Time waits for no man, nor anything really. Use, neglect, or just the simple passing of days and years, inevitably, end up leaving a mark on everything and everyone. Like a canyon being worn down by the flow of water over thousands of years, everyday use can leave its own impact, from grove marks to wear and tear.
People across the net share the interesting effects of time and use on everyday items. While not intentional, the incremental, tiny changes add up, creating a sort of organic, new art. So get comfortable, settle into your favorite chair, and scroll through. Upvote the most interesting examples and be sure to comment your thoughts below.
#1 My Parents' Cat Always Follows The Same Path Through Their Garden
Image credits: thomerow
#2 A Black Shirt Of Mine That Got A Solar Tie-Dye Job After Years Of Being Crammed In The Back Of My Car
Image credits: IntrepidFlow
#3 Generations Of Bunnies Have Worn A Perfect Groove In My Neighbor's Fence
Image credits: justin_memer
Time really doesn’t treat everyone and everything equally. By one’s late forties, it’s easy to see what people have “aged well” or “aged poorly,” while in objects, certain materials hold up a lot better than others. A car, left in a field for decades will inevitably begin rusting down into nothing over time, while plastic and glass, unless there is some significant force, will be around for centuries.
Some of the largest examples of this are in nature, where water, wind, and sun have been steadily working before we had even emerged from the oceans. The Grand Canyon, for example, took the Colorado River around five to six million years or “work,” wearing down rocks piece by piece.
#4 23 Years Ago, My Girlfriend Was Given 2 Identical Stuffed Peter Rabbit Toys. One She Kept With Her At All Times (And Still Does), The Other Was Stored Away
Image credits: andyj85
#5 Countless Hours Of Wind Moved The Chains To Get This Piece Of Art
Image credits: Richicash
#6 Family Heirloom Watch That Was Passed Down To Me. Traces Of The Family Photo Carried On The Back Are Still Visible
Image credits: IncandescentSquid
Physicists and other scientists call this particular phenomenon entropy, as new matter or energy is never created, but everything slowly breaks down over time. Originally used in thermodynamics, most people know it from everyday occurrences in nature. Mountains get shorter, cliffs erode and dunes are slowly washed away.
#7 A Broken Tube TV In My Work Has "Game Over" Burnt Into The Screen
Image credits: nordvplan
#8 Organ Keys From The 1850s
Image credits: teflon42
#9 A Stop Sign In My Town Is So Old It's Becoming A Metal Band Logo
Image credits: FalconerGuitars
Sometimes the combination of patterns creates a sort of emergent art piece, as colors and shapes are formed. Human beings have an amazing ability to find beauty in the most random collections of things, so it’s not surprising that many of these images were wildly popular on the net before being gathered here.
#10 Years Of Graffiti (Oakland, CA, 2012)
Image credits: Embarrassed_Yak4566
#11 400-Year-Old Wooden Staircase In Prague
Image credits: Harristhehorrid
#12 The Art And The Artist 11 Years Later
Image credits: Professional_Tea_
Other examples are more about satisfying human curiosity. From food items stashed away for decades to years of dust creating rug-like layers, most people might find these sorts of edge cases interesting, as we tend to not encounter them on a daily basis. It might be a great way how to satisfy that childhood curiosity of “What if?”
#13 The Stirring Pattern Formed Over Time In My Coffee Cup
Image credits: quietryet
#14 Today On My Walk I Found An "Army Man" Embedded In The Sidewalk
Image credits: ARCWuLF1
#15 You Can See My Weight Loss Progress In My Work Belt
Image credits: Thsfknguy
As Geoffrey Chaucer wrote, “Time and tide wait for no man,” which is a good lesson to remember, regardless of what you do, time will pass. An older form, “And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet,” has been attributed to an 11th-century manuscript, but regardless of authorship, the idea stands. Most people prefer to not think too much about aging, but it’s unhealthy to deny the fact that we will age.
#16 Four Leaf Clover My Great-Grandmother Found In 1922 In Her Diary
Image credits: tnick771
#17 Decomposed Jeans I Found On The Job Yesterday
Image credits: navybluetea
#18 Moss Growing On A Sign, But Only The Parts That Illuminate
Image credits: evilmanic
So the images here also can be seen as quasi-educational, showing precisely how time (and tides, for that matter) wear things down. If you start to look carefully, you’ll find examples in most parts of life, from paths etched through grass where people want to cut a corner, to certain buttons in elevators being pressed significantly more frequently.
#19 Reinforced Concrete Dissolved By Years Of Dog Urine
Image credits: RandomUsername12123
#20 Tree Ate A Road Sign
Image credits: Environmental_Ad2203
#21 It's Safe To Assume Which Pocket My Husband Prefers To Keep His Phone In
Image credits: holmesla0319
Many of the examples here focus on paint, from graffiti to interior design. While each layer might seem tiny, just a millimeter thick, these pictures show just how quickly they add up. Jerry Seinfeld had a bit describing how repainting his apartment always made him nervous, as he could feel it “closing in” around him.
#22 My Mom's Purse Was Stolen In The 80s At A Hiking Trailhead. Today Someone Found It. The Leather Was All Destroyed, But She Is Getting Some Cool Keepsakes Back
Image credits: CanisPecuarius
#23 All The Layers Of Paint On The Berlin Wall
Image credits: pa_instaking
#24 500 Old Singles vs. 500 Brand New
Image credits: J_a_x_
Seeing some of these images shows that in the long run, he is right. If a landlord (or series of landlords) are lazy enough, they will just paint over the previous layer, year by year. While this might actually help with insulation, the tenant is technically paying for a slowly shrinking apartment, which, at the very least, is an interesting metaphor for the housing crisis.
#25 Madrid
Image credits: throwawaygamh
#26 I'd Been Looking For A Replacement Blanket For My Favorite Wamsutta Comforter. Top Is The One In Use For 40+ Years. Bottom Is The Replacement
Not the exact same colors, but this definitely shows the difference use over time makes!
Image credits: wyueprouqi
#27 My Dad Found A ~20-Year-Old Banana In His Coat Pocket
Image credits: The_GreatWhiteNorth
One other fringe benefit is it’s a good way to see what products and brands know how to pass the test of time. Sadly, a lot of modern products are woefully designed and break down after a few years, if not a few months of use. Lists like this help separate the actually quality items from cheap copies.
#28 I Work At A Mini Golf Course. These Golf Balls Have Been Stuck In A Stream For So Long They Became Smooth
Image credits: The_Car_Fax
#29 The Well-Worn Groove On This Step At Westminster Abbey, After 800 Or So Years Of Visitors
Image credits: bullfrogftw
#30 A Gift Bag My Mom Has Been Reusing For 39 Years
Image credits: Ironthumb
The last decade of mass smartphone use has been a great way for people to document all these interesting and curious findings, to such a degree that there are whole internet groups devoted to it. The “Mildly Interesting” subreddit is one such example. So if found that this list wasn’t enough, Bored Panda has got you covered, check out our other list of stuff that time left a mark on and this article about things that got really, really worn down.
#31 My Mother-In-Law Plays A Lot Of Yahtzee. Bottom Row Are Her Favorite Dice
Image credits: zeeow
#32 An Elderly Customer Came In Today With A McDonald's VIP Card
Image credits: ItzSurgeBruh
#33 My Husband's Decade-Old Computer Chair vs. New One, The Same Model, I Am Suprising Him With
Image credits: cranberryleopard
#34 Same Size, Make And Model Boots, 1 Year Wear And Tear Of Working In A Mine
Image credits: Zedandbreakfast
#35 I Work In A School That Was Built In 1917. These Are The Stairs From Students Walking On Them For Over A Century
Image credits: HoLLyWoodxo
#36 Wooden Dog Sculpture In The Local Park Got A Little Mycology Make-Over
Image credits: LacedBerry
#37 Found A Go Pro That's Been In The Ocean For Roughly 2 Months, It Still Works
Image credits: Leazulzorro
#38 Eiffel Tower's Stairs Are Slightly More Worn On The Inside Because Of People's Fear Of Heights
Image credits: TomLewisMan
#39 The Way The Sticker On This Shampoo Bottle Has Worn Looks Like A Letter Tornado
Image credits: Foolwithaguitar
#40 Years Of Paint Build-Up I Chipped Of An Old Trestle At Work
Image credits: AusShroomer
#41 The Door Handle To The Restroom At Work Is Marked By Wedding Rings
Image credits: BoardWithLife
#42 My Dress Shoe Sole Has Worn Out To Make It Look Like It Has An Eye On The Bottom Of It
Image credits: slyeguy25
#43 Finally Got A New Phone Cord At Work
Image credits: wvbeergirl
#44 Went Back To Office Today Since I Started Teleworking From Pandemic
Image credits: porchtoad77
#45 The Wall After Countless Swipes With Key Cards
Image credits: Mekelaxo
#46 What Working And Sitting On The Same Spot For 41 Years Does To The Floor
Image credits: Sels31
#47 A Customer At My Work Paid With A Series 1934 $100 Bill
Image credits: ryaninflorida1
#48 My Old Next To My New Clogs
Image credits: Hier_Is_Sven
#49 After 4 Years Of Wearing This Sweatshirt To Work, A Completely Different Imprint Has Started To Appear Under The Original
Image credits: taltank
#50 New vs. Old $20 Bills In ATM Dispenser
Image credits: delofan
#51 This Laminated Paper Sign Has Turned Into A Bag Full Of Water
#52 My Coworker Drags The Front Of His Foot When He Walks
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