It’s a surreal feeling finding an old jacket in your wardrobe that you haven’t worn in decades. Not only is there a sense of nostalgia involved but also, you can’t help but rifle through its pockets in the hopes of finding something that was lost in time.
Now, instead of a jacket, you have a medicine cabinet with a tiny hole in it for things to fall into and land in an unreachable place in the wall. And instead of the usual lipstick, bus tickets, or coins, you have 40-year-old beauty and medical products—an unexpected time capsule that recently brought a bunch of Imgurians back to the ‘80s.
This family's medical cabinet had a small hole in it that led straight into their bathroom wall
Image credits: Peter Brown
Imgur user kludge77, who introduced himself as Peter Brown of Shop Time fame in an interview with Bored Panda, recently posted a screenshot as well as a handful of photographs that drew everyone’s attention. The screenshot was of his short exchange with his wife and a picture of a rather yellowed Jergens lotion bottle for extra dry skin from the ‘80s.
Turns out, her dad found it in a hole in the medical cabinet where items have been falling into over many, MANY years. So, they cut a hole in the wall to fish out any other belongings that may have ended up in there and, sure enough, they found a treasure trove of goodies from 40 years ago.
They knew some of their stuff in the cabinet fell inside, but never got around to fishing it out... until recently
Image credits: Peter Brown
They cut open the wall to find a treasure trove of medical and beauty supplies that were lost since the 80s
Image credits: Peter Brown
“This back bathroom has a built-in style medicine cabinet. It's got three shelves and like most medicine cabinets, it's crammed full of stuff. Unfortunately, this one had a small gap in the bottom shelf up against the near wall. It's only about 1 or 2 inches wide and you really have to crane your neck between the cabinet and bathroom mirror to see it. Most of the items lost would have been pushed to the back and side of the cabinet, so it's not too surprising that it wasn't noticeable,” explained Peter.
Over the years, enough stuff has accumulated in the crevice in the wall to make another medicine cabinet, to be frank. Among the many items that they have found are the aforementioned Jergens lotion, a bottle of Brut perfume, Bactine antiseptic, Band Aids, Pamprin pills, Vivarin caffeine tablets, AquaVelva Musk aftershave, ‘80s Tylenol, Olay oil, and a bunch more.
One of the screenshots that Peter got from his wife was a picture of the Bactine bottle with the caption The Demon: “The Bactine bottle was the one that got the most reactions from my wife. It has a very particular smell, and it brought her back to her childhood! Plus, the fact that it always stung so bad regardless of the lies on the label. The text she sent me called it ‘the demon’.”
Jergens lotion, Pamprin Pills, AquaVelva aftershave, and Vivarin caffeine tablets were just a few of the dozens of items they found inside
Image credits: Peter Brown
They even found what Peter's wife called "The Demon"—Bactine antiseptic that was anything but "no sting"
Image credits: Peter Brown
And many people shared the same memory of Bactine being a real pain, despite whatever it said on the bottle. In fact, many shared their own memories of many of the products found in the hole.
Some said that they feel old because they can name each and every product found, remembering how things like Brut and Bactine still smell despite not seeing them in ages. Others were blurting out slogans like Revive, with Vavarin! and even referencing Wayne’s World by quoting, “Garth, are you wearing Brut? Yes, my woman likes me in cologne.”
“I kinda presumed my followers would find the pictures interesting, as it was such an odd thing to happen and a large collection of stuff,” said Peter. And that they did. The post soon went viral, garnering over 127,000 views with several thousands of upvotes in just a day.
The pictures soon found themselves on Imgur where they drew everyone's attention
Image credits: Peter Brown
Within just a day, the post got over 125k views with several thousands of upvotes
Image credits: Peter Brown
“When I was telling my father-in-law about how many people were liking and commenting on this story, he said, ‘I've known the hole was there for a little while now, and I thought maybe one or two things had fallen in. I had just lost something and since we're on lockdown, I might as well open the wall and get it out.’ He was flabbergasted by the volume of items!” explained Peter.
Now, the internet was being its old self and joked about trying out the products to see if they’re still good. You know, for science reasons. However, much of it expired ages ago:
“Most [of it] expired in the ‘90s, but some were from the ‘80s as well! The caffeine pills expired August of 1985 and were never opened. They moved into this house in 1980, so that might be one of the older items.”
"I've known the hole was there for a little while now, thought maybe one or two things had fallen in"—said Peter's father in-law, but was surprised by the sheer volume of things he ended up finding
Image credits: Peter Brown
If you’ve enjoyed Peter’s post, why not check out his YouTube channel, where he does woodworking, woodturning and other related videos. You can also check out his Facebook, Instagram and website.
So, what are your thoughts on this? Have any memories of these products? Did you expect some other brands to be found here as well? Let us know in the comments section below!
Here's what the internet thought about these nostalgic finds in the wall
