10 unusual things, for identification of which the help of the audience was needed (13 photos)

Have you ever found things whose purpose is a real mystery? Strange things can be found in the far corners of kitchen drawers, on garage shelves, in grandma's chests, in old houses and on the streets.





And such things are also a magnet in antique shops, forcing you to buy them even without a rough understanding of their purpose. And sometimes you not only have to suffer over their functionality, but also actually ask the audience for help in order to comprehend the secret of an outwardly simple object.

1. A solid wooden structure, similar to a hammer of unusual shape



A shilla or blacktarn is a famous Irish club made of blackthorn or oak, about a meter long. Not just a weapon, but a part of the national culture - it was used for fighting, training, and even demonstrating prowess in traditional fights.

2. Large silver spoon with a hole, dating from the 1930s





An egg scoop that is convenient for gently dipping and removing eggs from boiling water.

3. Mysterious brackets on cabinet doors in a century-old house



At the beginning of the last century, such elements were used to attach hangers, shelves or even mirrors - a practical solution with a special vintage charm that made the door an additional useful storage area.



4. Small round metal objects on a thick textile elastic band



This trainer is used for training dogs - the so-called aversive training method. When a dog tries to pick up something forbidden - food or something from the floor, then this object is thrown nearby - this distracts the dog and interrupts the unwanted action.

5. A light plastic thing - clearly a kitchen accessory



It turned out to be a wine aerator - a special device for "airing" red wine. The strainer holds back the sediment, and the aerator itself helps saturate the drink with oxygen, revealing its taste and aroma.

6. A Swiss Army Knife-like tool with strange blades



A flim, also called a flim, fly, flue, flam, or flern, was a hand tool used for bloodletting.

7. A huge metal machine outside a store



Alligator shears are designed for metalworking. They have a characteristic feature - an open mouth, which resembles the mouth of an alligator. For which, in fact, they got their name. Such equipment is used for cutting long blanks, beams, reinforcement, profiles in metalworking shops and in production.

8. Metal spikes and rings mounted in a city wall



These structures are known as ferro - a functional element of wrought iron on the facades of Italian buildings. Ferro is a common feature of medieval and Renaissance architecture in Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria. The ring was installed at a height of about 1.5 meters from the ground and was used to tether horses, and the peaks were holders for standards and torches. They were located higher on the facade and at the corners of the building.

9. A light metal device resembling tongs



This is a holder for slicing lemons and tomatoes.



10. The thing that looks like a flat marker or felt-tip pen on a wooden handle



This is a piano tuning muffler. The felt piece is inserted between the hammer and the strings to absorb the vibration of the strings (and therefore the sound) during tuning. The length of the wooden handle allows it to fully penetrate this part of the mechanism. It must be thin because of the tight fit. It can also be used with other stringed instruments, but these dimensions are typical for pianos.