Although we rarely notice the effects that time can have on us until we look at old pictures, that doesn’t necessarily hold as true with the objects around us.
Sure, the sands of time contribute their own little erosion of these things in a similarly gradual way, but it’s much easier to notice how much a thing we use all the time has changed than it is to notice how we’ve changed.
Still, even if we acknowledge that an old car didn’t always have a big, rusty hole in it, it can still be pretty striking to see what it was supposed to look like.
And we’ll only have that luxury with a few of the items we’re about to see.
While time can have its own quiet power, it usually has a lot of help from other environmental factors.
To illustrate that, we have two Winnie the Pooh plushes that are both 20 years old. They started looking exactly the same but one of them has spent a hard life as someone’s favorite toy in the time since.
The other one was apparently purchased as a back-up.
It’s always a little puzzling to see how much the lifespan of an object can vary from user to user.
In this case, we can see that this person has worn their mouse down significantly after two years of use, while mine only looks a little grubby after the same period of time.
Is it because the side of mine was smooth to begin with or does it have more to do with the way we respectively use them? It’s hard to tell.
It’s almost unrecognizable at this point but we’re technically looking at a wooden spoon here.
So what happened to it? Apparently, the uploader’s dad has been scraping the bottoms of pots and pans pretty hard while he’s been cooking for the last 30 years.
And yes, I suppose that means his family’s been eating tiny pieces of wood in that time.
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Apparently, these two pet collars didn’t look all that different once upon a time.
We can still see that the old one’s design was more inspired by feathers than plaid patterns but the uploader said it once had a bow as well.
With that in mind, I doubt the animal will spare the bow on the new one either.
Apparently, growing up during the Great Depression taught the uploader’s grandfather that “a man’s always gotta have a dollar in his pocket.”
And for that reason, he’s been carrying this specific dollar bearing the face of the Statue of Liberty for over 50 years.
It’s very faint but if you look closely, you can see that some of the outline around her face and crown remains.
This flashlight has been in the uploader’s life for six years and they appear to be doing their utmost to ensure it lasts as long as possible.
As they explained , they first got it in high school and hang it on their belt every day.
Although the grip has smoothed out a lot in that time and they’ve had to replace the lens three times, it’s staying by their side.
This electrician’s knife doesn’t look like it would be of much use anymore but looks can be deceiving.
After it was passed down from multiple relatives, they’ve been using it to cut ropes for a few months. And although they’ve never sharpened it, it can apparently still cut with the best of them.
If you’ve ever wondered what a Koosh ball looks like after almost 30 years, here’s your mildly disturbing answer.
It seems like a reject from a candy factory but that’s just what happens when the brittle ends on these things are subjected to decades of life on someone’s keychain.
Even if you’re not sure what a grain vac is, you’ve likely figured out that it’s not exactly supposed to look like this.
But considering how much hard work goes into running a farm, it’s not terribly surprising that the equipment would get like this after a while.
Although the insurmountable problem with this machine was a broken screen, it was pretty clear that the keypad needed a replacement, too.
Honestly, it’s kind of amazing that the people working here were able to tolerate the fact that it was missing half its keys.
Considering that this Zippo has been in use since the 1940s, it’s hardly surprising that about a quarter of it has been worn down to smooth brass.
And I suppose that also speaks to how instantly recognizable George Washington is since the profiles of most other people would be totally obscured in this lighter’s condition.
While I can understand that there’s some pride in keeping things long after they’ve worn down, it’s not always such a good idea.
For instance, we can see that the brakes on this bike aren’t anywhere close to the condition they used to be in.
That’s simply too dangerous to ignore.
It can be tough to notice when a solid block like this wears down but the fact that these numbers are way harder to read makes for a pretty telling clue.
If you’re wondering what this is, it’s a sharpening stone that’s been in use for the past five and a half years. It’s positioned next to a new one for comparison’s sake.
Apparently, the tools in this workshop started looking so old that even the boss agreed it was time to spring for new ones.
According to the uploader, it took seven years before that reckoning finally came and we can definitely see that in the bristles of that old brush.
Even if it didn’t have this new gaming chair next to it, it would be pretty clear that the old chair has seen better days.
This picture also makes me realize I’ve never owned much leather furniture since I’m only guessing the butt friction made the outer layer wear away.
Otherwise, I’d know that from experience.
Although it’s unknown how long this chair has been around, it’s clearly that it’s stood for significantly longer than the last one.
Because we’re not just seeing the leather wear away in this case. We’re seeing the insides of this chair start to get exposed.
I wonder how long it’ll last from here?
Although it’s hard to describe it that way now, we can see some evidence that this bike was once red.
And it’s kind of funny that somebody named this bike “Sun” since that’s the main culprit for why it now looks the way it does.
When the wear and tear we see is on a floor, it gives us a map of how people tend to behave.
For instance, the groove around this reception desk shows an outline traced beneath the counter.
From that, we can see that hundreds of people came up to the receptionist head-on and were directed to that slot on the left.
While this might normally look like the result of some kind of tree disease or a boring insect, the explanation for this tree’s appearance is much simpler.
Apparently, the wind has spent years bashing it into the railing of this deck, which has worn some pretty gnarly grooves into the trunk.
As the uploader put it, “Not many kids make it past rung #5.”
I’ve said before that some wear and tear can be signs of common behavior but this is an interesting variation in that it’s a sign of their capabilities.
With that in mind, it must feel pretty special to be the kid who makes it all the way to the end.
