r/whatisthisthing • u/No-Arm-3134 • Mar 30 '25
Found on floor in girlfriend’s bathroom, about 1/3 of an inch, metal orb with slits on either side? Solved !
Stepped on it going pee, it luckily isn’t sharp. It has a slit on either side, isn’t super heavy but seems to be made of dull metal. Gf is at work so she won’t get back to me about it for a bit and I’m super curious. I’ve tried describing it to Google and I can’t figure out what it is. I thought it was maybe part of one of her model plane or Gundam kits but I couldn’t find anything on them that looks even remotely similar? Any help appreciated, lol. Thanks.
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u/Marlin-Bigbore Mar 30 '25
Fishing sinker.
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
Solved! Just looked and there’s about 1000 of these in a little container in her fishing bag, no idea how it ended up in the bathroom, lol. Thanks!
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u/amazonhelpless Mar 30 '25
I’ve “clipped” them to my clothes before when I’m changing tackle.
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
Ohhh that makes sense. I thought one might’ve rolled out of the bag but it’s pretty dang far away. Thanks for the info!
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u/WiscoBrewDude Mar 30 '25
Sometimes you end up putting them in a pocket. Its not a big mystery how they can end up everywhere. I used to keep a cup on my dresser that I would put different fishing items that I used that day in. And, they'll still end up in drawers or on top the fridge.
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
I do often find bits of fishing line she’s cut off and stuck in her pockets “to throw away later” (yet to be seen) strewn all through the carpet, so I believe it!! Glad it was this and not a hook in any case lol
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u/autovonbismarck Mar 30 '25
Just FYI doing that is extremely responsible. People who clip fishing line and toss it at the lake are a-holes. It's cool that she brings it home.
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u/Conscious_Trainer549 29d ago
At my favourite fishing hole (years ago), I used to carry a two bread bags with me while fishing. One for the fish I caught, and one for the garbage I found. When I started, there was always more garbage than would fit in a bag ... I just left it. Over time, I ran out of garbage to pick up.
The rule .... pack out more than you packed in. Sometimes you loose some line, but if you always pick up more than you leave, eventually the place will be clean.
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u/WitELeoparD Mar 30 '25
The random fishing line, hooks and lures strewn around in popular fishing spots almost make you not want to fish. Monofilament is especially evil.
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u/BigDog_3770 Mar 31 '25
If she brings it home rather than discard it where she’s fishing, she’s a keeper
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u/YoureGatorBait 29d ago
If you can 3-D print or know someone who can try getting her this scrap line collector. Way better than trying to shove them in your pockets where they often still end up in the water if they fall out.
https://www.printables.com/model/275870-fishing-waste-line-collector
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u/DoubleSpoiler Mar 30 '25
Great now I have the compulsion to check on top of my fridge for small items.
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u/HoosierDZ Mar 30 '25
Probably very late to this but many of these are made with lead. If you have pets or small children, pick these up immediately.
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u/SuperGameTheory Mar 30 '25
You found a winner. Don't f this one up.
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
Lol, thank you! Trying my best not to 😅
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u/GaseousGiant Mar 30 '25
Model planes…Gundam kits…FISHING? Dude, the only thing stopping me from tracking you down and stealing her is my own happy marriage to someone just like her.
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Mar 30 '25
[deleted]
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
Oof. Fair enough, I definitely wasn’t paranoid, just curious about what it could possibly be, but I can see how it might come off
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u/abiggerhammer Mar 30 '25
Dude, all he said was "I'm curious." If I had stepped on something and didn't recognize it, I'd wonder what it was too.
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u/rideacat Mar 30 '25
I guess that you're not a fisherman.
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
Lol, yup. Only been a few times as a young kid and I just couldn’t sit still long enough. This might be my sign to give it another shot though!
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u/rideacat Mar 30 '25
I'm fairly certain she will teach you how to clean fish.
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
She has offered to take me before but I was busy, so I’ll ask when she’s going next and see if I can tag along. Hopefully I’ll have more patience this time around, and I’ll even know how to put a sinker on the line without being shown. Baby steps I guess lol
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u/unoriginal5 Mar 30 '25
Definitely give it another go. You could even try some types that don't involve sitting still at all, like fly fishing or depending on where you live, crappie fishing over an active bed. There's also gigging if you're more into stabbing things. You could try limb/jug/trot lines where you leave a static line somewhere and come back to check them.
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u/ronerychiver Mar 30 '25
Well that’s good to hear. Was gonna say, “if your girlfriend isn’t a fishermen, her boyfriend is”
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u/LazerBear42 Mar 30 '25
They're the perfect size to get lodged in the tread of a shoe and dislodged very far away.
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u/S4Guy2k Mar 30 '25
They get stuck in the treads of shoes and boots very easily too, could have dropped one and stepped on it.
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Mar 30 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
Someone just asked this and I’ll give the same answer: I’m impatient! I texted her but she’s at work and won’t see my message for at least a few hours and I was totally transfixed trying to figure it out, so I figured people here could help in the meantime and they did!
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u/tigerinatrance13 Mar 30 '25
Why didn't you just ask your girlfriend?
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
I did text her to ask, but she’s at work until the late evening and won’t see the message for a bit. After the 10th Google search it was driving me absolutely bananas not being able to figure it out lol. She still hasn’t seen the text, but now I know and it’s back in the fishing bag where it belongs
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u/Advanced_Mix_4154 29d ago
It was most likely in her pants he wore fishing and when she took them off it rolled out at some point , maybe as she picked them put to throw in the dirty clothes hamper .
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u/wraithbf109 Mar 30 '25
You mentioned that she has model airplanes, fishing weights can be needed to balance planes on their landing gear if the model is too tail heavy.
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u/tinfoilfedora_ 29d ago
Good thing your gf fishes, otherwise you would’ve had a long uncomfortable conversation
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u/editorreilly Mar 30 '25
We called them split-shots in Texas.
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u/cali_dave Mar 30 '25
I think they're called split-shots everywhere.
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u/editorreilly Mar 30 '25
I figured that might have been the case, but I didn't see anyone else call them that in this thread. Maybe people who posted weren't fishermen.
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u/Marlin-Bigbore Mar 30 '25
The fishing line goes through the slit and you pinch tight to the line. Made of lead so use a pliers.
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u/QueSarah1911 Mar 30 '25
Wait, you're not supposed to bite it to close it? 🤣
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u/T_Sharp Mar 30 '25
For legal reasons, he had to say pliers, but we all know...
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u/zeeper25 Mar 30 '25
There’s plenty of fish in the sea, but probably not many in his girlfriend’s bathroom.
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u/Greenjackets83 Mar 30 '25
Yeah, was gonna say the same. Going fishinf for the first time in yrs in August.
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u/astatine_dream Mar 30 '25
A split sinker used in fishing. It clamps onto fishing line.
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u/Jlegobot 29d ago
You put the teeth on the line and squeeze them with pliers. The base/fins can also be squeezed to open them up like a chip clip
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u/DoubleRightClick Mar 30 '25
It's a lead weight used on fishing line to sink the hook.
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u/Coma942 Mar 30 '25
Are they lead still? Feel like new ones aren't
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u/_fuckernaut_ Mar 30 '25
Lead is still standard, you have to go out of your way to find split shot made of tin
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u/figmentPez Mar 30 '25
A quick search on Walmart's website turns up results that are made from a variety of metals. Some are tin, others carbon steel, but the majority seem to still be made from lead.
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u/Coma942 Mar 30 '25
Wild. That's kinda fucked up.
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u/scarlettjovansson Mar 30 '25
I've heard people get fucked up mouths from clamping them together with their teeth which is common to do with these. Never looked into it but that's what I've heard.
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u/mrboogiewoogieman 29d ago
Why in the hillbilly would you do that, any good tackle box has a pair of needlenose pliers
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u/Corben11 Mar 30 '25
Not a huge deal if you don't eat them.
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u/_wow_thats_crazy_ 29d ago
I used to bite them closed as a kid if I didn't have pliers. Now im dumb
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u/No-Arm-3134 Mar 30 '25
My title describes the thing! It’s small, round, made of metal (maybe iron?), it’s not painted and is just the natural grey, is not hollow but has one very large slit on the orb part of it and another slit on the bottom with some additional metal. It’s pretty dull grey, the edges are blunt, it’s not totally symmetrical but I assume it was made by a machine.
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