A curious object donated to a thrift store in British Columbia, Canada, has sparked widespread discussion and speculation.
Alex Lim, a volunteer at the Burnaby Hospice Thrift Shop, recently shared the unidentified item on TikTok, sparking a flurry of guesses from sleuths online.
The item in question is an 8.2-meter-long carbon rod, equipped with a spike on one end, and an attachment resembling a wick. In the video that has been viewed over 1.9 million times, Lim said: “I need your help. Do you know what this is?”
Despite their best efforts, Lim and his fellow volunteers were stumped after using both Google and Google Lens to try and identify the object.
“Items get donated to the thrift shop from the public, and we sell them to help subsidize the operational costs for Burnaby Hospice Society’s two hospitals,” Lim told Newsweek. “We tried everything, but we couldn’t figure it out, so I turned to TikTok.”
@alexjrlim.eth/TikTok
The video quickly captured attention as people headed to the comments to give their theories on the item. Some of the suggestions in the comments included:
- An avalanche stick used for measuring snow depth
- A tool for measuring the height of overpasses
- A rod for horse training
- A humorous suggestion to “poke the ugly naked guy” from the TV show Friends
- A “proverbial 10-foot pole” for avoiding things you’d rather not touch
- A ham radio antenna
- Some type of prod or probe
Alongside the jokes and out-there suggestions, plenty of commenters had the real answer, too. In the comments, people identified the object as a type of cane fishing rod. Specifically, suggestions pointed to traditional fishing rods like a “roach rod,” “crappie rod,” or “Tenkara rod,” which uses a fixed line without the need for a reel.
“Yes a Tenkara fishing rod I my dad had one made of Bamboo when I was a kid,” said commenter monkeespank, while TikToker Aaron wrote: “Tenkara Fly Fishing rod. They don’t use guides or loops and the line will affix directly to the end of the rod. Look up Japanese Fly Fishing.”
Since the viral video, the item has been put into the shop for sale, costing $20 in the thrift store—a great deal considering new fly fishing rods usually cost upwards of $150.
Lim was surprised by the viral interest in the mystery item, but explained that he often shares his day-to-day on his TikTok page. He called the reaction online “informative and hilarious at the same time.”
