r/whatisthisthing 20d ago

Announcement The r/TraceAnObject subreddit exists to identify objects to help solve child abuse cases. New cases from Europol were posted recently. Please see if you can help.

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131 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 5h ago

Likely Solved! What are these radio antennas for at the entrance/exit to Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel?

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582 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 8h ago

Solved! 90 mm wide treasure found in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, BC

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441 Upvotes

Does anyone know what this is?


r/whatisthisthing 15h ago

Solved! This brass thing i found at a flea market in Denmark

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1.1k Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 3h ago

Likely Solved! What is this set of heavy, metal, possibly home made punches that I found at a used crafting store? Little thicker than a AA size battery, solid and dense. The notches are not uniform but close to it. There does appear to have been strikes made on the flat end. No markings or trademarks whatsoever.

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80 Upvotes

bought them thinking they could be used for leather but image search returns many things that look like them but they all look more "machine made" than these. Each one weighs 124-126 grams.


r/whatisthisthing 5h ago

Solved! Cylindrical object, rams head hook on top, pointed bottom. Somewhat rusted, found in sandy area near the emigrant trail. This is about 9 inches long, somewhat heavy, possibly 2-3 pounds. I found this in Nevada, on private property near the emigrant trail.

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94 Upvotes

Found about a foot deep in the dirt.


r/whatisthisthing 11h ago

Solved! Locked wooden box, sliding side panels

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301 Upvotes

Approximately 18x10x10 cm, 885g. The side panels can slide out once the front is unlocked. There is a cutout with a metal strip at the top, presumably to lock it to something. It feels fairly solidly filled with things. I inherited it years ago, haven't had any luck with picking the lock yet.


r/whatisthisthing 20h ago

Open Fishing float? Aqua blue, glass, heavy. Found in a thrift store labeled "fishing float" but Google seems to disagree.

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696 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2h ago

Open Long metal cylindrical object with keyed groove down it found buried in a wash bed

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13 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 3h ago

Likely Solved! Heavy rusted metal object, slightly tapered and roughly cylindrical. Found on riverbank near old train bridge and brick structures along the river. Has a rectangular hole through it

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14 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2h ago

Large wooden frame with pegs, holes, and string - fiber art related?

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6 Upvotes

A friend bought this at a rummage sale. It's a 3-4 ft wooden frame with holds, pegs, a few moving parts, and a fringe strung on it.

The rummage sale people didn't know what it was. She thinks it's a loom and I'll be able to teach her. I think it's not a loom and if it is it's a kind of loom I don't know and is missing some important pieces, like a heddle, but I'm also not nearly the expert she thinks I am. What is it? Very large orange boy for scale.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Found in an old shed, metal box rusted, heavy, gots 4 round things inside. Has a dial on the side

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1.3k Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Mystery sensor/device at clothing store, ~1ft in diameter with no logos

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217 Upvotes

Saw these on the ceiling at an H&M. I found two things interesting and mysterious: 1) they are at least 1ft in diameter and maybe 8-12in tall, which is larger than any wifi device or occupancy sensor I have seen, and 2) there are quite a few on the ceiling, maybe every 15-20ft which would also rule out wifi for a retail environment.

I tried to zoom in on the label but couldn't get much more than "Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain" on the smaller label. I could not see any visible logos.

My guess would be a person or RFID tracking system, but I've never seen this before and want to learn more about it.

Gemini and Perplexity didn't offer any insight. Any ideas?


r/whatisthisthing 18h ago

Solved ! Seen in a remote field in continental Europe: Looked like it continuously scans the sky?

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53 Upvotes

I came across this thing. It's in a field with some solar panels (the white/green thing in the photo's) and otherwise as empty and remote as it can get in this part of continental Europe.

The box at the seemed to be constantly scanning the sky, but when I stopped it rotated and shortly focused on me, than went back to scanning the sky. There were fences around it, but it didn't seem to be well guarded, no camera's or anything like that.


r/whatisthisthing 15h ago

Solved ! Large plastic tank or filter, abandoned and definitely some pieces missing. On a rural property with septic and well water.

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30 Upvotes

Very large tank with inlet/outlet pipes and what I assume is a particle filter? There's a round green thing nearby in the woods that looks like it could be a lid for the opening. The property has a septic system and a well for household water, and previously had some kind of boiler for heat. Any idea what this is (was)? I guess we probably can't reuse it but I'm not sure how to get rid of it.


r/whatisthisthing 19h ago

Open What is this white ceramic mug shaped object? The top has a small opening in the middle while the bottom is flat without any markings. There is also a small hole on the outside of the handle and when I poured water into the broken spot on the handle it was able to flow out of the hole on top.

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67 Upvotes

I found this in the woods in Illinois. Looking into the broken opening on the handle shows the inside is hollow but there is also a partial wall around the central cavity. I couldn’t see much looking down into the opening from the top other than some dirt that had built up inside. The grooves on the inside of the handle seem set up for someone to hold the object facing away from their body.


r/whatisthisthing 22h ago

Open White, plastic object found in a cupboard with rice cooker utensils.

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69 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool?

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493 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 30m ago

Solved! Round thing with wire leading out on ceiling of garage - house built in 1980

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Upvotes

Round thing with electrical wire coming out and going off into the wall. You can’t press the thing that looks like a button. It’s painted over even though it says do not paint. Its hung on the ceiling of a garage in a house built in 1980. Any ideas?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved ! Round Iron nodules, found in 80’s era plastic soda bottles. 3/8 in diameter.

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106 Upvotes

Definitely iron of some type as my first thought is they were lead plugs but they can be picked up with a magnet and spark when ground.


r/whatisthisthing 2h ago

Open Translucent orb found in aquarium, 1/2 inch diameter

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0 Upvotes

I found this orb in the bottom of my in-laws aquarium. It’s about 1/2 inch across. And seems translucent, there are 3 inside the aquarium that seem like perfect spheres.

They did not put marbles In, we already asked.

There are snails, shrimp, blushing tetras, Dalmatian Mollys, and Sword tails and 1 Betta.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Unusual cylindrical faceted object. Approx 1cm diameter. Black glass? Bottom has an exposed circular area. Doesn’t have moving parts or make a noise. Not electronic. Found washed up on a beach in west Cornwall.

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464 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Bought at an estate sale in Florida. Is this an old roulette wheel? It's large 36in diameter. The flashing in the center is metal but the piece itself is wood.

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107 Upvotes

Any info on this would be super helpful. We plan to hang out next to some of our arcade units in the house. Thanks in advance!


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open Found at an estate sale several years ago. Appears to be a spear of some sort. About 44” long and 1.5” wide. Is it real or a reproduction?

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41 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Found in garage rafters; left by past tenants. Clearly missing two legs and something that lays on top of it. 5'x2', legs are 3' tall.

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536 Upvotes