While some things can surprise us with their age, there’s a reason we tend to ask “how old” something is rather than whether it’s old at all.
It tends to be pretty obvious. So how well it’s held up over the years depends a lot on exactly how many years it’s had to endure. A worn-out chair, for instance, might look ready for the scrap heap if it hasn’t lasted 15 years without seeming like it’s about to fall apart.
But if a chair in similar condition has stood for over a century, it feels miraculous that it even still exists. And while we won’t have exact fixes on how old everything on this list is, we’d probably be able to make some reasonable guesses.
In a sense, an Oscar the Grouch plush is a perfect toy to grow up with because the wear-and-tear just fits the character anyway.
But even with that in mind, this stuffed Oscar has actually held up remarkably well considering the uploader has had it since at least 1976.
This knife’s owner describes it as their “apple knife” and it seems like a job this tool has done for a while by now.
The last time I saw a knife this close to its demise, it was being wielded by the bad guy in the Dennis the Menace movie.
Considering the weird way he used it to eat, I guess we could call that his “apple knife” as well. For some of you, I just brought back a memory you didn’t know you had.
Although this gym equipment has only been in use for a year-and-a-half, it’s clearly been busy in that time.
At this rate, it’s hard to tell whether it’ll even make it to its second birthday before it snaps.
I don’t know how well you get along with your coworkers but hopefully, you haven’t had as much friction as this spring and this barn door.
This was taken at the uploader’s grandparents’ house and it confirms that the more well-worn a barn is, the easier it is to see inside of.
In this case, that’s because this groove is large enough to make a little peep hole. In the case of my grandparents’ barn, that’s because of all the other holes in its walls.
After two years of wear, this belt is the most likely to fit a very specific person.
As the uploader put it, that’s because wearing it to work for all this time has molded it to fit around their hips.
Even without knowing how long these stairs have stood, it’s not hard to see why they want everyone to stay off them.
They’ve pretty obviously seen better days, haven’t they?
But since this was taken at the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine, Florida, it’s hard to narrow those better days down further than “between 1695 and now.”
Although the tape on this lacrosse stick is likely showing more dirt than age, it’s easy to understand why this person is fixing to replace it.
After all, eight months is definitely more than enough time to say you’ve truly gotten your money’s worth out of some tape.
While pictures like these normally make me curious about how long someone has used a thing, this one just has me wondering what happened to it.
You can generally expect a well-loved workbench to have all sorts of knicks and blemishes in it but this one almost seems to feature more holes than actual bench.
Whatever happened here, I’m guessing it involved a lot of drilling.
Although we don’t know how long it took these gloves to get like this, it’s obvious that it’s time to replace them.
In case you’re wondering, this person works as a tester for the Ministry of Transport in the UK.
Apparently, spinning wheels and checking them for lumps and damage is a great for making yourself a pair of fingerless gloves the hard way.
While we can generally expect these kind of scuffs at the bottom of old pots and pans, we don’t often see one quite this warped.
Considering how volatile and stressful working in a kitchen can be, the most plausible answer appears to be that multiple chefs have thrown it around in frustration over the years.
If this pan could talk, it could probably curse in at least three languages.
The longer these Skittles stay in the dispenser, the less likely anyone is to buy them.
So if you’ve ever seen a candy machine that seemed to be filled with chocolatey dust and the occasional shard of candy coating, there was probably a time when it looked like this.
I’ve always preferred using a mouse to a touch pad but there’s a good chance you know this sight well if you feel differently.
It take a long time but it seems that your finger oil will eventually polish this part enough for you to see your face in it.
After 12,000 miles, the teeth on this bicycle chainring are definitely living up to their name.
While it likely wouldn’t be fun to brush a leg against them at the best of times, there’s something about a little damage that makes ends like this feel sharper than usual.
While wear and tear doesn’t often show us anything surprising, that’s not always the case when it comes to flooring.
As we can see, there was a whole different pattern sitting under these gray tiles all along. I guess it seemed a little too old school to somebody.
Apparently, you have to stand on that pedal to operate the heavy-duty reach truck this person is standing on.
With that in mind, it’s not terribly hard to see how the patch slightly in front of it was worn into the floor mat.
As the uploader put it , “It’s possible this floor mat has seen nothing but the underside of people’s steel toes.”
Considering it’s been with its owner for eight years, this wallet has held up extraordinarily well.
And that’s especially true when you consider that two dogs have already attacked it. Granted, those dogs are puppies but they can apparently be pretty destructive when they want to chew on stuff.
The condition of this silverware drawer shows that every bump and scratch leaves a mark even if they don’t seem to at the time.
It’s unknown how long it’s been here but the fact that the paint seems to be peeling away in pretty specific areas gives a hint as to where the most scuffing and scraping happens.
Although this pinball machine has obviously seen some use, it’s done pretty well to look this good considering how old it is.
According to the uploader, this table is 42 years old.
This relatively minimal wear makes it hard to believe that it was active for too many of those years but it’s still impressive how it’s retained so much of its vibrant color.
By contrast, it’s probably not so surprising to learn that someone’s been using this mouse for 15 years.
I obviously can’t say the same for any of my mice since I’ve never seen one with multiple grooves worn into it like this.
But as long as the sensor still works…
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Similarly, “abandoned” seems like a very good word to describe this boardwalk trail.
Of course, we don’t know whether this trail in Edmonton, Alberta became abandoned before this structure collapsed or whether that was the sensible reaction to it.
Either way, you’re not likely to catch many people going in this direction.
