'Strange' plastic tube with orangish liquid in leaves people baffled but it has a very handy use

Daily Mail​

17-05-2025

A homeowner was left baffled after discovering a 'strange' plastic tube filled with orangish liquid in their living room.
The confused finder took to Reddit 's popular 'What Is This Thing' forum posting a photo of the mysterious item.
They shared a photo of a small plastic cylinder with an orange stopper.
In the caption, they admitted they were completely stumped by what appeared to be a random piece of debris found floating around their home.
'So I found this little plastic tube filled with an orangish looking liquid in my living room,' they wrote in the Reddit Post.
'Not sure really what it could have come from and can't find anything that really matches it from looking online.'
The post quickly reached hundreds of users on Reddit with many offering up their reactions and some solving the mystery.
Internet sleuths quickly revealed the object's surprising everyday use.
The observant users immediately recognized the object as something millions of people once used daily - a fountain pen ink cartridge.
One user commented: 'It's a fountain pen ink cartridge.'
Another clarified it was 'a standard international cartridge' commonly used by numerous pen manufacturers.
The revelation sparked a wave of nostalgia from older Reddit users who remembered using similar pens decades ago.
'When I was in elementary school that's the kind of pens we had to use, ball point pens weren't invented yet,' recalled one commenter. 'This was early 60's, and when they leaked it was a mess.'
Another user said: 'I used to use them in the 90's, Schaeffer maybe?' referring to the popular pen manufacturer.
This is just the latest mystery solved on the Subreddit page.
Last month, a sofa owner shared that he spent years questioning what the bendy part of his couch is for - before learning the strange feature actually has a simple explanation.
The Reddit user, Necessary-Comedian78, shared an image of his sofa on the popular r/whatisthisthing forum, sparking an online debate after questioning the 'mysterious folding mechanism'.
'What's the function of this folding thing in the back of my couch?' the confused owner wrote alongside a photo of the furniture item.
'I've had this couch for years and for the life of me can't figure out what it's intended for.'
They added: 'It's very uncomfortable if I put the cushions back when it's folded because they don't have enough support.'
The post quickly went viral, with hundreds of users rushing to solve the mystery that had been troubling the homeowner for years.
The real reason behind the mysterious folding mechanism turns out to serve a practical purpose that many furniture owners remain completely unaware of.
A sofa owner has spent years perplexed by a bendy feature of his couch - before learning the odd feature actually has a simple explanation
Many users highlighted the design function allows furniture manufacturers to create larger pieces that can still get through standard doorways.
'It's just to make the back flush with the arms - the cushions should sit flush as well if you put them on the seats - so it's more compact for shipping and storage,' explained one commenter.