Answered by u/diversalarums:

You mentioned you’re in Montreal, and Google says there are about 140,000 Haitians in Quebec. In Haitian Creole the inscription means “Forget me.” (Someone else mentioned that’s true in Mauritian Creole also.) Looks like you’ve run across a Haitian voodoo charm.

Answered by u/Ghostwoods:

“Bliye Mw” is “Forget me.” Name three times for binding. Egg might mean that Damballah, the father, is the Lwa, being asked for help.

Someone really wants some dude to leave her alone.

It’s the placing into the hands of the Lwa – putting the offering in the sand, in this instance – that’s the activation, that and the chants and offerings that went with it.

[Messing] with it now won’t annoy the [person] who put it there.

Answered by u/Jesusopfer:

Do not move in. This is dry rot, a wood-eating fungus. Getting rid of it includes removing everything in a… 3-foot radius.

Many older buildings get torn down because of dry rot.

You shouldn’t move in because dry rot happens if the woodwork is moist. Moist walls also mean you’ll likely have to deal with mold, which is very unhealthy.

Answered by u/jadailykc:

Sure he will…

Walk away, friend.

Answered by u/drowsyengineer:

Do the spikes make a smaller circle and then go bigger with actuation? If so it’s probably a castration device. It puts a tight rubber band on to cut off circulation.

Here is another example… 

Answered by u/Egga-Mooby-Muffin:

It’s an antique emasculator to castrate animals. My dad used to use them on bulls and goats. You put a tiny rubber band on the spikes, squeeze the handles to stretch it open, put the scrotum and testicles through the hole, and release the rubber band. It cuts off circulation and the [testicles] fall off.

Castration pliers…

Answered by u/Green_Artist_:

My eyes hurt reading that. I thought it might be some kind of fruit juicer. I was way off.

Answered by u/bear3742:

Poking the eyes releases the gases, which causes the carcass to sink to the bottom. This prevents fish [that are] floating [from] attracting birds.

Answered by u/Dsc19884:

I’ve worked for the Florida department of fish and game for the past decade. We had to begin implementing this policy when we discovered that fish native to Florida are huge fans of slapstick comedy.

Answered by u/f_kernaut_:

It looks like a handmade mash paddle, maybe for moonshine given the location. The holes add turbulence when stirring a mash. Here’s a modern example.

Answered by u/tzaemm:

Looks like some type of wax, probably put on after sterilizing it to prevent it from contamination before use. Have a look at a product named “Cosmoline.” It was widely used in Eastern Europe to pack all sorts of military metal parts and protect them. Heat it up, put on, let cool down, comes of[f] easy with a chemical solution if you want to use it.

Answered by u/LuvsItWet:

During WWII and before, all metal items were dipped in Cosmoline and wrapped in waxed paper for long-term storage. It prevented air getting to the ferrous surfaces and rusting. The technique may still be in use.

Answered by u/poobandit88:

The Soviets dipped everything in Cosmoline so pretty much all their military surplus firearms out of a crate need stripping and cleaning.

It is like a Canadian firearm owner milestone to clean that goo off your first SKS [rifle]. And common enough to spark jokes.

From Redditor u/AnasFlowers:

Those are teeth and they’re probably there for good luck. I don’t know why, but my aunt used to do it and I just kinda picked the knowledge up. She was from south Louisiana, if that matters.

From Redditor u/AutiGaymer:

It’s a purse with a curse! What could be worse?!

Answered by u/point50tracer:

Seven pounds is about right for a 3.75″ steel ball. I doubt it’s hollow.

It’s more likely that this is from old mining equipment. Large ball mills were sometimes used to process ores. The balls are about this size and would be irregularly shaped from years of tumbling. I have several such balls from an old mine.

Answered by u/WermTerd:

This is shot, but not the kind you’re thinking of. It’s from a ball mill, used to reduce the size of mined ores. Hundreds of these would be loaded into a large rotating drum along with the raw ore. As the drum rotates the balls smash the ore to bits. Was there any mining in your area?

Answered by Redditor u/SebRLuck:

…I’ve only seen it once or twice in Thailand, but I’m fairly certain it’s a spoon used for jelly. The shape is supposed to keep it from getting stuck on the spoon.

If you Google “Thai jelly spoon,” you’ll find many similar ones.

An example…

Another example, and another, and another.

Answered by u/Rob-Riggle-SWGOAT:

Hindu prayer box.

Example

Answered by u/trowzerss:

Likely thrown into the river as an offering.