16 mysterious household items from the past, by the appearance of which you can’t immediately understand why they were needed (17 photos)

Every day we use various household items and are happy to have them. But similar things that make life much easier or decorate it existed in the past - and many of them can compete with their modern counterparts in terms of thoughtfulness and beauty!





Antique chairs had special handles to hold a tray



This is what medicine ampoules looked like: they were sealed by melting glass flame





Mid-century ashtray



A 1930s Tiffany Stirrer drinks



And this is what the lighters for the lamps looked like



Our house was built in the mid-70s, and every room has weird outlets



Three pins were intended for television antennas and radio, and the central ones were for turning the antenna.

Decoration with smelling salts, they were worn by ladies in the Victorian era



And one more decoration, this time for horses. These straps were hung on harnesses



In our 1906 house there is a blocked line from the time when there was gas lighting



A fashionable but incomprehensible chair from the 1980s: you have to sit on the left side, and put your feet on right



Aluminum was once used to make not only saucepans, but also candy bowls



Here is a gorgeous retro phone stand



You can put a phone book or a notepad in the drawer, and the top handle stand can be carried around the house along with the phone!

Silver rattle-shaped box - for example, a lock of a child's hair was kept inside



In the basement of our house there is an ash collector to clean the air from soot



Antique salt shaker. Salt spoon as a pig's tail



And here you can guess! Did you recognize it?



That's right, it's an inkwell - one container contained ink, and the other contained sand for blotting up the drops.