If there was a place where everyday detectives could go to solve any mystery it would be here: on the internet's favorite subreddit, ‘What is This Thing?' It is the number one place for people to post the most unusual, unrecognizable, or just downright weird things they abruptly find so they can get a hand in solving it. It took us a while, but after scrolling through post after post we finally found the craziest and most insane things that people ever posted - things that took an online army to finally figure out.
1. A Long Lost Ring
This person found a ring in their backyard while doing some gardening. They cleaned it and didn't know if it was a normal ring or a rare one. After they asked the internet they realized that it seemed like they hit the jackpot.
It's a Georgian/early Victorian mourning ring and the initials on it belong to the lost loved one. At that time, mourning rings were made from gold (18k+) and enameled in black. This ring was most probably made around the 1820s.
2. What Is This Big Hole In The Milk Cartons For?
You may have noticed why there is a big hole in milk cartons. But you never cared too much to ask the internet about it. Well, this guy did and he got a logical answer as well.
It's a pressure relief hole that is there to prevent the bottle from exploding if you accidentally drop it. In case you drop it, the hole would simply pop out.
3. What Kind Of Rock Is This?
Someone found this at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As it seems too pristine to be a rock, they asked the internet about it.
Amazingly, it is a broken Megalodon tooth. Megalodon actually means "big tooth," and it is an extinct species of massive shark.
4. A Car Fit For A Bond Agent
So this person found a weird-looking wrapped car that had everything fully wrapped like a Christmas present, except for the vehicle identification number. To most people, it may look like something tacky. In reality, the wrapping obscures the car while being test-driven.
This is a yet-to-be-released model and that's why it is wrapped in such a way to avoid being photographed. By the way, the random "wave" patterns are there to hide the body lines and contours.
5. The Twilight Effect
We can only hope no one thought about the movie Twilight after reading our title for this image. This person was watching their family slides from 1964 and noticed a strange occurrence over their parent's house in Texas.
At first, most of us may think that it must be a scene from some alien movie. Well, it's a residue of a rocket launch. It is called the Twilight effect.
6. A Creepy Hidden Voice Recorder
This person's cleaner found a hidden voice recorder under their dress in the bedroom. The cleaner discreetly told them about it.
The voice recorder doesn't transmit using wireless, but whoever placed it will come back to take it. We are quite sure there must be cameras hidden somewhere in the house as well.
7. A Cute Domestic Cat? Think Again
Someone saw a cat in Texas and immediately thought that it must be a domestic cat who just got lost. But when they went a bit closer to it, they started to doubt that. What do you think about it?
Well, it's a black bobcat, and one thing we know for sure is that it is a majestic beast.
8. A Little Alien?
So this guy saw a strange looking creature and wasn't sure if it was a worm or a parasite. Any guesses?
It may look like a strange type of worm, but in reality, that's two worms trying to make more baby worms.
9. The Wrong Thing To Use As A Tea Kettle
Someone found what they believed to be a kettle and it seems like they kept on using it to the point that they had to find a new kettle that looked like this one.
As some of you have already guessed it...this is a portable men's urinal for bedbound patients.
10. Who Could Use These?
This looks super uncomfortable to use. One cannot imagine how uneasy it would be to hold it with two or four fingers.
Before you start making new theories, they are children's training scissors. The extra holes are so that a grown-up can help a kid hold it.
11. Just For One Person
A person found this random structure in the middle of the forest and was curious to know what it was.
Well, it is a World War II one-person bomb shelter. It shows how scary war can be.
12. Phew, That Was Close
This person found a weird looking thing in their dad's room and really hoped that it's not a sex thing.
Fortunately for this person, they are called yaks. They go over the shoes to give a good grip on ice.
13. Wait What? Is It A Multi-Story Parking Lot?
Someone found what seems to be like a multi-story parking lot. It has small holes in the floor and ceiling with a tiny ladder connecting them as well.
This is actually Secret Industry by John Pym. The artist intentionally put it there as a reward for only those people who look more closely at their surroundings.
14. This Looks Awfully Suspicious
Most people must've thought of something else after looking at such a thing. We're so glad that it's a snowman kit.
It is strange how something so innocent can make people think of something else (wink-wink).
15. It’s Not Soap
This person found it in their aunt's "treasure" collection. It seemed to them like a heavy metal weight inside. So, they asked the internet for help.
So, this is a "tracker pebble" that is used for tracking longshore drift. There are serial numbers of pebbles as they are buried in location and then re-found further down the coast in the shingle with the help of metal detectors.
16. A Purple Sky
This guy was awake at 1.30 am and noticed a purple sky in Southern California. It lasted for about five minutes before fading away.
The glow is related to a commercial cannabis growing operation. This is so beautiful.
17. Clock In Assisted Living Facility
This is something you never would've guessed. This clock in an assisted living facility looks a bit different. So, the internet came with an explanation.
Well, this clock is there for bedsore prevention (frequently repositioning the body to prevent stress on the skin). So, you would refer to the two-hour intervals as a turning schedule.
18. Looks Like Halloween Preparation
This person's friend moved into a new flat and found her neighbor's garden a bit strange.
They asked the internet about it and, believe it or not, it's a Voodoo altar. We recommend that girl to be on good terms with her neighbors.
19. A Kid's Car?
Someone in Melbourne, Australia, spotted this weird looking "thing" across the road and even went down to have a closer look at it.
Well, there's no kid inside it. In reality, it's automated delivery, most probably for food.
20. Geocaching Fun
Someone found a silver capsule camouflaged inside a wooden container. It was placed in a tree in a public park – the person who found it had no idea about it.
Well, it's a geocache. Have you heard about geocaching? It’s a recreational activity in which participants use a mobile phone or a Global Positioning System receiver to hide and seek for different containers called "geocaches."
21. An Unusual Mirror
This person came across this mirror in Trosa, Sweden, and noticed that almost every house has it. The mirror is there to view the street from the comfort of your couch.
It is an old invention. In Sweden, it's called a "Skvallerspegel" (gossip mirror). It can also be a safety measure. With the mirror, you can check who is standing on your porch before going to the door.
22. A Baby Kraken Found On A Beach
This guy found a strange-looking thing while beachcombing in the Olympic Peninsula. The person wasn't sure what it was and asked the internet for more information.
What is your guess on this one? Let us be clear that it is not some sea flower. In truth, these are squid eggs.
23. Seems Like A Large Makeup Kit
Someone took this picture from their airplane window on a trip from Dc to Las Vegas. They had no idea about something that looks like watercolors or a makeup kit.
You'd be surprised to know that it's a mineral mine. And it is the world's largest lithium deposit. Wow!
24. A Weird-Looking Urinal
This person noticed a urinal in a Brauhaus bathroom in Cologne, Germany. They felt it was best to ask the internet about it.
Well, it's a Papst. Do you know what purpose it serves? It is for puking. It is so kind of them to put a handle on the wall. They just wanted to make sure no one has any issues while losing their lunch.
25. An Iron Fish
To most of you, it may look like a decorative piece. The writing on the fish may suggest that it is a message or something. Well, it is the Lucky Iron Fish. As iron deficiency was a serious health problem in developing countries because their diets usually consisted of mostly rice and pasta, they had to come up with a solution.
People were recommended to boil it with food to increase the iron content in their meals. As most people were hesitant to do it, iron was shaped into a 'lucky fish' so it would supposedly provide health benefits.
26. A Bee Hotel
Someone noticed what looked like trash set out for pickup. But he didn't know that it was placed there for another purpose.
It is a bee hotel. It is for 'solitary' bees (the ones who don't like to work in hives but live close to one another).
27. No Flying Flamingos Allowed?
Some people may think that flamingos used to fly around this place too much and the authorities had to do something about it. One wonders if they even imposed other strict restrictions on them.
In reality, the sign means "do not scare the flamingos." It was put there because many people used to cross the sign to scare the poor flamingos so that they could take a picture of them flying.
28. Is It A Paintball Fight Going On?
When someone was watching a video of a real-life drug raid, they noticed a policeman holding a paintball gun. It makes no sense because a drug raid is supposed to be as dangerous as many other raids, right?
Well, it is a pepper spray paintball gun. So, it can be said that technically it's a paintball gun but the paintballs have pepper spray powder inside of them.
29. What Purpose Does It Serve?
Someone noticed a chain and had to ask the internet about it. One wonders what would happen if you pulled on it - would it flush the house?
Before you start to come up with a new explanation, let us break it for you. It's a rain chain that is used as an alternative for the traditional downspout of a gutter system.
30. Why Push When You Can Pull It?
It is hard to think of an explanation as to why this weird half truck is pushing a flatbed trailer instead of pulling it.
Well, it's a float plane mover. The truck is used to move planes up and down a boat ramp into the water.
31. Not A Scene from A Horror Movie
The mother of this person left bleach in their sink for about a week as they went on vacation. They came back to find this that looks like mold.
But in reality, the bleach oxidized the metal parts of their sink. We're quite sure that's not going to look good when they empty it.
32. Submerged Submarine
This person lived near a creek for years and wanted to know about this thing that looks like a submarine. It's been there for years as well. The person who took this picture didn't know what to Google because of their limited knowledge of it.
Well, it's The Quester, a private submarine built to salvage the Andrea Doria. In an unexpected turn of events, now the submarine requires salvage itself. So, we can guess that the guess the Google search term will contain the word, irony.
33. 20 Years Of Research And No Results
This person researched for about 20 years to find what this thing is and finally got an answer. That's a lot of dedication to finding an explanation for something.
It's a fossil of the Black Drumfish. This fish had a little deep body with a high arched back. It had pavement-like teeth which it used to crush shellfish. By the way, the biggest ever black drum fish was over 110lbs.
34. It's Not What You Think It Is
So someone had a night party at their home and found this on the kitchen counter in the morning. There's white powder in it, so most of you may think that it is some sort of drug. By the way, the bottle cap is just for reference, so don't pay much attention to it.
The white powder is just chalk and it's a refill container that is used for marking tools used in sewing. The tool helps dispense a fine line of chalk when drawn across the fabric.
35. Perfect Set Of Beach Holes
This person was having a morning walk when they noticed these beach holes that look quite perfect. They used their flip flop just for scaling purposes.
Before you start thinking that small little alien ships landed on the beach, we just want to let you know that this is the remnants of a scientific clam survey.
36. Blue Tubes On YouTube?
This guy went to Berlin and realized that he kept on seeing blue tubes like these ones everywhere. He asked the internet about them.
These blue tubes are there to transfer groundwater to rivers because the groundwater level in Berlin has been rising since the 1990s.
37. Falling Out Of The Sky?
Is that the flaming sky diving gold medalist? We're just asking because we are quite interested in knowing more about it.
Jokes aside, these are contrails from a passenger plane. As they are close to sunset, the vapor clouds are taking on the same color as any other cloud would under the same late-day sun.
38. Wait What?
This person ordered McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with cheese and noticed something really disgusting. Instead of calling McDonald's, they decided to ask the internet about it.
Well, it seems like the blue material is from the gloves of the employee who used them to put the meat on the grill.
39. A Small Business!
Someone found this under their bed in a motel and wanted the internet to tell them more about it.
Well, it is a small scale meth-making device. We just hope the owner of this device didn't come back to get it back.
40. No Freaking Way
According to this person, they opened a sealed Cola-Cola bottle and found an empty gel container in it.
It's Ibuprofen and the person who posted it later announced that he accidentally "backwashed" it into the bottle while drinking it as he had taken the medication the same morning.
