NOTHING LASTS FOREVER? APPARENTLY, SOME THINGS DO!

You Won't Believe the Shelf Life of These 10 Food Products.

Image: Jason Tuistra

Everything has an expiration date—even the things that don’t really expire. The truth is, everything has an expiration date because the law says it has to, just to be on the safe side. As for the things that don’t expire, the list is not too long but it's probably longer than you expected it to be. For the sake of brevity, we narrowed it down to 10 items. Can you guess as to what you will find in it?

Image: Timo Volz

This first one is quite obvious. A few years ago, a running joke on the internet had the picture of a Himalayan pink salt package with a label that proudly stated "Formed 250 million years ago" and, in the small print at the bottom, said "Expires in 1 month". The joke being that salt does not expire. This is because salt is a mineral and, as such, it is not subjected to the decaying nature of organic matter.

Image: Arwin Neil Baichoo

This one is also quite legendary. Can you imagine smearing 3.000-year-old honey discovered in the tomb of Egyptian King Tut on your toast? Aside from the spectacular price tag such an item would go for, it would be perfectly safe for your health because, yes, you guessed it, honey lasts forever.

Bees create this elixir with almost no water, which is something microbes need to exist. And no microbes equals no decomposition. So, grab that honey jar at the bottom of the pantry and pour some on a cup of hot tea!

Image: Precious Plastic Melbourne

This one might not be as legendary as the previous too but it surely deserves a spot on our list. White****vinegar has an indefinite shelf life thanks to its high acidity (above 4%). Microbes don’t grow in acidic conditions. This is why you often see pickled products preserved in vinegar: because this liquid prevents spoiling due to its high acidity.


A bottle that was bought ages ago for a barbecue or a Bloody Mary cocktail and then forgotten in the pantry or the refrigerator door is still perfectly safe to consume. Worcestershire sauce doesn't really go bad. This happens because it is mostly made of white vinegar, and we already know what’s the deal with white vinegar, right?

So, use it for your tomato juice and vodka drink, pour it on your steak, and then cast it aside for a year or two, the trusty fellow will be there waiting for you as if time hadn’t passed at all.

Image: Nathan Cima

Do you remember those old liquor cabinets, usually in grandparent homes, filled with ancient alcohol bottles that nobody ever really drank? There is a reason those dusty bottles never went bad and it is a single word: alcohol.

Bacteria do NOT like alcohol, and beverages with high alcohol content keep bacteria from growing, thus, decaying.

Image: Lucy Wolski

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that powdered milk lasts between 2 and 10 years. We know that is nowhere near the shelf life of the other elements in this list but still, it's quite impressive for a dairy product. Some survival stores even sell non-fat dry powdered milk labeled with a 25-year shelf life.

Image: Shelley Pauls

Every person who has ever bought dry beans knows that this product lasts a long time. How long, you might ask? Dry beans are usually given a shelf-life of 3 to 6 years under optimal storage conditions, in a low humidity environment. But there are recorded cases of dry beans lasting longer than 24 years without significant taste loss or hardening and even a case of a carbon-dated 1,500-year-old batch of white beans that could be planted and grown perfectly in normal conditions.

Image: Myriam Zylles

In the same manner that we can count on salt forever, sugar is another thing that won’t go bad. Due to their resistance to microbial growth, commercial sugars have an indefinite shelf life.

While sugars are recommended to be used within 2 years, that is because of lumpiness or hardening in granulated sugars and crystallization of sugars in honey and syrup. It is still safe to use even when lumpy or crystals are present. The color and flavor of liquid sugars may change over time, but they can still be consumed.

Image: rivage

For most people, coffee is a comforting beverage to have around and, as such, it is nice to know that it won’t go bad anytime soon. Instant coffee, while unopened, has a shelf life of up to 20 years, depending on the package and the processing methods. Coffee, while it can lose some of its flavor over time, consistently proves itself as a long-lasting contender.

Image: Kobby Mendez

Another comfort food, pure maple syrup can last a really long time, due to its high sugar content. According to various sources, the shelf life of pure maple syrup is pretty much eternal.

If stored properly, that is, in a dark and dry place, and, ideally, in a glass container, pure maple syrup will last indefinitely. If crystals form in the bottle, placing the vessel in boiling water will undo them and make the syrup as good as new.

The ultimate leadership system

Decoding the chain of command: 10 main U.S. military ranks explained

The structure of the United States military relies on a hierarchy designed to maintain operational discipline and distribute leadership across every level of command. Examining 10 main U.S. Military ranks in sequential order reveals the language behind the names.

The rank of Private represents the entry-level enlisted tier in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. At this level, service members focus on basic training, mastering tactical skills, and executing orders issued by superior officers.

Etymologically, "private" is short for "private soldier", designating an individual without public office or independent military command. Historical records note that some of the earliest documented uses of the term in the American military context appear in the personal correspondence of George Washington.

A Corporal is responsible for leading small tactical units, such as fireteams or squads. Corporals oversee the daily discipline, appearance, and fundamental skills training of junior soldiers.

The word derives from the French corporal, which stems from the Latin caput (meaning "head"). Over time, the term was influenced by the Latin corpus ("body") and the French military term corps, blending roots for "head" and "body" into the modern word corporal.

A Sergeant is a key frontline leader who typically commands a squad or section and directly supervises daily operations. Sergeants hold direct responsibility for troop welfare, equipment maintenance, and tactical execution.

The word shares its Latin root (serviens, meaning "servant") with the word servant. In medieval times, a "sergeant at arms" served as an armed retainer to a feudal lord. As military structures modernized, the sergeant evolved into the link between commissioned officers and enlisted troops.

The rank of Lieutenant serves as the entry point for commissioned leadership. Lieutenants typically command platoons consisting of 16 to 40 service members alongside an experienced platoon sergeant.

The term comes directly from the French lieu tenant, which literally translates to "place holding". A lieutenant is a placeholder or deputy tasked with standing in for or assisting a superior commander.

A Captain typically commands a company, battery, or troop consisting of 60 to 200 service members. Captains represent one of the oldest military designations in the English language, used as a general term for a military leader since the 1400s. Derived from French and rooted in the Latin caput ("head"), a captain is the "head" of an organized military unit.

A Major serves as a field-grade officer, often functioning as a battalion executive officer or primary staff supervisor. Interestingly, the rank of major is a historical abbreviation of sergeant major. During the 16th and 17th centuries, a sergeant major was a commissioned field officer ranking above a captain. As the boundary between non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers solidified in the 1700s, the "sergeant" prefix was dropped, leaving "Major" as a distinct officer rank.

A Colonel commands brigade-sized formations (1,500 to 3,200 soldiers) or fills critical senior staff positions. The title originates from the Italian colonnello, meaning the leader of a column (colonna) of troops. The unusual English pronunciation ("kernel") occurred because English borrowed the word from French, which had adopted the Italian word but altered its pronunciation, while English retained the French spelling.

A Brigadier General is a one-star general officer who commands a brigade or serves as a deputy commander for a division. The title derives directly from brigade, denoting an operational military unit composed of multiple regiments or battalions.

A Major General is a two-star general who typically commands a force of 10,000 to 15,000 personnel. This rank has a historical quirk: despite a Major ranking above a Lieutenant, a Major General ranks below a Lieutenant General. This is because the rank was originally called sergeant major general before the 1700s. Because a "sergeant major general" was subordinate to a "lieutenant general", the order remained intact even after "sergeant" was removed from the title.

A General is a four-star officer holding the highest operational rank in peacetime. Four-star generals command unified combatant commands, geographic theaters, or serve as service branch chiefs of staff. Rooted in the Latin generalis (meaning "pertaining to all" or "universal"), the title signifies overarching authority across all branches and arms of command.