A home can hold so many secrets. These could be hidden on purpose by builders or accidentally by previous owners, but the truth is finding these treasures is exciting either way. Whether it was during a home renovation or while moving in, the following people found some truly intriguing things in their houses and knew they had to share with the world.
“Found a beehive while renovating an old house.”
When people say they are afraid of renovating their home it’s usually because of the cost or the disruption this process will cause in their lives. After seeing this picture, we will add beehives to the list of reasons why we might want to postpone any potential home renovation.
“My wife and I found this fossil under the floorboards while upgrading our kitchen.”
What are the chances?! This couple was renovating their kitchen when they found a fossilized fish. According to them, this was under the floorboards beneath the sink in their 1940s home in Wyoming. We hope they framed it and kept it as kitchen decoration – at least that’s what we would do!
“Found some WW2-era newspapers under the flooring while renovating this old house in Detroit.”
If you were wondering why people keep finding paper under their wood floors – don’t worry, we did some research so you don’t have to. It turns out many builders and contractors put paper beneath wood floors to prevent floor squeaks, to cut down on dust, to make the installation easier, and to create a vapor barrier.
“My friend found this old door behind a wall that has been knocked down for remodeling.”
This picture reminds us that there’s a lot we don’t know about the place each one of us calls home. In this case, the previous owners had decided to build a wall in front of this door and just forget about it. Then, during a renovation, the new owner found the forgotten door. Although it looks super exciting, it turns out there were only bricks on the other side of the door.
“My medicine cabinet has a built-in razor blade disposal slot. This is what I found.”
About a century ago, medicine cabinets in people’s bathrooms were installed directly into the walls with an added slot for the disposal of razor blades. Since used blades were biohazards, they couldn’t be thrown in the trash with the rest of people’s waste. Instead, they were collected in a pile of blades behind the walls that would only be found years later by unsuspecting homeowners renovating their bathrooms.
“While tearing up their carpet, my in-laws found a giant monopoly board.”
When this person’s parents-in-law decided to tear up their carpet, they might have expected to find the home’s original hardwood floor – but they definitely did not imagine they would find a giant Monopoly board! Apparently, having a huge game board on your floor was a trend in the 1950s.
“My daughter found a fossil in our yard and wrapped it for me as a Christmas present!”
This is how you know your kid truly loves you. If we remember anything about being kids, it is that fossils are the most prized possessions anyone can own. We hope this little girl’s dad appreciates the gift he received and kept it as a decor piece in their living room.
“During a demo, I found a steam room and hot tub in my basement behind a wall.”
While we don’t know for sure why the previous homeowner would build an entire steam room and install a bathtub just to conceal them with a wall, we have a guess: the work might have been done without permits, meaning it would have had to be covered up while selling the place to avoid fines.
“We found a hidden room in our attic.”
When these people’s landlord told them there might be a hidden room in the attic, they immediately went to check. And when they actually found it, they had to share pictures online. If you were wondering what the sign says, it’s Norwegian for “if you’re having a bad stomach day, you’re not allowed inside”.
“My house was built in 1960. I am remodeling the bathroom and this was under the bathtub.”
Although it’s pretty weird to think that we might be surrounded by old soda cans hidden inside our walls and under our bathtubs, it’s pretty cool to see these vintage items. Apparently, back in the 1960s people used to drink hot Dr. Pepper! The recipe suggests heating up the beverage in a saucepan, pouring the drink into glasses, and adding a slice of lemon in each cup – but why?!
“Just moved into my new house and found this ‘Welcome Home’ note from the previous owners.”
Even if you are moving to an even better property, moving out of the place you call home can be quite a painful experience. This is why it means so much when positive people like Lex and Casey remind you that you should be glad you are moving into such a special place where they made so many incredible memories.
“Found a safe behind an electrical socket in my new house.”
After moving into their new house, this person found a safe behind an electrical socket. Not knowing how to open it, they tried jamming a screwdriver into the keyhole and prying it out with no success. Eventually, they figured out it was actually a drawer, not a door – and managed to open it quite easily. Inside the safe was only a receipt, but to demonstrate how small the lockbox was, they put a credit card inside it and took a picture.
“While cleaning out my grandmother’s house, my mom found a 23-year-old Christmas gift to me from my deceased grandfather.”
This is such a heartwarming discovery. 23 years after the gift was bought by this person’s grandfather, it finally made its way to its rightful owner. Although it was meant to be a present for a 5-year-old, the metal construction kit was still a success over two decades later. It’s almost as if this grandpa knew that they would grow up to become a mechanical engineer!
“Grandma told me she had some soda in the fridge… to which I discovered an unopened New Coke can from 1985.”
This person says they went to their grandma’s to cut her grass and asked her if there was anything to drink that wasn’t water or milk. Although she hasn’t had soda for over thirty years, she said there was a can in the fridge. So when they went to check, they found this New Coke can from 1985. Amazing!
“My sister found this boar jawbone during the construction of her new house (in the Netherlands).”
How cool is that?! This woman was just casually helping out during the construction of her new house when she spotted a boar jawbone. Maybe it’s a Dutch thing, or maybe we’re just not that lucky, but we’ve never even seen something like this in real life – let alone in our own house!
“Cleaning out his garage, my uncle found a deteriorating grill cleaner that hadn’t been touched in years.”
We’ve seen a lot of things in our lifetime, but this is definitely a first. Who would have thought that something as powerful and corrosive as grill cleaner would even deteriorate its own bottle over time? Well, at least now we know to not leave these bottles lying around for years and years…
“An abandoned hornet’s nest my dad found in his shed that he hadn’t been in for a couple of years. The head is part of a wooden statue it fused with.”
As practical as having a shed might be, these little structures always end up housing every single item we probably don’t need but also don’t want to throw away. As a result, we end up avoiding anything that has to do with using them. So we can totally understand how this person’s dad chose to not go in for two whole years and let this hornet’s nest situation escalate like this.
“We found war ration books from 1944 inside an old purse in the basement.”
We have so many questions. First, whose purse did these people find? How long had it been there for? And most importantly, how were these ration stamps not used? Were they not used because their owners did not need them or because goods were just not available? We need to know.
“Mom found these 1984 Epcot tickets during a move. They still work!”
This person explained that their grandpa used to work for a car rental company and would always get promotional tickets. These Epcot Center vouchers had been stashed away for years by this person’s mom until she finally found them during a move – and apparently, they were still valid! Unfortunately, though, the park staff didn’t let them keep the tickets as a memento…
“So I just moved into a new apartment, found a trap door, then found a secret dungeon.”
After moving into a new place, this person noticed a trap door by the bathroom. So, naturally, they decided to open it. First, they thought it was just some underground storage space but soon noticed there were steps underneath the door. It turns out that on the bottom of the stairs was a secret dungeon with a proper 19th-century layout of corridors and everything.
“Noticed something popping out of the ground in the backyard. It was a time capsule I made when I was 7.”
This is so incredibly special. This person says they buried this Lego time capsule when they were about 7 years old and completely forgot about it. Over 25 years later, they were playing with their dogs in the backyard and noticed something popping out of the ground – so they dug it up and remembered what it was.
“Found a shower during the demo to put in a shower.”
This picture perfectly captures the irony of life. This person had already planned to put in a shower in that room, hired people to do that, and then found an old shower hidden behind the walls. We wonder if they decided to keep that one or if they thought it would be safer to remove it and install a brand new one…
“Found a 1964 ticket to see The Beatles while tidying up at my parent’s house.”
There’s so much to unpack here. First of all, this Beatles ticket cost only $6! While it does sound incredibly cheap, factoring in inflation, this ticket would actually cost $53.96 today. Besides, how did this person’s parents manage to keep a concert ticket from 1964 in such good conditions?! Truly impressive if you ask us.
“Clearing out My late grandma’s house and noticed she still used her tv set from 1951.”
How cool is this TV set?! Actually, it’s not even just a TV – it’s a combo of a record player, radio, and television. It turns out this person’s grandma bought it in the 1950s, replaced its tube in 1962, and kept using it decades later until she passed away. Things really were built to last!
“Found this note on my subfloor: ‘My dad worked hard on this floor, so he’ll be mad at you for tearing it up.'”
Sometimes, we forget other people and other families have lived in the places we now call home. It’s things like this that remind us that our houses have been around a lot longer than we have. We wonder if there are any notes from kids like Megan hidden somewhere in our subfloor.
“My wife and I discovered a terrifying crawl space in our home with a suitcase inside it. What was in the case? Two Domino’s delivery jackets in perfect condition!”
How weird is this?! This couple had just bought and moved into their new home when they found a crawl space with this suitcase inside it. Curiosity got the best of them, so they took the case outside to open it. Inside were two Domino’s Pizza delivery jackets and a windbreaker in perfect condition!
“Found the original front to my house behind my bedroom wall paneling.”
Although remodeling can be stressful, it can also lead to amazing discoveries like this one. This person had absolutely no idea that the original front door to their house was actually hidden behind their bedroom wall – yet this is exactly what they found during their renovation. We wonder what else is hidden inside their walls…
“Mom found a 32-year-old free pizza certificate inside an old book.”
This person shared that as soon as their mom found this Pizza Hut voucher from 1989, the first thing she did was call the restaurant. Unfortunately, they said the 32-year-old free pizza certificate was only a collector’s item now… What a shame… At least this person got a nice memento from third grade when she met her reading goal for the month…
“We found a trap door after taking up 7 layers of kitchen floor.”
After sharing this picture, this homeowner explained they were doing a major renovation of their 1885 house when they found a few strange things. Not only did they find a trap door 7 layers deep into the kitchen floor but also discovered a fireplace hidden in the wall. If you are curious about the trap door, though, here’s what they found out: it’s just an access door to the house’s old water cistern.
“Found this safe tucked back into my late father’s closet. He kept all letters he wrote to his mom while he was in the military.”
This is such a special discovery. The person who shared these pictures explained their dad had passed away a few months before they found this safe tucked in the back of his closet. Inside the safe were their father’s notebook from the military, high school diploma, Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, $800 in change, and these letters. During the time when he was stationed around the country, he would send letters to his mother and siblings, and when he came back home after receiving an honorable discharge, he decided to keep them in a safe.
“Bought a 1900 farmhouse and found a photo album with the house’s history through the years.”
This person didn’t just purchase a house, they bought a legacy. Someone took the time to document the history of the farmhouse over the years, and now it’s this person’s responsibility to keep taking pictures and add them to the book for the next owner to find.
“Found a massive wooden barrel with no lid in the attic of my 1890s house.”
While this huge wooden barrel hidden in the attic might look extremely suspicious, there’s probably a very simple explanation for its existence. We believe it’s just an old water tank that collects rainwater to be used in the house. The house must have gotten remodeled since it was last used and the tank must have been left there because no one felt like getting rid of it.
“I took a wall out of my closet and found a makeshift passageway with a large heavy creepy basket in it.”
We can’t decide if we think this is a cool or creepy discovery. On one hand, there were lots of interesting items inside this basket hidden inside this secret passageway. On the other hand, this person had been living in that house for a while before they found out about the makeshift storage area…
“While remodeling my bathroom, I found some old wallpaper from the 70s. So I decided to repurpose some of it.”
We absolutely love this person’s idea! Instead of ignoring their home’s history, this person decided to embrace it. After finding some old wallpaper behind the drywall in their bathroom, they carefully removed it and glued it on a piece of plywood. Once it was dry, they put up the finished product as artwork on the wall.
“Just found this Internet Explorer CD-ROM in the back of a closet. Still sealed in the original package.”
This picture reminds us of the good old days when we had a single home computer that we could only use a few hours a day – otherwise, people wouldn’t be able to reach our parents on the landline. The only thing we don’t remember is the difference between regular Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer Plus!
“I was tearing out a part of the roof on a new purchase and found this absolute unit of a wasps nest hiding right underneath.”
This person must have been pretty terrified when they encountered this huge wasp nest hiding underneath the roof of their new house. Luckily, they explained that it was barely springtime when this happened, so there were no wasps inside it.
“What I’ve just found in my father-in-law’s garage.”
We have no idea why someone would just leave their antique car sitting in the garage for 15 years, but this is what this person’s father-in-law did. Apparently, this is a Fiat 500 “Topolino”, which was manufactured from 1936 until 1955 – we would love to see what it looks like once it’s restored.
“Found an old Monopoly set in the walls of my 1925 house.”
The more we see these pictures, the more we want to just tear down all the walls in our house to look for cool things builders might have left behind. What are the chances of this person finding a 1940s Monopoly set with wooden pieces casually sitting inside their wall?!
“Moving today and found this note from my late grandpa. He died when I was little but, apparently, left me $20.”
This person explained his grandpa died when he was little, so this is the closest thing he had to a grandfather. The note reads, “Dear Bobby, I gave your grandma $20,00 to put in your bank account – so when you’re old enough to read ask her if she did deposit the $20,00 or if she spent it. HAHA. Papa Ben.”
“This trunk was put in my parents’ garage about 25 years ago. I finally opened it today.”
This is what we call a time capsule. This person put all their toys inside this trunk and left it in their parents’ garage for 15 years. Then, they brought it to their garage where it stayed for another 10 years. Finally, after over two decades, they were cleaning the garage and decided to open it up – inside it was their whole childhood.
“Stephen King was our neighbor in the mid-1970s. Found this when cleaning out my parents’ house today.”
This person is truly lucky. As if it wasn’t cool enough that their neighbor was Stephen King, he even signed their first edition of Carrie! Sure, at the time he wasn’t the famous author he is now – but this signed and dated book is probably worth thousands today!
“My mom found these candy bars in her closet from 1997.”
We know we should be thinking about how gross it is that these candy bars have been sitting in a closet for so long, but honestly we kind of wish we could try them. Maybe it’s their packaging that is making us super nostalgic, or maybe we’re just hungry…
“Digging through some old boxes after a move and found these, must’ve belonged to my dad.”
How cool is this?! This person randomly found a 1960s Lord of the Rings box set including The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, AND The Hobbit! We truly hope this person is a fan of the novel – this is such an awesome collector’s item.
“Digging through my late wife’s papers today. Found this from 1994. It’s like a kiss from the past.”
We can only imagine what this person must have felt when they found this envelope with lipstick kisses from their late wife. It’s truly the most precious gift from the past and we hope they framed it and put it up on their wall – or at least kept it in a safe place.
Bought my first home, found very old school report cards that date back to 1908.”
If we were to guess why these 1900s school report cards were so well hidden only the new homeowner could find them, we would say these kids didn’t want their parents to know their grades. But looking at them, these grades seem pretty good – so maybe they just really wanted to leave a surprise for someone in the future.
“Found this 1980 Coca-Cola bottle in the fridge.”
Maybe it’s just us, but these vintage soda bottles look so much cooler than the plastic bottles we get today. They even look cooler than the glass bottles we rarely find in some restaurants. If we had found this in our house, we would have kept it on a shelf in the living room for everyone to see.
“My grandpa served in WWII and brought home this shot glass set when he was stationed in China. Just found it cleaning out his place.”
We hope this person kept this glass set. It would be such a cool and interesting family heirloom that they could pass on to their kids and the next generations. Apparently, the cups are made of silver and etched with dragon motifs. How cool is that?!
“My dad recently purchased a new home. We ripped up the flooring and discovered this safe cemented into the floor.”
This person shared that their dad recently bought a new house, and they helped rip out the old flooring. This is when they found this safe cemented into the floor inside the basement closet – but they didn’t have a key or the combination. The previous owner also had no idea. After a lot of work and prying, they opened the safe to find out it was empty.
“I found where my 3-year-old twins have been hiding my loose change.”
Some people find hidden rooms behind walls, expired food from the 1990s, time capsules from their childhood – and others find coins inside a keyhole. We wonder how long it took for this parent to figure out where their twins were hiding all their change and where they are hiding it now that this spot has been discovered.
“Found this McDonald’s coupon from 1963 while remodeling my house.”
This might well be a lucky find while remodeling, because the real question we’re all wondering is whether it’s still valid to use. Maybe the house owner who found it went in to check; free burger and fries!
“Found the spices from the time they were sold in metal tins in my mother-in-law’s cupboard.”
There’s expired and there’s spices-in-metal-tins expired. These tins of mustard, cloves and cream of tartar have most definitely expired many decades ago but were somehow forgotten inside a cupboard. We would love to know what the products look like inside the containers after sitting on a shelf for so long.
“Found these certificates from 1911 cleaning out one of my grandpa’s old sheds. It originally belonged to my great-great-grandma.”
We wonder how much these $5 shares from 1911 are worth today. Although this person found them in their grandma’s shed, they were actually from their great-great-grandmother – so in a way these certificates are almost family heirlooms. We wonder if they kept them as souvenirs or sold them for the money.
“Found a time capsule of lost things behind my fireplace mantel…this is what I’ve pulled up so far.”
While renovating their place, this person found a lot of things behind their fireplace mantel. There were religious pamphlets from the 1940s, a birthday card, a car dealership card, an Elvis Presley magazine clipping, a receipt, and a postcard. Basically a time capsule!
“Found this Pokémon grilled cheese press that we bought in Japan in the 90s. I have never been so excited to eat grilled cheese!”
Here’s something we never knew we needed: a Pokemon grilled cheese press. Looking at this picture, we just know we’ll never be able to forget this product and we’ll spend the rest of our lives looking for one of these. Just imagine the grilled cheese sandwiches we could make if we had one!
“Cleaning out the attic above the apartment I rent. Found this contraption in a closet.”
We have been staring at this contraption for a while now wondering why someone would need to wear two ties… After a few minutes, we figured out these were two color options so the person could choose which tie color they felt like wearing that day. Pretty cool in our opinion.
“Found my great-grandfather’s WWI Soldiers’ French Phrase Book.”
This person shared they found their great-grandfather’s Soldiers’ French Phrasebook from circa 1917. It has 20 pages in total and includes lyrics to “La Marseillaise”, the national anthem of France. As if this wasn’t cool enough, on the last page of the book is an advertisement for an early calculator.
“Found this in mother’s pantry – 50-year-old traditional Chinese tea set, given as a wedding gift from her parents.”
This might be one of the most amazing wedding gifts we have ever seen. Sure, getting kitchen appliances is cool – and practical -, but getting a traditional Chinese tea set shows how much these people care about you. If you disagree, you probably just don’t love tea as much as we do…
“Found a 20+-year-old Gatorade bottle in the rafters. It’s still 3/4 full.”
There’s something about these old glass beverage bottles and old labels that makes us feel so nostalgic. Not that we would like to try a little bit of this 20-year-old Gatorade, but we would love to see what it looks like in person. Did its color change? What does it smell like? We need to know.
“Found a Pizza Hut coupon that expired in 1991.”
We don’t know what’s cooler here: the fact that this person has a Pizza Hut coupon from 1991 or that the voucher is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-themed. We are wondering if they decided to keep it as a souvenir or redeem it for a personal pizza. If they did try to redeem it, did Pizza Hut honor it? So many unanswered questions…
“So I found some McNuggets in the closet…”
We have to admit we had to look up this game. But it doesn’t matter: just looking at the McNuggets Buddies made us feel super nostalgic. If you were wondering about the game, though, it’s a board game where players can pretend to be one of the McNugget Buddies getting ready for a Masquerade Ball.
“Found my uncle’s Olympic medal from 1964 at home.”
The person who shared this explained they randomly found this Olympic medal at home. It turns out their uncle had competed in the Olympics back in 1964 and took home a medal – which they accidentally found decades later in their house. How cool is this family?!