The best available detective right now may be found online. Furthermore, there are so many enigmatic objects around that we unquestionably require detective abilities, such as the internet.
Only the collective intelligence and knowledge of the millions of online users could decipher some of the posts on the subreddit “What is This Thing?” (WITT).
20 of the most enigmatic objects we could find are listed below:
1. Looks like Clay
Question: My 3-year-old came home from an extracurricular activity where he can exchange tickets at a “store” for what’s usually dollar store items. It’s rubber/ silicone, the size of a fingertip, doesn’t erase, about as hard as a bouncy ball but doesn’t bounce like a bouncy ball. Doesn’t light up. What is it?
Answer: It looks like an ’80s light bulb eraser without the metal bottom editing to add they never really erased anything.
2. Curious Bell
Question: An iron cone on either side of a gate outside the entry to a building in Bath England.
Answer: It’s a snuffer. A visitor to your house would use it to put out their torch.
3. Golden Pig
Question: What is this thing? Small gold pig container with a removable tiny spoon for a tail.
Answer: Salt cellar. Also, known as a Salt Pig. It is a utensil to have salt easily accessible by your side while working in the kitchen before the age of shakers.
4. Road Safety
Question: What are these blue reflecting markers for? They are mounted on a pole, facing the field.
Answer: They are reflecting the headlights of cars to the fields so that deer avoid crossing the road. So it’s for the safety of cars and animals.
5. Old Car Accessory
Question: Found on the dashboard of an old GMC. A lucite-like material, with ridges.
Answer: It’s a traffic light viewer. Traffic lights back in the day were mounted on the same side you stopped on which sometimes made it difficult to see the light if you were first in line, this helped reflect the light from above so you could tell when the light changed.
6. Ingenious Road Sign
Question: A variable stop sign in Illinois?
Answer: These are blinders, typically used so the sign can be read from a narrow-angle. They’re also called directional shields. You’ll see them at traffic lights a lot more often.
7. An Ancient Household Object
Question: Found it when cleaning my parents’ basement. Looks like some sort of bookholder or something. It is made out of wood and the paint is heavily chipped. Ripped-up pieces of newspaper were found inside the top compartment, one of which was dated 1967.
Answer: Italian (Florentine style) phone stand. Forgot to say, yes, there should be a drawer, for pens and paper and a personal phone book. The vertical cavity is for your city phone book or books. The top is a handle for moving it about.
8. Fancy Bath
Question: This fancy hotel has a shallow tub with two sides. When the button is pressed, one side lights up with a red light and hot water for about 30 seconds. Then the other side lights up with blue light and cold water and shuts off after the same amount of time.
Answer: This is very common in Germany, we call it “Wechselbad.” You’re supposed to keep your feet in the warm water first and then quickly put them in the cold water (repeat a few times). This is supposed to help with circulation, although I’m not sure if there’s actually scientific evidence for that. We usually have these in spas and other wellness or health-related facilities.
9. Metal Pumpkin
Question: A pumpkin thing that opens on a hinge, latch inside with a small glass jar. A sharp pin is attached to the jar. There’s a flat glass surface that opens to reveal a little compartment.
Answer: It might be a “vinaigrette,” a piece of jewelry containing smelling salts or perfume that women hung from a chatelaine chain in Victorian times.
10. Strange Spoon
Question: Found this while cleaning out the attic. It’s wood, looks handmade, and measures 20cm, but I have no idea what it is or does!
Answer: Perhaps it’s a Yacouba Double Spoon – a symbol of hospitality in traditional African art. It represents two very distinct universes that are opposite.
11. Straight Crop Circles?
Question: Random-ish straight but not parallel lines next to my office building… What’s happening here?
Answer: You probably live in the UK, where planning authorities often require developers to do “evaluation trial trenching” to make sure there are no important archaeological artifacts that might be destroyed by excavation.
If the trial trenches turn up anything interesting, a more serious archaeological dig may be required before building can begin. As far as I’m aware, this practice is unique to the UK. We definitely don’t do it in the US, and I haven’t heard of it being done in Europe.
12. Weird Design
Question: What is this growth on my mugs after I microwave them?
Answer: Ceramicist here. So clay bodies are porous, depending on the material. Porcelain is dense, and earthware and stoneware are less. Either way, liquids can move through fired clay. A glaze that goes on the outside can look solid but can have hundreds of tiny cracks and holes. When you microwave liquids or just let them sit in a ceramic vessel they can seep through and crystallize in the cracks and holes.
This usually only happens with handmade or cheap ceramics. Sometimes this is done on purpose and is referred to as a “crackle” glaze. When it happens on accident it’s called crazing, when the tensile strength of the glaze doesn’t match the clay body during firing.