You don’t need to be a quantum physicist to know that the passage of time is inevitable. As a result, those fine lines on your cheeks are getting more prominent and your doggo is taking way longer to catch the jumpy ball. We change, but so does our environment, and there’s not much we can do about it.
Bored Panda has compiled a list full of worn-down things, objects, and places that have been altered beyond return by time. From weary teddy bears and aging shift knobs to peeling signs and rusty chains, these are some of the most amusing examples people have stumbled upon.
Because even if we can’t stop the clocks, we can at least pause to sit back and see the beauty in the passage of time. After you're done with this list, be sure to check our part 1 and part 2 of worn-out things that all have their tales to tell.
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The Way My Dog's Spots Faded Over 10 Years
Donkey Statue At The Detroit Institute Of Arts
This Dog’s Favorite Spot
Time is one hell of a tricky business. Some days, it passes like a rocket; other times, it feels like someone put the world on hold. In order to find out more about our ever-changing perception of time and the games it plays with our mind, Bored Panda reached out to Nancy Darling, a professor and chair at the Department of Psychology at Oberlin College and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Adolescence.
Nancy explained that people tend to judge the passage of time as a function of how many things happen. “I find it interesting that when my days are packed, I feel time passes both very fast and very slow.”
She gave an example: “During a busy week, events a week ago seem in the far, distant past because so many things have intervened since.” Simultaneously, we feel like time is flying by because so many things are happening every hour. Not only is our perception of time purely subjective, it’s also somehow both slow and fast at the same time.
The Way That The Statue Has Been Worn By People Stroking The Dog On The Charles Bridge
Cross Section Of Our Painter's 1-Year Old Stir Stick
This Rug Is So Well Worn It's Almost Invisible
Talk about blending in. I wonder if they cold even lift it off in one piece anymore.
The professor also said that as we get older, the way we perceive time tends to change. It has to do with the usual things, “like cooking a meal or grocery shopping, that start taking longer for you to do.”
Most importantly, “the passage of time just marks age and accomplishment,” according to Nancy. “I just got an email this morning reminding me I’d promised to do something in July. That seems both forever ago (I’ve done a thousand things since) and very close (every day, I keep saying I’ll do it ’tomorrow.’)”
Interestingly, we can do that with life as well. Just think of your kids being tiny and dependent, urges the professor. “How can my son be living in Manhattan and getting ready to teach in the public schools? Time flies,” she said. At the same time, Nancy said that she feels like “there are many things I’d always planned to do, but haven’t gotten to (yet).” And she added: “I am too old now?”
Stone On This Italian Castle Being Completely Worn Down By 700 Years Of Rainfall Dripping Off The Roof Onto The Exact Same Spot
I Was In Ireland Two Years Ago And Found This Piece Of A Brick Wall That Had Been Shaped By The Surf
After A Hard Rain, A Pothole Opened Up In Front Of My House Revealing The Original Brick And A Train Track
At this point, it’s very important to realize that revising and looking back at our dreams and plans are crucial in keeping time on our side. “If you regularly review what your priorities are and focus on those, you feel like a lot has gotten done and you don’t regret the fact that you’ve wasted your days,” suggests the professor.
It’s all because we need to create a sense of accomplishment, whether big or small, that creates invisible gaps in time. “Days when I accomplish a lot are full and satisfying, but also feel long. A productive week feels like it’s lasted forever. It also feels good,” Nancy concluded. And if time starts feeling longer, it kinda goes slower. Isn’t this exactly the way to stop the clock?
Read more about Nancy Darling’s advice on keeping regular schedules and reviewing your goals in order to make it easier to mark the passage of time in her articles for Psychology Today here and here.
This Chain Is So Old And Rusted It Looks Like Wood
My Dog Runs Around My Pool In The Exact Same Track So Much That There’s A Ring Of Dirt In The Grass
This Tire Reads "Replace Tire" When It Gets Worn Down
Local Pho Shop Smooths Edges Of Chipped Bowls And Keeps Using Them
The Vibration Wear On This Stainless Steel Bolt
We Still Have This Small Pumpkin My Wife Carved 3 Years Ago
Rust Formed On This Old Spool Of Wire In One Of The Coolest Ways I've Ever Seen
This Doberman Metal Sculpture Rusted To Look Like An Actual Doberman
The Way This Tree Is Growing Around The Hiking Sign
When Its Obvious Who Got All The Love For The Past 21 Years
Layers Of Paint. It's A Piece Of The Wall In A Detroit Car Factory. People Have Actually Been Tumbling These And Calling Them Fordite Or Detroit Agate
Like the layers of those blackball candies I used to get as a kid. 3 for a penny.
This Old Screen Has Pac-Man Burnt Into It
This happened in my aunt's phone when she had the same home background for close to ten years
Took My Dad To See If His First Car Was Still Where He Left It When Its Engine Seized -- 40 Years Ago. It Was
Crosscut Of An Old Waterpipe Showing The Layers Of Limescale Built Up Over Time
My Great-Grandfather's Driving Licence No. 052 Issued In Halifax, Yorkshire. It Is Printed On Cloth
Windmill (1680) With Worn Down Stairs And Bottom Step (Where Everyone Would Pivot)
My Mother's Clipboard From Doing The Newspapers Crossword Puzzles For 30 Years
I'm impressed that she's kept the clipboard for 30 years! We live in such a disposable society nowadays, it's heartbreaking.
Stanley Thermos Used Every Day From 1970 To 2018
This Door Has Worn Away From 50 Or So Years Of Being Hit By A Bell When Opened
The Paint Peeling On This Building Kind Of Looks Like The Head Of A Lion
Rainbow Stalactites Formed From Years Of Dripping Dye
Super Secure
This Tree Swallowing A Trespassing Sign
This Shoe Was Left In The Window For 2 Months & It Shrunk
The Way This Tree Is Stripping The Paint Off This Sign Only To Cover Itself In Paint
How does it grow itself in between the metal and paint? Why doesn't the paint just bunch instead of cover the bark? So many questions!
Some Skipped Some Scales
This Weathered Target Sign Looks Like A Heavy Metal Band Logo
My Aging Shift Knob And A Perfectly Good One Lurking Underneath
This Skateboard Deck That Scratches Off To Reveal The Full Graphic
A Nut And Bolt: Far From And Close To The Sea
300-Year-Old Bar's Footrest, Brick Wore Away Faster Than Mortar
The Way The Water Wore Away The Cement Top Layer
I Ran The Same Hill Sprint Enough Times Over Quarantine To Create My Own Path
What It Looks Like When A Cat Licks Cheese
Over 10 Years, My Socks Have Buffed The Right Pedal On My Piano
that's actually probably how it should look? looks like brass which has oxidized. Treat it with something like Brasso and they all look like the right one.
My In-Laws Teaspoon, It's Seen The Bottom Of So Many Cups It's Worn Flat
Wow, real silver spoon. Stainless steel won't wear like that. I have some similar forks that my great grandma used for mixing or whisking and the tines are worn down on the side the came in contact with the bowl
Stairs Made In Stone At Turkey Run State Park
nope, nope, nope. They look like an accident waiting to happen
My Little Corner Shop In South Gloucestershire, England
Every Pen I Used In My 4 Years Of Undergrad
The Area Under The Card Swipe To Get Into My Building
Can We Just Get To The Part Where You Dispense Gas?
My Dad's Truck Key
Sooo, you can just start a truck by stabbing the ignition with a piece of metal?
This Skateboard Has Artwork Underneath The Original Layer Of Paint
So the original layer of paint isn't the original layer of paint.
4500 Psi With Whirly Head vs. 12 Years Of Dirt Buildup
After 5 Years My Wife Insisted That I Buy New Boots
A Pole With Decades Of Staples From Flyer Bills
The Sign Near My House Is Starting To Peel
The Pedal On This Piano Has Been Used So Much That There's A Hole Worn Into It
...im guessing they practiced forty hours a day? EDIT: who else here watches 2 set :>
One 8-Hour Shift
Statue In Munich
My Grandma Found Some Old Cups My Dad Had As A Kid. All The Black Men Have Turned Green With Age
Here I Present To You My 26-Year-Old Teddy Bear. One I Used And The Other One Not So Much
New Sewing Needle vs. Sewing Needle After Four Months Of Sewing
Well that explains a lot. Just checked the needle I've been using during lockdown. This would be why my sewing needle started having issues getting through fabric. Issue is that I only had one and can't get any more due to said lockdown. Bother.
This Tree I Found On My Walk Is Swallowing This Fence
Had one like it a my school. One day they cut it down cause it started destroying the fence wall.
We Have Worn Down Our Welcome
The Weight On The Flag Pole At Work
yeah but this should probably get replaced soon, I don't think anyone wants a flagpole to the head
The Steps To The Top Of The Leaning Tower Of Pisa
This Is My Well Worn Keyboard Protector. Used Since 2014
Years Ago I Was A Stupid Kid Who Tossed A Load Of Change In The Front Yard Thinking It'd Be A Fun Treasure Hunt. Today With The Help Of The Metal Detector, I Found The Rest Of It
Bought My Father New Beard Brush After Using This One For 30+ Years
This Dime And Penny Stuck In A Dryer For Years
A Decade Old Banana My Dad Found In His Ski Jacket
Same Exact Book, One Used And Rained On, One Brand New
shows how many people wanted to read it (probably from a library i think)
The White On This Flag Wore Through Faster Than The Red
Got to get a little hate for myself. I'll be that the people who are downvoting the fact that this flag is old and needs to be retired count themselves as "real Americans" who respect the flag. Proving they don't know what "respect" means. Bet y'all wear flags on your butts, too. Vote Blue!
The Way This Gas Sign Has Worn Down Looks Like Spooky Letters
LEDs On Router Drained The Color On My Sticky Note Used To Block Its Light
This Display That Shows The Long Term Effects Of Erosion
This A4 Piece Of Paper After Being Left Out In The Rain
Paper Under The Tape Is As New As The Day It Went Up But Paper Out Of The Tape Has Faded To Yellow
Faceless Angel
My Grandma Has Used The Same Spoon In Her Coffee For About 45 Years And It’s Gone Square
This Tree Branch Holding My Son's Swing
A Duplo Block From My Childhood Had Another Block Connected Over Half Of It And Prevented The Colour From Fading
How You Can Tell The Code's Numbers On My Residence Keypad
Bread Cutting Board At Local Brasserie
The Way This Tree Has Grown Around These Signs
Trail maintenance should be removing these before this happens. *sigh*
Step Going To A Church
4-Years-Old Gear Bag vs. New
20 Years Ago My Friend Got Her Bubble Tape Taken Away By Her Dad For Not Sharing. Today He Gave It Back To Her. It’s So Old It Turned Green
A New Stuffed Animal Next To A Well-Worn Stuffed Animal
The newer one doesn't look too new either, but the old one looks ancient!
When The Gas Can Is Towards The End Of Its Life It Sheds Its First Layer Of Skin To Make A New Layer
This Rust That Look Like Treebark On A Bus Stop Sign
I’ve Stored Hydrochloric Acid In This Cabinet For A Few Months Now And It Has Started To Dissolve The Hinge It Sits By
It is not toxic, but acidic. It is used for many things, also in the food industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid
After 40 Years Of Hard Work, This Screen That Came Out Of A Pacman Machine With The First Level Burned Into It. At My Local Video Game Museum
Now I know why my dad would tell me off for pausing my games for hours and disabling screensaver :( he said the image could get burned in, I thought he was making it up
You Can Tell Which Outlets Were Used Most After Years Of Sun
Cutting Board In My Restaurant After 5 Years Of Using
Wear Pattern On My Keyboard Cover Used For The Whole Time In College
After 3 Years Of Daily Wear, I Finally Replaced My Insoles
I Found This Mummified Banana, Hidden Under A Shelf. My 3-Year-Old Hid It. No One Knows When And Why. Regular Banana For Scale
The Num Lock Light Has Faded More Than The Others Because I Always Have It On
I've Had This Key For Six Years, I Should've Known This Would've Happened Eventually
This Deodorant After Finding It 3 Years Later
I could post pictures of me to show how people can get worn down over time. Trust me, it doesn't look good.
Back in the early 70s, Taiwan was still dirt poor. I saw a man who shoveled coal into trucks. His shovel was worn down so much you wouldn't recognize it as such if you saw it leaning against a wall.
I scour my cups with a nylon scrubbing pad, the stains always come off. I’ve never used bleach
This is epic! I have a stuffed animal like the bear, had it since I’ve as four, have slept with it for 8 years
I could post pictures of me to show how people can get worn down over time. Trust me, it doesn't look good.
Back in the early 70s, Taiwan was still dirt poor. I saw a man who shoveled coal into trucks. His shovel was worn down so much you wouldn't recognize it as such if you saw it leaning against a wall.
I scour my cups with a nylon scrubbing pad, the stains always come off. I’ve never used bleach
This is epic! I have a stuffed animal like the bear, had it since I’ve as four, have slept with it for 8 years
