“What Working On The Same Spot For 41 Years Does To The Floor”: 50 Pics Of Worn-Down Things (New Pics)
Time waits for no man, nor anything really. Use, neglect, or just the simple passing of days and years, inevitably, end up leaving a mark on everything and everyone. Like a canyon being worn down by the flow of water over thousands of years, everyday use can leave its own impact, from grove marks to wear and tear.
People across the net share the interesting effects of time and use on everyday items. While not intentional, the incremental, tiny changes add up, creating a sort of organic, new art. So get comfortable, settle into your favorite chair, and scroll through. Upvote the most interesting examples and be sure to comment your thoughts below.
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A Black Shirt Of Mine That Got A Solar Tie-Dye Job After Years Of Being Crammed In The Back Of My Car
My Parents' Cat Always Follows The Same Path Through Their Garden
My dogs do something similar...No matter where the are in the yard, when I call them they always walk to the center of the yard and make a right angle turn onto a path they've worn and follow it to the house. That part of the yard is wide open and the house is clearly visible. It's funny to watch them make that sharp turn and "merge" onto the path.
Generations Of Bunnies Have Worn A Perfect Groove In My Neighbor's Fence
Time really doesn’t treat everyone and everything equally. By one’s late forties, it’s easy to see what people have “aged well” or “aged poorly,” while in objects, certain materials hold up a lot better than others. A car, left in a field for decades will inevitably begin rusting down into nothing over time, while plastic and glass, unless there is some significant force, will be around for centuries.
Some of the largest examples of this are in nature, where water, wind, and sun have been steadily working before we had even emerged from the oceans. The Grand Canyon, for example, took the Colorado River around five to six million years or “work,” wearing down rocks piece by piece.
Countless Hours Of Wind Moved The Chains To Get This Piece Of Art
23 Years Ago, My Girlfriend Was Given 2 Identical Stuffed Peter Rabbit Toys. One She Kept With Her At All Times (And Still Does), The Other Was Stored Away
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." "I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
Family Heirloom Watch That Was Passed Down To Me. Traces Of The Family Photo Carried On The Back Are Still Visible
Physicists and other scientists call this particular phenomenon entropy, as new matter or energy is never created, but everything slowly breaks down over time. Originally used in thermodynamics, most people know it from everyday occurrences in nature. Mountains get shorter, cliffs erode and dunes are slowly washed away.
A Stop Sign In My Town Is So Old It's Becoming A Metal Band Logo
400-Year-Old Wooden Staircase In Prague
Look at some of the stone staircases in old churches and houses, worn just the same way.
A Broken Tube TV In My Work Has "Game Over" Burnt Into The Screen
It's not a broken TV, it's the monitor from Atari's Pole Position. poleposa1-...67d9e3.jpg 
Sometimes the combination of patterns creates a sort of emergent art piece, as colors and shapes are formed. Human beings have an amazing ability to find beauty in the most random collections of things, so it’s not surprising that many of these images were wildly popular on the net before being gathered here.
Organ Keys From The 1850s
Years Of Graffiti (Oakland, CA, 2012)
Queen Elizabeth I- had smallpox as a child and used white makeup to cover up the scarring. The concoction of the Venetian Ceruse she used contained lead, a poisonous heavy metal. This lead lead to hair loss, skin shedding and loss of cognitive abilities over time. Also cleaning off makeup was not a common practice. It is believed when she died, she had about an inch of the makeup caked on.
The Stirring Pattern Formed Over Time In My Coffee Cup
Other examples are more about satisfying human curiosity. From food items stashed away for decades to years of dust creating rug-like layers, most people might find these sorts of edge cases interesting, as we tend to not encounter them on a daily basis. It might be a great way how to satisfy that childhood curiosity of “What if?”
Today On My Walk I Found An "Army Man" Embedded In The Sidewalk
You Can See My Weight Loss Progress In My Work Belt
The Art And The Artist 11 Years Later
As Geoffrey Chaucer wrote, “Time and tide wait for no man,” which is a good lesson to remember, regardless of what you do, time will pass. An older form, “And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet,” has been attributed to an 11th-century manuscript, but regardless of authorship, the idea stands. Most people prefer to not think too much about aging, but it’s unhealthy to deny the fact that we will age.
Four Leaf Clover My Great-Grandmother Found In 1922 In Her Diary
“Found on the the way to Equality Highschool September 28th, 1923. Short while before we moved to Herrin.” (Editied thanks to fellow pandas help. :))
Tree Ate A Road Sign
My Mom's Purse Was Stolen In The 80s At A Hiking Trailhead. Today Someone Found It. The Leather Was All Destroyed, But She Is Getting Some Cool Keepsakes Back
So the images here also can be seen as quasi-educational, showing precisely how time (and tides, for that matter) wear things down. If you start to look carefully, you’ll find examples in most parts of life, from paths etched through grass where people want to cut a corner, to certain buttons in elevators being pressed significantly more frequently.
Decomposed Jeans I Found On The Job Yesterday
Moss Growing On A Sign, But Only The Parts That Illuminate
All The Layers Of Paint On The Berlin Wall
Many of the examples here focus on paint, from graffiti to interior design. While each layer might seem tiny, just a millimeter thick, these pictures show just how quickly they add up. Jerry Seinfeld had a bit describing how repainting his apartment always made him nervous, as he could feel it “closing in” around him.
Reinforced Concrete Dissolved By Years Of Dog Urine
500 Old Singles vs. 500 Brand New
I'd Been Looking For A Replacement Blanket For My Favorite Wamsutta Comforter. Top Is The One In Use For 40+ Years. Bottom Is The Replacement
Not the exact same colors, but this definitely shows the difference use over time makes!
Seeing some of these images shows that in the long run, he is right. If a landlord (or series of landlords) are lazy enough, they will just paint over the previous layer, year by year. While this might actually help with insulation, the tenant is technically paying for a slowly shrinking apartment, which, at the very least, is an interesting metaphor for the housing crisis.
Madrid
A Gift Bag My Mom Has Been Reusing For 39 Years
It's Safe To Assume Which Pocket My Husband Prefers To Keep His Phone In
One other fringe benefit is it’s a good way to see what products and brands know how to pass the test of time. Sadly, a lot of modern products are woefully designed and break down after a few years, if not a few months of use. Lists like this help separate the actually quality items from cheap copies.
I Work At A Mini Golf Course. These Golf Balls Have Been Stuck In A Stream For So Long They Became Smooth
The Well-Worn Groove On This Step At Westminster Abbey, After 800 Or So Years Of Visitors
My Dad Found A ~20-Year-Old Banana In His Coat Pocket
The last decade of mass smartphone use has been a great way for people to document all these interesting and curious findings, to such a degree that there are whole internet groups devoted to it. The “Mildly Interesting” subreddit is one such example. So if found that this list wasn’t enough, Bored Panda has got you covered, check out our other list of stuff that time left a mark on and this article about things that got really, really worn down.
An Elderly Customer Came In Today With A McDonald's VIP Card
Wooden Dog Sculpture In The Local Park Got A Little Mycology Make-Over
My Husband's Decade-Old Computer Chair vs. New One, The Same Model, I Am Suprising Him With
Same Size, Make And Model Boots, 1 Year Wear And Tear Of Working In A Mine
I Work In A School That Was Built In 1917. These Are The Stairs From Students Walking On Them For Over A Century
My Mother-In-Law Plays A Lot Of Yahtzee. Bottom Row Are Her Favorite Dice
Found A Go Pro That's Been In The Ocean For Roughly 2 Months, It Still Works
Finally Got A New Phone Cord At Work
Old timer - I used to spend hrs untangling those - it was kind of relaxing.
Eiffel Tower's Stairs Are Slightly More Worn On The Inside Because Of People's Fear Of Heights
Years Of Paint Build-Up I Chipped Of An Old Trestle At Work
The Door Handle To The Restroom At Work Is Marked By Wedding Rings
A Customer At My Work Paid With A Series 1934 $100 Bill
I'm surprised the cashier took it instead of suspecting it was fake
The Way The Sticker On This Shampoo Bottle Has Worn Looks Like A Letter Tornado
How did humans survive before shampoo contained 100+ ingredients? SMH
My Dress Shoe Sole Has Worn Out To Make It Look Like It Has An Eye On The Bottom Of It
The Wall After Countless Swipes With Key Cards
Went Back To Office Today Since I Started Teleworking From Pandemic
What Working And Sitting On The Same Spot For 41 Years Does To The Floor
After 4 Years Of Wearing This Sweatshirt To Work, A Completely Different Imprint Has Started To Appear Under The Original
My Old Next To My New Clogs
New vs. Old $20 Bills In ATM Dispenser
That's an ATM canister. Each one holds up to $80,000. There's usually two loaded and then a third that takes in money. Depending on the volume of transactions, they're loaded and reconciled every say, or at least once a week.
25 Years Of Burn-In On An Old Pacman Arcade Screen
Asphalt Over Tiles In A Waco, TX Parking Lot
1990 vs. 2020. My Dad's College Hat vs. My Future College Hat
Store Clerk's Counter
I Didn't Realize How Faded My Headlights Were Until I Changed Them (2008 Peterbilt)
A New Keyboard Cover Just Came In, I'm A Writer With A Bad Habit Of Hard Typing
This Door Keypad. Passcode Is 2929
The Sun Has Changed The Meaning Of This Sign
The Staircase On This Ship Where You Can See That The Majority Of People Step Down Left Foot First
Most of us grab the hand rail with our right hand, making it natural for the left foot to take the first step. I had to really think about this!
My Husband’s Work Boots. Brand New And Used About 4 Months. Yes, That’s The Steel Toe Showing
I Work At A Whole Animal Butcher Shop And Finally Replaced My Primary Boning Knife After Three Years
“Don’t You Dare Try To Upsell Me Sir. Just Do The Damn Oil Change”
This is dangerous. 😱 (And dumb by the owner not to change it earlier.)
Two-Decade-Old Nalgene vs. The New Replacement
This Clock Has Been Around My Office For More Or Less 20 Years. It Is Disintegrating On The Sunny Side
1995 Zippo, Before And After. One Day It Will Look Like It Did Before The Sanding And Polish
Zion National Park
I Think I Just Discovered "Sprite" Logo Inspiration
I Left The Key In The Shed Door During A Very Windy Night And The Keyring Wore A Circle Into The Wood
Brass Hammer. 1 Year Of Use vs. Brand New
The Printer Ink At My Work Created Stalagmites
My Parents' Mailbox Has Been Whittled Down A Bit After Getting Weed Whacked For 50 Years
I Found A Car In Toronto Overgrown With Plants, On A Busy Street Parked Beside Other Cars
I Work Near A Pool, And All My Tape 'Grows'
On The Left: Brand New Hedgehog Dryer Buddy, And On The Right: Dryer Buddy After Approx. 12 Years Of Use. They Are Thrown In The Dryer With Clothes To Help Fluff Them
This Quarter From 1876 Is Worn Almost Completely Flat
Old vs. New Shopping Cart Wheels
I wouldn't describe the one on the left as a "wheel" anymore.
A New Notebook Next To The One I Used Last Year
This Penny Was Stuck In A Crack Inside The Washer
Pure copper (unlike today's pennies) and with a date no newer than 1958. Cool.
A Giant Globe At My Library Has A Worn-Down Spot Where Little Kids Put Their Fingers On Where We Live
Table Hockey Puck After About Four And A Half Years Of Playing. New One On The Left For Comparison
This is the Finland vs. Sweden version, with genuine commercials in the "ice".
This Laminated Paper Sign Has Turned Into A Bag Full Of Water
My Socks Have Worn Out In The Shape Of A Frowny Face
The Spot Where Everyone Stands In This Elevator In Belgium
The Red Came Off This "No Smoking" Sign
I remember that I always was so confused of what the no smoking sign was, because to me it always looked like a person on a diving board
Abandoned Audi TT Quattro Along With A Lot Of Other Abandoned Cars UK
This particular item is a year old. If you follow the link back to the original reddit post, it's not "abandoned", it's just been parked unused and neglected since 2014. It was registered nonoperational at that time. It looks like it was parked because it failed an emissions test, and the owner never got the money or the motivation to get it fixed. Something I can completely relate to.
This Pair Of Shoes I Found Encased In A Hundred-Year-Old Concrete That's Been Eroded Over Time By A Waterfall
Sink Worn By Years Of Dripping Soap
UV Damage On A Red Plastic Box That Sat In A Window For 15+ Years vs. The One (Same Age) Kept Away From The Sunlight
The solution to plastic waste. Leave it exposed to the sun's radiation, eventually it crumbles to dust
Someone Dropped This Off, Check That Screen Burn. It’s Off
The pic on reddit is bigger, you can read the text on the screen. Win 98 or 2000 machine, partner guesses 2000 because it's probably from an industrial terminal so likely running a server side OS. The burned in program is mentioning postal codes, from a post sorting office perhaps?
Look How Thick The Layers Of All These Posters Are On This Lamppost In Berlin, Germany
Old Tape Measure vs. New
Non-Yellowing Case After Two Years Of Use Compared To New
Exact Same Rubber Fingertip. Left One Has Flipped Through Hundreds Of Thousands Of Pages, Right One Is Brand New
The Buttons That Contain The Numbers For This Door Code Are Significantly Faded
... And *THIS* is why you change the code every sixty or ninety days!
The Cold Weather Brought Back My Car's Window Sticker From Years Ago
My Coworker Drags The Front Of His Foot When He Walks
3 Days Of Studio Work, Barely Hanging On
Chocolate That Nobody Opened For 2 Years
Nobody Wants A Car Wash
The Milk Bags Have Colored Their Shelves
My Work Received A Haribo Gummy Bears Bag Which Congealed Into A Mass
The Wear From The Cashier's Shoes At This Shop's Checkout
Why they don't let cashiers sit? Standing at one place for hours is worse that walking all day.Guess employer couldn't even be bothered to buy cashiers anti-fatique mat. We have these chairs: pracovni_z...048af4.jpg 
Marks On The Floor From Steel Fittings Being Dropped Throughout The Years
My Vans And My New Vans. These Are The Same Color
Found An Original Glass Bottle Of Crystal Pepsi, With Foam Label, While Cleaning Out My Mother-In-Law's Place
My More Than 10-Year-Old Wallet vs. A New One Of The Exact Same Design
A Beer After Leaving It Out For A Week
Double Copper Hammers. New vs. 8 Years Of Use
Whiskey Turned Black After 7 Days In A Flask
Left A Wet Post It Note By Accident On Our Quartz Island, Now The Note Is Embedded
The Worn-Down Parts On This Statue At Zion National Park
Well-Worn Mouse
New Retainer vs. Old Retainer
This Is What 10 Years Of Heavy Smoking Did To My Grandma's Carpet
Recently I Replaced The Smoke Detector. This Is What 20+ Years Of Smoke Detection Does
My Dad And Grandpa Got Matching Bibles In 1975. One Was Used, Other Wasn't
The Crocs I've Been Wearing As My Everyday Shoes For 6 Years vs. A Brand New Pair
You Can See Where People Nap In The Breakroom
There's a bookstore in Brownwood, Texas which was a theater during WWII. Soldiers would come in to town, buy a ticket, and sleep. You can see a progression of head marks going up the wall.
Brand New Laundry Dye Catcher vs. One Used For About A Year
For 7 Years, Half Of This Deck Has Been Used To Play Euchre. The Other Half Has Been Relatively Untouched
Worn Down Escalator Landing: Left Foot vs. Right Foot
Hm. Doesn't match the theory of holding on to the handrail with right hand in one of the posts above
Same Wallet: 6 Years Of Daily Use vs. Brand New Replacement
I will be sad if my wallet dies before me. It's the best one I've ever had.
Bored Panda, please stop deleting the posts over 50! before one could click the link to se the full former post. Why 😑
Ok but the cover image right now is a statue with a shiny butt and I was not expecting to see that first thing when I opened bp
The Hachiko statue near Shibuya Station in Japan has a shiny nose
Load More Replies... Bored Panda, please stop deleting the posts over 50! before one could click the link to se the full former post. Why 😑
Ok but the cover image right now is a statue with a shiny butt and I was not expecting to see that first thing when I opened bp
The Hachiko statue near Shibuya Station in Japan has a shiny nose
Load More Replies...