When people find weird, unidentified objects, it’s no surprise that they turn to the internet to try and find answers. Here are the strangest objects people found by accident that left them wandering, “What is this?”
1. A Surprise Electronic Device In The Bottle
Photo: Buck_Thorn / Reddit
Answered by u/brazzybraz2102:
Appears to be a “bait bottle” used to track down pharmacy thieves.
Update from OP u/Buck_Thorn:
I just got back from taking it down to the cop shop. Seems I found evidence for a pending case against a local teacher who is implicated in three pharmacy robberies around here. Seems she lives right in the area where I found it.
They seemed quite happy that I brought it in. Today, I’m a hero.
2. Found In An Eerie Attic
Photo: u/Iambigtime / Reddit
Answered by u/G0ld_Ru5h:
I’m gonna say bald-faced hornets based on the outer shell and size of that whopper.
Answered by u/Prestigious-Ad-8756:
Yes, and the number of hornets occupying that nest is enough to damn near kill the whole neighborhood if provoked.
3. Seen Growing On Old Cat Food
Photo: Impressive-Put1276 / Reddit
Answered by u/CoralSpringsDHead:
Forbidden Tribble…
Answered by u/MacabreLion:
Looks like black pin mold, which is a nope from me. Looks like it spawned straight from hell…
Answered by u/123throwitaway421:
Time [to] light the house on fire again…
Answered by u/hefty_load_o_sh__e:
If it eats cat food, it probably eats lungs, too. Don’t breathe the spores.
4. Washed Up On A Beach In Iceland
Photo: u/TheRealWarrior0 / Reddit
This is part of the SOSUS [sound surveillance system] (speaker) which was used for detection of U-boats. It’s not supposed to be there and will likely need to be detonated.
Contact the Icelandic coast guard, if you haven’t already.
Note from the OP u/TheRealWarrior0:
Solved! We asked around and it turns out that these are submarine detectors; nothing to worry about – no explosive inside!
5. A Fishing Trip Gone Terribly Wrong
Photo: Noriell / Reddit
Answered by u/Asmalldharma:
Answered by u/okcsmith:
Dude, that is the chemical center for a sea mine that will explode if set off by any primer. Get the hell away and call the police.
Answer confirmed by the OP u/Noriell:
I’m still alive, but taking this thing out of water, rolling it uphill and taking it apart must have been the most stupid thing I’ve ever done.
Yes, it’s a sea mine from year 1877; they were used in WWI. I found [a] news article where someone found the same thing. Only two of these were found before.
It’s in Latvian. That one looks rusty and in bad condition, [though]; the one I have looks like it’s about to blow up.
6. While Digging In The Garden
Answered by u/chiavari:
It looks exactly like the souvenir intaglios that Victorians collected on their European Grand Tours. They were very very popular and usually kept in a set and framed.
Answered by u/lightningfries:
What’s most interesting to me is the rock; it’s embedded in looks like some sort of tuff or ignimbrite – volcanic rock from an explosive eruption. The matrix would be fused shards of glass (ash) and you can see all the other bits of rock carried with the ash flow (what we call “lithic clasts”).
Anyway, the point is that these types of eruptions occur at lower temperatures… than even the lowest-grade ceramics (“low-fire earthenware”), so it’s entirely possible that you’ve found an artifact embedded in a volcanic deposit – as in potentially buried during the eruption. You’d have to confirm if it’s truly incorporated into the rock, or even if that stuff is really volcanic (always hard to tell from a picture), but… Italy has definitely had its share of pyroclastic flows!
Answered by u/barn9:
I would suggest sending copies of this pic to pertinent museums that concentrate on relics from that region and time to get some accurate info.
7. Strange Bottle Found In An Old Cabinet
Photo: TheHawaiianPunch / Reddit
Answered by u/Meatchris:
It could be Mamushizake. Same thing, venomous snake (Mamushi, Japanese pit viper), pickled alive in a spirit, but made in a different part of Japan.
I was given a bottle and told a nip every day would be good for the health, make me genki [well].
The older generations would typically make it. I taught English in Japan, and at one rural school, a granddad wandered in to show the kids a Mamushi he’d freshly caught.
It was trapped alive in a sake bottle half filled with water. The practice is to leave it in there for a week or two to “empty out,” then pour out the water and refill it with awamori [an alcoholic beverage], drowning the snake.
The stuff I had was gross. Tasted like alcoholic rotten meat.
Answered by u/Neocrasher:
The text directly above “Made in Japan” literally spells out mamushizake, so I think you’re onto something here.
8. Accidentally Holding A Dangerous Insect
Photo: deadmmemes / Reddit
Answered by u/Outrageous-Spread-82:
Female wingless wasp. AKA: A cow killer. AKA: A velvet ant.
Lucky you didn’t get a bad sting…
Answered by u/RupeeRoundhouse:
Ah, the female of an old favourite, Dasymutilla, and likely of D. occidentalis.
Handle with extreme care as it has one of the most painful stings in the world. The stinger is also incredibly long and incredibly flexible, able to sting at almost any angle.
Answered by u/Starchasm:
I GASPED when I saw they were HOLDING it!
9. Just Exploring The Property
Photo: u/aguyinapantsuit / Reddit
Answered by u/IndysITDept:
Check your property deed. You may have some responsibility for these chemicals. If the depot was not listed on your deed, you may have other problems.
Answered by u/Perenium_Falcon:
H2S [hydrogen sulfide] will f**k you hard.
I used to work oil and gas and H2S is one of the few things even the cowboys out there are afraid of.
If there is even a remote chance there is some in there, you should stay far, far away until [the situation is] remediated.
“According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, H2S is one of the leading causes of workplace gas inhalation deaths in the United States.”
It smells like rotten eggs at low volume. In fact it’s one of the things that give farts their smell. At higher volumes it’s odorless and you just die.
“It has also been reported that 50 to 100 ppm causes mild conjunctivitis and respiratory irritation after 1 hour; 500 to 700 ppm may be dangerous in 0.5 to 1 hour; 700 to 1,000 ppm results in rapid unconsciousness, cessation of respiration, and death; and 1,000 to 2,000 ppm results in unconsciousness.”
I cannot stress how seriously you need to take that warning placard until the tank is properly sniffed out with the proper sensing equipment and then removed/disposed of.
Enclosed spaces are something you should never [mess] with as they can kill or incapacitate you fast, and then get the next few people who come in and try to save you. Entire crews have died due to one after the next entering an enclosed space that either has toxic or low air volume.
I was on the Q4000 during the Deepwater Horizon incident; we were working directly over the f**ked-up BOP [blowout preventer], and even with thousands of feet of water column between us and the seabed for any escaping gas to disperse, we still had H2S sensors chirping all over the boat and flocks of birds all dying midflight and crashing into the ocean. I was [an] ROV [remotely operated vehicle] pilot and had my SCUBA sitting right next to me.
Stay away and call the pros. Don’t leave this on your property if it turns out to be toxic.
10. An Unknown Device Found Under The Driver’s Seat
Photo: throwaway0O0O0OlIlI / Reddit
She’s a little weirded out because she is having custody issues going on with a divorce; she believes it might be some sort of tracker placed there by her psychotic ex-husband, and I’m just trying to reassure her that it’s nothing like that.
Please ask if you need any additional specific details or pictures.
Answered by u/bluehexx:
I’m afraid she might be right. Go to the cops ASAP. It could be a LoJack, but I assume she’d know if she had one in her car.
Answered by u/scruit:
1: It’s a GPS tracker.
2: Do not tamper with it in any way (except [to] remove it), or you risk losing the ability to use it as evidence.
3: Call the police.
4: If the police don’t care, then give it to her divorce attorney.
11. An Odd And Sharp Device
Photo: u/johnsinternetsales / Reddit
Answered by u/I_Me_Mine:
It’s an anti-theft device for pocket watches.
When the watch gets pulled, the spikes extend, preventing loss, and well, notifying you as well.
Answered by u/cobaltkarma:
The spikes don’t stick the thief; they prevent the watch (chained to this device) from being pulled all the way out because the spikes grab onto your pocket.
12. Dates Back To The Civil War
Photo: y u/iamawj101 / Reddit
Answered by u/RDIIIG:
OP are you still alive?
Answered by u/RareBrit:
Cannon rounds; the grooves suggest cased ammunition. I’d compare against things like the Puckle gun, and maybe 2lb repeater.
Answered by u/CaptainFunktastic:
Call the bomb squad. An inactive shell is still dangerous.
http://gometaldetecting.com/civilwarpics/artillary-cannon-balls.jpg
13. Somebody Call The Midwives
Photo: Posted by a former Redditor / Reddit
Answered by u/Vollpfosten:
I found similar items by searching for “stork clamp.” One site described it as: “This tool was used by midwi[v]es in the 1800s into turn of the century to clamp the umbilical cords when delivering a baby. Now it has a modern use in sewing for ribbon pulling.” Another site said, “Midwives would use it to tie off the umbilical cord of a newborn baby. “
That sounds so unhygienic.
Answered by u/Kramgunderson:
As was just about everything in the 1800s.
14. The Skull And Cross Bones Can’t Be A Good Sign
Photo: u/Camlobox / Reddit
Additional information from OP u/Camlobox:
Hi, OK, long story short we found this item on a guy from Niger who was put into our custody. Our team determined that thing to be a part of some sort of device, but we couldn’t figure out what the heck it is. We’re still waiting on a content analysis as of today.
Answered by u/Riccma02:
Well this is a rabbit hole indeed; I think it is supposed to be a vial of red mercury.
Now, red mercury isn’t supposed to actually exist. It’s mostly known for being a black market hoax and that’s the best and most likely scenario at play here…
I wouldn’t go [messing] around with it; assuming there is no actually mercury in it, you still don’t know what other toxic substances could be present.
15. Just An Eerie, Handmade Doll
Photo: igottapoopbad / Reddit
Answered by u/BeggarMidas:
A closer look at the stone and wire “necklace” would help pin it down further… But almost certainly a poppet. With the materials being used, it’s either invoking a very specific spiritform or a stand-in/proxy for a practitioner.
Most likely to aid in conception, or to ward against evil intent/spirits that might harm the fetus. If this was found close to a chimney or kitchen, [it] could be a “kitchen witch,” as well. Still beneficial in intent.
NOT *REPEAT* NOT A VODOU DOLL! Those sorts of dolls require hair from the host, clothing items they had worn, etc. Things of a very personal nature. Which this doll lacks.
16. This Strange Object Growing On A Table
Photo: Realistic-Reserve107 / Reddit
Answered by u/raineykatz:
That looks like a slime mold called stemonitis.
Also, that isn’t growing out of your table, but on your table. Slime molds are mobile… and some show signs of primitive intelligence. They aren’t molds, despite the name, but organisms more like amoebas.
Answered by u/raineykatz:
Slime molds are both fascinating and often beautiful. Here’s an article on intelligence to start you off. There’s a college in New England that actually put one on their faculty.
17. Went For A Hike And Saw This
Photo: u/AlgonquinRoundTable1 / Reddit
Answered by u/srandrews:
Google hydrazine propellant tank. If this is that, definitely call the authorities. You do not want to risk exposure.
Answered by u/Pubescent-Child:
Most definitely a hydrazine tank from a rocket.
Check this out: https://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-debris/falling-satellite/atlas-v-centaur-hydrazine-tank-found-in-spain/
Wrapping looks very similar.
Answered by u/RugbyGuy:
Nuclear plants use hydrazine to scavenge oxygen from the reactor coolant system water. When adding the hydrazine the worker MUST wear a fully encapsulated HAZMAT suit while wearing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).
Source: I’ve been the worker in many occasions.
Answered by u/dribrats:
That’s definitely a disintegrating fiberglass tank – whatever’s inside it might be secondary to the massive shrapnel bomb if under extreme pressure; if it sounds like metal, that’s the sound of high pressure; whereas hydrazine tanks appear mostly spec’d for metal/titanium, at least that won’t likely kill you.
TL;DR: You might legit want to call a bomb squad.
18. What Once Was A Spider
Photo: PullOutThePlumbus / Reddit
Answered by u/joycatj:
“It would appear that this fungus disease will spread throughout a population of spiders in a confined location…”
19. Wandering Around A Cemetery
Photo: u/Send_Nuudles / Reddit
Answered by u/Ohmannothankyou:
It’s a cast-iron grave cover. The base is partially covered, and it’s supposed to be up and out of the ground. They were very expensive and that one is lovely; someone wanted their deceased to be safe from erosion.
20. Ordered The Fish And It Came With A Surprise
Photo: Killerbunniez / Reddit
Answered by u/AStackOfPanucakes:
That’s a whole-tongue parasite… they eat the fish’s tongue and become the new one [by] stealing food from its host…
Answered by u/gwaydms:
It’s called a tongue-eating louse. It’s not a louse, as you see; it’s an isopod. After eating the tongue, it functions as the fish’s tongue, helping keep the fish alive so it can continue to feed. Pretty gross, yeah. But as you’ve been told, they’re edible.
21. An Extremely Infested Log
Photo: u/Beetlejuice2013 / Reddit
Answered by u/IonOtter:
Those critters are the primary reason for innovation in marine ship hull technology! Many a vessel went to Davy Jones’s Locker due to these buggers, and even to this day, they’re a serious pest to anything that’s not metal or fiberglass, or impregnated with enough creosote and/or toxic metals to kill a small army.
Shipworms, baby!