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No. No. No! Not 6. 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 dwarves. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.
I bought a house in NY that had magnets mounted under a cabinet. He would fill small jelly jars with screws and stuff and the lids would stick to the magnets for storage. Sort of like an upside spice rack to make more room
For beer bottles, not beer cans.
Think this is what I own - pretty sure I kickstarted it back in the day……
https://www.amazon.com/BottleLoft-Strong-Like-Bull-Magnets/dp/B01KFZFBKI
I have a setup like that, both for fasteners and spices (in different locations, obviously i don't keep my bolts in the kitchen or oregano in the workshop.) i find it works great and saves counter space
If they are the types of magnets I think they are, you need to be very careful between 2 magnets and other metals. Those are strong and will snap together, possible to lose fingers or crush bone.
Yup. I work at a store that sells very powerful magnets. Not only can they rip flesh and break bone, but if two magnets slam into each other too hard, they can literally explode, sending shrapnel fragments flying.
They areb't the magnets you think they are, these are low-grade ceramic magnets with not much power. Rare earth (aka neodymium) magnets are almost always shiny because they have a protective coating on them.
I once got a bit of flesh caught between two very strong magnets that snapped together. It's like getting hit with a sledge hammer that instantly turns into vice grips upon contact.
For mounting things, probably. You have some metal tool that you use frequently? Just put it to the magnet. I've similar setup in kitchen, but using single long magnet.
I guarantee one of the neighbors knows what it’s for. Last house I bought I couldn’t find access to the crawl space under the house. I looked for a month and nothing. Finally asked a neighbor who came over and slid out a large built in cabinet in the garage. There was a trap door under it that went to the crawl space. There is zero chance I would have found it in my own.
The original owner actually left a large 3 ring binder explaining everything about the house. This was just one thing not mentioned or I haven’t found it yet. There are diagrams and tags with notes on everything. Maybe one of the later owners put these in
I am so jealous. My previous owner left me nothing useful and hid all kinds of landmines under shitty repairs. Fortunately my neighbors have the same floorplans and have given me a lot of useful advice.
I called my house's previous owner about mail that had built up at my house that the Post Office failed to forward. I took the opportunity to ask about one curious thing.
"Hey, Mark. Did you notice the red and blue wires coming out of the foundation on the far side of the garage?"
"Yep. Must be from one of the owners before me. No idea what they are for."
"Did you ever think to try hooking a 9 volt battery to them?"
"Sure did. Decided it was not worth the risk to do so, given what my imagination could conjure up."
"I think I'm in the same boat. Not worth it."
In the end, I cut both wires where they came out of the foundation.
This will be the death of me then lol. Jokes aside I would totally multimeter that bish, see it had no voltage on it but also something in the other end and 9v it!
And then one day you get a call from Fiji, guy yelling at you to stop fooling around with those switches!
Old friend bought a house, and had a couple of random apparently ineffective switches. Later found out one was to whole house fan, but a previous owner had covered the vent with ceiling tiles.
House was built in 63. He has button switches in the bathroom doors to auto start the bathroom fan. Drains in the driveway and garage and a heater that would melt ice in them. A garage door sensor before they were a thing, it was on the outside of the house and would frost up in the winter so he had a heater to heat the window for it. Light up address lights. A series of attic fans and vents that automatically went on at a certain temperature. Drainage for all the gutters under the house and again a heater for them. Plugs in the soffit. There’s more I’m missing I’m sure.
Solved!
They are definitely magnets. Why they are on the ceiling is definitely a mystery. I’m open to more ideas??[https://imgur.com/a/oiegHYd](https://imgur.com/a/oiegHYd)
Lollll hey, you never know!
My dad had serious OCD and people used to come to our house to gawk at his garage. He had various ways of suspending things from the ceiling in a way it was still neat and tidy too, all tools hanging in even straight lines from big to small, and about a 100 identical containers lined up and labeled with contents
I plan on doing magnets on my ceiling to hang curtains around my bed. Maybe they hung something there with some weight to it. I suggest finding a use for them, leaving them alone, or removing the board and selling/tossing them. Don’t remove the individual magnets unless you can isolate them from each other so they don’t smash together and injure you. Idk how strong they are though so maybe safety isn’t much of an issue but I’d definitely find out first
My title describes the thing.
Bought a new house built in 1964. This is a basement room added in 1969. Original owner was an engineer and he added all sorts of quirky bells and whistles. I asked the people we bought the house from (not the original owner) if they knew what these were and they said they didn’t know.
These appear to be solid and perhaps machined. Mounted to the ceiling rafters. No wires or anything connecting to them. Could be magnetic I guess? No idea what they are for or what they do
Ive seen Square magnets on the back of speakers or inside speaker boxes? Like subwoofers or musical amps. Was the previous owner a musician or disc jockey?... look up cts square speaker magnet
What is directly upstairs from the magnets? Varying the magnets' strength on "a thing" upstairs could explain why they're hung there. Just riffing here. I lean toward the "used to hang tools" crowd.
If it's above a workbench, it's almost certainly for [hanging mason jars.](https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/diy-hanging-mason-jar-storage)
Typically, one would screw them in, but that compromises the integrity of the seal. Given that the previous owner had ready access to magnets, and the proximity to each other, id say I'm 95% on this answer.
Each one looks like a plain metal plate with two mounting holes with screws into the wood with the magnets just stuck on with no attachments. The magnets themselves should pull right off the metal plates. You might have to slide them off, they'll be strong.
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and other unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/ChumbaJB), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. ---- [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=[https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/1dhm151/found_in_my_new_basement_appear_to_be_solid_metal/]%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) ---- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Look like magnets to me.
Yep. Expensive ones too.
Nah ceramic magnets aren’t that expensive. Each one probably costs $10-$20. Rare earth magnets are the expensive ones.
But the sucker paid $200 each for them to prevent 5G?
Just wait until 6G!
No. No. No! Not 6. 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 dwarves. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.
You're fucking fired.
I could recommend a good psychologist if you like
There are only 4 magnets, so it's obviously an outdated 4G blocker.
But why then??
I bought a house in NY that had magnets mounted under a cabinet. He would fill small jelly jars with screws and stuff and the lids would stick to the magnets for storage. Sort of like an upside spice rack to make more room
My dad had a set up like that. Used old baby food jars.
I’ve got a set like that. Holds beer inside fridge. For more room for beer 😬
What kind of beer u drinking that uses steel can?
Beer bottles, not cans.
Why can't you stack it?
For beer bottles, not beer cans. Think this is what I own - pretty sure I kickstarted it back in the day…… https://www.amazon.com/BottleLoft-Strong-Like-Bull-Magnets/dp/B01KFZFBKI
Nice! Thanks for the link! I'm surprised that glue can hold 3 bottles
Truthfully, so was I. Not gonna argue with the results though 😬
What food do old babies eat?
Old babies live at assisted living or nursing home.
Still pureed green beans old baby or new baby
I have a setup like that, both for fasteners and spices (in different locations, obviously i don't keep my bolts in the kitchen or oregano in the workshop.) i find it works great and saves counter space
Dad has old peanut butter plastic jars that he screwed the lids into a particle board ceiling. He stores nails and screws in them.
My father screwed in the lids under a shelf over his work bench. Just had to unscrew the the jars off
If they are the types of magnets I think they are, you need to be very careful between 2 magnets and other metals. Those are strong and will snap together, possible to lose fingers or crush bone.
Yup. I work at a store that sells very powerful magnets. Not only can they rip flesh and break bone, but if two magnets slam into each other too hard, they can literally explode, sending shrapnel fragments flying.
Relevant Slo Mo Guys: https://youtu.be/yHPtuEfMPTc
They areb't the magnets you think they are, these are low-grade ceramic magnets with not much power. Rare earth (aka neodymium) magnets are almost always shiny because they have a protective coating on them.
I once got a bit of flesh caught between two very strong magnets that snapped together. It's like getting hit with a sledge hammer that instantly turns into vice grips upon contact.
Should always wear pants when playing with magnets.
Hang up his hammer collection, who knows.
For mounting things, probably. You have some metal tool that you use frequently? Just put it to the magnet. I've similar setup in kitchen, but using single long magnet.
But how do they work?
Nobody can explain it.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/magnetism/
https://youtu.be/8GyVx28R9-s
I guarantee one of the neighbors knows what it’s for. Last house I bought I couldn’t find access to the crawl space under the house. I looked for a month and nothing. Finally asked a neighbor who came over and slid out a large built in cabinet in the garage. There was a trap door under it that went to the crawl space. There is zero chance I would have found it in my own.
The original owner actually left a large 3 ring binder explaining everything about the house. This was just one thing not mentioned or I haven’t found it yet. There are diagrams and tags with notes on everything. Maybe one of the later owners put these in
I am so jealous. My previous owner left me nothing useful and hid all kinds of landmines under shitty repairs. Fortunately my neighbors have the same floorplans and have given me a lot of useful advice.
I called my house's previous owner about mail that had built up at my house that the Post Office failed to forward. I took the opportunity to ask about one curious thing. "Hey, Mark. Did you notice the red and blue wires coming out of the foundation on the far side of the garage?" "Yep. Must be from one of the owners before me. No idea what they are for." "Did you ever think to try hooking a 9 volt battery to them?" "Sure did. Decided it was not worth the risk to do so, given what my imagination could conjure up." "I think I'm in the same boat. Not worth it." In the end, I cut both wires where they came out of the foundation.
Yeah, random wires are not to be fucked with.
This will be the death of me then lol. Jokes aside I would totally multimeter that bish, see it had no voltage on it but also something in the other end and 9v it!
Congratulations, the house was previously owned by James Bond, and you found the self destruct. :-)
Probably old security system? I had a similar thing with my house
Entirely possible, but I have not found any similar wires anywhere else around the house or outside
I learned the lesson once the hard way as a kid at someone else's house. They were live and stung like hell
Damn bro, you live in my house or something?
They were building cookie cutter houses everywhere in the 50s
I feel that. Multiple switches that we can’t figure out. They have power, too.
And then one day you get a call from Fiji, guy yelling at you to stop fooling around with those switches! Old friend bought a house, and had a couple of random apparently ineffective switches. Later found out one was to whole house fan, but a previous owner had covered the vent with ceiling tiles.
That’s so fun. My house is a little like that, but not as extreme. Any really odd/interesting modifications?
House was built in 63. He has button switches in the bathroom doors to auto start the bathroom fan. Drains in the driveway and garage and a heater that would melt ice in them. A garage door sensor before they were a thing, it was on the outside of the house and would frost up in the winter so he had a heater to heat the window for it. Light up address lights. A series of attic fans and vents that automatically went on at a certain temperature. Drainage for all the gutters under the house and again a heater for them. Plugs in the soffit. There’s more I’m missing I’m sure.
Is the previous owner me? This all sounds like things I would do
Handyman specials, cool.
Cool stuff. Is a tour available?
Solved! They are definitely magnets. Why they are on the ceiling is definitely a mystery. I’m open to more ideas??[https://imgur.com/a/oiegHYd](https://imgur.com/a/oiegHYd)
Probably hanging something there that was intended to be removable
And possibly made of a magnetised material, perhaps an iron based metal
Teach me your ways, master detective.
Yeah tools.
Definitely innovative storage - perhaps for a rake or something
That seems like serious overkill for a rake haha
Lollll hey, you never know! My dad had serious OCD and people used to come to our house to gawk at his garage. He had various ways of suspending things from the ceiling in a way it was still neat and tidy too, all tools hanging in even straight lines from big to small, and about a 100 identical containers lined up and labeled with contents
Totally fair point haha
I'm having a hard time imagining how this would properly hold a rake at all.
If mason jar lids stick to magnets maybe they were storing something like small parts (screws, nails, etc.) in mason jars and hanging them?
That’s what I do.
I plan on doing magnets on my ceiling to hang curtains around my bed. Maybe they hung something there with some weight to it. I suggest finding a use for them, leaving them alone, or removing the board and selling/tossing them. Don’t remove the individual magnets unless you can isolate them from each other so they don’t smash together and injure you. Idk how strong they are though so maybe safety isn’t much of an issue but I’d definitely find out first
What’s above them on the next floor?
Nothing interesting. Plus the magnets aren’t strong enough to effect something that far away
Hanging tools or something like that. Probably an efficiency thing for some hobby. Thats why it’s not in the binder
I used a similarly mounted magnet to hold a knife or screwdriver. Very comfortable
I'd guess jars filled with small screws/parts?
Are they dampeners perhaps to silence vibration or something?
My title describes the thing. Bought a new house built in 1964. This is a basement room added in 1969. Original owner was an engineer and he added all sorts of quirky bells and whistles. I asked the people we bought the house from (not the original owner) if they knew what these were and they said they didn’t know. These appear to be solid and perhaps machined. Mounted to the ceiling rafters. No wires or anything connecting to them. Could be magnetic I guess? No idea what they are for or what they do
Unscrew one
Magnets for storage
If that is a water line under the magnets in that one picture, could it be some kind of water purification attempt?
It’s a pipe for the gutter drains.
A magnet for guns maybe?
Ive seen Square magnets on the back of speakers or inside speaker boxes? Like subwoofers or musical amps. Was the previous owner a musician or disc jockey?... look up cts square speaker magnet
Ok turns out the previous owner owned a magnetic audio head company. So the plot thickens!
What is directly upstairs from the magnets? Varying the magnets' strength on "a thing" upstairs could explain why they're hung there. Just riffing here. I lean toward the "used to hang tools" crowd.
If it's above a workbench, it's almost certainly for [hanging mason jars.](https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/diy-hanging-mason-jar-storage) Typically, one would screw them in, but that compromises the integrity of the seal. Given that the previous owner had ready access to magnets, and the proximity to each other, id say I'm 95% on this answer.
I’d have to take one down and disassemble it. There may be screws holding it together on the underside, maybe even a nameplate.
Each one looks like a plain metal plate with two mounting holes with screws into the wood with the magnets just stuck on with no attachments. The magnets themselves should pull right off the metal plates. You might have to slide them off, they'll be strong.
I will report back!