COVID-19 has stopped non-essential business dead in its tracks with lockdowns being initiated in many parts of the world. Besides the losses incurred by said businesses due to not being able to generate income, all the while being expected to pay wages and rent (at the very least), running into further problems makes worse come to worst.

A leatherwear and accessories store recently opened its doors for the first time in two months since the enactment of a nationwide lockdown only to find out that virtually all of its inventory had molded, raising a lot of questions as a result.

As if lockdown wasn’t bad enough for business, this one found a sad surprise when it reopened 2 months later

Image source: Nex Nezeum

A Facebook user by the name of Nex Nezeum recently shared a number of photos of various leather products covered in insane amounts of fungal mold. Shoes, bags, wallets, belts, and even the furniture and flooring were molding—truly a sight to marvel at, for one reason or another.

Image source: Nex Nezeum

A Facebook user shared some photos of a leatherwear store that molded during the lockdown

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Back in March, Malaysia enacted the Movement Control Order, more commonly known as a lockdown in the rest of the world, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-essential businesses such as this leatherwear and accessory store were shut down until further notice.

So, fast forward to May 10th—53 days after the start of lockdown—the state introduces eased-up conditions for the lockdown, allowing non-essential business to open up again, granted they meet physical distancing, disinfectant provision, and other requirements.

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Everything from shoes and bags to furniture and flooring were covered in sporadic colonies of mold

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Now, you’d think that the stores would be left untouched by time, save for some dust settling or someone’s forgotten sandwich going bad in the personnel fridge. But no, as if the pandemic wasn’t bad enough for business, the store’s entire stock had to go bad.

Not much information is available as of the time of this article, but people online are speculating that this is a Metrojaya Department Store in the Sabah State, and that the air conditioning was turned off in certain unused areas of the outlet to save money on resource and maintenance costs.

Image source: Nex Nezeum

People are speculating that the store’s AC was turned off to save on costs, and then the weather happened

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Not much information is available as of the time of this article, but Bored Panda reached out to the original photo uploader, who is yet to comment on the issue. However, people online are speculating that this is a Metrojaya Department Store in the Sabah State, and that the air conditioning was turned off in certain unused areas of the outlet to save money on resource and maintenance costs.

Well, the only silver lining here is that mycologists are probably in awe of this spectacle, marveling in its sea of molding beauty. Oh, and these pictures also went viral, garnering over 11,000 reactions and 46,000 shares in just a day and being shared on various media outlets.

Image source: Nex Nezeum

The mold formed over an estimated span of 53 days—more than enough for it to take over the world

Image source: Nex Nezeum

What else is there to do if not to joke about it? That is what the majority of internauts did, saying that this is a good way of finding out whether it’s real or faux leather, and that nature is finally getting back on its feet—humans are the real virus here, in reference to nature claiming back towns.

Image source: Nex Nezeum

People online joked that this is a very good way of figuring out whether the leather is fake or not

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Following the success of the first set of pictures, Nex uploaded some more moldy goodness (or not-so-goodness, depending on who you are in this situation). What looks like a cinema also ran into the same bit of trouble, with mold covering all of the seats and the carpeting. Because of this, one commenter even dubbed him “Mycelium Man,” the superhero who hunts down moldy places for the internet’s enjoyment.

Photos of a cinema were also uploaded, with pretty much the same results as the leatherwear store

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Image source: Nex Nezeum

Image source: Nex Nezeum

So, what are your thoughts on mold? Do we have any mold-loving mycologists out here who think mold is cool, or is it overall a nuisance? If you’ve got any moldy stories, let us know in the comments below!

Here’s how the internet reacted to the very moldy news

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