33 Items People Turned to the Internet to Find Out 'What Is This Thing?'
People who turned to the internet to get answers to the question, "What the heck is this thing?"
Published 3 months ago in Ftw
The wolds is full of interesting and cool things. Sometimes, however, the specific purpose or uses of these things are not known to the people who found or saw them. In this round up, we have folks providing answers to the people who turned to the internet to get answers to the question, "What the heck is this thing?"
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"Friend Received This Passed Down From His Great Great Grandfather. It’s Believed To Be From Persia & About 2,000 Years Old" Answer: "It’s a hairpin or a clothes pin/brooch. If it’s something 2000 years old, you need to see a professional at a museum/institute of archaeology to get it evaluated AND then get it insured."4
"Ok, I Know It’s A Chair, But What’s With The Extended Arms?" Answer: "It looks like a plantation/planters chair. You’d put your sore swollen legs up on the arms after sitting on a horse all day, like a pregnant woman with her legs up in the same fashion. This is why the back is so sloped as well. If you sit up straight it wouldn’t be comfortable to put your legs up like that, but in a reclined position it’s good for blood flow and air flow."6
"Found In My Backyard In East Nashville, Tn" Answer: "Looks real for sure! It's a decent fit for Hopewell type points from about 2000 years ago, but a local expert would certainly know more. If it's found in your yard it's definitely yours and nobody would take it if you reported it, and I'm sure your state archaeologist or archaeological society would be happy to tell you more and make a record of where you found it!"7
"Found In A Creek Bed In Oak Hill, Texas. Has A Small Hole On Top Of The Head That Goes All The Way Through" Answer: ""Seems to be a pendent head from the Caddo tribe. Looks legit and definitely pre-columbian. There's an oak hill Caddo site near there. Could be an import as well but unlikely." -My Archeologist Father"10
"Found At A Used Book Store. All Parts Rotate And The Markings/Months Makes Me Think It Could Be For Mapping?' Answer: "An astrolabe, the ancient times GPS. Used usually for navigation, also for time measure and other science uses. I got one similar as a keyring. If it's too small It won't be easy to use, by my experience."11
"I Think Brass Man, Head Comes Off And Backpack Opens" Answer: "Definitely looks like tobacco paraphernalia. My father-in-law has a huge collection of tobacco jars, pipe stands, and the like, and many of them share similarities with this.Matches would be kept in the backpack, the head used to tamp tobacco down into the pipe, and the walking stick used to clean out the pipe."13
"This Thing That My Friend Found In The Water" Answer: "This is a figure of the Santerian Orisha Olokun. One hand holds a snake, the other a mask. They typically come off because these figures are kept in water 100% of the time. If you found this in the ocean, then this is more evidence towards that as Olokun is tied to the ocean. This was probably disposed of ritualistically and replaced with a new one."26
"Driftwood With Metal Plaque Found On The Mississippi River Bank" Answer: "Looks like a piece from a bedhead. I think the sheath of wheat is a xtian symbol about reaping what you sow and of death and renewal. Something along those lines. Wheat has been used on double (marital) beds for centuries, including the bedhead and upright posts. They're also used on chairs in a literal or a stylised way and represent prosperity in relation to the 'reap what you sow' type of symbolism."27
"My Grandpa Dug Up This Roman Cameo Looking Thing In His Garden In Northern Italy 12 Or So Years Ago, Any Idea What It Could Be? More Info In Comments" Answer: "It looks exactly like the souvenir intaglios that Victorians collected on their European Grand Tours. They were very very popular and usually kept in a set and framed."30
Answer: "It’s a holder for a glass. There used to be small cylindrical glasses that everyone had near their sinks to grab a sip of water. Which was an improvement from drinking out of a wooden cup from a bucket or a ladle.Those claw holders are often in housekeeping sinks in the area where the maids worked, or by the grooms' area.Everyone used the same cup/glass."31
"Found In The Woods Near The Water’s Edge At My Home In Maryland On The Chesapeake Bay, The Site Of A Shipyard From 1750-1800. The Property Has Documented History Back To 1650’s. It Has Raised Decorative Images On Both Sides And Is Made Of Metal. 1 Image Also Shows A 1906 Indian Head Penny For Scale" Answer: "It's a smallsword guard"32
"Strange Object From Tiffany's Mysteriously Given To My Wife By Her Grandmother While Refusing To Say What It Was. Probably Bought In The 1930s Or 1940s. About 10cm/4" Long. All She'd Say Was "She Used It As A Young Woman But Didn't Have Much Use For It Nowadays". Any Ideas?" Answer: "Tree Branch Muddler"
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