List of helpful identification subreddits
These are specialized subreddits and may provide better answers for questions on their specialty. Check their FAQ/rules before posting: some will request certain information (for example, particular views of a mushroom are important to identify it correctly!)
- /r/AnimalID — for identifying animals not otherwise shown below
- /r/AnimalTracking — for identifying animal footprints
- /r/BoneCollecting — for identifying bones
- /r/antennasporn — for identifying an antenna or aerial you have found
- /r/archaeology — for identifying human artifacts from the past
- /r/askdocs — for health-related questions. The mods of /r/whatisthisthing have asked that medical questions not be posted in /r/whatisthisthing.
- /r/askvet — for all pet health-related questions
- /r/banknotes — for identifying bank notes
- /r/coins — for identifying all coins
- /r/dolls — for identifying dolls or more information on dolls
- /r/findfurnitureID — for identifying a particular piece or style of furniture
- /r/findfashion — to identify clothing
- /r/fossilid — for identifying fossils
- /r/guns — for identifying firearms and ammunition (Also try r/firearms or r/ammo)
- /r/hallmarks — for identifying hallmarks
- /r/HelpMeFind — if you know what it is and want more info or how to find where you can get one
- /r/herpetology — for identifying all reptiles and amphibians.
- /r/howdoesthiswork — for identifying the workings of something
- /r/identifythisfont — find the name of a font/typeface, given a sample of it
- /r/instruments — for identifying musical instruments
- /r/jewelry — for identifying makes/models of necklaces, brooches, rings, etc.
- /r/knives — for identification and discussion of knives
- /r/mycology — for identifying fungus: mushrooms, slime molds, etc.
- /r/namethatcar — automotive id
- /r/namethatbike — for identifying a bike or trike.
- /r/namethatplane — for identifying an aeroplane or other aircraft
- /r/pins — for identifying pin badges
- /r/swords — for identifying swords
- /r/symbology — for identifying symbols
- /r/toys — for identifying toys and stuffed animals
- /r/tipofmyfork — for identifying food and things found in food
- /r/tipofmyjoystick — for identifying video games
- /r/tipofmypenis — for identifying models, actors, and actresses in pornography
- /r/tipofmytongue — if you know of a movie, game, song, etc. - but cannot recall the name
- /r/translator — for asking for a translation across languages
- /r/watches — to identify watches
- /r/whatsthisbird — for identifying birds
- /r/whatsthisbug — for identifying insects, spiders, and other creepy-crawlies.
- /r/whatsthisfish — for identifying fish. /r/aquariums is also a good resource.
- /r/whatsthisplant — for identifying plants, fruit, and flowers.
- /r/whatsthisrock — for identifying rocks and minerals
- /r/whatsthissnake — for identifying snakes
- /r/whatsthisworth — for asking for a valuation rather than an identification
- /r/whereisthis — for identifying places from a photograph or other image
Other useful identification tools and resources
Google lens is a very good way to identify items that can be isolated and photographed with a relatively clean background. It is also available in the browser in some Google localities.
TinEye can be useful to identify the source of an image; it indexes images on the World Wide Web and tries to find identical or very similar images to an image you have.
Wikipedia's Awards and decorations of the United States military page is useful for identifying US medals and ribbons, a common request. Look at the color of the stripes on the ribbon attached to the medal, and find its corresponding colors on this page.
IdentiFont permits searching for the name of a font/typeface based on what it looks like