# Strange objects on side of road **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576 "2009-05-06T19:27:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Master\_Cylinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b782af/32.png) [@Master\_Cylinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Cylinder)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/1 "2009-05-06T19:27:30Z")
I’ve noticed a strange cluster of [objects](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&cbll=33.026824,-96.78074&panoid=h0USq6kFEZxs_5g1bK3VHQ&cbp=12,204.5981828616663,,0,5&ll=33.026827,-96.780938&spn=0,359.997763&z=19) (Google streetview link) by the side of the road during my daily walk, and I’m curious about what they are. Most roadside objects can be ignored, but these are just kinda odd. As you can see, they’re a cluster of white cylindrical kettle-shaped objects bolted in what seems like a fairly haphazard fashion to a set of poles. There are three sets of these objects along this road, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them anywhere else. There’s a sticker on each one bearing the name “ADC Telecommunications”. There’s also a fiber optic cable buried underground (that’s what the sign on the left warns about) so these objects would seem to have something to do with that. I’d ignore them except for their odd shape, and the intriguing stickers on them that say “Caution: Lid may be hot” and “Vent before opening”. Makes them sound like some kind of a pressure cooker. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/2 "2009-05-07T17:39:02Z")
Could they be compressors or pressure tanks to provide dry air or gas to a buried line? I have seen other devices that appear to serve that purpose on electrical cables, for example in a box down low on a utility pole. You’ll hear the compressor kick in now and then. I must caution I don’t know this for certain, though they certainly sound like compressors - perhaps they could be refrigerators for something? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/3 "2009-05-07T17:56:19Z")
You could always [call them and find out.](http://www.adc.com/contactadc/) ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/4 "2009-05-07T23:53:09Z")
Wireless internet service is my guess. We have a company near here trying to set up county wide wireless internet, and their “antennas” look similar to that. Quotes because I think they’re more than just antennas. I’m surprised they’re so low to the ground, though. ETA: [bingo](http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/081407/people%20column.html). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/5 "2009-05-08T00:01:48Z")
Good shooting, [del]Wedge[/del] **ZenBeam**. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/6 "2009-05-08T00:14:45Z")
Wedge? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/7 "2009-05-08T00:27:00Z")
[Wedge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_Antilles) ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/8 "2009-05-08T12:55:52Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Wireless internet service is my guess. We have a company near here trying to set up county wide wireless internet, and their “antennas” look similar to that. Quotes because I think they’re more than just antennas. I’m surprised they’re so low to the ground, though. > > ETA: [bingo](http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/081407/people%20column.html). Plano DOES have an extensive wireless internet network available to municipal workers (cite coming later), but the antennas look like this: https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=park+custer+plano+texas&sll=33.056376,-96.710195&sspn=0.00143,0.002765&ie=UTF8&ll=33.068051,-96.698785&spn=0.00143,0.002765&z=19&layer=c&cbll=33.068062,-96.698686&panoid=pwFLAbqikDINevgFPhiM1Q&cbp=12,291.14,,1,-25.42 They’re hard to see in that picture, but they’re a rectangular box with two straight white antennae pointing up and two pointing down. They’re placed every, oh, I’d say 1/4 to 1/2 mile, usually on utility poles or on lights at intersections. And having grown up in the area, I can say those cylinders the OP talks about have been around way longer than wireless internet. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/9 "2009-05-08T13:55:54Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > And having grown up in the area, I can say those cylinders the OP talks about have been around way longer than wireless internet. Definitely. Besides, the objects in the OP’s photo are far too close to the ground to be effective as wireless antennas, except over the short range. And I’ve never seen a bunch of them clustered like that; that’d just be begging for interference issues. No, I think **Napier** has it; they’re almost certainly compressors to supply dry air to flush out moisture from the cables they’re attached to. ---
**Author:** ![LeftyRodriguez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cc9497/32.png) [@LeftyRodriguez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeftyRodriguez)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-objects-on-side-of-road/495576/10 "2009-05-08T18:39:49Z")
The weird thing is, before I even read all of your question or clicked the link to view the pic, I thought of those things on Park. I’ll get out of your head now.