40+ Items that Look Like They Are Just Plain Worn Out

Who wouldn’t want to be as resilient as these items? Some of them have survived centuries, witnessing different lifetimes. If only they could speak and tell us what they had seen. They could advise us how best to live our lives and what lessons we can learn from the past.

In their silence, we’re reminded to stay present. Too often, we’re so caught up chasing external rewards, that we forget the things that we have right now. When we take a break, we get to see clearly and observe details we hadn’t seen before.

Take, for example, your dog’s favorite spot, your cat’s favorite scratching post, the path people take across the grass, the ash-colored brick walls of your church, and the stories behind all of these. The lesson is to look…and to look again.

Best Scar Lotion

The market is awash with oils, lotions, and moisturizers. You might feel the need to stock up on them, depending on your skincare needs. Although unproven, women swear that product layering helps retain moisture and conceals imperfections. What’s their go-to brand? It’s this one below!

See how you can’t even read the brand of lotion? With a fair amount of rubbing, Reddit user ENG- zwei was able to wipe off the instructions on the bottle! Six pumps total applied in sections- the first two cover her entire back, while the others cover each limb. If she was able to revise the alphabet with this beauty product, imagine what it can do to your cellulite.

Crystal Clear

Turns out, we know what Sebastian Caine, played by Kevin Bacon, had injected himself with. Can’t keep up? Sebastian Caine was a brilliant yet snobby scientist destined to become Hollow Man. Similarly, this man had run a series of tests on leaves in his pool, without him knowing it.

Left for weeks on end, this leaf was stripped of color. The culprit? Chlorine! Imagine swimming a lap until you feel something graze your thigh. You shake it off, but it attaches firmly, with its ragged edges. We would have panicked by now, thrashing at the end of a 6-ft pool. If you had swatted it away, you wouldn’t have seen this gorgeous leaf. You might have even torn it.

Haunting at Union Station

What’s your first guess? Ours had been Hiroshima shadows. But these aren’t located in Japan. They’re found in the Union Station of Denver, Colorado! It looks like the imprints of four people waiting for the incoming train. The train has come and gone countless times in the past century, but these ghostly figures haven’t left the station.

The first station was built on June 1, 1881. Thirteen years after, it nearly fell to ruin as fires destroyed the complex. Back then, people had to board the trains underground. Even now, there are unused underground passageways – some of which echo the screams of passengers who met their untimely death.

Pulpy Brick Walls

Despite the progress that we have made, our creations will always pale to the forces of nature. If you disagree, just look at this brick wall right here. A big chunk of it tore off the main wall and fell onto the rocky shore. The locals didn’t bother to use it to rebuild; it’d be twice the effort. Over time the saltwater wore the brick wall down.

So much so, it nearly turned into pulp. You wouldn’t even guess it was a brick wall from the looks of it. We had thought it was a mattress. If you run your fingers against the length of the wall, you’ll feel the rough, grainy texture. The force of the water pounding against the stretch of the shore beat it to the contour of the rocks.

Fancy a Prague Ritual

This is a favorite amongst men. Before we tell you why some parts of this bronze structure are shiny, allow us to discuss the historical context of this plaque. St. John of Nepomuk earned the ire of the King when he invited an enemy bishop to Prague. Others claim that he was tortured because he convinced the monks to elect an abbot – different from the cleric the King wanted to put in position.

To commemorate him, locals built a statue in his image. You would have to gaze upwards to see the devout saint holding the cross of Jesus. Beneath it lies this bronze plaque. It’s at eye level. To pay tribute, visitors touch the plaque for good luck. It’s nice to know that touching something so lightly can give it a nice shiny brassing.

How Dirty Can You Get

There are times we feel like giving up on ourselves. We could while away the hours binging on bed, watching movie marathons or sleeping under the covers – all while our house collects dust. We could leave the laundry for weeks on end, and leave the pile of dishes by the sink. On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s the filthiest your house has ever been? We bet it hasn’t gotten as bad as this!

This church in Detroit has housed religious meetings and congregations for more than a hundred years! In all that time, muck, dust, and grease have stuck to the crevice of the stone walls. Church comers always thought that the stones had been black until the city power- washed the entire building. That’s the first time it has been cleaned since it was built 137 years ago!

Graffiti Over the Years

It’s considered a crime. Vandals deprive property owners of square meters of space. This type of street art can damage exterior paint coatings and surfaces. Although off-putting to some, graffiti is also indicative of a place’s history. All those unscraped paint layers pile atop each other and weave a colorful story of the neighborhood.

That is 30 years’ worth of graffiti. The first graffiti was made from around the time the first test-tube baby was born to the time the world wide web was launched! Different artists have used the same canvass, leaving their individual marks on the same wall.

The Price of Peace

Literally, what’s the price of peace? This peace dollar ranges from $21.56 to $208 apiece! Coin collectors would pay that much if it’s been kept in extreme mint condition and if it had been made in 1921. Judging from the looks of this coin, the owner would receive the bare minimum. You could hardly identify the beauty of young Liberty, or the crown of light rays on her head.

How exactly has this peace dollar been buffed out? First of all, it hadn’t been intentional. All the owners meant to do was keep a lucky coin in their pocket. Whether or not it had done its purpose, it would be shuffled from one breast pocket into another. That’s sixty years of resting in pockets, being hand-washed and dried.

Sleeping Soundly

You wouldn’t expect someone who’s sleeping to make noise. This homeowner would often wonder where the scratches were coming from in the middle of the night. He would get out of bed, slip on his slippers, and then point the flashlight near the screen door. Seeing that there was no one in sight, he’d go back to bed. After a couple of months, he realized where the noises had been coming from.

His dog would snooze so soundly that it would sleep through the noises it made while scratching the wall. Please take note that they were loud enough to wake the owner sleeping a couple of rooms down the hall! Despite giving him a bed to rest on, this furry pet would keep coming back to its favorite spot. So the owner let it mark its territory, and didn’t bother repairing the wall.

Buying a Left Shoe

It doesn’t look extraordinary, but the same person has worn this exact pair for over a year. He isn’t trying a shoe or breaking in one of them. Why do you think that is? Look a little closer at his right foot. There’s a hole where his skin and muscles should be.

That’s because he’s wearing a prosthetic foot on the right! For a year, active movement and sweat have worn down the shoe on his left foot, whereas there’s barely any pressure exerted on the walls of the right shoe. If only he could buy a single shoe at stores. Then he’d get a bargain price each time!

Havoc in the Trenches

World leaders would avoid a third world war at all costs. Half a century after the First Great War, you can trace the trenches built in the Battle of Somme in France. The craters you see below come from artillery shells that exploded upon impact. The landscape hasn’t forgotten the destruction brought by war.

And neither should we. During the battle, German soldiers sat in dugouts. They had been advancing radical ideas. British soldiers crossed the terrain to snuff them out. After four bloody months, the battle came to a standstill, with no decisive winner in sight.

Retro Arcade Game

PAC-MAN has been eating power cookies for over forty years now. In the 90s, at the peak of its success, establishments were awash with Pac-Man arcade machines. But unlike the beloved game, this computer screen had a short lifespan. It turns out that those ghosts that haunted Pac-Man burnt on the screen.

What do we mean by that? This arcade machine used a CRT computer monitor. Screensavers hadn’t been popular back then. If you were a kid, you would remember the maze flashing on the screen for hours on end. Within that time, phosphors within vacuum tubes would burn-in permanent images of the maze on the screen. Wise geeks call it burn-ins or ghostings.

Weathering Forces

If you’re walking a steep path, you will usually look where you’re going. But in this plain dirt trail, hikers take in the sights of the canyons around them. Those steep walls end in a perennial stream of water. So it’s easy to overlook details such as this.

Natural forces have weathered this wire right into the stones. Hikers walk over them. And it’s this continuous pounding, from man and nature, that have kept the rock in place. Would you consider setting up your dirt trail like this? It looks magnificent.

Star Wars Memorabilia

How old is the Star Wars franchise? It’s over 43 years old! George Lucas released the first installment, A New Hope, on May 25, 1977. People lined outside movie houses to view the film. Some people sold overpriced tickets to desperate fans.

Both pillowcases had been bought at the same time 40 years ago! No kidding! We hadn’t even been born yet, and either one of these could have been used to swaddle us. The one above has been used daily for the past four decades, whereas the other was kept (more like, forgotten) in mint condition in the closet.

Do as the Romans

Do you believe in the supernatural? You would probably say no, with a slight smirk on your face. We get it; you’re a perfectly rational being like the people who have walked this stray path. In case you’re wondering, they diverted from walking directly under the leaning ladder.

This superstition has been around for thousands of years- back when the Egyptians revered cats and believed the triangle to be sacred. That’s why they shaped pyramids like triangles. Like any pious believer, they wouldn’t defile this symbol and kept people from walking through it. Do so, and you’re courting misfortune.

Leaving a Mark

As you go through life, you will answer two critical questions: what’s your purpose, and how will you affect it? Margot Fonteyn believed that she was made to grace the stage and exhaustively worked at becoming the best ballerina she could be. The founding music director of The Royal Ballet made a sculpture of her . Until now, students aspire to evoke the same fluidity and grace as she did on stage.

Since ballet requires rigid rehearsals, ballerinas rely on discipline and routine to stay in shape. But they don’t attribute their successes to hard work alone. They also believe in good luck. They get it by touching the statue’s finger. It has been done so frequently over 70 years; they helped preserve a bit of luster that the rest of the statue once held.

Why Fix It If It’s Unbroken

Name one item you hadn’t bothered to replace for over a decade! For this man, it was his wallet and the pictures inside. It has survived wads of dollars, and the luxurious space credit cards afford. He couldn’t bring himself to buy another one. After all, why discard it if it still serves its purpose?

When that day finally came, he slowly emptied its contents. Every now and then, he’d come across movie stubs and receipts. He’d smile and make a mental note to call some friends. As he removed the last picture, some parts of the paper tore apart. The wallet kept an imprint of his face. Do you think it’ll stay after he launders it?

Kids’ Delight

Nature is always captivating if you take the time to appreciate it. But if you trudge through this forest, you will encounter an oddity. A few feet from the ground, a bike forms the trunk of a tree. Try as you might, you won’t be able to remove it. There aren’t any harnesses or devilry. The tree enveloped it!

Rust covers the body and its fenders. But the front wheel stayed intact. In fact, if you toy with it, it will rotate on the hub. There’ll be a high-pitched squeal, but other than that, the bike is harmless. Wonder how this came to be? One afternoon in the 1950s, Don Puz abandoned his bike. Over the years, the tree simply grew around it.

Welcome to the Homes of the Rich

How do we know someone’s rich? For one, they have a beach house. Those ocean-facing properties are substantially pricier than suburban homes. Most of it is driven by the demand for scenic views straight from the porch, and the ease of access to the beach. But while we envy our wealthy friends, we’ll stick to visiting them every once in a while. How come? Maintaining a beach house can be a real pain.

Saltwater quickly corrodes metal. Without proper maintenance, you could collect salt in the pipes of your heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system. If you forget to leave a window open, even for a mere inch, it could corrode the metal parts of structural equipment, including doorknobs!

Who’s A Good Boy

This one is! He can’t contain his excitement every time he sees his owner’s car pass by. He barks. It doesn’t stop and turns by the corner. So it wasn’t Matthew. His tail wags slowly, and he cocks his head to the side. He shifts his weight from the glass pane to the mat. And then he sits like the good boy that he is.

Quarter to 6, his owner parks his car in the driveway. This time, this pupper is sure; without a doubt, that door will open in 6 seconds. He taps excitedly on the mat, unable to control his excitement. And in a second, he’s up in Matthew’s arms licking his face and telling him about the car that had turned by the corner.

Nasty Paper Cuts

It turns out that apart from us, other things suffer from paper cuts. It almost sounds unbelievable – that dull-edged, smooth paper can slice through skin and flatbed scanners. To what degree do paper cuts sting, and how do they even inflict damage? The answer lies in an age-old toast: “united we stand, divided we fall”.

A single paper shouldn’t inflict a paper cut. But if you’re handling it by bulk, a dislodged sheet can slice through your finger like a razor. This single sheet is held stiffly in place by the weight of the other sheets. That’s why you should be careful when you’re sifting through paper or when you’re placing it in the paper chute. This paper scanner hadn’t been so lucky. It continues to be gutted by the bulk of paper passing through it every day.

Faulty Seats

Some people refuse to have pets. Before you judge them as cold-hearted, understand how frustrating it is to request that guests keep off this seat. It’s made of thick wood, with three coatings of varnish. But over ten years, their pet cat kept clawing one of its front legs. What is it particularly with this leg?

She walks towards the seat and occasionally rubs herself against your leg. Then she’ll stand supported, bearing her weight against the seat. She will knead the length of the chair; then, she’ll sharpen her claws with it. She has done this so many times over that front leg looks like a hoof! We wouldn’t want to put her in a cage. What do you suggest the owner should do?

Useful Legislation

There’s good reason to hate living in the city – with the overbearing noise, the lack of space and air pollution. But thanks to useful legislation, cities have enforced measures to reduce carbon emissions. Just last year, New York passed Local Law No. 97 as part of its Climate Mobilisation Act. It required real estate owners and developers to clean dirty, old buildings. And the results are staggering!

Several floors from the ground, these two repairmen take turns washing the walls from the bottom up. First they’ll spray highly-pressured water, then repeat with a detergent solution. They’ll do a final rinse, moving the hose side to side. The building hadn’t been gutted by fire, but it looks like it. No one in the city is immune from this legislation, and we are happy about that.

Passing Fraffy Down

One particular Christmas in Chicago, a mom, bought a stuffed giraffe toy for her son. She had it placed in a simple box, stuffed with padding and paper. She gave it to her son Nick, who had been absolutely besotted with the toy. He wouldn’t sleep, eat, or go to school without it. That had been 32 years ago!

That fluffy had survived Nick’s graduation, and now, sits in a room shared with his wife. When he found out he was going to be a dad, his friends and family went on an all-out baby shower. Guess what his mom bought for her grandson? A Playskool Snuzzles Giraffe on eBay – that had been the same model as old Fraffy!

Checking Tire Specs

To maintain your car’s upkeep, you should have it routinely checked-up. If you don’t want to spend much money, perform the tread depth assessment yourself. Tread depth is so important because it determines how well your tires will grip the road in wet conditions. You could perform the penny test or check the wear indicators on your tire.

Reddit user RedDevil407 hadn’t bothered to check his tires tread depths since he had bought the car. When he noticed that he was skidding easily on melted ice, he knelt down and checked the wear indicator. He found them at the bottom of the tread grooves. The bar number is almost invisible since it had been flush with the adjacent ribs. That’s a 100% guarantee to have the tires replaced!

Can You Spot Some Space

For this part, we’ll have a little fun. What’s the area around you which you and others occupy? Space! Part of it is hiding amongst layers upon layers of staple wires on a light post in New Orleans. Check to see if you can find it below. You musn’t quit. There has to be some room to staple a band flyer on.

In case you can’t, that’s because that pole is overloaded with wire stapled onto it for over 40 years! There have been so many events advertised on this pole just outside a popular music club. We can almost hear it – the thumping of the bass against the walls and the applause given to each aspiring artist.

What Are You Going To Do About It

Fourteen years. This cat has been a part of the family for fourteen, haunting years! There are days it’ll sweetly curl up in our laps, nuzzle its head against our legs or knead our scalp. But there are days of absolute terror when you look into its eyes and drown in its steadfast gaze.

As if to say what are you going to do about it? Nothing. That’s right, between the human owner and the pet cat, the feline wins. That table used to be immaculate, and now it’s reduced to a scratching post. It probably thinks it’s doing us a favor. Look at those claw marks- better this wooden table than your back!

Computer Geeks

One of the ways we judge someone is by how they type. Do they apply even pressure on all the keys, do they do so except for the last button, or do they treat the keyboard like a typewriter? Of the three, we absolutely detest the people who fall into the last category. Within a couple of months, you’ll end up with a keyboard like this.

What is it with the enter key that people slam their finger down on it. It’s like a trigger cue for “success,” hit send! The only successful thing it’ll lead you to is a loss of a hundred dollars for a new keyboard. If you’re an avid gamer or a computer geek, that replacement will cost you twice as much! That’s $250 dollars, all because you couldn’t type gently.

Helping You In Batches

How observant are you? No, knowing your neighbor’s weekly itinerary doesn’t count. Most of us breeze through daily chores without paying attention to the details. It had been this way until a local saw that the baskets had odd coloring. When she reported this to the store manager, he briefly explained that the lower pile had been used more often than the ones on the top.

Because they were placed at the storefront, they would be exposed to heat and sun for twelve hours a day, every day, for the past decade. It’s only natural that the color would fade. Luckily, none of the baskets were faulty. The store manager saw to that. Sensing that there were more customers within the area, he added more baskets to accommodate shoppers.

A Sense of History

We had thought the stairs on the left had been worn down by the weight of students rushing to classes; whereas, people coming down the stairs on the right side, walk casually because they had accomplished what they set out to do for the day. But that’s not the case. This is really just a road to progress.

The stairs on the left were originally built over 200 years ago, specifically in 1829. Barter and trade were widely conducted on steamboats, and across the country, railroad systems were being hammered into place. Steam trains ran on coal, and public roads were cobbled. How’s that for a trip into the past?

Ring to Make Your Presence Known

One thing we love about this shop is that it greets you with such authenticity the moment you walk in the door. The bell will continue ringing until you get right into the middle of the store. By then, you would have had picked an item from the shelf, and the shopkeeper will be waiting attentively behind the cash register.

As you pay for your item, you might engage in a brief inquiry about the weather or his wife. You’ll send your regards and be on your way. Grateful for your patronage, the bell will ring lightly, wishing you a safe ride home. Just imagine the number of people who had come and gone through that door… the number of rings it took to create that wear pattern!

Get Your Groove On

Despite being black and white, this signage manages to catch the attention of every passerby. Whether their heads are bowed, or they’re on the phone, their eyes quietly run over the text. It isn’t as horrifying as it seems. It’s just a curt reminder to find parking elsewhere.

Well, you could have said it without the Skrillex bond font! To be honest, it hadn’t always been this way. The building owner bought the signage a few years back. He had been surprised that it had lasted this long. It had been sun-bleached and rain-worn, and those tears at the sides used to hold frayed colored fonts. Guess we shouldn’t judge it by its looks.

Best Tastin’ Pizza Ever

In this town, Domino’s and Papa John’s are no match to the local pizza joint. Everyone has lined up in front of the counters, and each time they carefully choose their toppings. They only get one shot before the day ends. It’s always sold out! Even those hoping to shed a couple of pounds can’t resist a slice of Neapolitan Pizza.

You can see by the worn-out floor just how many people have stood in line. They slide through, thinking, and rethinking their pizza options. What do they feel like eating today – ground beef, tomatoes, pepperoni, or an overload of toppings? Whatever it may be, this store is a hit amongst pizza lovers!

Dr. Manhattan’s Perception of Time

If you have ever read The Watchmen or sat through the movie, you would understand that Dr. Manhattan’s perception of time is different from ours. In it, he sees every moment in which he exists and has existed. If you’re wondering how it feels, it’s much like reading this cookbook.

Seventy years back, Grandma religiously followed its instructions to the drop. She prepared those icings meticulously, and they were always smooth and creamy. As you’re cooking your batch of fillings, you’re combing through the very pages grandma touched. It’s like you’re seeing yourself waiting excitedly by the kitchen table as grandma whisks the confectioners’ sugar.

Footprints Mark the Spot

Ever heard of the “bro code”? Look closer. You will see that men take pains not to take a peek at their bro’s little bro. This is how it’s done in all public toilets – amongst friends and strangers. Give your bro some space. Just because urinals are placed a foot apart, doesn’t mean that you should take up space beside your neighbor.

Seize the odds, as these men have over the years! The men’s room is rarely fully occupied, so pile behind the first and third urinal. This unspoken rule has been imprinted on the floor. No amount of bleach can remove that, and it will remain cemented by grime and (peer) pressure.

Keep Away

Apart from premature aging, there’s a good reason to keep out of the sun. You can always stroll through the park after 2 pm when it isn’t so hot. Care to disagree? You could tell just by a few seconds what overexposure does to you: one word – sunburn.

Literally! The convex structure of that lamp has concentrated light at a single point. As the sun descends, it casts that energy at different spots on the lawn, so much so that there’s a patch of burnt grass! Now, what have you against keeping out of the sun during peak hours? Not even sunblock will keep you from getting sunburnt like that!

Crisp Cut

Only a few barbers can work magic with their scissors. They know their stuff. The moment you strut your scraggly self into the shop, he’ll weigh you up in seconds and then cape that black cloth over you. How would you want it to look like for a month? You answer incomprehensibly. But basically, so long as she digs it!

He slides his leather Derby shoes across the floor. He snips, shaves and layers until you look your finest. For over a decade, it had been that way for this hardworking barber. He had basically buffed out his grilled floors – anything just to help you catch the eye of the woman you love!

Buy In Bulk

Hoarders can relate. We know we can. Once you find an item you can’t keep your hands off, you would check to see if the shelves have more of them. You’d quickly calculate how many you’d need within your lifetime, including those that will be handed off to friends and family members. When this mom saw a furry, stuffed toy, she bought four in total for her daughter!

Her daughter was three years old. And to keep her from grieving a childhood toy, she bought many. Each of them has clucked their way into the arms of the girl. You could see when one is ready to be replaced with a newer cleaner model. Despite being matted by years of cuddling, the (now) nineteen-year-old loves every one of them dearly.

School’s Over

What’s your most favorite part of school? For us, it was recess! Second, only to the end of day bell. Sure, we have a lot of fond memories of our friends and teachers, but the routine boredom got to us. Notice how the days passed without you feeling like you were learning anything, or at the very least, that you make an impact. Look no further than these steel doors. They’ll tell you otherwise.

You may have been a student for a brief moment, but you had made quite an impact on the school. Although, to be honest, it depends if you’re right or left-handed! The way you gripped those handles caused a ripple in time – as if you’re shaking the hands of teenagers who’ll presently pass through those doors.

Flight Risk

When going out, it’s nice to travel with company. You don’t have to speak to your buddy. They can entertain themselves: the passing sights, cool breeze, and the rugged terrain scream of freedom. So we understand why this doggo loves to travel with his owner. It’s just that he’s a flight risk!

His owner probably had a bad experience with him scratching the windows, that the whole of it had been rolled down. This hadn’t bothered this boy. He’s all the more enthused by it. He rests his paws out of the window and occasionally steadies himself by clawing at the side door. Told you, he’s a flight risk!

Rubbing for Gold

While most items depreciate over time, those passed on from one generation to another grow in sentimental value. How’d you feel when your mom gave you an antique necklace or when dad gave you his Montblanc fountain pen? Pretty important, huh. You probably even felt honored by it.

That had been the same sentiment from this young man who had received his father’s ballpoint pen. His father invited him into the study, went into the closet, and took out an unadorned box. His father told him that it had been passed down to him by his father when he was around the same age. This young man had just graduated from college. It sure beats a diploma, when you think about it.

Wear is My Carpet

There’s more to grandma then it seems. When her relatives came to visit, grandma complained about her frequent backaches. They immediately suspected the old and lumpy mattress. It had indentations all over it, robbing grandma of sleep and comfort. They had the whole bedframe resized, and the mattress remade. When they had moved the bed, they were shocked to see that this items’ vibrant hue.

They had known grandma had been quite the rebel in her day. But they hadn’t expected that she would sport a frisky hot pink carpet. Imagine her in a colorful striped romper with a feather boa around her neck, rocking out to The Beatles. She pads her way across the room and lunges atop the bed. It’s good to see that there’s a little bit of vibrancy left, in spite of the carpet-wear.

Teddy Wear

How much do you love your teddy? We love it so much, we’ve hugged it to death. We can’t think of anyone more loyal than it! It had nursed us to sleep and watched over us as the Boogeyman hovered by the door. Unfazed by the urban legend, it stayed put, staring protectively until Boogeyman left.

And that’s why we can’t bear to throw it away. It’s worth more than the woolen padding or the furry exterior. When this pair had been given to twin brothers, they loved their teddy their separate ways. One kept it by his side at all times, while the other kept it safely tucked in his closet because he couldn’t bear to ruin it.

Creature of Habit

Did you know that cats can walk on their tip-toes instead of their paw pads? We hadn’t known either. Turns out, this allows them to walk quickly and quietly. No thudding, like you, would hear with dogs. They can also walk by moving their front and back legs together on one side.

With every step, their claws ensnare a clump of wool or fiber. Especially if kitty has a favorite place to pace up and down. Over time, something like this will appear on the carpet. Being a creature of habit, it won’t stray from its path. This is marked territory!