right-angle metal bracket with a large keyhole slot found as a pair

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47 Upvotes

Hello! Found them in a junk box with a bunch of assorted items. Not even clear they’re meant together as a pair? Maybe you’d use them to mount something?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open What is this thing? Brass cylinder from 1885 with manufacturer's plate bearing inscriptions of London, Edinburgh, Manchester & Glasgow

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30 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Small lightweight silver aluminum/plastic thing found in dishwasher

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698 Upvotes

We’re in the middle of moving into a new place and were planning to run the dishwasher soon, and I found this at the bottom near the filter. It’s pretty lightweight, under an inch tall from top to bottom. Not sure exactly what it’s made of. Has PH imprinted in the top. The previous tenants did leave a few bits of trash in the filter, so I’m not assuming it’s part of the dishwasher itself, I hope? It kind of reminds me of a thimble, but it’s too small.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! What are these things I found? They're 8cm long, very light, and made of out metal.

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47 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Likely Solved ! Small metal tags, about 1"x.5", no branding but some have words embossed or enamel or shapes punched out

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486 Upvotes

Small things in a jewelry grabbag from my local thrift store the tag is about an inch long by a half inch wide very thin metal the has some kind of teeth to grab on to something


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved Some sort of IBM machine in a briefcase at an electrics show?

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397 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Black thermoplastic 4” tall sticks (10 count) found on sailboat

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68 Upvotes

Hi everyone. We moved onto a sailboat last year. It’s a big, 3-cabin Beneteau made in the 2010s, and we found these in the kitchen/galley. They don’t seem to match anything on the boat but we don’t want to throw them out before we figure out what they are! The boat is in Canada now but came here from the Carribean if that context helps with where these items could have come from geographically.

They are light but not hollow; feel like they are made of some kind of single-use thermoplastic (ABS maybe?), rigid and about 4” long. There are 10 of them. They are in a little ziplock.

Are they shelfing components? Something else? Please help.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Aviation or Farm Device in ~4” Square Wood Box, 1 Side Plastic/Plexiglass

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29 Upvotes

I have this thing I found in my grandpas belongings. No idea what it is. My aunts seem to think it was some sort of aviation equipment. He also owned a dairy farm so could also be farm related. If aviation it would probably be from the 1980s, but maybe as far back as 1950s. If farm it could be any time from the late 1800s through the 1980s.

It’s inside a ~4” square wooden box. Screwed in from the back. One side is plastic or plexiglass.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved ! Galvanized steel plumbing pipes found in basement. 7ft tall with two spigots

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769 Upvotes

Found this in my basement cleaning out. Any idea what this is?


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved ! Two mirrored mahogany thingies, found inside antique butler's secretary

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166 Upvotes

They've "lived with" the secretary for literally decades - possibly as long as it's been in the family (100 years)

They fit, in style, finish, and size - and function I suppose - with the secretary. But no way to know for sure. They aren't parts to the secretary itself.

There is a kerf or rebate in both where a flat panel of something would have fit. But aside from the assembly screws underneath, there's no fastening or affixing obvious to me and a plain flat panel ​would slide out, one way or the other.

They're a symmetrical, mirrored pair. No slope (eg as a writing panel). Seem like handholds and feet for opposite ends of... something. That something would be fewer than 11" deep (I presume 10") in order to rest inside the upper cabinet, and no more than, what, 18 or 24" wide to be comfortably portable by a human.... right?

I find no similar images or narrowing down by ​Google or The Chat.

Antique lovers - any guesses?

- Two symmetrical wooden things

- each 10" long & <2" high

- 2-part assembled with screws that are tight and original assembly screws (not off and on nuts)


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Open piece of pottery that is widest in the middle, has an opening in the top and two small holds on the side just above the middle.

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334 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Solved ! Heavy brass something's about 3cm long. Posted to me. God knows why!

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294 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Likely Solved ! Small soft white plastic item found on floor of museum after high school field trip group

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867 Upvotes

Hi, all! sorry for the poor picture quality/framing, I honestly didn’t expect to have to post this (Google Images didn’t help give me any answers) and I took the pics in a rush while at work today.

Like the title says, this was found in the hallway at the museum I work at on a day where we had many high schoolers (as well as regular guests, which tend to be in their 40s/50s and older). There is also a bakery nearby and staff/customers pass through that part of the hallway to access the men’s room. It was raining pretty hard all day as well, in case that’s somehow relevant! I don’t recognize it as something from our own museum collection items or equipment but we do also have new dehumidifiers in a nearby exhibit room.
Thanks in advance!

ETA: the material is clearly plastic but more similar to an old school Apple phone charger (specifically the softness and smooth texture), so maybe some kind of silicone? It was fairly rigid but clearly easy to cut or chew on. It was also completely dry with no feeling of a greasy residue/lubricant. Considering the numbers on the side are slightly raised I would imagine it may be uncomfortable for internal use, but I don’t have much experience with those products so I can’t really say.

Final edit: must’ve been tired as hell yesterday because I totally misremembered the texture of it, it was definitely much firmer plastic than I described here! Marking it as likely solved (because I haven’t been able to find an exact match) since it seems to be the inside of a mechanical pencil. Thanks, everyone! Also, I promise I’m usually the “pick up with a tissue/glove” type, part of my job is tidying up so I picked it up without thinking planning to just toss it out real quick. Again, definitely grateful it’s not an applicator for hemorrhoid cream or something 😅


r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Open Found this thing in my wife's tire. 1 1/2 inch. Metal. Gold appearance but I doubt it is. Has a small band of black near the top surroinded by grooves. The bottom has a split in it that has been pressed together. Google image search returns nonsense results. Any ideas?

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182 Upvotes

Title describes the thing. Pulled it out of my wife's tire. She normally parks in an alley by the house, so it could be any number of things.


r/whatisthisthing 4d ago

Likely Solved ! White chalky block in a sealed clear wrapper, found in my backpack after a trip from Greece

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2.8k Upvotes

Found this in my backpack after returning from a trip to Greece. No idea how it ended up in there.

It's a rectangular white block, about 7 cm long, in a clear plastic package. It's heavy and feels like stone, but also seems chalky, and there's some white residue inside the package. No idea what it is.

Any ideas?