What's That Thing: The Strangest Finds. Issue 201

We regularly come across things that we can't immediately identify. All these incomprehensible things excite the imagination and torment us with doubts, but here, as always, experts from the network come to the rescue, who easily and quickly solve all the mysteries.

1. I found this ring on a walk. I cleaned it and saw that it doesn't look like a regular ring

Such rings are worn as a sign of mourning. The initials on it belong to the deceased loved one.

2. I saw it at my neighbors. It's something between a camera and a speaker

It's an animal repeller.

3. I found this at my aunt's. It seems to have something metal and heavy inside

A "control stone" for measuring the strength of sea currents. They mark it with a serial number, bury it in a certain place, and then find it with a metal detector.

4. I found this on shoes I haven't worn in a while

These are hibiscus seeds, also known as Syrian rose.

5. My friend found this on the beach

Part of a stingray's jaw.

6. I found this in a drawer while sorting through a bunch of old junk

A stand for a leg of lamb.

7. I found this in a cafe

This is most likely an amulet used in voodoo culture to protect against evil spirits.

8. Strange formation on a pipe in Prague

This is an installation by sculptor David Cherny called "Embryo", Prague.

9. I found it in the kitchen of my parents' house

This is a corn cob peeler.

10. The owner of the house found it in the basement

This is a very old soldering iron. One end is the main soldering element, usually copper. The other end should have a wooden handle.

11. I found it in a cafe. What kind of game is this?

This is a board game for two called mancala. It is also often called the grain game. When calculating, the numbers are replaced by pebbles, and the empty holes act as zeros.

12. What is this thing I found in the forest?

This is the Phallus impudicus mushroom or Common Stinkhorn. It is edible both in pre-natal (egg) and freshly sprouted form, and is considered tasty. In France, it is eaten raw.

13. We found it when we were cleaning out my mother-in-law's house, and we don't know what it is. It seems to open, but it's not clear how

This is an old model Polaroid camera.

14. I found them in an envelope attached to the wall behind the refrigerator in my apartment. I live in South Korea

This is a Korean talisman for a successful home sale. Apparently, it worked.

15. I found it on the sand in Australia

A type of poisonous gastropod mollusks Glaucus atlanticus or blue dragon, from the order of nudibranchs. Common in the tropical zone.