Moderator QueenAnneBoleynTudor explained to Bored Panda why most movies and TV shows don't build props from scratch. Like for a lot of things in life, money and time constraints are still issues.

"Movies have budgets, and those budgets are mainly for the talent, special effects, salaries, and insurance. Like any project, Hollywood has to find a way to make the project successful while either staying on budget or (even better) coming in under budget. Making items from scratch takes up time, talent, and money for something that may be used in only a few frames. Repurposing an item takes less, and can be reused for another film," they detailed.

Reusing and recycling are the name of the game when it comes to Hollywood. "Everything gets reused—props, costumes, locations, et cetera. It just makes sense to take a calculator and make it a circuit board for one film, and a communication device in another. The fact that you haven't recognized them means that the props department did their job! People watch movies to escape reality, and if you don't notice the booklight being used as a transmogrifier means that the magic of Hollywood worked."

The moderator put us at ease by sharing that, in their opinion, recognizing repurposed household items in movies and shows doesn't take the magic away from the stories. "If anything, people feel like sleuths when they see a prop and say, 'What a minute! That's a nose hair trimmer!' It adds to the fun of the experience. And most people don't even realize it. People realize that things get reused, and I think as long as it's not obvious, they don't pay too much attention."

We were also interested to know if it's possible to unsee how props are repurposed items! Is there going back to a simpler time? Unfortunately, redditor QueenAnneBoleynTudor thinks not.

"I don't think it's possible to unsee it, no. Little Easter eggs like booklights or errors, once you see them, it's burned into your brain. Remember the Starbucks cup in GoT? Or the hydro flask and water bottle from Little Women? It works that way with props. As for a 'simpler time,' that's wistful thinking I'm afraid. Hollywood has been reusing and repurposing items as long as it's been committing images to celluloid."

The redditor added that they personally tend to constantly be on the lookout for booklights because they spend time moderating the r/Thatsabooklight subreddit. "It doesn't ruin the film for me, it actually makes me pay more attention!"

The most intriguing thing about repurposed household items is that your creativity is the limit! With some brainstorming and dextrous hands (we always suggest watching some Crafty Panda videos for general DIY inspiration), you can convert a broken piece of tech into a futuristic gadget that wouldn’t look out of place in a multi-million-dollar movie project.

The fact of the matter is, making props from scratch is incredibly costly, requires lots of designing and redesigning, and eats up a lot of time. Repurposing things, however… well, it gives you the flexibility you need in terms of money, time, and energy.

In fact, just having a walk through your local supermarket can give you tons of great ideas if you walk in through the door with the right mentality. Even a bucket and a mop can do great things if you add some doodads on top and paint them a different color.

Sometimes, the simplest solutions really can be the best ones. For instance, The Vintage News points out that Luke Skywalker’s iconic lightsaber from the original ‘Star Wars’ 1977 movie was made from some calculator chips and the battery pack for the flash of an old photo camera. You’d never think that this was the case from your first glance, would you?

That very same lightsaber, repurposed from household items, was later sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a collection of Star Wars memorabilia. So never underestimate the impact a well-made DIY prop can have on your wallet if the movie is successful.

“This subreddit is about props being repurposed from everyday household or commercial items, things we interact with on a day-to-day basis being transformed and used as something else on screen,” the r/Thatsabooklight subreddit presents itself to those who happened to wander into its domain.

“It's fascinating on both the amazing and the absurdly bad ends, so we welcome it all here. Please do abide by the rules, though. They are there for a reason,” the moderators explain.

Having been founded back in January of 2015, the subreddit celebrated its 6th birthday just recently. In this time, they’ve amassed over 93.3k dedicated members who adore getting a behind-the-scenes glance at how movies are made.

Any newcomers really ought to have a read through the rules. There aren’t too many of them, they’re pretty clear, and they help the community stay friendly and keep the content at an ‘Awesome’ setting at all times.

“All props must be repurposed in some way. An airplane belt used as a belt for pants is okay. An unmodified lamp used as a lamp is not okay,” the moderators write on the subreddit’s main page. However, they do have one exception to this rule: you can go nuts on ‘Found A Prop’ Fridays.

Like all great Reddit communities, r/Thatsabooklight encourages people to “be excellent to each other” (I’ll let you in on a secret—this exact phrasing is what personally won me over). “This rule ranges from hate speech and bigotry to off-topic slapfights, spam, and derailments. Be excellent to each other. Remember that there's a human there you're interacting with. Remember that breaches of this rule will be handled at mod discretion. And remember… to party on dudes!!”

Avoiding reposts is another rule. Whenever you can, you should avoid reposting the same content that was featured on the subreddit recently. Sure, some people might not have seen it, but rehashing old stuff constantly isn’t how you win over hearts and minds. Or, as the moderators put it, “That's not cool, man. That's piggybacking. That's kind of a jerk move. Don't do it.”

Trolls and spammers aren’t welcome on the subreddit, but we don’t believe that there are any Pandas out there who’d do that! Keep it fun, friendly, creative, and light. If it’s not excellent, why post it?

Now, if you’re itching to post about a repurposed household item prop on the subreddit, keep in mind that there’s a certain standard to uphold. “Please specify first whether your prop is from [Film], [TV], or [Other]. Then if you would please give the title and year of the work, followed by a detailed description of the prop and what it is being used as in the screenshot (in either order).”

An example of this would be: “[Film] In The Empire Strikes Back [1980], IG-88's head was repurposed from a Rolls Royce Derwent jet engine.”