Someone really looked at a Cheese Single and said, “This will hold my place.” Librarians everywhere screamed.
World Bookmark Day is meant to celebrate those humble little strips of card that quietly save our place and spare book spines from dog-eared trauma. But let’s be honest: most readers do not, in fact, use bookmarks. We use whatever is within arm’s reach when the chapter ends and life interrupts. Receipts. Scraps of paper. That thing we swear we’ll remember to remove later.
And sometimes… things get weird.
Librarians, booksellers, and internet strangers have been documenting the strangest objects ever used as bookmarks for years, and the results are equal parts hilarious, baffling, and slightly alarming. Here are some of the strangest.
A Circular Sawblade (Yes, Really)
Let’s start strong. Someone, somewhere, thought: You know what this book needs? Industrial machinery.
A circular sawblade, flat, sharp, and wildly inappropriate, was once left inside a library copy of Inside Every Woman as a bookmark. It’s metal. It’s heavy. It could absolutely shred pages or fingers. And yet, there it was, quietly marking someone’s place like this was perfectly normal behavior.
This isn’t just a bookmark; it’s a threat.
Banana Skin
If you’ve ever worried about food near books, this one will haunt you. A literal banana peel was used as a bookmark, pressed between the pages like a very perishable post-it note.
Not only is this deeply upsetting from a preservation standpoint, but it also raises questions. How long was it there? Did the reader forget? Was it intentional? Did they finish the banana mid-chapter and think, Perfect?
Either way, this is how books get sticky, and librarians lose faith in humanity.
A Bandaid
There’s something unsettling about opening a book and finding a Band-Aid inside. Used or unused, it doesn’t matter. It’s kind of unsettling either way.
Fortunately, this one was clean. But still, it begs some questions… Was it there in case the reader had a paper cut? How long had it been there? What we do know is that a Band-Aid does not belong in a book, emotionally or physically.
This bookmark brings questions no one asked for.
Cheese
Somewhere in the UK, a university librarian opened a returned book and found, not a receipt, not a note, but a single slice of processed cheese carefully placed between the pages. The University of Liverpool Library later shared a photo online with a simple, desperate message: “This is not a bookmark.”
The cheese slice, still in its plastic wrapper, had apparently been left there long enough to raise serious questions about heat, hygiene, and judgment. While the internet had a field day with cheese puns and jokes, librarians everywhere collectively shuddered. Food-based bookmarks are risky enough, but dairy? In a library? That’s how you attract pests, stains, and lifelong shame.
Cryptic Notes
Some bookmarks aren’t objects; they’re mysteries.
A handwritten note found in a library book once went viral because it appeared… ominous. Random words. No context. Possibly a cipher. Possibly nonsense. Possibly the opening line of a thriller no one asked to be part of.
Finding a cryptic note as a bookmark turns a quiet reading experience into an unscheduled ARG. You didn’t want intrigue, but here it is.
Money
People regularly use cash as bookmarks, which is bold behavior in this economy.
Bills get forgotten, books get returned, and suddenly your $20 is living a new life inside a library copy of Pride and Prejudice. On the upside, future readers might get a pleasant surprise. On the downside, you have effectively tipped the book.
Coins, thankfully, are rarer, but even more chaotic.
Clothing Tags
You know those cardboard tags attached to new clothes that you swear you’ll recycle later? Apparently, some people use them as bookmarks instead.
They’re stiff. They’re awkwardly shaped. Sure, some of them have funky designs on. They are, objectively, worse than a receipt… yet here they are, marking Chapter 7 like they were born for the job.
Fashion meets fiction. Sustainability unclear.
Leaves (Nature’s Most Fragile Bookmark)
Pressed leaves show up in books all the time, either accidentally or intentionally. Sometimes they’re sentimental. Sometimes they’re just… crunchy.
At first glance, a leaf can feel whimsical. Romantic, even. But over time, leaves crumble, stain pages, and turn into botanical confetti. What starts as cottagecore ends as debris.
Beautiful idea. Risky.
A Screw
Metal objects and books are not friends, but that hasn’t stopped readers from using screws, yes, literal screws, as bookmarks.
Why? Unknown. Convenience? Desperation? A deep belief that anything flat enough counts? Well, apparently it’s because it works well as a paperweight and an impromptu fidget toy… But a screw can dent pages, tear paper, and leave rust marks, too. Clearly, none of that is stopping someone from trusting it with their reading progress.
It’s giving DIY energy. Kinda.
Pokemon Cards
This one is weird in the best way.
Pokémon cards have been found in books acting as unofficial bookmarks, which feels both nostalgic and mildly tragic. These are collectibles. Some are valuable. And yet, here’s a Charizard holding your place in a paperback like it’s no big deal.
Honestly? Pikachu would approve. And unlike banana skins, Pokémon cards won’t decompose, so we’re giving them points for durability.
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Millie Ramm
Millie has been writing since she was a child, and has spent more time with her nose in books than anywhere else. She has been ghostwriting novels and editing for the past few years, and when not working she is curled up with her cats, looking for her next read.
