Things Being Worn Down and Out Over the Years

By Robin Mei - November 26, 2016
Credits: Image: ShadowRanger164 / Reddit

Leaning Tower of Pisa's Worn Steps

Credits: Image: Salena Lettera / The Daily Rant



It is estimated over one million people visit the tower each year. Although not all of them make the upwards trek these stairs show that, despite the lean, the tower was built to last.

Source: There For The Climbing…If You’re So Inclined

A Power Washed New York City Building

Credits: Image: Teddy1056 / Reddit

Life in the big city is not as perfect as we see it in the movies. If you ever go to New York City, one thing you may notice are some streets lined with darkened buildings.

They are rather bleak-looking because of the city’s history with air pollution.

This picture showcases a New York building before and after power washing. This is as a result of the days when coal plants were the norm.

Source: Air Pollution

Foot Prints at a Bank Counter

Credits: Image: stepowens / Imgur

This marble floor in a bank has been worn down from decades of people waiting in line there. Imagine how many customers have passed through this bank’s doors over the years to make those indentations as they paid their bills, cashed their pay checks or set some money away for a rainy day.

It’s not that we’re against the convenience of bank machines, but this is proof positive that at one point in time financial institutions and their customers actually talked to one another!

A Barbershop, Minus the Chairs

Credits: Image: dnslol / Reddit

For many, the local barbershop is a place to socialize and chat — it’s the neighborhood pub, minus the alcohol.

The black circles seen here are from vintage barber chairs made from oak, porcelain and leather that used to make the barbershop so unique.

Now, those chairs are replaced with regular, ordinary wooden chairs that have no sentimental value at all, and the only thing left from the old chairs are the marks on the floor.

M&Ms Turning to Dust

Credits: Image: UnciasDream / Reddit

The M&M candy dispenser was a machine that brought joy to every child, a bribe for every parent. Imagine how many meals were eaten just by knowing that after their lunch some kid was going to have a parental reward for just 20 cents.

This M&M dispenser has been sitting there for over ten years and has not been used once. You can see the candy is still in there, slowly transforming into dust.

Fax Machine Paper Cuts

Credits: Image: Farge43 / Reddit

If you ask a millennial what a fax machine is, they would probably have no idea. However, the fax machine was once a crucial tool in the business world. It was at one point one of the most popular and effective ways to send documents and pieces of information.

Just look at these paper cuts through the plastic of this particular machine. You often hear people complaining about paper cuts, but this is the equivalent of years of paper torture.

Damaging Ocean Air

Credits: Image: andre_lac / Reddit

Sea breezes are winds that blow from a large body of water inland. Because of the air pressure over the water, this wind is cold.

If you look at this photograph, you will see the impact the sea breeze has made on the lock of the door. The lock has rusted over the years from the one side being constantly impacted by the sea breeze and it carrying the natural chlorides from the ocean.

Sources: How the Sea Breeze Can Affect Your Stainless Steel, Land and Sea Breezes

Posters Over Time

Credits: Image: ShadowRanger164 / Reddit

Here we are going back in time when information, events, world tours, and live theater were all promoted on posters. This lamb has been covered over the years with posters from different events.

Wonder how thin this pole is without the advertising? You can see the deep hole, and there are probably thousands of them. Imagine how old the original advertisements must be. You could make the argument this pole itself has now morphed into its own work of art.

50 Years of a Ringed Finger

Credits: Image: meowmeowfuntime / Reddit

A wedding ring is a symbol of your dedication and loyalty to your marriage. This grandfather wore his wedding ring for 50 years, and after he removed it the skin had a permanent band in its place.

The skin there must be as youthful as 55 years ago. Time has left a mark, just as that ring has. A mark of a dedicated husband and years spent with love. Life does not stop for anyone, or any ring!

A Smoker's Remote

Credits: Image: cperkins3362 / Reddit

If you take a look at these remotes, at first sight, anyone will think that they are different colors. However, these are the remotes of a non-smoker and a smoker. Shocking, isn’t it?

If smoking makes the remote look like this, imagine what cigarettes can do to your body, especially your lungs.

Smoking can cause serious diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema and lung cancer. Don’t put yourself — or your remote — through that.

Source: How smoking affects your body

Well-Worn Ball Caps

Credits: Image: TheSethsquatch / Reddit

Having these three caps sitting one next to another on a sofa looks like having three generations of the Menard cap family posing for a group photo.

They all look pretty similar, like they are all sharing the same family genes, but different life experiences. We bet the first one would have the most exciting story to tell.

It turns out these caps belong to the same person who happened to like the brand.

Source: My hats, past present and future.

A Generational Teddy Bear

Credits: Image: WontRegret / Reddit

Teddy bears are one of the most popular toys of all time. Generations of boys and girls went to bed every night holding their teddy bears tight, just like many kids still do today all over the world.

This photo shows two teddy bears bought at the same time, back in 1985. The first one belonged to a boy who was born that year, while the other was kept in storage for that future father’s first child, born 30 years later.

Source: 10+ Unbelievable Examples Of Things Being Worn Down Over Time

The Pocketed Coin

Credits: Image: coreydh11 / Reddit

If you have ever wondered what would happen to a coin if you were to carry it in your pocket for more than half of a century, this photo might be the answer to your question.

As you can see here, your coin would be so polished that its “head” would become hardly recognizable, and its edges completely smooth.

Reportedly, this old worn down silver dollar ended up in a man’s pocket in 1952.


The Well-Worn Snow Shovel

Credits: Image: datura1010 / Reddit

The snow shovel is a necessary item in every household that lives in areas with long and chilly winters. Although some of us face the prospect of everyday use of it for a season, snow shovels are often taken for granted with hardly any maintenance.

It’s no wonder why some of them look like this after years and years of use — almost half the scoop gone but still ready to dive into the snow.

Used Cell Phone Case

Credits: Image: FEED_ME_YOUR_EYES / Reddit

It seems that the lifespan of things is getting shorter and shorter with each generation. Our grandparents used to buy things that would probably outlive them, but not anymore.

Modern consumerism instills in us that things are so expendable that we often feel we need a new one even when we probably don’t. So, when a one-year-old phone case gets dirty and slightly used looking, what do we do? Buy a new one, of course.

30 Years of Use for a Shaving Brush

Credits: Image: BrownBrilliance / Reddit

You’ve probably noticed that there’s been a real hype over vintage items going on for some time now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone who likes to use old-fashioned things is a hipster.

Some folks like to stick to their old habits and use the same things for years.

When one gentleman decided to replace his old shaving brush with a new one of the same age but unused, this is how the 30-year age difference looked.


Decades of Knife Sharpening

Credits: Image: theyllfindmeiknowit / Reddit

It’s amazing what a single object can tell about its past if you take a closer look at it. At first glance, these two knives found in a shop look rather ordinary; one is bigger than the other one, but that’s not necessarily surprising.

If you pay more attention to details, you may notice that the smaller one is not for sale and that’s when the real story starts — a story of 41 years of everyday use and regular sharpening.

Source: Before and after 41 years of sharpening

Amusement Park Entranceway

Credits: Image: TheDukeOfEarlGrey / Reddit

Who doesn’t like spending a few fun hours at an amusement park every now and then? Those places are such a great way to relax and enjoy yourself with friends and family, forgetting about all your worries and concerns (at least for a little while).

As illustrated here, many people follow this well-tested recipe for stress relief and emotional rejuvenation, or how else would this diamond steel plate get so worn and smooth at a park’s entrance?


Worn Hiking Poles

Credits: Image: Ihavessomanyyo / Reddit

Long distance hiking is one of the best ways to stay healthy maintain good physical fitness throughout life. Plus, hiking as a sports discipline doesn’t require much for equipment — a pair of good walking shoes, some comfortable clothes and reliable trekking poles that can usually last for years.

Can you even imagine how many kilometers and miles the owner of these hiking poles walked with their support to show the wear and tear they do now?

Source: Years of wear

Everyday Use for Pennies

Credits: Image: Unknown / Reddit

This beautiful artistic collection of coins in copper, blue, green and grey palette hues is not only a great suggestion of what colors you could wear during the fall season, but also a wonderful illustration of how time flows.

It takes years and thousands of hands to turn a shiny copper coin into a dark greenish one, so you can only guess the number of years passed in this particular picture.


The Family Dog's Preferred Door

Credits: Image: ILikeToSayHi / Reddit

If you have ever thought that only we as humans strive to hold onto the same old practices and habits, this image may help change your mind.

It shows a wooden door with a brighter “stain” at the bottom, but it turns out that this unevenly colored door is not a production error, but the result of a creature of habit.

For the past 12 years, a dog has been using its paw to open the door, always pushing the same spot.


The Family Dining Room Table

Credits: Image: iambrownman / Reddit

Every holiday season brings families together for a couple of days of fun and laughter. That usually includes sharing a few big dinners at the family table which needs more space with the added numbers.

An adjustable table leaf comes in handy in those situations, as well as a tablecloth to help cover the truth of how old the family table actually is.

This photo shows what twelve years of everyday use can do to a table, compared to the minimal use of the leaf.

Source: 10+ Incredible Examples Of Time Wearing Things Down (New Pics)

Obliterated Visually Impaired Crosswalk

Credits: Image: ravenq / Reddit

Even though many things gradually become more precious and valuable over time, that (general) rule doesn’t really apply to absolutely everything. Take city infrastructure for example — the older it gets, the more trouble it can make.

There is nothing romantic and endearing about bumpy roads or broken traffic light, nor about this distorted guiding track for the visually impaired which is obviously meant as a way for them cross the street quickly, safely and not get them confused — left, right or straight-ahead?


New Money Versus Old Money

Credits: Image: oppandadardar / Reddit

How many times have you heard a person say, “Oh, how I wish my wallet were thicker?” Depends on how badly someone wants back issues, but after seeing this photo your perspective of thick wallets might change a bit.

This photo shows how a new £500 bundle of £5 notes looks like compared to the same amount of used ones — almost four times bigger. But, if we put a debit card next to both, the whole “thick wallet” metaphor really becomes pretty funny.


Old Tetherball Pole

Credits: Image: Mason_GR / Reddit

Tetherball is such a fun game to play with your kids or even with your friends, no matter how old you are. It’s one of those cool activities that you can adjust to your likings — how fast you want to play it, or how hard you want to throw or even kick the ball.

The only thing that will remember your choices is the tetherball pole, at least according to this photo that shows some pretty visible wear marks of years and years of use.
