They say that time and tide wait for no man, and that’s true. Of course, time and tide have another thing in common — they wear things down. If you’ve ever picked up a piece of sea glass on the beach, you know the effect that long years of getting tossed and turned in the water causes. It turns out, time does the exact same thing — in a variety of ways.
Most of us have a fascination with old things. It’s amazing to look at buildings, art, and other objects that have stood in the same place for centuries. You can only imagine how many people have seen them.
But sometimes, the effects of time are seen in little things. You’d never guess how much they leave their mark. It doesn’t even have to be something big. But once those little things add up, the effects left behind are amazing to see.
Sure, time and tide wait for no man, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Sometimes, it’s beautiful to see what happens over many years, even in things that don’t seem important! Here are 40 examples that show the effects of time – many in surprising ways.
1. This truck driver’s face shows years of sun exposure on one side
This poster and their brother both received the same teddy bear as children. Suffice it to say that one of the teddy bears got a few more snuggles than the other.
3. Damage to the car door after many doggie car rides
This dog clearly has a favorite spot when going on car rides with its owner. Its paws have left a permanent mark on the door from many hours of hanging out the window.
4. Tracking the sun through burn marks on the grass
When this poster’s pet dog passed away, they took the vaccination tag it had worn since getting shots as a puppy. This was how it looked after years of hanging on a collar.
This poster shared the image of their shoe, which shows a faint image of the bones in their feet after many hours of using them to move dumbbells around.
This looks like an artistic sign for a metal concert. But, it’s actually just a regular old sign that’s been sitting out in the sun for years, producing this interesting effect.
This cat has a daily walking route, pacing back and forth in front of the shelving. The carpet has maintained the impressions of its paws, which also begs the question — is kitty a bit overweight?
To outsiders, it might look like an old worn mat. But it’s actually where this sweet dog taps his feet in excitement every day when his owner comes home.
One poster said they had carried this pen with them every day for 15 years. But that’s not where the pen got its start. It originally belonged to their grandfather.
This local barber has been cutting hair for many years — so long, in fact, that he;s worn a path at the base of the chair from moving around it so much.
When one mother bought her daughter a beloved toy, she also bought three backups just in case one was lost. Then one day many years later, they found all four of them.
A Reddit user shared this photo of their belt and said they had used every hole in it over time. What a fantastic and tangible reminder of the progress they’ve made.
Telephone poles are a perfect place to put up announcements, PSAs, and other information. This particular pole shows the effects of four decades of people attaching things with staples.
There’s no way to know how many customers it takes to put your shop keyboard in this condition. But the good news is that you probably have the money to buy a new one!
For many years, this doorbell has swung into the door every time a customer walked into the store. The result is they might need to buy an entirely new door!
The stairs on the left were constructed in the early 1800s. The thousands of feet that walked up them since then wore them away. At one point, they probably looked like the ones on the right, which were built in 2005.
We’ve all had a paper cut and yelled in pain, wondering how on earth a little piece of paper could hurt so badly. Apparently, paper can even cut into a fax machine!
Animals are often creatures of habit — aren’t we all? This staircase shows the path of one eager puppy who’s walked up the same side every day for seven years.
The poster doesn’t mention what they do for a living, but they did say that in three years, their boots had seen 6,000 hours of work. No wonder they look so beat up!
35. A tetherball pole with the marks of many games
You don’t usually see a tetherball chain make a mark on a pole. So, you can only imagine how many times people hit the ball to achieve an effect like this!
This mark on the countertop of a convenience store shows where thousands of purchases were slid over for the cashier to ring them up. It’s amazing how clear it is!
If you own a cat, you might want to watch out for table legs or garden fences. This is the damage that two house cats did to a fence in a mere three years!
30 photos of worn-out items that have an interesting story to share
Cedric Jackson
08.13.19
They say that time and tide wait for no man, and that’s true. Of course, time and tide have another thing in common — they wear things down. If you’ve ever picked up a piece of sea glass on the beach, you know the effect that long years of getting tossed and turned in the water causes. It turns out, time does the exact same thing — in a variety of ways.
Most of us have a fascination with old things. It’s amazing to look at buildings, art, and other objects that have stood in the same place for centuries. You can only imagine how many people have seen them.
But sometimes, the effects of time are seen in little things. You’d never guess how much they leave their mark. It doesn’t even have to be something big. But once those little things add up, the effects left behind are amazing to see.
Sure, time and tide wait for no man, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Sometimes, it’s beautiful to see what happens over many years, even in things that don’t seem important! Here are 40 examples that show the effects of time – many in surprising ways.
