This 25-Year-Old Puddle Has Its Own Instagram Account

A giant puddle in Russia’s Far East city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is being described as “invincible”, after it somehow survived unfixed for over a quarter of a century. It now has its own Instagram page and over 16,000 followers.

More: Instagram h/t: odditycentral

As it often happens in Russia and other eastern European countries, what started out as a small pothole gradually grew to become a giant puddle. It attained that rank in 1994, and locals have been trying to get local authorities to fix it ever since. So far it has proven a futile endeavor, as scheduled repairs have been postponed repeatedly.

In the meantime, a frustrated local known only as Nikolay decided that the 25-year-old pothole was old enough to have its own Instagram page, and created one for it in September. The witty sarcastic posts created in first-person quickly went viral and got the local government to act.

“Hi, everyone! I’m the puddle near Tikhookeanskaya Street 10, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. I’ve just turned 25, it’s time to conquer Instagram like a grownup! :)” the puddle’s first Instagram post read. It was a good start, but only the first in a series of hilarious posts that would take the social network and local authorities by storm.

By the end of October, the 25-year-old puddle of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk had become a social media sensation, with Russian YouTubers and influencers making the trip to the Far East city to have their pictures taken with it, or use it as a backdrop for sketches.

The puddle became so popular that at one point it started plugging (sic) “sister puddles” from Russia and Ukraine on its Instagram page. One of these puddles became the scene of a viral photoshoot, with two models posing with paddleboards in it.

In November, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk authorities took another crack at the pesky puddle, draining it and once again filling it with the same “dry mud”. Then temperatures started dropping and that helped keep it in hibernation, at least until spring. But word around the city is that permanent repairs that been delayed to 2024 were scheduled for next year, to save officials further embarrassment.