r/whatisthisthing Mar 05 '25

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

Thumbnail reddit.com
343 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 9h ago

Solved! Bomb looking item with 6 fins on tail

Post image
1.7k Upvotes

Looks pretty obviously some form of ordnance to me but what specific kind?

Also, how to tell if it's been decommissioned?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Found in a book lovers raffle basket. Wooden object with 2 small holes & 1 large hole

Post image
8.7k Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 6h ago

Solved! Plastic part, red, remarkable shape with elastic clip, about 5 cm large, found in the drum of a washing machine

Thumbnail
gallery
180 Upvotes

It may have been released from the pocket of someones' trousers while washing.

Could be from a toy? Or a disposable transport fixture? Or a functional part of some apparatus?


r/whatisthisthing 3h ago

Just moved into a new house in the UK. What is this green membrane on the well-worn lawn. Is it weed membrane?

Post image
65 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 6h ago

Solved ! What is this white metal bell embedded in the pavement? About 2 foot tall and 2 foot across

Thumbnail
gallery
63 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 23h ago

Solved! What are these plastic boxes that my neighbor mounted on our shared fence?

Post image
472 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 15h ago

Solved! Found inside a box full of old stuff. Sounds like plastic when tapped on both sides and it's not a magnet.

Thumbnail
gallery
72 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 22h ago

Likely Solved ! What is this black thing in the kitchen next to the small sink in the foreground?

Post image
252 Upvotes

From season 2 of Top Boy, in a kitchen you can see this island plus this black reflective? elevated thingy that may be a flat grill??( but why put a faucet and a small sink??) But then there is a regular normal sink in the background plus a normal gas range.

Anyway, does anyone know what this is please?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! 14ft long Asian cloth, 1ft wide, strong texture. Decorative except at one area?

Post image
514 Upvotes

Mother bought this a while ago at what I remember to be a Japanese flower festival..


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Big amphitheatre style concrete structure in a field next to some train tracks I go past every weekend in South west England. It's miles from anything so I don't think it's an outdoor theatre.

Post image
270 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 21h ago

Solved ! What is this wooden thing that looks like a stamp. Bought at a flea market in P.A. Possibly could have something to do with cooking/baking

Thumbnail
gallery
153 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 21h ago

Solved! 3 pipes, about 15 feet tall, very near a Giant Sméagol gas station

Post image
64 Upvotes

The title describes the things. They were quite close to a Giant Eagle gas station in Ohio.


r/whatisthisthing 17h ago

Solved! Plastic piece near the base of all the power poles in my neighborhood NW USA

Post image
24 Upvotes

I’ve noticed these recently on all the power poles in my neighborhood. They look like they were screwed in but I’m not sure how that would work since they’re apparently plastic. I’m curious what these are for.


r/whatisthisthing 43m ago

Solved! 7 Weird bumps on bathroom wall - 1/2” diameter, (4) right side bumped out, (3) left bumped out. All perfectly spaced apart.

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Noticed these weird spots on the bathroom wall. I’ll do my best to describe the size/location.

  • in two perfect vertical parallel columns approx a foot apart (30cm)
  • all exact size about 1/2” (~1.5 cm)
  • vertical space between them varies but 6”-8” (15cm-20cm)
  • 4 bumped out spots on right; 3 bumped in spots on left
  • the two columns line up when they are on both sides. This is the approx “formation” (o is bump out, • is bump in) o o • o • o •
  • all have same texture as painted drywall so i don’t think it’s like filled in
  • this is in an apartment and we are the first tenants (moved in ~2.5 years ago)

I’ll do my best if there are any additional questions in comments


r/whatisthisthing 43m ago

Open Heavy brass thing I found in pasture. Like a plug, maybe for water. 2 in diameter 2.75ish tall.

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Heavy brass plug like thing I found with small spike inside.


r/whatisthisthing 51m ago

Open Small black plastic object with three prongs found in dishwasher filter.

Post image
Upvotes

Roughly 4cm across, plastic and very light. Found in filter section of a Hoover dishwasher, under the filter plate.

Dishwasher currently will not work and displays an error suggesting a filter error.


r/whatisthisthing 52m ago

Open Built-in wall decor(?) in 1910s San Francisco apartment?

Post image
Upvotes

This thing is on the wall in my kitchen, next to the stove. It looks like it’s been moved (based on the marks to the top left, but I have no clue what it is, what function it might or might not have served, and when it might have been added. I do live in a very old apartment building (over 100 years), but I’ve only lived here for a year and, because it’s in a bad neighborhood, some of the ornamental features in the buildings here have been neglected for some time. It feels like metal and is approximately 7 inches across. Everything has been painted over a number of times (landlord special, lol), so I assume it was not originally white.

Thank you for your help!!


r/whatisthisthing 1h ago

Solved! Circular item about 5.5 cm in diameter. It can open and close.

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1h ago

Open Orange Blob in my vent. About the size of a quarter

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 2h ago

Found in a camera bag. Two pieces, metal, two thumb screw for tightening. Found in a camera bag

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

Found in the camera bag of a deceased family member.


r/whatisthisthing 19h ago

Likely Solved! What is this little picture booklet?

Thumbnail
gallery
26 Upvotes

This is a picture booklet of my great grandmother from sometime in the late 19th century. My mother thinks it might be a dance card, but it doesn't look like any I've seen online. It's all made from card stock other than the onion paper like inner cover.


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! Casket or box, but not hollow. One side metal and the other side feels like stone. Found in an old house in Piemonte/Italy. It is heavy and doesn’t seem to open.

Thumbnail
gallery
276 Upvotes

We found this object, which looks like a casket but is heavy and doesn’t seem hollow in a dresser in an old house we purchased recently in Piemonte/Italy. In the dresser we also found clothes from the 70s, a razor kit from WWII and some silverware. I cannot open the casket, maybe it is possible with force. There are no inscriptions and it is about 19 cm long.

What could this be?


r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Open ! U-shaped metal object found in our field. Heavy, the word “Japan” stamped on one side

Thumbnail
gallery
805 Upvotes

Found this in our pasture while walking the other day. It looks really familiar like at one point I knew what it went to, but it’s escaping me. We live on a ranch and have a lot of farm equipment, so it could be from the that, but we also have kids that carry bits and bobs all over the place and leave them in dumb places.


r/whatisthisthing 12h ago

Several 3-4inch solid round cylinders. Kinda look like wax/candles but are not wax. Plastic, possibly nylon or acrylic? Kept in a cabinet of storage shed. Previously owned by deceased WW2 veteran to note time period. Was a geologist, surveyor and coin minter. What could they have been/could they be

Thumbnail
gallery
5 Upvotes

r/whatisthisthing 1d ago

Solved! A metal protrusion off the side of a thrifted belt's buckle, with a small hole pierced through it.

Post image
2.3k Upvotes