American author Nathaniel Hawthorne once said: "Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind." Let's explore that tail, shall we? It's not an easy task, but Bored Panda put together a list of photos that capture this elusive silhouette quite well.

From a meatball that has spent decades in epoxy to 1,800-year-old Roman leather sandals, the things you're going to see below have all faced the biggest battle in the universe — the passage of time — but took different wounds. Continue scrolling to compare them and if you want more of the same, fire up our similar publications here, here, and here.