It’s the unexpected that gives rise to dramatic stories of turning crises into challenges, transforming riches into rags, or glory into catastrophe. Without sudden events, there would be no room for astonishing arts, spontaneous romance, adventures, exploration, or other discoveries. Perhaps you haven’t thought of it, but the concept of surprise is made up of many little details that the naked eye might miss.

Unforeseen findings bring excitement and thrill to life, often inspiring people to share them with others. As a result, the Bored Panda Team has scoured the web to find the most surprising things people have captured on camera and shared with the world. Be prepared to be amazed by the coolest and weirdest finds people have stumbled upon in the most unexpected places!

#1 Found An Old Letter Sent To My Mother Who Was Struggling To Make Payments On My Trumpet

Image credits: jacques4801

A great part of knowledge is gained through surprise; it’s the way you first learn about the world. When something astonishes a baby, like an object not behaving the way it is expected to, the infant learns more about it than from a similar predictable object.

A study on 11-month-old babies showed one group a ball rolling down a ramp that was stopped by a wall, while the other group observed the same situation but with the ball magically going right through it. The surprising ball encouraged infants to learn new information significantly better and to explore it more than the toys that didn’t do anything unusual. 

Additionally, the researchers discovered that the infants were not only eager to explore the remarkable objects but also to understand them. Upon seeing the ball passing through a wall, they tested the object’s solidity by banging it on the table, and after seeing the ball hovering in the air, they tested its gravity by dropping it. The results suggest that babies were testing certain hypotheses about the objects’ abnormal behavior.

#2 Found This Painting In A Tree Last Winter

Image credits: silentcrafting

#3 Found This Little Guy At Work Today

Image credits: Boyinthecorn

#4 Fishing With My Dad And Caught A Backpack Full Of Weapons And Stolen Jewelry

Image credits: danktrilliums

Sometimes, the discoveries scientists make are not only unexpected for the public but also for the scientists themselves. Statistics show that 50% of all inventions are happy accidents. 

An invention like shatterproof glass was also discovered through a mishap. When Édouard Bénédictus, a French scientist, was experimenting with cellulose nitrate in 1903, he accidentally dropped the glass beaker it was contained in. The vessel broke but didn’t shatter into pieces as the solution had formed a plastic coating over the glass. Later, he thought of putting together two layers of glass with a thin film of plastic in between, creating the world’s first shatterproof windscreen. All because of an accident, shatterproof glass is saving lives across the world every day.

#5 Then There Was This Guy

Image credits: Voodootroy

#6 My Wife’s Mom Recently Passed And She Found This. Her Grandmother Made It Of All Three Generations

Image credits: danspud69

#7 They Found A 117-Year-Old Wooden Parquet Floor Under The Carpet In A Glasgow Library

Image credits: ThatWillBuffOut

#8 Found A Dude Playing Johnny Cash Tunes From Inside A Trash Can Today In Cambridge

Image credits: Forwhomitmay

Surprise is different from other emotions like happiness or sadness because it can bring positive, negative, or neutral feelings. The unexpected “happens” in a part of the brain that deals with the perception of different situations. Its job is to help decide whether this is a positive or negative event so that the body can start releasing adequate levels of happiness hormones. Studies have shown that the brain seems to enjoy the unexpected. It is more active when the received stimuli is a surprise and the emotions we feel are intensified by 400%.

#9 Housekeeping Staff Found An Owl In The Room Of A Guest That Checked-Out Yesterday

Image credits: http9

#10 These Huge Blueberries I Found

Image credits: ImObviouslyOblivious

#11 These Medieval Ruins Randomly Found Under A School’s Gym Hall

Image credits: jones_666

Potential terrorist attacks, natural disasters, health scares, and frauds push people to be more cautious and prepared. In the long run, people mistrust surprises and favor a world that is organized and controlled. Sudden accidents may cause stress, anxiety, and a loss of focus. If the person has experienced multiple unexpected disappointments, it’s normal for them to start connecting surprises with something negative.

A slogan like “The best surprise is no surprise” was highly effective for Holiday Inn hotels for decades. It profited from promising a calm, orderly environment that reassured its clients with predictability.

#12 I Found A Bug Adorned With Gold Markings

Image credits: reddit.com

#13 Found A Stone With Dried Seaweed Attached To It

Image credits: CYBERSson

#14 I Found This On The Trail In Northern India, And I Thought It Was Pretty Cool

Image credits: Knobag

#15 Y’all, I Lost My Passport Two Years Ago And Have Been Using The Same PDF Scan As A Substitute Ever Since. This Is Where I Found It Today

Image credits: _callumknight

As life is full of challenges and surprises, it’s difficult to try and control things beyond your capacity. The unexpected, instead of a problem, can be viewed as an opportunity. Being open to it can make you more flexible, adaptable, and positive. Spontaneous incidents can be shared with others to create and build deeper connections. It also plays a significant role in creating links in our brains that are later used to generate ideas and promote wonder and curiosity. Perhaps, surprises could be an invitation to explore new, unfamiliar things and not view them as something that is unpredictable and frightening.

#16 I Saw Some Ants Carrying A Glove Up A Lamp

Image credits: ri4nn3

#17 Found This Little Guy In My Laundry Room In Sparta, Tennessee

Image credits: KJ_the_sparten

#18 My Girlfriend Found This Rock That Resembles Me

Image credits: BoarderGod

#19 In 1995, My Great-Aunt Gave Me A Stuffed Cat, It Was My Absolute Favorite. When She Passed, We Found Out She Had Bought An Identical Cat And Kept It In Pristine Condition For Two Decades

Image credits: Connguy

If you are a natural enjoyer of the unexpected, there are several other Bored Panda publications you can check out, just by clicking here or here. 

And if you’re not but you wish to be, try to proactively look for opportunities in any surprise, whether you’d be taking a trip and letting others lead the way or reading a book without knowing anything about it in advance.

#20 Found This Guy Under My Car This Morning. Spent About 10 Minutes Hand-Feeding Him Carrots And Broccoli

Image credits: rcarter95

#21 A Baby Western Rat Snake That My Dad Found On My Sister’s Property Yesterday In Cleveland, Texas

Image credits: joliesmomma

#22 Someone Buried An Old TV In Our Backyard At Some Point

Image credits: es_price

#23 I Found A Tiny Pocket Knife At A Music Festival

Image credits: shroomsaregoooood

#24 Friend Found A Fawn On Their Porch And Called The Department Of Natural Resources. They Said The Mom Left The Baby For Safety While She’s Searching For Food. The Mom Returned After 5 Hours

Image credits: remymartinia

#25 My Mom Found One Of My Old Tests From Almost 20 Years Ago

Image credits: Vascular_D

#26 Found A Playboy That’s Been Written Entirely In Braille From 1978 At Work Today

Image credits: smokeymctokerson

#27 A Family Member Found One Of His First Phones Which Is Still Working

Image credits: TheOneAndOnlyOwen

#28 Removing A Cheap Mirror Glued To The Wall, Only To Find An Even Cheaper Mirror Glued To The Wall Beneath It

Image credits: musicalvoyyeur

#29 Found A 1-Day-Old Kitten In The Engine Bay Of Our Truck At Work

Image credits: oreeos

#30 Toaster Bath Bomb I Found At The Mall

Image credits: frogmug

#31 The Pigeon I Found On My Morning Walk

Image credits: MikeMescalina

#32 I Don’t Like That I Found This Mug At Goodwill

Image credits: RealMainer

#33 I Made A Florida With All Of The Broken Shark Teeth I Found This Year. Quarter For Scale

Image credits: luciferlol_666

#34 Look What I Found

A decently hidden GPS tracker on a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. This model was available on Amazon for about 60 bucks. We let the customer know.

Image credits: Tanyeen

#35 This Snake I Found In A Can Last Summer

Image credits: Bobguyawesome

#36 Bought A Vintage Dresser And Found A Payroll Check From 1965 In The Drawer

Image credits: OhhNugget

#37 This Mouse I Found At My Work Has A Calculator On It

Image credits: Mtndewed6814

#38 Going Through One Of My Dad’s Old Journals And Found This

Image credits: greytickIes

#39 Lizard Eggs (I Hope) Nestled In An Outlet Box

Image credits: Phanniphoenix

#40 I Found A Pack Of Cigarettes That’s Actually A Calculator

Image credits: Afraid_Condition_267

#41 So I Work At A Gas Station And Found A Gun In The Bathroom

Image credits: KittySquidFight

#42 I Thought I Lost $350 And Then Three Months Later I Found It In My Four-Year-Old’s Room

Image credits: Bigmacleafs14

#43 Found The Cliff This Clif Bar Came From

Image credits: AnGabhaDubh

#44 Someone Is About To Have A Terrible Realization

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#45 This Mini Laptop I Found At Work

Image credits: Sloth_Luvs_Chunk

#46 Found A Pair Of Glasses Ingrained With A Tree While Cutting Wood

Image credits: Eclipex7

#47 Inexplicable Eggs, Presented In A Handkerchief With Some Change And A Ring

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#48 Hundreds Of Antlers I Found In A Room Of An Abandoned Factory In Ontario, Canada

Image credits: RiddimRyder

#49 A Friend Called Me About A Crazy Salamander They Found Cleaning A Ditch. I Had To Relocate It

Image credits: indicator_species

#50 There’s A Dried Flower In This 165-Year-Old Latin Book I Just Found In Our Attic

Image credits: yepjeeway

#51 Something Found By My Dad At The Prison He Works At, Made By A Schizophrenic Inmate

Image credits: EqualOwl

#52 I Found A Pair Of Anti-Paparazzi Pants At The Thrift Store

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#53 I Found A Roman Coin While Out Walking

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#54 Found This Fake Nail On My Bathroom Floor. I Live Alone

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#55 15-Gram Gold Nugget I Found Metal Detecting At Vermont Dirt Road

Image credits: Silver_Winged

#56 Found A Sealed 1985 “Macwrite – Macpaint” While Sorting Through My Dad’s Old Bookshelf

Image credits: Graphics_Nerd

#57 Dad Opened Up The Washer To Replace The Pump And Filter. Found These Pennies That Had Been Eroded From Rolling Around In The Filter For A Few Years

Image credits: Exciting-Piccolo2155

#58 Found While Cave-Diving In Mexico

Image credits: Responsible_Flight_8

#59 This Cool Luna Moth I Found Outside Of Work This Morning

Image credits: Prettyloaf98

#60 Found A Tiny Banana

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#61 I Found A Fake Grocery Store Inside A Factory That They Use To Test Their Products. It Has Carts, A Deli, Even A Fresh Produce Section. The Attention To Detail In This Place Is Really Eerie

Image credits: Rhettledge

#62 A Friend Of Mine Is Working On Taking Out An Old Refrigeration Unit And Found This Very Old Pop Can

Image credits: J9KT

#63 This Second-Hand Book I Bought Online Has A Ticket To The 2000 Sydney Olympics Inside It

Image credits: kmo11

#64 Walking Through The Parking Lot At Work This Morning And Found This Membership Card On The Ground

Image credits: JediMindTriq

#65 I Found This Note In My Coat’s Sleeve While I Was Leaving Work. I Don’t Have Any Work Enemies… Or So I Thought

Image credits: Think-Repeat630

#66 My Uncle Found A Huge Puffball Mushroom

Image credits: SashaShelest

#67 My Wife Found This Little Letter “A” On My Back

Image credits: SAM041287

#68 This Rock I Found Today

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#69 Found My Old Phone In A Drawer With A Puffy Battery

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#70 My Girlfriend Found My Dog’s Old Kong With A Plant Growing Out Of It

Image credits: Crumpykins

#71 There Was A Big Storm Last Night (UK), I Kid You Not, I’ve Just Found This Game In My Garden

Image credits: ManILoveFarming

#72 Found In A House In Eastern Oregon (High Desert Area). Described As “Oozing” When Touched

Image credits: ecanem63

#73 About 6 Years Ago I Lost My Wedding Ring. I Ended Up Getting A Tattoo Instead. We Have Moved Twice Since Then And Live In A Different State. My Wife Just Found It In Old Purse

Image credits: mprince25

#74 I Found One Of My Mom’s High School Drawings

Image credits: ohheysarahjay

#75 These Shoes Found At A Thrift Store With Controller-Shaped Soles

Image credits: NijiKoneko

#76 Making Door Trim And Found A Hunter’s Long-Lost Bullet

Image credits: Dovetrail

#77 Cleaning A Family’s House And I Found Mushrooms Growing On Their Blankets

Image credits: anguished_emodiment

#78 Found A Pair Of Handcuffs Attached To A Leg Of The Bed In My Airbnb In Tijuana

Image credits: pchandler45

#79 This Butterfly My Uncle Found Has The Number 88 On His Wings

Image credits: marckferrer

#80 I Found A Frog In My Bathroom

Image credits: PM_MeCoolStuff

#81 I Found A Very Small Frog

Image credits: look-a-lurker

#82 Great Way To Wake Up While Trying To Take A Shower

Image credits: tonyqreyes

#83 I Found This While Looking For A Picture Frame

Image credits: NotCIAPinkyPromise

#84 Found This Little Guy On A Walk

Image credits: ORayGunO

#85 Found This Little Fella Stuck In My Pool

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#86 I Found This 1937 Gibson At An Estate Sale Many Years Ago. The Owner, Norman Byerly Of The 1st Armored Division, Traveled The Europe Theater During WWII, Carved All Places And Dates

Image credits: follysurfer

#87 The First English Edition Of Edgar Allan Poe’s Complete Works, 1875, Found In Italy Amidst A Stock Of Books On Offer At 20 Euros

Image credits: stemas_art

#88 I Found A Little Baggy Of Coke Today At Work

Image credits: benwhosometimesdraws

#89 This Perfectly White Leaf I Found On Our Walk

Image credits: -CharethCutestory

#90 Found A Calendar Page Inside Of Our Old Piano. Friday, 7th Of June, 1912

Image credits: Aiqila

#91 I Was Going Through Some Of My Mom’s Stuff She Left Me And Found This Nightmare Fuel

Image credits: LaxFocus

#92 My Mom Is Diabetic. She Eats Rockets To Raise Her Sugar Levels. I Came To The Pantry Looking For Something To Snack On And Found This

Image credits: 3nd1ess

#93 Found This In My 80-Year-Old Mother’s House

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#94 What My Girlfriend’s Mum Found Under The Pantry Floor

Image credits: AMostHandsomeMan

#95 My Dad Found This Perfect Ladder Dollar Bill Out In The Wild

Image credits: greekboy

#96 Found Some Translucent Flowers This Morning At Work

Image credits: socalhellfire

#97 I Found A Stargate In My Hotel

Image credits: manlybeer

#98 Found This Beauty While Out Camping

Image credits: Edde_Cash

#99 I Found A Plane Mid-Flight On Google Maps

Image credits: i_luke_tirtles

#100 I Found A Chest That Was Left Unopened For About 100 Years

Image credits: Mr_Azerty

#101 Found A Live Snake In The Local Goodwill Store

Image credits: DammitPardus

#102 I Found A Strange Device In The Middle Of A Disc Golf Course In Colorado – A Glass Jar With Tubing And A Toothbrush Taped To It. It Appears To Be A Device For Collecting Ants

Image credits: slimydabuisnessloth

#103 My Aunt Found A Five-Leaf Clover

Image credits: ogadeeen

#104 I’m Making Jam Today And I Found This Extra Strawberry

Image credits: Lunatis18

#105 My Great-Grandmother Kept A Newspaper Of When America Landed On The Moon. Just Found It Today

Image credits: captaincook-

#106 I Found A Letter From The USPS To My Dad Back In 1990

Image credits: SadPetDad21

#107 My 11-Year-Old Daughter Has Insisted On Checking The Mail The Last Couple Of Days. Today, I Checked It. This Is What I Found

Image credits: BallCoach79

#108 So I Found This Hole On My Property

Image credits: Necessary-Smell-7048

#109 A Report Card From The 1940’s I Found At A Lake

Image credits: zebragopherr

#110 My 94-Year-Old Grandpa Found This 119-Year-Old Stamp Today

Image credits: StormyTheStorm

#111 Found These Painted Quarters In A Coin Roll At My Job

Image credits: Jmanlego910

#112 The Amount Of Times My Mother Has Lost Her Gym Membership Card (Found During Move)

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#113 Things You Find On A Walk

Image credits: FormerlyScaredMoney

#114 We’ve Begun To Find The Lights The Squirrel Stole From Us Over The Holidays

Image credits: DieselFishlifters

#115 Clearing Out My Recently-Deceased Grandfather’s Attic And Found Just Over 200 Grams Of Gold Powder

Image credits: Brody1911

#116 The Spider I Found Looks Like It Has A Skull On Its Back

Image credits: Shkmstr

#117 I Found A Bullet Under My Bed While Staying At A Hotel

Image credits: Puzzleheaded-Sun-205

#118 Dog As A Love Symbol

Image credits: CheeseyRichard

#119 Found This At The Local Supermarket

Image credits: LazyHitman1

#120 Found This Picture In The Pocket Of A Purse At Goodwill

Image credits: emoteen4lyfe

#121 I Found My Wedding Ring After My House Burned Up

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#122 I Found A Very Rare Fossil On My Walk Today

Image credits: dr–moreau

#123 While On A Morning Walk, I Saw A Rain-Soaked Photo Album In A Box On The Side Of The Road. Curiosity Got The Better Of Me And I Opened It

Every single page was completely filled with selfies of the same woman in roughly the same pose.

Image credits: pandamiba

#124 Found 50 Bucks Outside Of My House In The Leaves And Mud With A Rock On It. Wasn’t There Yesterday

Image credits: Zealousideal_Dig_372

#125 Just Found This In My Attic, Sealed

Image credits: BladeEagle_MacMacho

#126 These Photoshop Floppy Discs I Found At Work

Image credits: MichaelJFoxxy

#127 Wingsuit I Found At A Thrift Shop

Image credits: PM-me-ur-left-tiddy

#128 I Found An Amazon Box From 1997 In My Basement

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#129 Found This At My Grandparents’ House

Image credits: TheLegendMeckish

#130 Found A 20,000 Shillings Note From Uganda In My Bag, Never Been To Uganda. I Don’t Know Where It Came From

Image credits: memento_mori_1220

#131 I Found My First MP3 Player From 2005 And It Still Works Perfectly

Image credits: MikeNoble91

#132 Found A Notebook At The Park And This Was Inside

Image credits: savealltheelephants

#133 I Found A Park Bench In Memory Of Someone That Isn’t Dead Yet

Image credits: samiqan

Source: boredpanda.com