What Are These Things For? (24 pics)
Found these soft metal objects while metal detecting under a pier at low tide.
A: They’re Hindu offerings. The symbol on the top-left is Om.
What is this strange glass dish? 2 pieces a lid & base.
A: Appears to be a Simax chicken roaster with some sort of lid.
Some kind of medal found at my wife's great grandparents old house. It says 1858 on one tip, can't make out any of the other words.
A: It's a masonic gem from the Civil War era.
What is the name and use of this scientific glass item? PYREX USA 4 neck spherical glassware.
A: This is a glass receiver jar used in old dairy vacuum systems. It allows milk to separate out of the airstream. Afaik modern systems use stainless steel versions and they are no longer in production.
6″ Tall, 4″ Wide, Feels Metal-ish, Found in the Colorado foothills.
A: Looks like an iron nodule. Natural concentration of iron.
It's a weird little double helix thing made of a light metal, found on Georgia Tech campus. Makes for a nice necklace ornament, but what is it?
A: Spiral hair pin. Used to secure a bun.
Some type of suitcase with compartments?
A: It's a sample box for some type of sales person.
My grandpa got it from a friend but they both don't even know what it is. This might be a part of some bigger welding machine but I'm a total noob. Anyone know what it is?
A: Normal small portable welding inverter (electrode welding), no bigger machine needed.
Green bristles along the side of a weir
A: It's for passage of eel and lamprey...
Flexible rubber thing with a garden hose-sized connection on one end.
A: It’s for clearing clogged drains. It works just like you think it does. Put it in a pipe between 1.5” and 3” and it will first expand and then start spraying water to clear the clog.
Found abandoned on a railway line in the UK.
A: It is a boiler. Could be from a train, or a factory. Most likely train, tho.
What is this metal point found in Devon, UK?
A: Hardwire communication port for a firing range - military stuff. You might find more info if you google "Field Telephone."
Found this buried. It's flat on one side, concaved on the other and has a hole right through the middle.
A: This is likely to be a prehistoric or Roman quern stone. This would be the top, a spindle would connect it to a bottom piece and grain would be poured into the 'funnel' on top and ground between the two stones to make flour.
What are these shredded balls on my property?
A: Juniper-hawthorne rust: a fungal disease. It starts as a gall then the tentacles appear around spring/rain. It probably won't kill this tree but it can seriously mess up secondary hosts i.e. apple trees. Only way to get rid of it is to prune then burn the removed branches.. don't forget to disinfect your tools after.
Pretty lost with this. The stick is crumbly like fine charcoal but I have no clue what it’s for. Only one end has been used and there’s a hole through the center.
A: Its a handwarmer, you light the stick and close the case and it burns like an ember. Last 3 or 4 hrs. if i remember right, used to use them regularly.
Found in a hunters trunk full of supplies, Canada, sometime between 1950-1980, The bottom dimpled part spins, the top blue part feels like wood, it’s very light.
A: If you tug at the brass section does it come off? I've seen vintage sewing kits like this where the top is a thimble (which this could easily be, by appearance) and it holds spare needles, pins and a small amount of thread. For repairs on trips and such.
My boss went to a Muslim wedding and saw these in the restroom. We have no idea what the purpose is. Anyone able to help?
A: Foot washing stations. Muslims wash their feet before prayer.
Found in bomb shelter. Has a crank and a two prong plug. Connected to a pipe coming from the wall.
A: I think it’s a manual air filtration system to pump in fresh air, I had seen one many years ago on tv dooms day prep.
This object is hanging from the ceiling of our waiting room at the hospital. It’s a white smooth dome with no numbers or labels of any kind. Anyone know what this is for? My thought was Wi-Fi or a signal booster.
A: Signal booster.
Surrounded by a barbed wire fence and made of concrete.
A: That's the remains of a water tower that once served the Maryland Mine.
Part of silverware set. It has a corkscrew tip, but it is not sturdy enough to be used as s corkscrew. Thoughts for its purpose?
A: It's a butter pick.
Found with assorted items when clearing out my grandads belongings after his death. Metal, a few inches diameter, totally stumped!
A: It's an antique egg topper.
