What is it?! 10 times the internet has solved mysterious questions
Have you ever come across an object you had never seen before, and would like to know what it is? Perhaps you find yourself wondering "what is this thing used for? Why was it made like this?".
Sometimes, someone nearby can give us a satisfactory answer,: but when there is nobody who can enlighten us, we still have one resource we can use: the internet. In a very real sense, Google knows all! And in some online discussion groups, we can make some fantastic discoveries. We list some of these below:
Someone uploaded this photo of a strange geometric design that the dust always creates on a mosquito net, wondering what could cause this. And the answer was: "The previous tenant was someone who smoked, with a fan by the window [...]. That mark will remain until you thoroughly wash the entire mosquito net. I would say you should remove it and wash it in the bathtub with dish soap ". In short, the smoke, tranferred to the mosquito net by a fan, had made some areas in more sticky, so all the dirt ended up predominently in this area!
We sometimes see the bars on windows which, instead of being straight and parallel to the glass, widen in a gentle curve at the bottom ending in a curl. This is not just an aesthetic consideration, but a shape that allows one to use the space to place flower pots!
And remaining on the subject of metal furnishing decorations from a bygone era: if on some old stairs you see the corners covered by perfectly shaped triangles, they are an ingenious invention to avoid dust and dirt accumulating in these crevices (which are so difficult to clean!). They could even be useful in modern times.
If you happen to stroll around the English city of Bath, and you might notice this strange metal cone at the entrance of some ancient houses, you can impress everyone by recognizing it as an old-fashioned "turner-offer"! In English, it is called a "snuffer", and was meant to allow visitors to extinguish their burning torches before entering a house. The wealthiest mansions even had staff hired to do just this!
Here's a question: "This luxury hotel has a shallow bath with two sides. When you press the button, one side lights up with a red light and fills with hot water for 30 seconds. Then the other side lights up with a blue light. Cold water then flows and turns off after another 30 seconds ". You may have guessed what this is: these are saunas found in public baths in many Central European countries. They are designed to put bathe your feet first in hot water, and then in cold water to improve circulation.
If you ever come across a pill that is made from metal, don't swallow it - it's meant for ruminant animals!
An object that often seems to end up in recycling centers: a magnetic holder for bottles!
This is not a monster, but an ancient artifact found by chance: it seems that since the sixteenth century, many tourist resorts - especially ports - had a custom of using fish such as rays, to look like sea demons or scary sea creatures. They were then dried and then sold as souvenirs!
This ring, with a curious protuberance, was designed for those who took care of children or sick people: the concave protuberance is, in fact, a spoon.
Finally, here's an object spotted by a private security camera: in the recording you can see a woman who, approaching the lens, holds a device out. It then emits a kind of crackling noise, and then the woman quickly moves off..
This is a frequency scanner used by car thieves to remotely detect the security codes of car keys (often kept near the entrance) This device allows thieves to open nearby cars.
Did you know about any of these objects and their functions?
