# What is this thing stuck on the front of the toilet tank? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745 "2022-04-13T00:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/1 "2022-04-13T00:47:40Z")
My daughter bought a house and this thing is stuck on the front of one of the toilet tanks. What the heck is it? Seems to be placed there by the previous owner rather than being part of the tank. [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8ss91goz9l0v0cb/toilettankthing1.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8ss91goz9l0v0cb/toilettankthing1.jpg?dl=0) [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ycug2rpxz6sze6p/toiletankthing2.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ycug2rpxz6sze6p/toiletankthing2.jpg?dl=0) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/2 "2022-04-13T00:51:43Z")
Does it have any type of grooves/connector on the inside? It could be designed to hold a removeable air freshener module. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/3 "2022-04-13T01:32:48Z")
I know exactly what it is, because there’s one on my toilet, and I put it there. It is part of a childproofing lock for a toilet. An arm glues to the top of the seat lid, and then snaps under that piece on the tank. Supposedly it keeps babies out of the toilet. If there isn’t the matching piece on the lid, then either the toilet seat was replaced, or they bothered to take that part off. The arm on mine broke long ago, and I’ve never tried to take it off, so no idea how easy or hard that is. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/4 "2022-04-13T02:24:22Z")
Makes sense, they had one or two young children. They could have removed the other piece when they sold the house or removed it when the kids were no longer babies. When our kids were babies we childproofed a lot of things but never thought about the toilets. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/5 "2022-04-13T07:52:24Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > When our kids were babies we childproofed a lot of things but never thought about the toilets. This raises a whole debate about how much childproofing we should do. Maybe another thread though. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/6 "2022-04-13T13:57:05Z")
a little off topic, but there’s an entire forum on reddit dedicated to questions like the OP. > **[r/whatisthisthing](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing)** > > r/whatisthisthing: If you have an object and you don't know what it is, this is the place for you to search for an answer. We may not know the "why" … It’s a fun way to waste time…Look at oddities and see if you can figure out what they are. And you learn stuff, too. hey…It’s more interesting than playing Wordle. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/7 "2022-04-13T14:10:37Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Look at oddities and see if you can figure out what they are. For example, this one from yesterday: [https://old.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/u20fbr/green\_circular\_tool\_with\_spikes\_we\_found\_this\_at/](https://old.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/u20fbr/green_circular_tool_with_spikes_we_found_this_at/) Solution: large animal castration device ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/8 "2022-04-13T14:58:44Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Makes sense, they had one or two young children. They could have removed the other piece when they sold the house or removed it when the kids were no longer babies. > > When our kids were babies we childproofed a lot of things but never thought about the toilets. After years of opening child-safety latches on our lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets I finally removed them. I think my youngest was about 12, then… ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/9 "2022-04-13T15:55:18Z")
> [@Kelby](#): > > I think my youngest was about 12, then… Just about when I put locks on the liquor cabinet… ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-stuck-on-the-front-of-the-toilet-tank/962745/10 "2022-04-13T17:32:05Z")
😆… QFT