Sometimes, when we go to thrift stores, we can discover hidden treasures. But sometimes, the same ‘treasures’ can baffle us to no end. This is a similar story: a woman found a strange object in a thrift store and was unsure about what it was.

Then she turned to the internet for help. Keep reading to find out more about what this mystery item turned out to be!

Going to a thrift store to look through items is always an exciting prospect for most people. This person was similarly enthusiastic about their thrift store jaunt, but it seems like they came across an object that stopped them in their tracks.

The object was a metallic-looking circular object. It had a lid that opened to reveal a space to store something. The bottom of the object had three circular balls, which helped it balance. “What is this silver object I saw at the thrift store?” they asked Reddit on the ‘What Is This Thing’ subreddit.

The person described the object as “it is lidded and opens. The inside appears to be a different material. It feels weighted at the bottom.” The person tried to figure it out with the help of technology but was unsuccessful; they wrote, “My title describes the thing. I did a Google image search and found nothing super similar except a salt cellar, but it doesn’t have a spot for a spoon.”

The person was left scratching their head as they had no clue what it could be, and it seemed like they had come to the right place. People on Reddit immediately knew what it was and wanted to help.

A user named ParadoxicalFrog wrote, “Looks like an inkwell.” While another user named Total-Sector850 agreed, writing, “looks like an inkwell to me.

Another person with the username, msdemeanour, joked about how this was a common item people inquired about on the subreddit. They wrote, “It’s an inkwell. It’s always an inkwell or an ashtray.”

But most people agreed that this would be an inkwell but there seemed to be an element missing. BuddysMumOz pointed it out, writing, “
I also think it’s an inkwell. It has a rim which suggests there might have once been a glass inner pot which would be about right.”

An inkwell would once have been a very common object and hence everyone would have known what it was. But in this day and age, they appear in thrift stores and people are left scratching their heads as to what their purpose could be. It makes you wonder what items might elicit such a response from people in the future.

What do you think will be completely forgotten by people in the next few years? Let us know in the comments below!