No matter what we do to try to slow things down, time marches forward. Every morning, we wake up another day older. We’re always changing, but in such subtle ways that you might not even notice until a decade has gone by.
But what does the passage of time do to inanimate objects? As it turns out, they get old and decrepit just like we humans do.
“About time I bought some new work boots.”
Boots can still be effective long after they look old and weathered, but once they’ve developed full-on holes, yeah, I’d say it’s time for a new pair.
“There’s a dried flower in this 165-year-old Latin book I just found in our attic.”
It’s wild to think of all the stuff that’s happened in the world since some random 19th century person decided to put this delicate flower between the pages.
“The one and only basketball that lives at the local park and somehow still bounces.”
I don’t know what it is about basketballs, but once all the skin has worn off and there’s just this white hairy stuff, they seem to bounce higher than ever.
“Table hockey puck after about four and a half years of playing. New one on the left for comparison.”
These folks must really love their table hockey. Now they have two different modes: easy mode with the big, new puck; and hard mode, with the little worn one.
“My workplace doesn’t have a restroom, so my coworker peed on this wall for 21 years.”
I think we could all guess that this is what would happen if you peed on a metal fence for two decades, but here’s photographic proof all the same.
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“This guy dancing at the same place for weeks.”
I’m assuming this guy takes the odd break to eat or get some sleep and hasn’t been dancing for literal weeks on end. Either way, he’s done it enough to kill the grass.
“My penknife is about five years old. It looks nearly identical to a friend’s that is over forty years old.”
This just goes to show that Swiss Army knives are one of the best, most durable inventions that humanity has ever come up with.
“This line on the floor in the bar where the foot rest has protected the wood from the chairs over the years.”
It’s remarkable to see the stark contrast between the worn floor and the relatively untouched floor. One part looks almost pristine while the other doesn’t even look like wood anymore.
“I left my minion in the window for 10 years.”
I wasn’t aware that the Minions franchise was even old enough for a figure to get fully bleached out in the sun, but I suppose time moves quickly.
“This vehicle’s door”
I’m sure this dog’s humans were annoyed at first that the paintjob was getting ruined. But sometimes, you just need to let a dog be a dog. Let him have his fun — you can always re-paint later.
“This Twinkie has been on my classroom for 10 years.”
Some things are affected greatly by the passage of time. Other things, though, are Twinkies. Twinkies are evidently immortal. Although, it’s what’s inside that counts, and I don’t think there are enough double-dog dares in the world to get anybody to bite into that thing.
“This wasp got stuck and died in my mother’s car about 6 years ago, it lost its black stripes.”
There’s probably an interesting lesson to be learned about UV rays and color saturation and stuff, but that sounds pretty complicated. I’m just going to focus on the weirdness of this pic.
“This book hasn’t been taken out for 24 years.”
I love physical library cards because you can see exactly how popular a book has been over the years. I guess this has been a pretty unpopular book.
“What 9 years of wear does to Puma Suedes vs new.”
All things considered, the shoes on the right don’t look so bad considering their delicate material. All that’s really happened is a loss of shape. They just look well loved.
“The calendar in my abandoned childhood home has been hanging for 21 years.”
I wonder how long a calendar needs to be hanging before its pages fold inwards like this. The house looks like it’s from the ’80s, but the calendar is from 2000.
“Same light switch, same manufacturer, 85 years apart.”
Considering the better part of a century separates these two power outlets, it’s incredible to see how little has changed in the design. And I’d say the original has held up fairly well given it’s been in use for so long.
“A coin I keep in my pocket & fiddle with when I get nervous. Had this one for about a year.”
This person either fiddles with the coin a lot, or it was already worn down before they made it their fiddling coin.
“My grandpa’s wedding ring. He never took it off for over 50 years until the day he died.”
It seems like this person’s grandpa lived a long and full life, but it’s a shame he couldn’t have had a few more years to see if that ring would wear down completely.
“A neighbor has been feeding the pigeons in this exact spot for years, wearing away the concrete.”
I never saw pigeons as being substantial enough to mess up something as permanent as concrete, but I guess time plus pigeons en masse can do some powerful things.
“My mother in law plays a lot of Yahtzee. Bottom row are her favorite dice.”
Anyone who uses dice regularly probably has a ‘lucky’ set. But sometimes, it’s time to give your dice a well-deserved retirement and let them out of their misery.
