/r/whatisthisthing
For the identification of mysterious objects
A place to find out what that odd-looking thing that you stumbled across actually is.
Guidelines
GOOGLE your item's description and keywords and do an image search BEFORE POSTING HERE.
Then check FREQUENTLY ASKED THINGS. You may not be aware you have a common item.
THEN READ THIS GUIDE on what to include in your post before posting.
Also, check out our WIKI.
Rules apply to ALL comments, not just top level replies.
Be civil. Being otherwise will get you banned. Reddiquette
Be helpful / No Jokes Jokes and other unhelpful comments, even after the item has been identified, are bannable offenses, even on first offense. If your comment doesn't help, don't comment.
Try to include a link to a source of some sort when posting an answer. Everyone's got an opinion, facts help.
When what you're looking for is found, reply "Solved!" to the earliest comment with the answer.
DO NOT DELETE YOUR POST after an attempt has been made to answer, or if you intend to repost to get visibility. This will result in at least a temporary ban.
Be detailed with your post title as well as the information therein, in order to help those trying to help you. This will help to eliminate vague posts.
Do not post AI generated answers. AI rarely offers anything of value and never provides sources to its claims. By all means use AI to assist, but please investigate its answers and provide your own proof of its claims. Straight copy/paste answers will be removed and the user banned.
Do not use URL shorteners or affiliate links in the body of posts or replies ( anything with lots of parameters after a '?') - they will be automatically removed.
Check the F.A.T. Check the Frequently Asked Things before posting.
Posts must adhere to submission guidelines All posts must adhere to the submission guidelines.
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NOTE: To mark your submissions solved reply "Solved!" Click here for more info.
Other Helpful Subreddits
Your submission is likely to be removed if it better fits one of these:
/r/HelpMeFind if you know what it is and want to find where you can get one or find more information on it
/r/tipofmytongue if you know of a movie, game, song, etc. - but cannot recall the name.
/r/translator for translation of writing
/r/AskDocs for health/medical related things
/r/AskVet for animal health/medical related things
/r/whatsthisbug for weird bug identification (& nests/eggs)
/r/whatsthisbird for bird identification
/r/whatsthisplant for plant identification
/r/whatsthisrock for rock identification (or, dammit Marie, minerals!)
/r/whatisthispainting for paintings, artists signatures
/r/whatsthisworth if you know what it is, and want to find out what it's worth
/r/whereisthis if you have a picture of a location but don't know where it is
/r/whatisthisthing
2,846,571 Subscribers
Found cleaning out an old garage. Wooden apparatus that collapses, and when open has a “shelf” but it’s a bit slanted.
04:10 UTC
Small thin round plastic? reddish brown thing that opens
00:32 UTC
My friend works in a hospital and found this dummy infant in her office. What is this thing?
My friend works as a DV victim’s advocate in a hospital. A lot of things are accumulated in the office from people who have held the position over the years. She said this was in a box with books about adoption.
We’re just curious what exactly this dummy would be used to teach. It might even be worth holding on to!
23:10 UTC
What is this thing? Came from an old and defunct warehouse. Made of metal and has three short legs on the back. Can't find any non-ruler items from the same company online.
21:25 UTC
Blade like 7 inch long metal object with writing "red by, butcher"?
20:21 UTC
Found at a scrap yard in Vancouver BC. Made of aluminum, plate is about 1 inch thick? I painted it red, but it was raw aluminum when I received it. What industry/machine do you think the cut outs were used for?
19:56 UTC
Metal box mounted on top of street post in residential neighborhood. Doesn’t appear to light up at night.
15:30 UTC
Blue lights in a silver box truck?
Sorry for the poor quality picture! I was driving awhile ago and saw these bright blue lights shining out the small windows in the back of a box truck. I thought it might be for horses, but there’s nothing online about that. I have no idea what it is or what purpose it serves. Thank u!
13:37 UTC
Roughly 8 feet long, square on the wider end, tapered on the other end. Has holes at various intervals, presumably for the "stick" part seen at the top.
12:57 UTC
Found a small black box labeled sharp.
Found a small black box labeled sharp. It has a red blinking. It just on my porch I was wondering if someone could tell me what it is. Thank you
12:45 UTC
Found in kitchen utensil area at Goodwill, green wooden handheld tool with pointed slightly concave metal end
02:43 UTC
Size of a grain of rice. INSANELY MAGNETIZED (picked up my iphone holding it close)
01:54 UTC
Found this rusted, metal thing up on Mt Gower, it is about 16 inches tall.
I tried Google image search and asking friends who hike there with no luck.
23:33 UTC