Every so often you clean out a closet, open an old trunk, or sort through a relative’s estate and—there it is. A small metal gizmo, a funny-shaped bottle, a tool that looks useful but utterly unfamiliar. You turn it over in your hands and wonder, What on earth did people do with this?
Below are 15 curiosities that recently stumped their finders until someone with a little gray hair—or a knack for sleuthing—supplied the answer. See how many you recognize.
Losing a family member is one of life’s most difficult experiences. In the midst of grief, it’s easy to rush through decisions, especially when sorting through a…
I always believed memories could hold a marriage together. I was wrong. Chris and I were married for eight years, and our life together was filled with…
A tragic accident has taken the life of 18-year-old rodeo star Ace Patton Ashford of Lott, Texas. On August 12, while caring for a sick calf near…
Smallpox, one of history’s deadliest diseases, killed about 30% of those infected and left survivors scarred. Caused by the variola virus, it spread easily and was often…
When I found my brightest student curled up in a freezing parking garage that November night, my heart sank. When he told me why he was there,…
When my mother-in-law, Patricia, offered to babysit my four-year-old son Noah for our anniversary, I was surprised. She had never wanted to spend much time with him,…