There’s no possible way that anyone can anticipate every little surprise that might come their way . Indeed, existence often feels more like a random chaos generator than an orderly system .
Not all of these surprises are unpleasant, of course. But the element of, well, surprise will always be there when something unexpected happens.
Go ahead, check out these pics. Chances are pretty good that you’ll be at least a little bit surprised.
“A branch I cut off today had a little star in the center.”
It’s fun how nature does stuff like this sometimes. Is it an omen, an evolutionary feature, or just random happenstance? I have no idea, but it sure does look a lot like a star.
“This dead branch looks like a lion.”
This idyllic scene of tropical ferns next to a lagoon is made a little bit alarming by what appears to be a lion. It isn’t a lion, of course, but the effect is uncanny.
“Fossilized ammonite in airport wall tile.”
Fossils are everywhere, to the point that one can find dozens of them on almost any rocky beach . This preserved ammonite might break up the visual flow of the tile wall, but it sure makes things more interesting than they’d otherwise be.
“Faceplanted onto asphalt yesterday. Literally my nightmare.”
I don’t need to tell you that dental stuff can get expensive in a hurry. Add on the fact that tooth mishaps can be incredibly uncomfortable if not painful, and it’s safe to say that this poor woman isn’t having a great day.
“A neighbour was house sitting for my cat while I was away. She has a dog. I told her the dog wasn’t allowed in my house. I come back to about 30 cat pouches looking like this – ‘your cat did it I couldn’t stop her.’ My cat is 14 and has no teeth.”
I guess this person wasn’t particularly surprised, since they saw right through the flimsy story. The moral here? Don’t let this person cat-sit ever again.
“Accidentally left the garage open for 1 hour. They’re everywhere.”
Garages are a treasure trove of food for bugs — some bugs like stuff like birdseed and grass seed, some like decay, and others like straight-up gasoline. All of these things can be found in the typical garage in one form or another.
“This donut box looks like a giant VHS tape.”
This is one of those things that will look impossibly dated if not alien to younger generations, and will conjure up warm, fuzzy nostalgia for older folks. The VHS format wasn’t perfect, but it’s all we had at the time.
“This little guy grabbed an equally little watermelon from my garden.”
If you told someone that a squirrel stole a whole watermelon from the garden, they’d think you were lying. But look: it’s a squirrel stealing (technically) a whole watermelon from the garden.
“And that was our dinner.”
I’ve seen lots of oven mishaps online, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a glass dish spontaneously separate itself from the food inside and smash itself on the bottom of the oven. This is going to be one messy clean-up.
“My husband got tipped with a $10 coin at work tonight.”
This is weird: a $10 coin featuring Bill Clinton from Hutt River Province, a former micronation in Australia. I looked it up and it is, indeed, a real coin . Looks like it was minted in 1993 for his inauguration.
“A park bench that can fold into a table.”
It’s easy to appreciate a good idea, and this is one of the best. We hear a lot about hostile architecture and uncomfortable benches, so it’s only fair to feature one of the good ones.
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“My Micro Machines bus with the original battery from 1990 still lights up.”
I had a couple of these light-up Micro Machines things when I was a kid. After seeing this, I’m tempted to dig them out to see if the lights on them still work.
“I found a phone that is shaped like a ketchup bottle at a thrift store today.”
It’s hard to wrap your head around now, but there was a period in the ’80s and ’90s when cell phones hadn’t arrived, but people had grown bored with standard phones. This resulted, of course, in some profoundly weird novelty phones.
“My car broke 5 minutes too early. I was on my way to buy a new one. Had to be picked up.”
This is unfortunate timing. But if the car had broken down just a little bit later — say, after it had arrived at the dealership — it would have been perfect timing.
“Ascot horse race attendees brought a candelabra with them.”
I get that horse races are classy events (I’m just assuming, since I’ve never been and this looks more like a standard tailgate situation). Still, it feels kind of incongruous to set up a candelabra so you can eat dinner on a folding table in the middle of a parking lot.
“The indoor pool at Hearst Castle.”
Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California is a true American treasure. The New World doesn’t have the castles and manors of Europe, but it does have a few examples of opulent mansions for the ultra-wealthy.
“I cracked three double-yolk eggs in a row.”
I want to focus on the seemingly improbably feat of cracking three straight double-yolkers, but I’m way more distracted by this delicious breakfast skillet. Counting those extra yolks, it must come in at a million calories.
“This fake driver’s license for a literal bird came with my wallet.”
I looked it up and can confirm that boobies don’t live anywhere near Utah . That makes this fake license all the more confounding. Why is it bird-themed in the first place?
“Finding out that my cat potty trained himself.”
Sometimes life has a way of coming together. This person might have just saved themselves a fortune in kitty litter, along with the hassle that comes with scooping out the litter box every day.
“Subway served me a knife with my sandwich.”
Remember how some boxes of cereal used to come with a surprise inside? I’m guessing that this is Subway’s version. It’s nice to get a bonus, but this one seems slightly dangerous.
