Florida man cuts across gas station grass, sinks 3 feet deep, and finds a cemetery of lost shoes from everyone who tried it before him.

Sometimes, taking a shortcut can turn a brief errand into a significant mishap. One man from Florida learned this lesson firsthand, the hard way, after attempting to cross what he believed was an ordinary stretch of grass near a gas station.

Joshua (ruizjosh1) said in his TikTok video that he was charging his car when he decided to get a drink at the gas station and noticed the “shortcut.” He soon realized, however, that he had been mistaken. “Uh, turns out that’s uh, this is not just grass,” he said.

Rather than saving a few steps, Joshua ended up knee-deep in filthy water, which he estimated to be about 3 feet deep, and even lost his shoes. He wasn’t the only one to suffer such a fate, however. 

The grassy area showed clear signs that others had also fallen victim. “I’m looking around, and I’m seeing that there are so many shoes here, and this has probably happened to so many people.”

Possible reasons why there was a grass stretch there

While Joshua doesn’t mention it in his video, there may be a few reasons he found water where it looked like there was grass. One possibility is that the area was originally water, and plants and weeds gradually grew over it, creating the appearance of a grass layer. Beneath the thin layer of grass, a thicker layer of water may exist, and Joshua may have encountered part of it.

Another possibility is that the area has always had a bed of grass, but the soil is porous, allowing it to absorb water from rainfall and perhaps other sources. This may have made the stretch of grass waterlogged.

One person commented that they believed Joshua had encountered a sinkhole and urged him to report it as soon as possible. Joshua replied that the issue had already been raised with the necessary authorities. Another person highlighted the safety risk the site posed, especially for children. They wrote, “Call the fire department. God forbid a child comes across. Please hold the city accountable to placing signs at the VERY least.”

A few others commented on the brief visuals Joshua showed of shoes scattered across the grassy stretch. “I did not see the shoe cemetary coming. I though the black crock was his and wondered why wouldn’t he just grab it. We need the see the aftermath of his legs tho,” one person wrote. 

Some also revealed they’d had similar experiences. They said, “I saw this and immediately knew where this was lmao. Charging my car and wanted a fry from mcdonald’s and it cost me my shoe being submerged in mud last week.”

There is one thing worse than getting one’s shoes muddy: losing them entirely. Joshua may no longer have his shoes, but he has presumably learned to look carefully before exploring areas that appear somewhat suspicious.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]