What Are These Things For? (20 pics)
Looks like an old cigarette case to me. Anyone know what it is/where it’s from?
A: Chinese flip top cigarette case c. 1900-1930.
Almost like a cup? Pottery of some sort. What’s it for?
A: It’s called an Orgy Horn Mug, or Orgy Mug. Its intention is to get everyone drunk and horny, apparently. You find them a lot at souvenir-type shops.
Found this in a wooded area near where the military used to store explosives during WWII in the U.S. There are 3 of them about 4 feet apart and roughly 15 feet from the road. “1941” and “The Kennedy” markings.
A: I’m a firefighter. I don’t have specialized knowledge as far as codes and regulations go as a fire marshal would, but I’ve received enough training and have enough experience on the subject to chime in. I can say with 100% certainty, if installed properly for it’s intended use, it’s for fire suppression.
Thermoclockandar? It was on the sidewalk for passersby.
A: It’s a chart recorder.
Found this in the woods at a cabin. It’s near a old logging site the only marking on it is “129” it has a ceramic piece in the cylinder above the handle with a small exposed wire im the middle.
A: Top part of a drop out fuse for a powerline
I got a bag containing 6 of these from China. I have no idea why! What are they?
A: Rose of Jericho (Resurrection Plant, Dinosaur Plant, Jericho Rose).
Wooden, hand painted set found in a box of miscellaneous items. Sizing details in pic, oblong piece to left is flat while two needles are round.
A: Bullroarer on the left + aboriginal clapsticks on the right. “Tourist art” from Australia.
Wooden base plate with some type of coil o top, and two brass(?) Cylinders attached with a cord.
A: Medical quackery shock therapy device.
It does not stand on its own because the round part at the bottom is actually cone-shaped.
A: It’s a candle holder for a large glass olive demijohn.
Looks like a hood ornament, bought at an antique fair 20 years ago.
A: 56 Chevy bel air hood ornament.
Someone I know in Trinidad & Tobago asked what this is.
A: Phobetron pithecium, the hag moth caterpillar.
Not sure, but maybe some sort of abandoned pumping station, found in a small structure along the Hudson River. No signage or other structures around. Pipes run from the structure to the river.
A: It’s an old water pump used for mines or similar purpose.
In maintenance, supervisor dumped it on our work bench, probably 2 different things, hook on both ends of dirty duster looking thing, looks like one side screws into something.
A: The one on the left is for shelving. I can’t find a picture, but it’s for wire/metro shelving. It goes on the back, just above a shelf so things don’t fall off the back. The ends are open so you can add it on, after the fact, without dismantling the entire shelf.
Found next to a creek on Central Kentucky. Metal box about 2 feet wide, about 2 and a half feet tall. Has no numbers or markings anywhere on it that I could see.
A: Stand for a hair dryer and attachments.
These bunker-looking things along a highway.
A: Definitely a large water main.
I found these boxes at the pawn shop, they look like some sort of attachments for a machine, any ideas?
A: Mandrills and taps, mostly likely from tool and die or fabrication shop.
Found in the basement of an old church in a cleaning closet. About 2.5 ft tall.
A: It is a tool to mix drywall mud. Similar to a potato masher but for the drywall compound.
Southeastern Virginia – cast iron footed thing with holes in the feet (for bolts, we assume), one hole on the near end, and the far end has an indent with two holes. No markings, ~20-24″ long.
A: It’s a bucket for a traveling bucket elevator?
This iron piece was sticking out of the ground in the woods near a reservoir, it has a square indent on one side. Maybe related to farming or logging?
A: Top of a cast iron stove.
Found in grandpa’s kitchen. Matchbook for size. About 6in long. Circle is a bottle opener. Says “Murphy-Ward best for the babies.”
A: It’s an ice pick. Used to break up large blocks of ice into smaller ones for drinks. It also has a bottle opener (the two dents) inside the circular part.
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