25 Objects People Were Clueless About Until The Internet Explained It

Imagine my surprise at finding a letter written in my native language amongst a list of things people find hard to identify, even with the help of technology. While I immediately understood the contents of the supposedly 'mysterious object', others were flummoxed at even identifying the language the letters represent. I can fully understand how most search engines wouldn’t be able to decipher the language even with the help of the internet, —trust me I’ve tried to have Google translate many written documents in Sinhala with little to no success— it’s also a reminder that as humans we often have information locked away in our heads that even massive search engines powered by AI cannot figure out yet. Thankfully, however, there are online communities like the ‘What Is This?’ group that are willing to help out. So without further ado, let’s just dive right into this mysterious list of objects that were a little troublesome to figure out, without the input of other people in the know. 

#1 What Is The Device This Woman Has Been Holding To Her Mouth (Murdaugh Trial)?

Image source: 14thCenturyHood Linguist208: She speaks into it, it records the trial transcript. She's a court reporter, and the device keeps her words from being heard.

#2 Found This Heavy Thing Burried In My Yard, I Tried To Unscrew The Lid But Didn't Come Off

Image source: RealTourelle11 Here is the update on the post : a team of two bomb disposal experts came today to pick up the bomb. They loaded it in their car and said they would destroy it in a safe place, a military base. Basically once in a while, once they have enough bombs they will blow them up at the same time. We already knew the answer but still asked if there was a way to get the disarmed shell back as a memory, and they told us it is against the law. Also, they told us that keeping such an ammunition, even if disarmed, represented a risk. They mentioned the scenario in which a fire would break out in the house, and if the firefighters, upon intervening, spotted a bomb like that, they would immediate leave and let the house to burn to avoid taking any risks. As for the origin of the shell, it was really common at the end of WWI for the soldiers to bring back home a souvenir from the war. Someone probably got rid of it decades later, and thought it would be no arm to bury it or abandon it in a remote place. I found many articles in french newspapers relating the same kind of events, actually with the exact 75mm mortar. Be safe !

#3 Sent To My Address With No Name On The Envelope. What Is This??

Image source: AdAlternative9646 z4nadeesh: This is Sinhala. Source: I'm Sinhalese hahaha You wouldn't be able to translate this with google. These handwritten documents vary a lot from the fonts used in typing. It's written by someone called Chandra ( Common Sinhala name for a male. Means moon )to two people called Nimal (Common Sinhala name for a male)and Indra ( a common name for a female) possibly a couple living in the same country as OP. This is to thank Nimal and Indra for something they sent to Sri Lanka for Chandra and his children to enjoy. This mentions about an energy drink that they seem to have quite enjoyed. The rest of the letter is bit religious and talks about Buddhism and nirvana. Hope this helps. Cheers!

#4 This Pattern Had Been Growing On My Mirror For A Month Now And It’s Tinting The Mirror Green. Any Idea What It Could Be?

Image source: DfeverDreamD andorraliechtenstein: That’s a heated mirror failing. When the auto dim or heated mirrors start to separate internally they look like that.

#5 What Was This Old Desk Used For ? My Wife And I Have Been Making Guesses But Have No Idea

Image source: thepolishking1200 chivesngarlic: Dr here. Definitely an obgyn table. Instruments and other medical supplies are stored in the drawers for easy access.

#6 What Are These Chimneys And Why Do They Exist In The Woods? (New England)

Image source: Chotwink sillytricia: Houses used to be there, only the chimney survived.

#7 People Were Praying To This Unidentifiable Box They Brought To A Mountain Top. Seen In Sapiranga, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil. What Is This?

Image source: Granularyvette TreasureWench1622: It LOOKS like what the Arc of the Covenant is supposed to resemble

#8 Just Found This While Rummaging Through My Fathers Old Stuff

Image source: shark9994 SpiritualPrize: The Camera Lucida, or Chambre Claire in French This is a device designed to assist in making enlarged or reduced drawings from originals or even straight from a real scene. The designer looks at the tip of the pencil on the paper and sees, simultaneously and in the same place, an image of what is in front of him. His job, then, is to draw the contours just by following this double image.

#9 What Is This? Found Underneath A House We Are Remodeling? How Did They Get The Liquid Inside?

Image source: DirtyFrank23 C_N1: DO NOT BREAK IT! Those are filled with a toxic chemical to extinguish fires. Glass Grenade Fire Extinguisher Also, they closed them by melting the glass shut.

#10 Sign On Sidewalk In Chinatown, Chicago, USA

Image source: fupamancer PassGloomy: It’s a sign to tell pet owners to pick up the animals poop due to rats eating the excrement. I believe all of the additional wording has faded.

#11 My Father Passed And We Were Clearing Out His Desk And Found This?

Image source: poemehardbebe Dramatic-Tear9890: That’s Bowtruckle from the Fantastic Beasts movies!

#12 This Popped Up In Less Than 24hrs In My Shower!? Aliens?

Image source: bmcd96 Mirar: Wolf’s milk slime mold or something similar

#13 Anyone Know What Type Of Bird This Is? Spotted Whilst Running In Hostivice, Czech Republic

Image source: PassengerAutomatic10 OblivionGuardsman: It is a turqouise parrot variety. Some have been bred from a mutation to have the breast fully red that normally occurs as just a patch or transitional area from the lower body up. They are known as red breasted turquoise parrots or full-red fronted yellow but of the same species. I suppose it could be a cross bred scarlet breasted with a turquoise but this is the exact color pattern that turqouise mutation variety has. It isnt a scarlet because they are green on the back and tail. Edit: website about these

#14 I'd Like To Know The Back Story

Image source: First_Person_US fizzio: The Grave of Seath Mor Sgorfhiaclach in Scotland. The cage over the grave is not to prevent grave robbing or for fear of zombies, but to keep the cursed stones that sit on the grave in place.

#15 My Crow Gifted Me This. Feels Kinda Cursed

Image source: ywna_li

#16 What Is Showing Up On My Baby Monitor When I Am Taking A Photo With My Phone?

Image source: magggalicious jcstan05: LiDAR. It's a function of newer phones to detect depth.

#17 Why Did Someone Put Salt In Front Of My Door? It Isn’t On Anyone Else’s Doorstep, Just Mine

Image source: BizzMarquee The_Spoils: Yup, trying to ward of demons. I briefly dated a Wiccan girl and she was super happy when I was able to cross over the salt line she had at her door. I didn't even know it was there lol.

#18 What Are These Women Holding In This Painting? They Look Like Purses, But There Looks To Be Rolled Up Paper Inside. This Is Also A French Painting If That Helps

Image source: DiorDiorDior JimDixon: Elegant ladies of that era wouldn't want to carry an unwrapped newspaper, because the ink would rub off on their hands or clothes, more so then than now, I.think, and more so if the paper was "hot off the press." Another possibility would be ladies' magazines, which would have been popular and full of fashion illustrations.

#19 Found This Strange Ring At The Beach

Image source: KingShabi69 cavepatchy: It's a decoder ring

#20 In Closet. Likely Placed There By Cats. What Is It ?

Image source: The_UndergroundMan11 meadowmbell: It was a potato…

#21 I Just Purchased A Dental Office And Found This In A Drawer. What Is This Thing?

Image source: peterdent234 kimishark: Sage roll. Wards off evil spirits. And smells nice

#22 Looks Like A Worm, But Has A Spine, 11 Inches, North Central Florida

Image source: suck_ma_ballz ShalnarkRyuseih: Florida worm lizard

#23 My Mother Had This As A Self Defense Weapon, I Think It’s A S*x Toy. Any Idea?

Image source: moldedshoulders DecadentEx: It's a weapon called a Boston leather sap - sometimes called a "blackjack".

#24 Does Anyone Know What This Actually Is? I’ve Been Having This Picture In My Phone For Almost 4 Years

Image source: glamoralism faerle: For sure Aerogel. A weird material were the gel has actually been replaced with gas.

#25 What’s This Thing?

Image source: Equal-Yogurtcloset82 Angeltt: Toothpick "Plant" "Toothpick turns after-dinner teeth cleaning into an extravagant experience! Featuring an elegant cluster of flowers from the toothpick plant (ammi visnaga) and a natural oak desk stand, it makes an attractive - yet functional - addition to any table. To use, simply snap off a stem from the beautiful dried flower and use it like a regular toothpick. the flower heads used in rivsalt TOOTHPICK are harvested from Morocco’s atlas mountains where they are dried and then shipped to Casablanca for final selection. locals have used the plant for a wide range of purposes for more than 1000 years and to this day use the dried flower stems as toothpicks."