A niche online community has uncovered the origins of some of TV and film’s most iconic props, and what strange household items they are made of.
Many movie buffs have flocked to the Twitter thread, started by Visakan Veerasamy, which details the best parts of a subreddit "where people point out the mundane origins of movie props," reads the post. However, it seems that the most common of items turned into crazy props are found mainly in the sci-fi genre.
One user pointed out how many weapons in shows such as Continuum and Terra Nova are actually painted Nerf Guns. The list includes gadgets too, as the futuristic looking brain scanner from Stargate season 1 was actually a nose hair trimmer, and the ‘Data Cube’ from the 2012 Alien movie Prometheus is a modified Rubik’s cube.
Stargate SG-1: Season 2, Episode 22 -- The futuristic device used by the doctor is a nose and ear hair trimmer. from r/Thatsabooklight
The same goes for wardrobe accessories as in Andor season 1, the avant-garde circular luggage bag is a painted cymbal carrier. In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, gas miner Willrow Hood is seen running through the space craft carrying a very important safe, which was actually a painted ice cream machine.
I present to you: Willrow Hoods aka Ice Cream Man from Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back in the background of Cloud City. He carries a completely undecorared Hamilton Beach Ice Cream Maker. This previously unnamed character has spawned a cult following, leading to books, comics, and fan lore. from r/Thatsabooklight
The subreddit has also found that the interior of many in-film space crafts are constructed from items that we use every day such as McDonald’s takeout boxes used to line the walls in Galaxy of Terror, and the control panels in movie’s like Pacific Rim and TV Show Star Trek: Picard use volume buttons from stereos and music mixing equipment.
Pacific Rim had my old volume knob from r/Thatsabooklight
However, the most bizarre prop has to be the unchanged ice cream bowl used as a chalice by Taneleer Tivan in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact, you can buy the exact ‘Big Love Ice Cream Bowl’ from Alessi for $54. Cheers!
Pacific Rim had my old volume knob from r/Thatsabooklight
For more, check out our list of the best sci-fi movies, or keep up with the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond.
