What's That Thing: The Strangest Finds. Issue 230

Here is a new episode of our irregular column "Explain to me what this thing is?". Everyone knows the rules! So let's not waste time on words. Welcome everyone and enjoy watching.

1. "I can't figure out what this is. It's blinking. When we moved to the old house, there were two similar objects"





I found the answer! This thing is designed to scare away pests: insects and mice.

2. "Found it under my hotel bed"



This is a prank thing. It beeps at different intervals, the battery lasts for years.

3. "People, help! I've had this thing for about 7 years. It moved with me 3 times. And I still don't know what it is"



This is a back shaving attachment.

4. "There is a button on the seat in front of me on the bus. What is it for?"



For your convenience. Press the button - and you can put your phone there. The plate will move away, there is a spring mechanism inside, it will press the phone and prevent it from falling.

5. "I was going to take a shower in the morning. I looked at the wall and suddenly saw this thing on the ventilation grille"



If I were you, I would remove the grille and look for the lens there. This is a sensor that is used not in spy cameras, but in digital cameras. By itself, it is useless and non-functional.

6. "This was hanging on the wall in my friend's hospital room"



This sensor is used to monitor respiratory failure and possible wound infection.

7. "I was fixing my car and found this thing under the dashboard"



I worked at a car dealership. They put these things on cars that people buy on credit. It's a GPS tracker.

8. "My friend found this device in his trunk. It weighs a lot"



This is a GPS tracking unit. Has the car been rented before?

9. "This device drives me crazy! It makes a really unpleasant sound. What is it?"



This is an ultrasonic animal repeller.

10. "I was washing my husband's clothes here, and there was this thing in them..."



Have you been to the clinic lately? This is a patch for monitoring heart rate.

11. "Found this in the countryside"



I bought something similar online a few years ago. It was advertised as a toothpick.

12. "Found this weird rusty trailer in a rural campground warehouse. What is it for?"



Oh, I know exactly what it is and what it's for. It's used at an electronic music festival as a mobile sound stage.

13. "My stepfather hung this thing above the door to my room"



Does it beep? Then it's an electronic "cricket". I used to play pranks on my colleagues like that.

14. "I found this device in a kitchen drawer in my office"



This is part of a device for cutting sponge cake into even thin layers. A special knife is clamped between two such things, the position of which can be adjusted in height thanks to the grooves.

15. "Found this optical device in the university dump"



This is a lens with an anti-reflective coating. I have a very similar one from a projector.