You might remember lucky packets as a child. You never really knew what to expect when you opened them. And that was all part of the fun. Same goes for Christmas crackers or wrapped gifts. With those things, the element of surprise is expected. But sometimes, the most unexpected items can hold a "gift" we never even knew was there.
Like finding money hidden in a mattress, an engagement ring in your glass of champagne, or a snake in your car engine. People have been sharing their most surprising discoveries after they opened or broke something by mistake. Some are super cool, some are oddly satisfying and others are just plain strange. Bored Panda has compiled a list of our personal favorites. Keep scrolling and don't forget to upvote the ones that left your jaw on the floor.
#1 This Natural Heptagram In An Amethyst Geode Found In Mexico
Image credits: watersigns
#2 Came Across This Tree With Neatly Stacked Bricks Inside Of It
Image credits: DiepSleep
#3 Found A Busted Rock On My Lawn So I Pulled It Apart And Found This Little Guy Inside
Image credits: Devilishlygood98
When a South African woman bought a loaf of bread and left it in the refrigerator, she wasn’t expecting much. Except to be able to take the bread out and make herself a sandwich as and when needed. Nombulelo Mkumla had purchased the bread at a local store on the 27th of August. The first two days eating it was rather uneventful. As far as daily bread goes.
But on day three, things took a rather unusual turn. ‘On the morning of August 31st, I took the bread out of the fridge to make toast and noticed something disgusting and scary,’ she said, during an interview with a food magazine.
#4 Secret Message Inside My Dog's Squeaker Toy
Image credits: eneug
#5 I'm Changing The Door Knobs. The Previous Owner Put A Fake Spider Inside The Keyhole. Nearly Gave Me A Heart Attack
Image credits: Autisten1996
#6 Found These Beautiful Colors Hiding Inside A Piece Of Wood
Image credits: kankelberri
When Mkumla opened the bread, she found something she totally was not expecting. But she couldn’t figure out what it was. So she took a photo. “I sent it to my friends, and one of them said, ‘Yi mpuku leyo tshomi‘.” Translated to English: “That’s a rat, my friend.”
Yes. You read it right. A rat. Or rather, pieces of rat remains, had been baked into her store-bought bread. Talk about finding "interesting" things inside of something else. Unexpectedly.
#7 The Inside Of This Tree Looks Like A Fish
Image credits: molehillmilk
#8 Found This Rock Within A Rock On A Beach Walk
Image credits: Loubellbluebell
#9 This Chinese Toy
Image credits: mgnthng
Mkumla didn’t want to believe it at first. But soon, her denial faded. And disgust took over. “The rat scenario made sense – it’s possible the rat got into the bread at the factory, and no one noticed," she said. Her video of the discovery didn’t take long to go viral after she posted it on Facebook. People shared it. International media reported on it. And soon, the bread supplier had issued a statement.
#10 Cut A Log & Found A Tiny Star Inside
Image credits: bebopandhopsteady
#11 Malachite Nodule Cross-Section From China. The Near-Perfect Growth Patterns Resemble Rings In A Tree Trunk. You Never Know What Treasures Are Hidden Within A Rock Until You Slice It Open
Image credits: joedusza
#12 The Inside Of This Maple Tree Had A Maple Leaf Pattern
Image credits: Demiurge7
PepsiCo South Africa responded to the incident by calling it an “isolated occurrence”. The already outraged public went into overdrive. The woman claims she had received a call from a representative of the company. But it was a call that left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Here’s what she said they said: “I sincerely apologize for what happened to you. It shouldn’t have happened, but you must understand that it gets hot where we bake our products, so things like this are bound to happen.’ Yes, I admit that your bread had a rodent. We are putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again. Don’t worry; it won’t affect you health-wise.” We might beg to differ.
#13 One Of My Parents' Chickens Laid An Egg Inside An Egg
Image credits: Brilliant-Aerie2689
#14 A Guy In New Hampshire Was Cutting/Splitting Up A Tree That Fell Near A Ballpark And Found This
Image credits: mgroves22002
#15 The Inside Of A Pine Cone
Image credits: SolidaryForEveryone
#16 Inside A Saguaro Cactus
Image credits: Proteon
Mkumla definitely isn’t the first person to find something unexpected inside her food. Here are some other equally indigestible moments. Some are shocking, some are surprising. There have been stories about people finding anything from bandaids, to frogs, to teeth and even needles in the food they worked so hard to buy.
#17 One Of My Chess Knights Broke And Revealed A Dice Hidden Inside It
Image credits: benbmw
#18 Cross-Section Of A Telecom Cable
Image credits: cupboardee
#19 This Peeled Aloe Vera Leaf
Image credits: JoshPlaysUltimate
She's also not the first to find a rodent in her meal. As this magazine reported, "Matt Jones was eating at a Subway in Lincoln City, Oregon with coworkers back in 2015 when he said one of his coworkers opened up his sandwich and found a dead mouse between the spinach and cheese."
#20 Mini Crab Found Inside Of Mussel Shell
Image credits: msmilktea
#21 The Inside Of A 70s Pinball Machine
Image credits: theuberjosh
If you ever watched the movie Forrest Gump, you might remember the scene where he says his momma told him that “life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” Personally, we'd prefer the surprises to stay out of our food...
Have you ever opened, or bitten into something, and found something unexpected? Let us know in the comments.
#22 Cross-Section Of A Maple Tree That Had Been Tapped Into Over The Years (New Hampshire)
Image credits: whatliesbeneath24
#23 Inside A Wind Turbine Blade
Image credits: Accomplished_Comb182
#24 My Daughter Asked If We Could Take Apart One Of Her Used Insulin Pumps So She Could See Inside It
Image credits: rdear
#25 Found Something Growing Inside My Fire Agate
Image credits: srsbiz_
#26 What The Inside Of A Gas Pump Looks Like
Image credits: Analog-Celestial
#27 The Inside Of The Leaning Tower Of Pisa Is Empty
Image credits: Wicked_Aviator
#28 Inside Of An Air Mattress
Image credits: ImKindaEssential
#29 There’s A Mushroom Growing Inside My Potato
Image credits: welsiekade
#30 The Inside Of A Sunflower. You Can Already See The Seeds
Image credits: bastelflp
#31 This Is What The Inside Of A Bowling Ball Looks Like
Image credits: elmielmosong
#32 What The Inside Of A Pool Table Looks Like
Image credits: Duckman296
#33 Cross-Section Of Agave Americana Mediopicta Alba
Pretty bizarre to see that there are distinct white lines that continue inside the plant where the chlorophyll lacking white section meets the outer green sections. This cut is about an hour old, so it looks fibrous as it begins to dry out.
Image credits: agaves.of.california
#34 A Bullet That Got Stuck In A Tree A Long Time Ago
Image credits: janbalti
#35 The Inside Of An IKEA Kallax Bookshelf
Image credits: Dancingasteroid
#36 Natural Cross-Section Of An 8-Foot-Tall Sandstone Concretion In Red Rock Coulee, Alberta, Canada
Image credits: slidyplanks
#37 When I Opened My Ruko I Found A Bunch Of Signatures On The Inside
Image credits: thebunnybullet
#38 There Was A Piece Of Hose Inside This Log I Split
Image credits: RockhOUnd22
#39 My Antibiotic Capsules Just Had A Whole Pill Inside
Image credits: boba-boba
#40 My Girlfriend's Vitamins Have Tiny Beads Inside Them
Image credits: Thatomeglekid
#41 What The Inside Of A Golf Ball Looks Like
Image credits: burnt_hair
#42 The Inside Of My "Genuine Leather" Watch Band
Image credits: MacbookOnFire
#43 Cross-Section Of An Old Hot Tub
Image credits: StubbornlyBreathing
#44 A Cross-Section Of A Fiber Optic Cable Being Laid In My Neighborhood
Image credits: just-a-cowpoke
#45 The Inside Of An Escalator
Image credits: jenzel07
#46 The Inside Of A New Modern Bidet Toilet
Image credits: Mesoposty
#47 Just Opened Up My Broken SD Card To Find It Contains A MicroSD Inside
Image credits: reddit.com
#48 Cross Section Of A Screw In Wood
Image credits: SmurphyBlue
#49 Inside Of The Coke Freestyle Machine
Image credits: krnlmustrd
#50 My Sliced Agave Cupreata Experiment. Here's The Full Plant Exposed And Then Transplanted Into A Pot After A Few Days Of Drying Out
Image credits: agaves.of.california
#51 The Inside Of A Bathroom Stall Door
Image credits: Firemanlouvier
#52 Inside Of A Redbox Machine
Image credits: reddit.com
#53 The Inside Of A Metered Dose Inhaler
Image credits: ausgekugelt
#54 Cross-Section Of An Undersea Cable
Image credits: fopnews.wordpress.com
#55 The Inside Of A Japanese Subway Ticket Machine
Image credits: Argentas
#56 I Broke This Stick Of Polystyrene In A Random Place And Found A Single Grey Pellet Inside
Image credits: ajaykarwal
#57 Husqvarana Training Chainsaw
Image credits: skilgannon_1
#58 My Carbimazole Has A Tiny Pill Hiding Inside Of It
Image credits: throwRAicbidts
#59 The Inside Of The Wheel Well For A B737
Image credits: Folkhunt
#60 Daughter's Pill Has Four Pills Inside It
Image credits: delinka
#61 Boeing 737. I Took This Picture Back In The Summer
Image credits: Uniwersal
#62 The Inside Of An IKEA Coffee Table
Image credits: Brewster-Rooster
