Sometimes all you need in life is a little change, and after deciding to renovate the floor in their kitchen, this couple’s life changed forever…
Making the Discovery
After buying a fixer-upper house, a young couple decided to tear up their kitchen floor. They found a safe hidden beneath the tile in their kitchen, presumably owned by someone who had owned the house many years ago.
A Hidden Code
When the couple moved into the house, they found a safe code on the back of their medicine cabinet. For some reason, they decided to keep the code just in case. They guessed that the safe was around 10-20 years old, and had been sitting dormant for a long time. The wheel was jammed and didn’t function very well, but after a dozen attempts to put the code they found in, the safe cracked open…
Looks Like Money
Time stood still for the couple. They theorized that the safe might be booby-trapped, but after some inspection, they decided to reach in.
A Ton of Money
They guessed that there were around 50,000 dollars. The cash was mostly old $100 bills. In the end, they had exactly $51,080 in cash. There was a weird brownish-red bottle in there as well, and after further exploration, the couple was in shock at what they found. This discovery far out-weighed any cash they had found…
Bottled in Bond
The liquid they found was a very old bottle of James E. Pepper bourbon. Pepper is credited as the inventor of the Old Fashioned cocktail.
Decades-Old
They found out that this was a really rare bottle of bourbon. The tax label said it was sold in 1960 and had been aged for 6 years prior to that. While the couple loved bourbon, that wasn’t the only exciting thing that was left in the safe…
James E. Pepper
The Pepper family distillery was one of the first pre-revolution distilleries in America. Started by James E. Pepper’s grandfather, Elijah Pepper, the brand has held up since. It is important to note that this bottle of bourbon is absolutely an important relic. Anything aged in a bottle for 65 years is going to taste unbelievable.
The Old Fashioned
It is only appropriate that one of the oldest distilleries in America also accredits themselves as the creator of the Old Fashioned, which very well could be the oldest cocktail ever created. Whiskey, Genever spirit, bitters, water, and a sugar cube. Ice was not commonplace during the time, so the drink was originally served warm, with a garnish of grated nutmeg. This recipe is present on the back of the bottle of bourbon the couple found in the safe, and when digging in deeper, knowledge of that time period worked in their favor…
A Guide for the Perplexed
Inside the safe, there was a book titled “A Guide for the Perplexed,” written by E.F. Schumacher, published in 1977. Inside the cover was a photo of an unnamed man, which was odd.
The Breadcrumb Trail
On the back of the photo, there was a note that read “Alan, I have a book you must read. I’ve underlined a few key passages. Your friend, Vincent.” The couple flipped through the book and found an odd pattern in the underlined passages…
Schumacher’s Importance
Schumacher wrote, “A Guide for the Perplexed” to challenge how western folks were not ecologically concerned. A large part of the philosophy in this book is talking about people living “smaller” and making less waste.
Materialistic Society
Schumacher theorized that economics were destroying the Earth and suggested that people need to move past that to be ecologically in tune. Very prophetic for a book that was published in 1977. However, it is a little strange to put this book with a series of clues in a safe that’s full of money. The couple read between the lines and found some really interesting information…
X Over Mesa
There was a “bookmark” wedged between pages 6 and 7. This bookmark was a map of Arizona, with an X pencil marked over Mesa city.
Underlines On The Same Page
On the same page that the bookmark was in, a passage is underlined that reads “One way of looking at the world as a whole is by means of a map, that is to say, some sort of plan or outline that shows where various things are to be found.” The couple took this as a challenge and struck forward to find more clues…
Fruitful Results
On page 11, there was a photo of an old estate beneath the sentence “There yielded such fruitful results.”
One What?
The back of the photo read “Where one tree becomes three.” This left the couple baffled, and ready to give up on this mystery. However, curiosity eventually got the best of them…
The Tree of Three
The couple inferred that the tree on the left side of the photograph was what the tree that the person who wrote these clues was referring to. The couple had no idea where to go from here because it was likely that the estate and trees in the photograph no longer existed.
More Underlined Mysteries
The next underlined passage on page 14 read; “Most Modern Readers will be reluctant to believe that perfect happiness is attainable by methods of which their modern world knows nothing.” The couple thought this was a profound statement, but what they found on the next page started to pull everything together…
The Next Step
The next clue started to tie everything together for the couple. The three digits that were circled on the Bingo card that was stuffed in between the pages of the book were presumably the codes for a safe. This led the couple to theorize that the photographs and clues pointed to another safe that was potentially hidden beneath the “Tree of Three.”
Mystery Postponed
The couple is still confused about what to do with the money, it doesn’t belong to them but they found it in the house they purchased. They have put a hold on the mystery of the three trees, due to lack of evidence and adult life getting in their way. They kept the bourbon though!
There Ya Have It
This just goes to show, you never know what you’re going to find when you renovate your home!
Finding Stuff
Our favorite couple isn’t the only one who found something strange hidden in their house. Here are some more stories of people finding unexplainable objects in their homes…
Love Letters
A brother and sister found a box of love letters sent from a soldier fighting in World War I hidden in their walls. They returned the letters to the woman he was writing them to, she was still alive and elated to see them.
Staining the Brick
A Chicago man found these two prairie style stained glass panels hiding behind the bricks in between his interior and exterior walls.
Striking Gold
After moving into a house, a couple in Bel Air, California was remodeling their bathroom vanity and found a stash of vintage jewelry from Mexico.
Van Gogh, In Your Home
A Norwegian family found an unsigned original Van Gogh painting in their home. It fetched a pretty high price.
Pass Go and Collect
A couple found a giant monopoly board painted on their floor after removing carpet that had been down for more than 10 years.
A Rusty Knife
Somebody in Kansas found this rusty old knife in the ceiling while installing a fan.
Found the Corn
Someone in Arkansas found a peanut butter jar dating back to the 1970s that was full of corn!
An Entire Kitchen
Homeowners in Georgia found an entire servants kitchen in their basement. The door to this room was covered by old junk that they never chose to move. The interior of this room is practically untouched.
Money Makes the World Go Round
Construction workers found $500,000 cash underneath a house they were hired to work on. This led to an ugly dispute as to who owned the money, the people who owned the house, or the construction workers that found the cash.
Superman? Super Money
This first edition Superman comic was found inside the wall of a building set for demolition. This comic sold for $175,000 in an auction!
Money in the Bag
A Utah man found $45,000 in trash bags in his house. He tracked down the rightful owner of the cash and returned it.
Czar Face
A couple found a figurine of a former Russian czar in their house, they then sold it at an auction for 5 million dollars.
A Bunch of Weapons
In a secret room in someone’s home, they found bullets, a defused grenade and thousands of pennies.
Well, Well, Well
This couple found a medieval well under the floor in their living room.