It’s amazing how quickly things can change. Sometimes, you don’t even realize how much because it happens so gradually. It takes comparing the old to the new to realize how much change has happened.
The images each demonstrate that everything changes with time. Even a few decades can seemingly pass in the blink of an eye.
“My teal Post-Its turned green while I was out of the office for 15 months.”
The funny thing about this is, those Post-Its probably would’ve faded from teal to green over time regardless, but because they weren’t used for over a year, the difference is super noticeable.
What a shame, too, because the teal color is so much nicer than the green.
“I inherited my grandmas sewing supplies and as I was putting them away realized I bought the exact same buttons that she did over 35 years ago for me.”
It’s amazing how a bit of time can completely transform these buttons. They’re the exact shape and brand, but one pack was purchased 35 years ago and remained untouched, looking a lot older and more yellowed than the brand new pack.
It’s so cool that those same buttons are still being sold decades later.
“Digging in my yard and found an old sidewalk.”
For some reason, someone decided to plant some grass over an existing pathway. And while it’s probably inconvenient for the people who want to dig up their yard, it really does demonstrate how a landscape can look so dramatically different. Not a lot of time would’ve had to pass for this change.
“Rats made a nest in our car after not using it while on vacation. They also gnawed on parts of the car too.”
Sometimes, the changes that come over time are really cool. Other times, they’re really inconvenient. It doesn’t take long for animals to assume your unused vehicle is fair game for their homes. The worst part is definitely getting them out of there and cleaning everything up, though.
“EXPO white board cleaner 20+ years later: same product, different look.”
Being able to see the ways different brands looked once upon a time is just so cool. It looks like EXPO learned how to create better designs, and made their product look a lot more appealing to the eye. I do have to wonder if the old cleaner from two decades ago still works.
“4 different packagings for a single Japanese candy flavor.”
I wonder what happened here. Was it a printing error? Did the company decide they wanted a change? Do they just like all of those pink and purple shades? Either way, it’s pretty wild how easily that packaging can change from one batch to the next.
“What happens if you leave a private lawn untouched for a year.”
The planet is ready at any time to take over our untouched properties. This is after just one year of being untouched, so you can only imagine how it would look after two, or five, or twenty. It really puts things into perspective; nature will still be here, long after we’re gone.
“2011 MacBook Pro vs 2021 MacBook Air.”
Here’s a fun fact: I used to own that exact MacBook Pro. It was the last computer I ever owned that had a built in disc drive. Going from a desktop, it felt so light.
But ten short years later, we have laptops that are 5 pounds or fewer, which make that old MacBook look like a brick.
“Power washing teak chairs—right is before, left is after.”
Outdoor furniture tends to get dirty pretty quickly. A lot of the time, though, you probably won’t even notice how dirty it is because it happens so gradually over time. But looking at those nice, clean chairs on the left in comparison to the dirty ones on the right, these ones were pretty dirty.
“2 month old spork (left) Vs 3 year old spork (right). The cutting edge has been worn away.”
For starters, I didn’t even know you could just… buy a spork. In any case, the way that they wear over time is just another example of how something can change without you even realize. It takes comparing something old to something new to realize just how much the old thing has changed.
“This bike wheel that was fished out of a lake.”
It’s amazing how quickly nature can claim something we’ve left behind. Somehow, a bike tire got into a lake, and became overrun with little shellfish. It probably didn’t even take that much time for this to happen — probably just a few years.
“My husband finally cleaned out his closet and came across a pristine Coca Cola card in his old trench coat circa 1998! Perfect condition too!”
Most of the time, when you find something from a couple of decades ago, it’s going to be wrinkled and faded. But every once in a while, you can get away with preserving something old. I have no idea what a Coca Cola card is, but this thing looks brand new.
“My grandparents birdwatching book next to a brand new copy, roughly 40 years apart.”
The really cool thing about these two books is, apart from the fact that they were printed in different decades, they’re the exact same! The same font, pictures, and words. Of course, the one from 40 years ago is a lot more faded than the recent one, but they’re the same.
“Found an old paperback from the 70’s with cigarette ads in the middle of it.”
I can say without a doubt that I’ve never seen a cigarette ad before in my life. It’s so weird how at some point these were common. Knowing what we know now about the dangers of smoking, it seems so weird to see something like this advertised out in the open.
Painted litter.
Based on the fact that the Pepsi can got painted over and is still in the same spot it was before the paint job, that probably happened pretty recently. It’s amazing how something like that can happen so quickly. It’s kind of too bad that the interesting part of this picture is litter, though.
“Walt Disney World Pricing 1988.”
What I would give to be able to go to Disney World at those prices! I know that, technically, a $28 ticket would cost more in todays currency (it would be closer to $63 thanks to inflation), but it’s still so much cheaper than the $100+ tickets you’d get today.
“This booklet from 1994 was printed on recycled paper using soybean ink.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same. People were making paper out of recycled material for a while, even back in the ’90s. It’s nice to know that our recycling efforts have persisted, even if we aren’t printing with soybean ink today.
“Seems expensive for a PS2 game, Walmart.”
You would think that old PlayStation 2 games would be dirt cheap. But I guess enough time has passed since these games were printed that they’re now collectors items. I still don’t think any game is worth spending $111.47 on. Oh, how times have changed…
“A sandwich shop inside a local convenience store used to be a Taco Bell. Still has the original 1990s decor.”
It’s so funny how you can tell when a current restaurant used to be a different one. Most of the time, they’ll keep a lot of the same furniture, decor, and even signage if they can make it work.
But you can always tell when something used to be a Taco Bell or some other recognizable chain. It’s so different, and yet, still the same.
“This line between our road that shows where it rained.”
Just like anything else, the weather can change on a dime. The way part of the road on this street is dry shows that an incredibly isolated shower rolled by pretty recently. Based on how dry the other side of the street is, the yard probably won’t stay very wet for long.
“This section of carpet that’s been untouched for 25 years.”
You really can’t tell how much a carpet has changed over the years unless you have a piece of furniture that’s stayed in one corner for that whole time. That’s when you realize that your carpet is pretty old, and probably needs to be replaced. But hey, it probably holds a bunch of memories.
“Visible outlines of what the previous owner of our home hung on their pegboard.”
I feel like the people who used that pegboard either never used their gardening tools, or they used them so often that they left dirt stains on the board. But it is really interesting to be able to see what the previous owners of your home have done thanks to subtle changes like this.
“Small town movie theater for sale since the last movie shown.”
Yeah, so, that movie came out in 2002. That means that this theater has been up for sale for about 19 years. You can even see how faded the poster is (I definitely remember it being in color back in the day).
This is kind of sad, but fascinating at the same time.
“1960’s smart phone prediction in newspaper.”
The more things change, the more they somehow stay the same. This newspaper from almost 60 years ago successfully predicted the mobile phone.
I wonder if they would believe that today’s phones also send instant messages, play videos, and connect to a little thing called the internet.
“This old Blockbuster has been turned into a Mexican restaurant, but they just printed the restaurant name over the sign.”
It seems like just yesterday you could go to a Blockbuster and rent a movie. They disappeared so quickly, that the stores and restaurants that took their place didn’t even have a chance to remove the signage.
This restaurant just slapped their logo over Blockbuster’s, which is equal parts funny and nostalgic.
“Planting 90,000ish trees take a few inches of shovel.”
So, it probably takes a long time to plant 90,000 trees. But it’s still amazing to see all of the wear and tear that work can have on a tool. It probably wouldn’t be as noticeable if it weren’t for the fact that there’s a brand new shovel right next to it.
“I bought my friend and I the exact same wallet when I visited Florence in 2016. This is how they look now.”
You can tell that this is real leather, so it’s nice to know these people didn’t get ripped off in Florence. But wow, these two wallets look so different from one another 5 years later. I guess the way they’ve been stored and used were different, which would’ve been what caused the changes.
“Old and new Pringles logos on the same shelf. Also, different expressions for different flavors?”
I was today years old when I learned that Pringles had changed its logo. The old one is so familiar and iconic. The new one is fine, too, though a lot more minimalist. I do like the fact that there are different facial expressions for each flavor. What a nice touch.
“These quarters that are 20 years apart.”
I can’t be the only person who’s in denial over the fact that 2001 was 20 years ago. But the quarters don’t lie. I swear, the past 20 years have gone by in such a flash. It’s amazing how quickly life can change; suddenly you’re a lot older than you once were.
“Old vs. new syrup branding.”
To be honest, when I first heard that Aunt Jemima was changing its name , I didn’t believe it.
But here we are with Pearl Milling Company. It’s the exact same pancake syrup, only with a new face and name. It’s amazing how fast this happened.
