You may think the internet is nothing but cat memes and fail gifs, but apparently, there are smart people on here too! When these people asked “What the fuck am I looking at,” people with actual knowledge answered.
“Grandmother Received This From Her Friend After His Death. Nobody At The Senior’s Center She Lives At Knows What It Is. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: Opium pipe
“I Saw This “Cloud” On My Way To Work Yesterday Morning, May 22nd, At 5 Am Est. Other Than This, The Sky Was Completely Clear. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: Rocket launch. I live near a launch complex. See this a lot.
“What Might This Key Be For? It Separates When Squeezed”
Answer: It’s for smoking the leftover end of a marijuana cigarette when the fire is too close for you to be able to hold it (called a roach) without burning your fingers. Used by people that don’t put their roaches in pipes to smoke them or just throw them away.
“I Found This Jammed In My Front Door Lock, It’s About 1.5” Long. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: It’s a tension wrench from a lock pick set.
I’m sure he slept well that night…
“My Sister Found This When Cleaning Out A Fish. This Was In The Mouth And There Was A Smaller One In The Stomach. Anyone Know What It Is?”
Answer: Tongue eating parasite (cymothoa exigua). Truly harrowing.
Eats the fish’s tongue and then takes the place of the fish’s tongue.
“Researching Plantation Houses In The 1700s. What Is The Thing Hanging From The Ceiling In The Dining Room?”
Answer: Very early ceiling fan. The rope at the top would be pulled to create the back and forth motion to fan the air and keep flies away from the table during a meal.
“My Girlfriend Found These In Her Dinner? Are They Seeds?”
Answer: Pretty good picture of insect eggs.
“Re-Watching Band Of Brothers For The 100th Time And I Keep Seeing Soldiers With This Strapped To Their Helmet. What Is It?”
Answer: Field dressings for injuries. The medic can grab it without having to open the injured soldier’s med kit. It saves time. Those dressings are tightly folded inside a heavy rubberized cloth cover, and they expand as you unfold them. Not having to unbutton or unzip or unfold a pouch isn’t much, but if you’re gut shot you need every second they can buy you.
“I’m In Japan And I See These On Cars Fairly Often. I Don’t Think It’s An Antenna. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: To help with parking. It’s to see the end of the car.
“Found In My Dads Toolbox (He’s A Carpenter). What Is This Thing?”
Answer: Nipple pump.
“It Is Approx. 3 Meters Long And Open At The End. Found With Some Similar Looking Ones Scattered Around On A Hillside While Hiking. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: It’s called a Gazex and it’s used to start avalanches so they can control when and where they happen. This avalanche control system uses specially constructed “exploder” sites and tubes built at key locations in avalanche territory to set off avalanches at controlled times. The exploders literally detonate a mixture of oxygen and propane from the tube structures. The explosive force expelled from the tubes triggers avalanches. The explosive bursts are fueled by gas canisters stored in tanks beneath the exploders on the mountain.
“I Found This Thing In My Food. It Was Just Stuck To A Piece Of Meat; It Wasn’t Lodged Into It Or Anything. Anyone Know What It Is?”
Answer: Cattle/pig microchip for meat traceability.
“What Are These Things And What Are They Doing?”
Answer: They’re European red slugs. And they’re doing it.
“Anyone Know What Those Round Impressions Are Called, And What Are They For?”
Answer: Old windows were made of glass spun out into flatness. That’s the center of the spin.
New windows are made of glass floated on a pool of molten tin, which makes very flat panes without any annoying bullseyes.
“Found This Thing At My Grandparent’s House. It Has Numbers And Weird Symbols At The Top. Anyone Know What This Is?”
Answer: It’s a shrapnel shell, used against infantry in WWII. The numbers and dial are used to set when it would go off. It would normally go off on impact, but could be set to go off at a specified distance. Be very, very careful with it, unless it’s been defused.
“Found On A Light Pollution Map. Anyone Know What The Three Spots In The Ocean Are? Satellite Image Shows Nothing There”
Answer: Oil rigs
“Found This In The House I’m Tearing Apart In A Book Like Someone Wanted To Keep Them – Don’t Think It’s Real Money.”
Answer: Its money from the Philippines when it was occupied by Japan in 1941.
“What Is This Candy Bar? I Ate It When I Went To Ocean City Back In Like 2007 Or Something And I Was Obsessed With It”
Answer: Wazoo.
“What Is This Ufo Looking Thing On A Truck?”
Answer: An F-35 without wings and tails.
“Circular Object On Top Of Car. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: Bubbl, It’s like an uber targeted toward kids or those with extra concerns around who the drivers are.
“This Hole In One Of The Flaps On A Plane I’m In?”
Answer: There was a small crack or dent in the corner of that part known as the Outboard Aft Flap. In order to prevent the damage from spreading they cut out a radiused portion until a new part can be installed. It’s an FAA-approved field repair.
“My Coworker Found This In His Back Yard. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: That is a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Red Coin
“What Is This Black Stuff Appearing On The Walls Of My Hostel’s Bathroom? It’s In Almost Every Corner As Well”
Answer: Termite infestation.
“Heathrow Airport. Looks Like It Hasn’t Moved In Ages. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: For fire training, for the airport fire brigade.
“I Found This Little Guy Under A Stair In A Parking Garage At The Mall. The Clothing Is Made Out Of Thread And His Hair Is Made By What Seems Like Glue Dipped Into Dirt. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: It’s a worry doll. You tell your worries to it and put it under your pillow at night. It’s supposed to take away your worries while you’re sleeping.
“Noticed This Weird Thing On The Side Near The Light. In London. What Is This Thing?”
Answer: It’s for attaching a flag when used by diplomats.
“What Are These Slugs Doing? The Blue Stuff Was Moving”
Answer: They are having sex. Slugs have a very melodramatic way of having sex. They hang from a mucus string and rub their genitals together mid-air.
“I Drive By This Every Day, What Is On Top Of This Car?”
Answer: It’s a crane arm — for filming in movies… it’s how they filmed the Red Bull Kluge video.
VIA
