Proving you can’t judge a book by its cover! Bookworms reveal the most bizarre things they’ve found hidden in the pages of second-hand reads, from money and food to a dead LIZARD
- A fascinating list shows both random acts of kindness and fateful finds
- People shared the photos, money, hand-written letters and keepsakes they had stumbled across
- One store had even taken to displaying items they’d found in books on a wall
- Some had found ancient items – like a report card that dated back a century
- In one perhaps unhygienic case, a reader found a dried-out lizard
Books are history in themselves, but it seems like many readers regularly stumble upon antiques hidden within the pages.
A thread detailing items left within the pages of books showed an array of interesting, unusual and fateful finds.
Some book lovers unearthed various ‘vintage’ items such as reading glasses, a report card, love notes, floppy discs, ration coupons, Polaroid photos and concert tickets.
Old school: A list details the most unusual and interest things unearthed by readers, including this vintage ad for a 25 cent tooth powder which was found in a Bible from the 1860s
How lucky! A reader came across two ultra rare four and five leaf clovers in a book that dated back 200 years
Dried plants – and in some cases spiders, roaches, book worms and even a lizard – were also stumbled upon.
It seems that many people wanted to bestow some luck on to the next reader who picked up their book, with numerous people finding $2 bills or notes scrawled with the word, ‘surprise’.
Speaking of good fortune, what could be luckier than finding a rare four-leaf clover, as one reader did in a 200-year-old book.
In more bizarre instances, someone found a ‘drug stash’ in a hollowed-out book while another person came across a crushed can. One reader was perplexed to come across an actual taco that had been used in place of a book mark.
And perhaps the best case scenario? When readers picked up editions of novels and were stunned to find the author’s signature.
That’s gotta be worth something: A shocked reader found a photo and an autograph of Stephen King inside a library copy of The Shining
Lucky! Traditionally, rare $2 bills are considered lucky – so one reader was delighted to find this in a library book with the word ‘Surprise!’ etched on it
Ancient: A reader found this peacock quill in a Bible dating back to the 1800s that was written in old Swedish text
Leaving on a jet plane: A Reddit user found a plane ticket from 1970 for the now-defunct Caledonian Airways (which ceased operation that same year)
WTF? A library user was taken aback to find that the previous reader of their book had used a taco as a book mark
Remember these? A Reddit user joked, ‘What are these save buttons doing in my book’ as they came across some outdated floppy discs
Display: A wall of ‘found’ items compiled by a used book store makes for fascinated glimpse into people’s personal lives
Yikes! A reader stumbled upon a dead lizard in a book and took to Reddit to share the questionable find
History: One woman shared how her son had found a near-100-year-old school report card for a Ms Anamae Marie Valpey
Rations: A history-lover was happy to find Government-issued ration coupons inside a vintage Hemmingway novel
Damage: A reader who thought their book was carved into, suddenly realized that it had been burrowed into by a book worm
Wordsmith: A reader found this cute poem tucked into a children’s book from 1949
Mysterious: A reader found this note, likely written by a child or teenager, in a book in a cafe five years ago
Who is he? A reader found this rather hilarious snap in a 1947 Red Cross First Aid textbook
Hidden: A book lover picked up this tome at a thrift store only to find it contained a hidden compartment with a $200 check from 1994
Contraband: A San Francisco shelter found a drug stash in a book that had been donated