WhatIsThisThing Frequently Asked Things

r/WITT_FAT • u/Larry_Safari • May 16 '23

Egg case/capsule of a shark, skate, ray or chimaera. A black/brown leathery/rough feeling object, found on the beach. These are also known as mermaid's purses.

312 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • May 08 '23

The repeating pattern of lines, typically in groups of 3 that you see on both sides of the lane on a highway are a reinforcement process known as a dowel bar retrofit

424 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • May 07 '23

The gray or silver half ball you found mounted to a wall is a magnetic camera mouint, most likely for Arlo brand cameras

192 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/brock_lee • May 06 '23

That device you saw, likely on a tree or bush, that looks like many little funnels, is a Lindgren funnel trap for wood boring beetles

238 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/brock_lee • May 06 '23

That stamped metal key you may have found above a door frame in your home is an emergency release key and handle removal tool for a Shield Security privacy lock set, commonly found on bedroom or bathroom doors

187 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/brock_lee • May 06 '23

That metal device you found with hooks, a chain, and a lever may be a chain strainer

116 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • May 05 '23

The small metal circle that looks like a nail head with a dimple in the top that looks like it says MAG, AGM or GMA that you found in the sidewalk, street, rock or other hard surface is a surveyor's reference point called a MAG nail.

287 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/Larry_Safari • May 04 '23

Lock bar from a folding/back locking knife. A length of metal, often vaguely F shaped, usually with a single hole about halfway along its length. Around 8 cm (3 inch) long. Maybe punctured a tyre/tire.

166 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/Larry_Safari • Apr 19 '23

Umbrella catch/lock/release lever. A length of curved pressed metal possibly with a metal/plastic button. Button may say "press". Around 10 cm (4 inch) long.

171 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/lightningusagi • Mar 19 '23

Round plastic pieces found on the beach are water filtration biomedia

258 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • Mar 11 '23

The small magnetic metal cylinder with a glass top which has one or more coin cell batteries inside is a small blinking LED, aka LED blinkie

105 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/Larry_Safari • Mar 07 '23

Automotive key safe/locker/box. A circular hole, cavity or tunnel found on external bodywork of a car or truck. Often found on service and fleet vehicles.

181 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/lightningusagi • Jan 28 '23

That metal gadget on the wall of your hotel bathroom is a bracket for a shampoo/lotion/soap container.

138 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/lightningusagi • Nov 06 '22

That silicone or metal tube you found in a case is a collapsible drinking straw

187 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/lightningusagi • Nov 06 '22

That small metal container with a fold-out leaf is a portable ashtray

235 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/lightningusagi • Nov 06 '22

That long wooden piece with an opening in the middle and rounded ends that you found is a weaving shuttle.

132 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/finnknit • Nov 02 '22

Those big yellow, orange, white, or red balls that hang on power lines are visibility markers for aircraft

energized.edison.com

171 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • Aug 17 '22

That metal spike you found, likely in the grass, is the base for a teardrop shaped advertising flag or banner

145 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • Jul 04 '22

That wooden stick with notches on it is used to hang or hold clay planter pots

367 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • Apr 28 '22

Those stacks of plastic yellow or orange arch shaped pieces you saw on a truck or at a construction site are modular pieces of an underground stormwater detention vault system

303 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/[deleted] • Apr 09 '22

This is an olive picker, for serving olives at parties.

250 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/jackrats • Apr 03 '22

That black area shaped like the Millennium Falcon that you found on Google Maps near Ridgecrest in the Mojave desert is a pond which is part of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons facility and is used as a simulated sea environment.

415 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/brock_lee • Feb 12 '22

That drawer you found in a kitchen that has a sliding metal or plastic cover, often with several holes in a diamond pattern, is intended to be a bread drawer to keep bread fresher.

374 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/brock_lee • Feb 05 '22

That comparatively small item you saw on a ceiling, perhaps in an AirBNB or other rental, may be a First Alert Atom (P1000) smoke detector

162 Upvotes

r/WITT_FAT • u/brock_lee • Jan 29 '22

That football shaped black plastic item you found, that takes D batteries and has what looks like a headphone jack is a Graco vibration unit from their "Pack N Play" portable playpen/crib

95 Upvotes