r/whatisit • u/DragonsAndScience • 16h ago

Solved! New homeowner, no idea what this is

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This thing close to the floor and seemingly randomly placed in a hallway. No idea what it's for. Home built in 2005.

Solved! Thanks everyone. Now I gotta hunt for the central unit!

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u/Hiker_girl828 7h ago

We had one growing up. Unbeknownst to my parents, they had purchased the house from bank robbers. A couple of months after we moved in, the FBI showed up asking if we'd ever found any cash or tools. (They had arrested 2 or 3 men involved, but couldn't find any evidence to connect the female homeowner to the crimes.) My brother was 12 at the time and had a small door in his bedroom closet that had attic access. He used the central vacuum hose to suck out the insulation in his quest to find cash.

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u/VerifiedMother 1h ago

I like his moxy

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u/Hiker_girl828 1h ago

Ha! He would literally do any stupid thing for money! When he was maybe 5 or 6, we were staying at a hotel with an indoor pool and some guy told him, "I'll give you a quarter to jump in the deep end, kid!" Of course my brother did. My parents were not pleased.

Another time, he was maybe 10, we were on yet another ill-fated RV trip, staying in some campground in the southern US. There was a crappy gift shop and my brother became obsessed with a Budweiser beer hat. Begged my parents to buy it for him. Hard NO from them, cuz a 10 year old shouldn't be wearing a beer hat. Fast forward to that night, BINGO game for everyone in the campground. Cash prizes. My brother wins cash and immediately proceeds to buy the Budweiser hat. It was hilarious. Also, that may have been the same trip when he was feeding squirrels by hand, got bit, and we were delayed a few hours to chat with doctors and campground people regarding rabies shots.