17 Odd Items With Simple Explanations. | eBaum's World

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17 Odd Items With Simple Explanations.

What the heck is that?

By Nathan Johnson

Published 3 years ago

What the heck is that?

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1
Little razors attached to some sort of handle…found on top of the fridge. My husband has no idea either. A: It’s an attachment for a mandolin slicer to make julienne cut veggies. Looks like one of the sides where it clips on broke off.

2
A hard, very lightweight blob without any sort of smell. Feels waxy. A: It’s probably boat insulation. Very similar to spray foam, except more dense to stop it from soaking up water.

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3
What is (the intended use of) this oddly shaped silver spoon? A: A caddy spoon is a short-handled spoon used for measuring the dried tea from the tea caddy where it was stored to the teapot and was most commonly in use from the late 1700s to the mid-Victorian period, although examples continue turning up that date into the early 1900s.

4
An object found in the kitchen of a deceased relative, about 18 inches long. The puck-shaped end is heavy, solid metal. A: I’m going to guess it’s a handheld salamander. You heat the ’puck’ and you hold it over the food to brown or melt the surface cheese, like a french onion soup.

5
A 1950s house has these planks that pull out of the bedroom wardrobe. Any ideas what they’re for? A: Definitely looks like the supports on a secretary desk. This one may have had the hinged top removed, or it was a modular desktop.

6
These thin, toothpick-like objects seem to be made of ivory and are supposedly from the 1900s from China, maybe a game? A: They look like a German game, called Spillikin.

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7
A Victorian mystery object — blunt and too big for a needle threader. A: It’s a bodkin for threading ribbon, lacing corsets, etc.

8
What is this ice phenomenon I found on the forest floor today? A: The term for it is ’frost flower’ and it has to do with moisture freezing as it escapes plant tissue.

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9
These are ceramic cylinders around 6 inches tall. They are glazed on the outside and unglazed on the inside. A: I think those are vertical poultry roasters. The idea is to insert them into a whole chicken and bake it standing up. You’d need a baking pan to catch the juices, of course.

10
This came with a bike. It’s not on the instructions or parts list. It has a diameter of about 2 inches. A: It’s a spoke wrench for adjusting the tension of your wheel spokes. The numbers correspond to the spoke sizes.

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11
An old wooden box with wooden planks with silver plates inside, anyone have an idea? A: I’m not sure about the wooden planks, but a box like this is quite common. People use it to store different things, but I think it’s mainly made to store bukhoor (incense).

12
Heavy and small. Found in Southern Germany. A: Medieval pilgrim’s badge.

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13
What is this leather thing that was in a subscription box? We can’t figure it out! A: I had a bookmark that was similar to that. Fits over the corner of the page.

14
Metal hatch in the foundation of my house? A: It’s an ash catch.

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15
What is this item? All night we’ve been trying to solve this. It slides open and there is a tiny piece of fοam inside. A: It’s a key fob for a programmable RFID entry system.

16
Found in Eureka Springs AK, what looks to be a very small concrete bench or seat facing away from the road near the curb. Too small for a child and there were several around town. A: They could be old carriage steps, used to help people get into and out of horse-drawn carriages.

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17
Found this while cleaning out the attic. It’s wood, looks handmade, measures 20cm, but I have no idea what it is or does! A: It’s a Yacouba Double Spoon – a symbol of hospitality in traditional African art. It represents two very distinct universes that are opposite.

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