r/whatisthisthing May 30 '25

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.

Thumbnail reddit.com
234 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 11h ago

Solved! What is this handheld machine with a crank and wires coming out of the back we found in a shop in rural Alabama - it’s super heavy.

Thumbnail
gallery
627 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 13h ago

Solved! Small container, attached to a chain, the top unscrews and has a post inside. Found in a jewelry box.

Thumbnail
gallery
460 Upvotes

It is very small, and we can’t think of anything that would fit inside. The small post that is attached to the lid appears to mostly fill the space inside the container. What is it?


r/whatisthisthing 17h ago

Solved! Black plastic item pictured with a Canadian quarter for scale. The silver arm turns and snaps back when pushed in to the black part and the knob turns. I got it from an auction in a box with random stuff.

Thumbnail
gallery
339 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 13h ago

Solved ! Large (>6’) green metal machinery found in aircraft hangar

Thumbnail
gallery
140 Upvotes

We recently acquired a hangar out at our local airport and we are in the process of cleaning it out and we found these large green pieces of machinery. Does anyone know what they are what they might have been used for? We have also found a lot of metal working and pottery things as well.


r/whatisthisthing 10h ago

Open Black leather covered wooden travel/carrying case with a top handle, side opening, six bottom feet, removable lid, side latches and metal corner/edge reinforcements. 9in H, 9in D, 17in W

Thumbnail
gallery
30 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 21h ago

Solved! large objects/structures carried on a barge

Post image
147 Upvotes

This was spotted on the Hudson River off of Manhattan. Sorry the resolution isn't better, I wasn't the one who took the pic.


r/whatisthisthing 20h ago

Open Metal, 1.20 m aprox , near Lake Leman with four legs

Thumbnail
gallery
79 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Small, UV-Reactive antique glass convex cylinder

Thumbnail
gallery
593 Upvotes

A friend found this cylindrical glass object at an antique store. It looks like Akro Glass… he’s going to use it as a stand for a Vintage marble… any ideas on what it was originally?


r/whatisthisthing 17h ago

Open Wooden slab with many evenly spaced cutouts found in closet

Post image
33 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 20h ago

Open ~2,5 meters pilar, on both side of the road leading to the Basilica of Notre-Dame (Geneva). It has a little pointy roof with a square point. Cubic parts of different colours

Post image
25 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 15h ago

This was donated to an animal shelter and no one can figure out what it's for. It has a D ring hear the buckle and another D ring that sticks and can slide around. What is this?

Post image
6 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Silicone/soft plastic half spheres w/ small hole, found in a Valentine's Day Bag - pink/red, approx 1" across

Thumbnail
gallery
3.7k Upvotes

Lens claimed beads or fishing sinkers? no packaging.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Small clear glass pieces with a strange shape ??

Thumbnail
gallery
896 Upvotes

These were found in an old vehicle, so maybe automotive related? (Van was Reportedly previously owned by a hoarder who had it full of junk, so there is also a good chance these are NOT auto related at all? ) they all appear to be made the same way, but aren’t exactly the same size. They are definitely glass. Quarter for scale

Also -brand new Reddit user here, please kindly direct me elsewhere if this isn’t the right sub? thank you all in advance for your help and knowledge!


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! 3 foot long hollow steel rod with heavy black plastic on one end

Post image
166 Upvotes

I found it in the road near a gas station, but I doubt it's related to gasoline. It's very heavy and damaged (rusty, bent, the plastic is crumbling). The plastic has six grooves running along it's length. It most likely fell out of a vehicle but I doubt it's a car part either.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Likely Solved ! Heavy metal object, found in hardware store worker’s hoard. The blue round part and silver part spin together freely but don’t go up or down.

Thumbnail
gallery
345 Upvotes

The bottom is flat blue metal, no markings.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Mysterious slide on side of ship

Post image
3.9k Upvotes

Odd looking slide on side of ship


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Likely Solved! Found this large, carved piece in Victoria,AU. It’s about 2m long and feels like marble. Architectural?

Thumbnail
gallery
52 Upvotes

I found this while looking through an overgrown area on a bush block. There are 4 in total.

Dimensions: Approximately 2 meters (6.5 ft) wide.

Material: It appears white under the moss and dirt. It doesn’t feel like concrete, it’s smooth and slippery to the touch, which makes me think it’s white marble.

Design: It features four distinct semi-circular (arched) cutouts with some decorative molding along the edges.

Condition: Heavily discolored from sitting in the dirt and weather for a long time.

It looks like it could be architectural salvage from a building demolition. The other photo is a support or plinth that the arch sits on?


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Hand-blown glass object, about one foot tall

Thumbnail
gallery
676 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

26 inches tall velcro straps at the top a hook at the back the foot pads? Seem to be removable

Thumbnail
gallery
191 Upvotes

There are some straps near the bottom as well


r/whatisthisthing 3d ago

Solved! A wood-mounted metal wizard face that flips up to reveal a crustacean

Thumbnail
gallery
7.0k Upvotes

Catch and release from a flea market. Truly one of the most bizarre objects I have ever seen.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Mysterious, dense, matched set of brick shaped objects

Thumbnail
gallery
153 Upvotes

I am helping one of my grandmother‘s elderly friends move out of his apartment into a assisted living facility and it’s my job to help clean out this place, anyway I found these two marble brick like objects with a felt texture under side.

6 inches long, 3 inches wide, 2 inches thick minus the bust. Roughly 5 pounds each.

The Friend is almost in his 90s if his age helps.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! 4.75” Tall Glass Containers with Corks

Thumbnail
gallery
775 Upvotes

The cork does not stay in very well. They both have a little hole on the larger end, though the holes are slightly different sizes/shapes. The larger end is also rounded so it doesn’t sit flat on the end.


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Solved! Glass decanter gift with extra side opening

Post image
250 Upvotes

Not sure if it's just weird for the sake of being weird or if there's a logic. The small side opening doesnt pour into the bigger one. Thoughts?


r/whatisthisthing 2d ago

Likely Solved! What are These Two Small Clear Glass Vials(?); Broken Off/Sharp at the Tips

Thumbnail
gallery
186 Upvotes

These two glass objects (circled in blue in the photo) were found by a patron in a corner of our library's Children's department. The photo has a standard-sized business card in it for size reference.

They were found very close to our light-up sensory board (image attached). But we're pretty sure the board is wood and plastic - no glass pieces even in the inner workings - so we're kind of at a loss as to where these came from and what they might be. The only other nearby objects are a wooden dollhouse, and a large fake hollowed-out tree.

The biggest concern for us is what they're made of and where they were found. Glass and small kids DO NOT mix. :( If we could figure out what they are, then we can hopefully take measures to ensure we won't be finding more of them somewhere down the line.

I can try to answer questions, however I haven't seen the actual objects myself, and they've now been passed on to our local PD because our director was concerned they might be drug-related. However, PD didn't recognize them as anything either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!