What a thing: the strangest finds. Issue 136
In the popular Reddit community "What is this thing?" more than two millions of participants regularly help each other identify mysterious artifacts and other interesting finds. It just doesn't seem to exist such a riddle that these people could not solve! 
1. “Heavy glass decoration, at least 3 kg. One part is removable. 13 cm high. Made from clear and red glass." 
Answer
: “Judging by the red part, this is more likely of everything, a fancy candlestick, and the top part is designed to to extinguish the candle."
2. "Unusual white plastic kitchen utensils with a handle" 
Answer
: "It looks like it's for stirring the contents in a blender. She is inserted into him from above.
3. “No identifying marks. wooden handle, amazingly comfortable. The steel ball tip is fixed and not is spinning." 
Answer
: "This is a tool for processing leather, used in the manufacture of saddles. My friend makes saddles for horses western style, and his "vintage" instruments look exactly the same."
4. “What could it be? Made of wood, inside wheel with a bunch of sharp spikes. It seems to be some kind of meat grinder, but for what is she?" 
Answer
: "It's a cheese grater."
5. “A housewarming gift. Half wood, half marble, 2 semi-circular recesses, small spoon. 
Answer
: "It's a salt and pepper shaker."
6. “Carving, bought in an antique shop in Poland. What is it and what is it cut from? 
Answer
: "It's a whale's rib."
7. “A huge rusty old stove, surrounded by clay pipes, was found in the wilderness of Northern Sweden.” 
Answer
: "Most likely it's an old kiln."
8. “Found this bag of liquid in a hotel room. Does anyone know what it is? 
Answer
: "It absorbs moisture to keep clothes in the closet dry."
9. “Found in a beach house in Clearwater, Florida. A numbered stake with a float at the top." 
Answer
: "This is a float to indicate a crab or lobster trap."
10. “Found this at work today, someone left night workers. Whole from all sides. There are no holes at all. Hollow glass, gold edging at one end. 
Answer
: “This is a glass syringe plunger. We have them at work."
11. "Brass instrument, family mystery, 3-4 inches long, possibly seafaring related" 
Answer
: "This is an Ottoman scale."
12. "Brass plate from Australia" 
Answer
: "This is an old brass plate for 1930s pixie, for rings, pins, coins, etc. It needs leave offerings for little people so that they are good to you treated."
13. “About a meter high, made of glass, probably belonged to an oil refinery or power plant before the 90s.” 
Answer
: "It's a mercury arc rectifier."
14. "Round segmented object found on a beach in South Africa." 
Answer
: "Looks like a beached sea anemone."
15. “What is this object? Found in the housemy grandparents." 
Answer
: “It looks like a bottle gourd, which decorated. If it's not a musical instrument (are there beads inside?), maybe it's purely for decoration.
16. "Wooden object, found in the parking lot" 
Answer
: "This is a knuckle roller, quite a popular fidget toy in the EDC world."
17. "A small overlay with a metal pattern on the pavement, a leg for scale" 
Answer
: “This is a rain and frost/ice sensor. Through 2 metal circle passes a small current, they do not touch and isolated from each other. When raindrops connect two metals a small current amplifies or activates the switch, which starts pump or close windows that are open at the time to prevent rain or the snow didn't damage things."
18. "Retractable stand with holes, on both sides of the sofa." 
Answer
: “This is a tray holder. To her one more detail is required - a tray with the corresponding pins in order to he stood up tight. Then the tray is taken back to the kitchen, and the sliding part put back so as not to interfere.
19. “A long instrument with a metal dial on top that can be twisted. Maybe it's something for calligraphy" 
Answer: "It's a drawer."
20. "Full metal thing, found in a residential area in France." 
Answer
: “Looks like a bike rack. The seat is under a canopy, so it stays dry.”
21. “Is this some kind of weird switch? In the plinth next to the bathroom" 
Answer
: "These apartments used to have built-in vacuum cleaners."
22. "A fork with teeth of different widths - what is it for?" 
Answer
: “Looks like a failure in quality control. When the punch reached the slot, the fork blank was not fully inserted and slanted a little. If the quality controller did not rest at this moment, it would end up in the trash can."
23. "What is this thing that I see on houses in the UK?" 
Answer
: "It's a shoe decrottoire to clean dirt from the soles before entering the house."
24. “Some kind of hand tool? One side wing nut, and on the other - a round nozzle that looks like this, as if it can be inserted into different grooves " 
Answer
: "This is the handle for a two-piece saw."
25. "What are those ropes attached to the wall?" 
Answer
: “A friend has something like this, and it is a yoga wall. Apparently, in yoga there are some exercises for stretches that use ropes.
26. “Came in a cross stitch kit. Flexible, made of rubber, magnets on both ends, so they stick together. 
Answer
: "These are magnetic clips that can be used to keep excess tissue out of the way."
27. “The photographs found in my grandfather’s collection show some kind of disk with holes installed in the center of the city.” 
Answer
: "This is part of the Palomar Hale Reflecting Telescope."
28. “Red tool made of plastic and metal, the metal is elastic. There is a padlock on the short end and the number 7 on the flat side. 
Answer
: "I believe it's the locking mechanism of the tin key."
29. “These two things were planned on the ground right after of a big plane flying low over my house. They are sandy and elastic, almostdried paint. 
Answer
: “Reminds me of fire retardant powder. Big planes fly over the fires and scatter it, maybe it's a frozen piece.
30. “A light object, like paper or dried mud, crumbles easily, but holds its shape in water. Square through holes. 
Answer
: "This is the inside of the catalytic converter."
