People Keep Leaving Things Here (10 Photos)

October 27, 2026

By Vidar

Places that grew one small offering at a time

These collections grew through small contributions: a sign, a lock or a piece of gum left behind. Strangers kept adding more, turning ordinary places into shared landmarks.

More: Strange Finds (8 Photos)

👙 Cardrona Bra Fence — Cardrona Valley, New Zealand 🇳🇿

It began with four bras on a farm fence along the Cardrona Valley Road around New Year 1999. Someone kept taking them down, more kept going up, and by early 2006 the fence held about 800, Breast Cancer Foundation NZ says. Nobody knows who hung the first ones.

💡 Charity Fact: A pink sign and collection box now stand by the fence, and its breast cancer fundraiser has passed NZ$200,000.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCardrona Bra Fence (Bradrona)Cardrona Valley, New ZealandBradronaBreast Cancer Foundation NZ1Visitors’ bras on this fence support a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Foundation NZ.bcf.org.nz2According to the charity, the bras moved from the roadside to a private driveway in November 2014.bcf.org.nz2014NovBras moved to a private driveway2015MarFundraising sign and box added202410 AprLocal origin story published202522 JulFence photographed by OrangesclubRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Orangesclub / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🪧 Sign Post Forest — Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada 🇨🇦

Town signs, license plates and homemade boards from all over the world crowd the posts at the Sign Post Forest on the Alaska Highway. Travel Yukon puts the count at almost 100,000, and visitors are still invited to add one.

💡 History Fact: The first sign was put up in 1942 by Private Carl K. Lindley, a US Army soldier injured while building the highway. His read “Danville, Illinois, 2,835 miles.”

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSign Post ForestCarl K. Lindley · 1942 · Watson Lake, CanadaStarted 1942Historic site 20131Carl K. Lindley put up the first sign in 1942, while working on the Alaska Highway.yukonhistoricplaces.ca2According to Smithsonian, the original sign was lost and Lindley put up a replica in 1992.smithsonianmag.com1942Lindley puts up his hometown sign1992Lindleys return for the 50th anniversary201330 AugTerritorial historic site20177 AugSign-covered posts photographed by gillfoto201927 DecSmithsonian report on the collectionRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: gillfoto / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🍬 Gum Wall — Seattle, Washington, USA 🇺🇸

The brick walls along this stretch of Post Alley, under Pike Place Market, are covered in chewed gum. It started with people waiting in line for shows at the nearby Market Theater. Visitors still press on fresh pieces of their own.

💡 Cleanup Fact: Before crews steam-cleaned the wall in 2015, Pike Place Market estimated the load at about 2,200 pounds of gum. As this 2025 photo shows, it filled up again.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGum WallSeattle, United StatesChewed gum on brick1428 Post Alley1According to the Market Theater’s company, the habit began with people waiting in line for shows in the 1990s.unexpectedproductions.org2KIRO 7 reported in November 2024 that the wall was pressure washed again because gum was damaging the brick.kiro7.com1991Theatre moves in; the gum habit follows20247 NovPressure washing reported by KIRO 7202514 NovGum-covered wall photographed by Julian LupyanRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Julian Lupyan / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

🔒 Love Locks — Hohenzollern Bridge, Cologne, Germany 🇩🇪

Couples have been clipping padlocks to the fence of this railway bridge over the Rhine since about 2008. In 2015 the Hohenzollern Bridge carried an estimated 500,000 locks, give or take 200,000. Many carry initials or names.

💡 Rail Fact: Deutsche Bahn looked at removing them in 2018 and dropped the idea; it says it has no plans to take them off.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLove Locks on the Hohenzollern BridgeCologne, GermanyPadlocks on railingsHohenzollernbrücke1According to the regional heritage database KuLaDig, locks spread on the bridge from about 2008.kuladig.de2According to Cologne Tourism, locks mark friendships and family bonds as well as couples.koelntourismus.de20095 JunLocks photographed by BriYYZ2018DB removal decision, later dropped20256 MayKölner Stadt-Anzeiger on the customRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: BriYYZ from Toronto, Canada / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

🍼 Pacifier Tree — Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰

When Danish children are ready to give up their pacifiers, they often hang them on a pacifier tree, tied up with ribbons and notes. This one stands in Østre Anlæg in Copenhagen. One note on another Copenhagen tree read “Dear Pacifiers, I love you but now I’m a big boy.”

💡 Garden Fact: At the pacifier tree in Frederiksberg Gardens, the gardeners strip a year’s worth of pacifiers every November when the trees are prepared for winter.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsPacifier Tree (Suttetræ), Østre AnlægCopenhagen, DenmarkSuttetræØstre Anlæg1According to Børn i Byen, children hang up their pacifiers on such trees to be with other children’s pacifiers.bornibyen.dk2This pacifier tree stands in Østre Anlæg, a park in Copenhagen.commons.wikimedia.org20127 AprPacifier tree photographed by Rudy van Westrop20127 MayTree photographed by Daderot2026FebFamily guide lists the parkRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Daderot / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

✌️ Lennon Wall — Prague, Czech Republic 🇨🇿

Names, peace signs and song lyrics cover the Lennon Wall in layer after layer. People wrote love poems and protest messages here as early as the 1960s. After John Lennon’s murder in 1980, an unknown artist painted his portrait on it, and the messages have never really stopped.

💡 Wall Fact: The wall belongs to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Since it reopened in November 2019, writing is only allowed in designated white zones.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLennon Wall (Lennonova zeď)Prague, Czech RepublicOrder of MaltaMalá Strana1The wall belongs to the Order of Malta, according to Prague 1.praha1.cz2Czech Radio reports a memorial with flowers and candles at the wall after Lennon’s death in 1980.rozhlas.cz1980DecMemorial after Lennon’s death201428 NovNew drawings after whitewashing, photographed by Jirka Dl2019NovWall repainted by invited artists202529 JanCzech Radio on the changing wallRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Jirka Dl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

👟 Shoe Tree — Middlegate, Nevada, USA 🇺🇸

Drivers on U.S. Route 50 near Middlegate tie their shoes together and toss them into the branches. The original Shoe Tree, a towering cottonwood hung with shoes of all kinds, was cut down around New Year 2011. Locals simply picked a new tree nearby.

💡 Legend Fact: One local story says a newlywed threw his bride’s shoes into the tree after an argument. Travel Nevada notes that several versions exist.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMiddlegate Shoe TreeMiddlegate, United StatesU.S. Route 502.4 mi E of Middlegate Stn1Travel Nevada says the original Shoe Tree was cut down in 2010 and locals chose a nearby tree.travelnevada.com2The Associated Press reported the felling of the original tree on 4 January 2011.salon.com20114 JanOriginal tree’s felling reported by AP20152 AprReplacement shoe trees photographed by Famartin2017Goldbaum: the new tree “well on the way”Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🪙 Coin Tree — Dovedale, Peak District, England 🇬🇧

Walkers in Dovedale hammer coins edge-first into fallen logs and stumps until the bark looks like scales. Coin trees like this one turn up beside paths all over Britain, each coin a small wish.

💡 Wish Fact: Historian Ceri Houlbrook found 237 coin trees at 32 sites, most of the sites started since the 1990s. The oldest known one is an uprooted oak on Isle Maree in the Scottish Highlands.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Coin Trees of DovedaleWalkers’ offerings · Dovedale, Peak DistrictCoins in fallen logsRiver DoveMostly 2p coins1In 2008 Peter Barr photographed a stump and a long log with hundreds of coins hammered into them.Geograph (Peter Barr)2Photographing a coin stump in March 2011, David Lally noted the coins were mostly 2p pieces.Geograph (David Lally)200721 SepCoin stumps and fallen trunks200820 NovStump and log, hundreds of coins201112 MarCoin stump, mostly 2p coins201430 JulAtlas Obscura: stump with coins202419 AugNine numbered coin treesRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Doyle of London / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🧣 Clootie Well — Munlochy, Scotland 🇬🇧

Strips of cloth hang from almost every tree around the Clootie Well on the Black Isle. Visitors traditionally left a rag, or cloot, as an offering to the healing spirits of the spring.

💡 Rag Fact: Pure cotton and wool are biodegradable materials suited to this tradition. In 2019 rangers planned a cleanup after visitors left clothing, shoes, electrical equipment and even a venetian blind.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMunlochy Clootie WellMunlochy, United KingdomWoodland beside the A832Forestry and Land Scotland1By tradition a cloot, or rag, is dipped in the well and tied to a tree, Forestry and Land Scotland says.forestryandland.gov.scot2A volunteer clean-up in October 2019 reportedly filled more than fifty large sacks.geograph.org.uk201926 OctVolunteer clean-up photographed by Julian Paren2022JunCleared site photographed2023JunAnother clearance photographed2025AugOfferings partly returningRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Julian Paren / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

✍️ Abbey Road Studios Wall — London, England 🇬🇧

Music fans from around the world write messages on the wall outside Abbey Road Studios in St John’s Wood. The studio repaints it every month or so, so every note here is temporary.

💡 Crossing Fact: The zebra crossing out front, the one from the Beatles album cover, was given Grade II listed status in 2010.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAbbey Road Studios WallLondon, United KingdomFan messagesAbbey Road Studios1In 2017 the studio said the wall is painted over every month or so.abbeyroad.com2For the album’s 50th anniversary in 2019, the studio put a design by Luke Embden on the wall.abbeyroad.com200728 AugFan messages photographed201729 SepStudio on photographing the messages201921 AugAnniversary design by Luke Embden202412 NovPolitical messages reported by the StandardRead the full file →