A man put a snowball in his freezer in 1987, and his mom has amazingly kept it preserved for decades, stunning people online.
In a heartwarming story, a man named John shared a remarkable piece of his childhood.
In 1987, he put a snowball in the freezer, and it has been preserved ever since.
This unusual keepsake has now become a cherished memory for him and his family.
John, who is now an adult, recently took a trip down memory lane when he found the snowball still intact in his mother’s freezer.
He was surprised to see that it had survived all these years.
The story behind the 1987 snowball
As he reflects on the memory, he recalls being just 10 years old during an unexpected event.
It wasn’t even winter yet; fall was still in the air.
Suddenly, a freak storm hit, trapping everyone at his elementary school.
They had been told the snow would turn to rain, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the snow continued to fall, blanketing the area.
Living in the Baltimore region, such an early-season storm was quite rare, and the unusual weather caused quite a stir.
Amid the chaos, he had the idea to save a piece of that snow.
It was a moment that stayed with him, inspiring him to hold onto a small part of that unexpected day.
“It just kept snowing. I live in the Baltimore area, so it’s unusual to have a storm like that early in the season.
It caused a lot of turmoil, so that’s probably why I thought to keep the snow.”
The man decided to preserve the snowball inside a container
Bell chose a fitting container for his cherished snowball: a plastic pod from a Kmart quarter machine.
He remembers the local Kmart well, where those prize machines stood outside the store.
As kids, they would eagerly insert their quarters to claim small toys, which came in those distinctive plastic shells.
He carefully placed his snowball inside one of those pods and tucked it away in his parents’ freezer, where it remained for many years.
He found the nostalgic object from 1987
As time passed, the snowball slipped from his mind.
After a few dedicated years of keeping track of it, he eventually forgot about the memento. However, in recent years, he found himself curious.
He asked his mother, “Do you still have that snowball from 1987?” She responded, “I don’t think so. I think we threw it away.”
Determined to find it, Bell visited his parents’ house.
When he opened the freezer and peered down to the bottom, he was astonished to see it sitting there.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed, feeling as if he had been reunited with an old friend.
Man stuns people after showing off 1987 snowball still well-preserved in mom’s freezer today
That’s when Bell decided to reveal his cherished find in a video on TikTok and Instagram.
Knowing his followers enjoyed his nostalgic content, he believed they would connect with the remnants of his childhood snowball.
“It’s kind of odd,” he noted.
“My local mall opened that same year. It’s kind of weird because that mall is dead and then the little snow globe only has a tiny bit of ice left in it.
So over 37-plus years, it has slowly evaporated,” he says.
Initially, Bell didn’t think much of his post. However, a viewer later informed him that it had gone viral on YouTube, racking up 20 to 30 million views.
He soon saw it gaining traction on TikTok and Instagram as well.
Although the viral moment was thrilling, Bell faced some doubters.
He mentioned that some commenters were quite vocal, claiming the story was made up.
“I understand people who don’t believe it because I see stuff online all the time that I don’t believe. But I can assure everyone this is actually real,” he says.
He adds, “Let’s say I came up with this idea to do a fake Instagram video. If I went to my mom and said, ‘Hey Mom, let’s pretend I collected this snow on this random day 37 years ago.
Can you play along?’ There’s no way in hell she would do it. She’s all about honesty.”
Social media reactions
One user said: They should test the water under a microscope and see what’s in it compared to today’s water.
It may not be scientifically accurate due to the freezer conditions, but you never know.
The second user wrote: Compare the water to todays ice, love to know the difference.
The third user commented: Who’s lived in the same house since 1987 is my question
The third user said: could this cause another pandemic if he licks snowball from 1987?
The fourth user added: Not a snowball. It’s a round ice cube from a silicone mold
Another user suggested: They should test it for heavy metals and chemicals. I’d bet they are nowhere near as bad as melted snowballs currently.