Is it a bird? Is it a plane?! Unfortunately, it most likely won’t be Superman. And, chances are, it’s not the Twister either. But it is something peculiar. It’s an unknown object (not from space, though!) that needs some help from the Internet to identify it.
Luckily, there is a subreddit for that. The What Is This Thing community is fortunately still going strong with more than 2.7 million members! It’s a place where you can post a picture of an item that you can’t for the life of you figure out what it is or where it came from. The Internet will most likely come to your aid, and the subreddit’s detectives will tell you what your strange object is.
This time, we’ve compiled a new selection of the best entries from the community for you to enjoy. So scroll away and let us know your favorites by upvoting them!
Bored Panda reached out to Celia Quillian, an AI expert who previously lent her expertise to TIME magazine and the Today Show. We wanted to know whether the current AI technology could make the subreddit's job easier. She told us more about how AI models recognize objects in pictures, what challenges we might run into, and what the future of AI image recognition technology is. Read our interview with her below!
More info: What Is This Thing? | Celia Quillian on Instagram | Celia Quillian on TikTok
#1 What Is This Object I Found On A Beach In Yorkshire That Has Holes In And Feels Like A Mix Between Stone And Plastic
A Victorian toothbrush. The handle is made of animal bone and the holes are where the bristles (normally pig or horse hair) would go. Bristle toothbrushes like this were invented in China in the 1400s, but contrary to all that seems good and sane in this world, most Europeans weren't all that into toothbrushes until the late 1700s/early 1800s. Source: am archaeologist.
Image credits: OliRobbo
The r/WhatIsThisThing subreddit is a pretty old community. It has been alive for about 15 years now. Bored Panda spoke to one of the community's moderators back in 2020, and they told us what the reasons behind the subreddit's success might be. It's that people like playing amateur detectives and helping others find out what their mystery object is.
Redditors love to share their knowledge, and it's especially rewarding when knowing something niche helps someone else. "Many [people] have unique and obscure knowledge and they like to use it. Get enough of them together and they cover most things," the moderator told us a few years back. It's hard not to get involved when some interesting items show up – that's another reason for the subreddit's popularity.
#2 Patches Of Sand Floating On Top Of Water Near Shoreline, Each Patch Around 4-10cm In Diameter
It's dry sand floating on the water tension, been picked up by the raising tide. Only happens when it's hot enough to dry the sand and absolutely flat calm.
Image credits: carissa0816
#3 A Silver Spoon With "Top" Part?
Vintage Christofle Orfevre a Paris Silver Plated Medicine/Invalid Feeder Spoon.
Image credits: kalvinoz
Back then, the moderator also told Bored Panda that almost all mystery cases get solved. "A majority of things are solved within 15 minutes of posting," the mod said. The Redditor assessed that about 10% of the posters never get final answers. With a community of 2.7 million people, it's no wonder how quick it can be – its strength is in its numbers.
On a more serious note, there's also an affiliated subreddit called Trace an Object. Internet sleuths can put their skills to good use by searching for items posted by Europol and Australia's "Trace an Object" websites or the FBI's "Endangered Child Alert Program." "We've had some luck in identifying some things, but there's more yet unsolved and more to come as Europol does release some new information every few months," the community's moderator told us in 2020.
#4 This Is About 3ft Talk Made Of Solid Wood. It Doesn't Weigh Much Though, Maybe 5 Or 10 Lbs. The Arm Hanging Down Swings And The Top Is Just A Handle. It Does Not Move
A boot puller, otherwise known as a boot jack. Heel in the u shaped groove, other foot on the back of that to stabilise it all, swingy bit on the top of the foot, hold the hand grips and lever the boot off the heel by lifting your booted leg up and out.
Image credits: flyingwithed
#5 Bought A House With This Glass Structure In The Backyard, No Idea What It's Supposed To Be
It’s to grow mushrooms. Called a fruiting house. It looks like there is even substrate there that you use in growing mushrooms.
Image credits: allgoldslugs
#6 Small Ceramic Bowl With Three Small Cones Like Things In The Middle
It is an Ikebana Vase. It is for Japanese style flower arrangements. The flowers go in the tubes and the rest is also filled with water, usually smooth stones, or maybe a small turtle or frog sculpture.
Image credits: xsladil
With all this talk about identifying strange objects from pictures, one has to think about whether we could use AI to do the job. If Dog Scanner can tell me how much shih tzu my little rescue pooch has in him, why can't I use it to identify an unknown object? We consulted Celia Quillian, a digital creator who shares her knowledge about artificial intelligence on TikTok and Instagram.
Celia tells us that current AI models are capable of helping us identify an unknown object in a picture. "While at this point in time there are no AI models that can identify absolutely everything, there are many AI tools that have image recognition features," Quillian explains. The best-known tools for that include ChatGPTPlus, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. "I've used these myself to help identify photos of plants or animals on nature walks," Celia adds.
#7 Cubby Inside Kitchen Of 1950’s Home
Telephone nook/niche.
Image credits: tozierrr
#8 Solid Feeling Balls That Chyme/Jingle At A Low Tone When You Shake Them
Baoding balls. They’re for stress and concentration. You're supposed to put them both in the palm of your hand and rotate them around each other in a circle.
Image credits: dezlovesyou
#9 Yellowish Powder (?) On The Inside Of Swimming Suit
The elastic in the fabric disintegrating.
Image credits: prozloc
What would the step-by-step look like? "Simply snap a photo of the thing in question and upload [it] to your AI tool with a prompt like 'I came across this <thing/animal/plant> today in <extra context if helpful.> Can you help me identify what it might be?'" According to Quillian, the AI tool might need some help for better identification, like the already mentioned context.
#10 Promo Item I Received For Free At A Christmas Fair. It Is The Size Of My Hand, The White Top Screws On And Off And The Red Bag Part Expands And Is Pretty Thick
A mini refillable hot/cold pack for headaches or injuries.
Image credits: britlynj
#11 Found At Tide Pools - Green Nylon Pouch With Ziploc Bag Of Mystery Stuff
Congratulations you've found a bean bag!
Image credits: pokokoko
#12 What Is This Gold Rotating Thing? It’s About 5-7cm In Length And Has What Seems Like Drawings On Each Side?
A letter seal.
Image credits: throwaway21386
"A more detailed description of the thing if the image is lower quality or taken from far away can be helpful in identifying [it]," Celia explains. "Generally, the tool will tell you outright what the thing is, or, if it is less clear, it will tell you that it may have trouble with the identification but could propose some suggestions of what it might be."
#13 Large Metal Tube With Narrowed Front End, Transported With Police Escort, On An Extended Flatbed Trailer
A spindle that Boeing weaves the carbon fiber fuselage for the Dreamliner on.
Image credits: orionsanthology
#14 Slices Of Rubber Held Together By Metal Brackets, About 10 Pounds. It Hit My Windshield Going 80mph Down The Interstate. Luckily The Windshield Did Its Job And No One Was Injured!
A wheel chock.
Image credits: No-Following8840
#15 What Is This Cubby Above The Built In Stove. There Is No Access To Open It From Any Angle
Sheet pan rack
Image credits: BrightAd2201
Naturally, AI still isn't perfect and you might run into some challenges. Celia Quillian says that it all comes down to the quality and quantity of training data the AI model has on visuals of this particular type of object.
"Say you made a unique object at home out of a variety of things around the house and posted it to the Internet saying 'This invention is called a Riesmatch!' If you were to then upload a photo of the 'Reismatch' into an AI tool and ask it to identify it, it would not be able to come up with the 'correct' name but rather suggest a description of all of the recognized objects it is made of."
#16 Found In My Backyard. It Is Chalky And Will Rub Off If You Run Your Finger On It. Because Of My Dogs, Really Just Want To Make Sure It’s Not Some Kind Of Poison. Thanks!
The clay plug from the bottom of a fireworks tube.
Image credits: adaking13
#17 Pellets With A Powdery Substance Coating Them, Found On The Floor Of A Garage That Had Not Been Opened For A Few Months, Each Pellet A Bit Larger Than A Tater Tot
Wood stove pellets that got wet.
Image credits: dick-nipples
#18 What Are These Smaller Doors Inside Our Hotel Bathroom Door?
While many are saying “Dutch” door this is actually called “wicket”. A Dutch door has a separate top and bottom half that open together or independently. A wicket is a door (or two in this case) inside of a door. They are used mainly in psych wards as a way to get into a room that may be barricaded.
Image credits: offtheshallowend
If the image is low quality, blurry, or taken from far away, it might be difficult for the AI tool to identify it. "The quality and abundance of the training data goes the other way as well when it comes to AI image generation," Quillian explains. It's a simple way of saying that AI can have bias too, based on the data it received during its training.
#19 What Is This Strange Pocket Watch With A Lever And Odd Face?
It's a pocket roulette wheel, modeled to look like a pocket watch for easy concealment but with a rotating dial instead of an indicator hand. It has 12 parts instead of the typical number to look like a broken pocket watch upon inspection. Most likely this one was crafted out of a pocket watch as some of the original frame is visible around the dial/wheel/face.
Image credits: Eow_hwaet_m8
#20 Set Of 9 Wooden Balls. 4 Black, 4 Brown, And One Smaller Brown Ball. More Details In Comment
Bocce balls
Image credits: Woodpecker16669
#21 What Is This Pot With Tubes And A Suction System? Left In My Friends New Apartment From Old Tenants
A milking machine for goats and/or cows.
Image credits: jurgo17
Celia explains with an example: "If the great majority of images with the label 'Professional' that the AI was trained upon were pictures of white men, giving it the prompt 'Make me an image of a professional' is very likely to result in a picture of a white man, unless there is extra additional detail in the prompt to request a different gender or race, or extra training in the model to specifically avoid such bias."
#22 What Are These Small Bowls With Holes In The Bottom? I Have No Idea What To Do With Them
Pots for succulents.
Image credits: evokablespark
#23 Small Fragrant Cubiod From Morocco, Bought Thinking It Was Soap
Moroccan solid resin perfume bar. It’s made of resin and wax.
Image credits: Burtang
#24 Round Brown Things With Holes In Them Lining A Small Waterway In St. Pete, Fl
They are artificial reef balls. They are there to create a "living shoreline" to prevent erosion.
Image credits: International_Mall31
So maybe it's still too early to expect AI to recognize an old-timey letter seal. Good thing the r/WhatIsThisThing subreddit exists, then! But still, is AI image recognition technology headed that way? Our AI expert says that the most exciting use of it is in medical images. "AI image recognition will allow doctors to detect and diagnose diseases and medical images even faster and earlier."
And some companies are already doing that! Like the Lithuanian startup Oxipit, which creates AI tools for global medical imaging. Companies that use this technology might help in addressing the global radiologist shortage and improve diagnostic quality.
#25 I Dug This Up While On Holiday In Devon, UK. Only The Protruding Cylindrical Part Was Visible And It Was Found ~7m Up A Sand Dune. It Is Solid Metal (Most Likely Iron) And Roughly A Metre In Length. It Didn’t Seem Hollow And Was Unbelievably Heavy. Any Ideas?
With a trunnion on each side, it looks like a small cannon.
Image credits: jcs1809
#26 What Is This Tube That This Coast Guard Guy Sticks His Gun Into While Loading It?
In the army we called it a "clearing station". If you were to have an unintentional discharge while clearing the weapon, that chamber would stop the bullet
Image credits: TLP34
#27 These Chains At Animal Kingdom Disney World, They Are Located On The Safari Tour
Its to prevent animals from moving from zone to zone. The chains are difficult/ uncomfortable for herd animals to walk across so the dont. Similar chanis/bars are used for other cattle and livestock on farms. Source: been on the safari tour way too many times and had guides tell us that.
Image credits: herr-heim2point0
However, with the rapid development of AI image recognition technology there also are some ethical considerations to take into account. "From an ethical standpoint, there are also use cases from the security front that involve AI image recognition to monitor for suspicious activities or detecting threats," Celia Quillian tells Bored Panda.
#28 Old Wooden Bat-Like Object With Floral Carvings
OP it’s called a tire thumper, 18 wheelers use them to “check their tires”. Really it’s kept under their seat for self defense. *floral carvings would be a bit out of place tho.
Image credits: saintgreer
#29 Grid Of Large Metal Cubes On A Pole, Located In The Las Vegas Airport. Not Making Any Noise And No Lights, Maybe An Air Filter Or Something? Located About 8ft Off The Ground And Maybe 20ft Long
A decommissioned arrival/departure display.
Image credits: IHateMars
#30 Small Waxy Minty Sticks - Looks Like Hot Glue Sticks
Wax for braces/dental work
Image credits: soupsoup12
"While this can be beneficial in many ways, there are also ethical considerations – will [there be] privacy or data collection without a person's knowing consent? Could models for detecting suspicious activity similarly be trained on a biased set of data, leading the AI to more frequently raise false alarms for certain populations of people?"
"I think one of the larger risks, which can be mitigated, is the inherent bias the training data set could have for all use cases, without the proper bounds in place," Quillian adds.
#31 Witt? Some Sort Of A Combination Of Tongs And A Strainer?
Handheld colander for fried foods.
Image credits: AK____79
#32 Cinder Block Walled Hole Under A Concrete Step. What Is The Purpose?
It's part of the foundation. Keeping consistent depth keeps things moving together instead of separately so your steps stay on place and don't heave or drop in time.
Image credits: MrPenman
#33 Sword-Looking Thing That Plugs Into Mains Voltage
An electric tie iron.
Image credits: MarrEbike
#34 A Pole With A Ring Around It And A Heavy Base
An umbrella holder.
Image credits: itsyales
#35 What Is This Strap On My Backpack? It Attaches With Velcro, But I Don't Know What It Would Be Used For
That can slide over the handles of suitcases with wheels so if you travel, you can pull it along with your suitcase and it won’t fall off.
Image credits: wpr8
#36 What Is This Thing On My Neighbors Balcony? About 1.5 Feet X 8 Inches. Some Type Of Electronic. Small White (Sometimes Red) Light Shining Occasionally. Looks Like It’s Suctioned To The Door
5G Home WiFi, it connects to 5G cell towers and streetlights and gets the best reception when attached to a plane of glass because 5G attenuates through walls.
Image credits: StayGlassy
#37 Two Small Metal Items With Cloth Inside The Hole On The Side
They are vintage kazoos, they probably need new baffles in the hole to be able to work properly.
Image credits: klorge87
#38 Wierd Hammer-Shaped Thing With Flat Edges
This is an axe for peppermint bark. It comes in the package. Market solved. I’m so excited I’ve never solved one of these.
Image credits: Glass-Scratch880
#39 The University I Used To Attend Had One Of These In Every Classroom -- A Small Black Box With What Appears To Be A Grid Of Leds, Placed Towards The Front Of The Room / Where Students Will Face When Seated
Infrared audio transmitter for the hearing impaired.
Image credits: Cambienta
#40 I Received This Item As A Wedding Gift From An Egyptian Wedding Guest. It Is Nearly 5” Tall And Has A Removable Top With 4small Holes Like A Salt Shaker (Item Is Not Hollow)
It's a narghile/hookah. Looks like it's purely decorative, not really usable.
Image credits: laserspaceship
#41 I Saw This Building At Work The Other Day, Its Detached From Any Other Buildings Its About 15 Ft Tall Windows On All Sides But Only On The Top And A Door In Front
Old deer blind turned into kids' fort
Image credits: Frankthetank8
#42 Small Plastic Spoons With Brown Substance, Individually Packaged And Found In A Public Park Exposed To The Elements
Tamarind spoon. You have Hispanics in the neighborhood. Hit up a liquor store and get a fresh pack and try them out!
Image credits: villagetaco
#43 Clear Hard Thing. Playing Card For Scale
Magnifier for reading a book.
Image credits: sylverfalcon
#44 Easily Malleable Metal, With Diamonds In The Center. I Have Four Of Them, And They Were All Rolled Up Like The First Picture
I think they're accessories for hair braids, try googling 'hair braid cuffs'.
Image credits: katiem1236
#45 These Are Found On Street Corners In Daytona Beach. They Appear To Just Pump Water Up Only For It To Go Immediately To The Storm Drain. I Have Seen A Few Different Designs
They’re timed valves to keep the water in the distribution lines from getting too old. When the water is in the pipe too long the chlorine level drops too much and the water is unsafe.
Image credits: byeargan
#46 A White Plastic Stick, That Gets Narrower In The Middle, With Small Hands On Both Ends Given As A Wedding Favour/Gift For Guests
A Muddler Stick / Cocktail Swizzle Stick.
Image credits: _just_here_to_see_
#47 Front Eyelet On Winter Boot. Unsure Of Purpose
Hook for attaching "gaiters" example that uses the laces themselves but the hook is a far better option because it's independent of your laces which can affect how the boot wears
Image credits: ViliBravolio
#48 I See These Weird Metal Boxes In UK Pubs Down By The Bar And Other Than Impromptu Chewing Gum Bins, What The Heck Are They?
An old ash tray.
Image credits: Arseypoowank
#49 Small Leather Piece With Straps And Adjustable Buckles
Wife had something similar that was decoration on boots. You could take them off and change them. Its an ornament for a boot. Search for Boot Bracelet. Fits sorta like spurs.
Image credits: Lemon_bitch
#50 Strange Object Inside A Wooden Box. We Can See Some Numbers At The Base. It Has Some Wires. There's Also A Strange Large Wook. It May Have Some Missing Parts
It's a simple/plane alidade. It's made out of iron and wood. It measures 52cmx22cm. The hook measures 31 cm. The number at the base go from 0 to 1100.
Image credits: Lleon_96
