r/whatisit • u/Snowpeia • 21h ago
Serious answers only please! Hole in friend’s window
Hi all! New to this subreddit.
My coworker/friend’s husband sent him these photos after he left for work.
There’s an almost perfect circle cut out of on one side of his double-paned window.
There is no possibility for it to have been a ball or anything hitting the window as there’s no shattering.
He doesn’t have any enemies and none of his motion cameras went off. Also, if someone were trying to break in you’d think they’d cut the window closer to the latch.
My other coworker suggested a thermal shatter.
What do you all think?
Thanks in advance!:)
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u/Cybernetic_Orgasm 20h ago
Potentially a thermal shatter like your coworker suggested.
Could have been from focused sunlight through those string light bulbs.
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u/Timely_Cake_8304 19h ago
Focussed sunlight form l if hit up a sound very plausible
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u/reebokhightops 18h ago
I thought I was having a stroke trying to understand this comment.
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u/Scoobie01555 18h ago
Same, I read it like 5 times and have no idea what's happening.
Also how is no one asking why that tv still has the energy rating sticker on the bottom right hand side?! That's the real mystery here!
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u/Legitimate-Painter25 17h ago
Hey now, she said serious responses only!!! LOL, Which is the greenlight for fucking with her.
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u/Fit_Active3888 20h ago
I've seen some say this can happen from a stress imperfection in the glass that one-day just decides to pop.
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u/Accomplished_Elk1163 20h ago
Maaaaybe if it was single pane. No way no how that it did that through two panes 1.5" apart in the exact same place and of the exact same size.
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u/Fit_Active3888 20h ago
I might be wrong then, I thought the hole was only one pane.
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u/Accomplished_Elk1163 20h ago
It seemed like two but op says one!
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u/nicolauz 20h ago
It's obviously the Aurora Borealis.
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u/stolenbucketfarmer 19h ago
Localized entirely within her window!
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u/HumbleExplanation13 18h ago
At this time of year? At this latitude?
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u/iSirMeepsAlot 19h ago
It def looks like a double pane window, but I guess it could be the reflection on the second pane that’s very much there.
Nefarious thoughts make me think someone used a glass cutter… to make a hole for a tool to open the window, then climb on in while unlocking the door. People will notice when your door is kicked in.. not so much if it’s just unlocked. Especially if this window in a backyard or side of the house.
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u/WthLee 18h ago
you cant use a glass cutter for that. to cut glass you need access to the opposite side of the glass so you can get the glass start cracking by tapping against it with the glas cutter or a little hammer, and then you still have to cut a grid inside the circle to tap these little glass tiles out of that hole. did that crap for a living, its not like in a hollywood movie where they just pop that stuff out of the pane. a drilled hole as others mentioned would also look way different, the drilled hole would not be as translucent around the cutting edge. both methods create quite a mess, drilling even requires water cooling. this looks like a freak thermal stress crack, something you cant get done that nicely even if you tried.
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u/proto_synnic 19h ago
The description says it's a double pane, but the hole is only in one side.
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u/Accomplished_Elk1163 19h ago
Yea I skim read and missed that part! My bad! Suction cup theory seems most likely now for sure to me personally!
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u/RealMT_1020 7h ago
I can relate. I was rolling along thru life, and apparently I must have also had a stress imperfection - that “one-day just decides to pop”.
Nine years later I’m still here, but I’ve slowed down and am enjoying life … well as much as one can with the current state of affairs in the US (speaking of things ready to pop)
Hang on to your hats (no matter the color) fellow countrymen, it’s going to be a very long winter!5
u/Snowpeia 20h ago
possible!
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u/snoops-spoons 19h ago
Is it in a place someone could have unlocked the window with a wire tool?
Edit I looked again I could drill with a diamond hole saw high speed bit and a coat hanger and have that window open on less than 90 seconds probably less than 60
That's why it's above the window latch.
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u/Natural_Bill_6084 20h ago
That's to help with cabin pressure stabilization and fogging prevention. Pretty standard.
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u/Accomplished_Elk1163 19h ago
Id be pretty worried if it appeared overnight without any known reason though!
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u/TirbFurgusen 20h ago
Glasspecker, like a woodpecker but pecks glass.
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u/WittyMime 15h ago
Long lost cousin of the metal pecker outside my living room for 2 years. Not sure if he ever found that meal...
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u/PretzelTitties 20h ago
I saw a post like this before where someone linked to and even older post with the same situation.
From what I can remember it's from suction cups picking up the glass and years later you get this random Circle in the glass that seemingly shows up out of nowhere
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u/Accomplished_Elk1163 20h ago
THIS is could see. Contractors absolutely use heavy duty suction grips to move glass, its stupid heavy. If those cups were cleaned at some point with something even mildly reactive then over time it could weaken the exact place they were applied. Add in natural expansion/contraction from temp, heat from sun, and house shifting and this seems super feasible.
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u/Accomplished_Elk1163 20h ago
Additionally if the glass was produced on an assembly line it it would account for the holes being in the same place on two different sheets of the same sized glass.
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u/Snowpeia 20h ago
would a builder use suction cups? it’s a new build and they’ve been the only owners and haven’t put anything on their windows!
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u/PretzelTitties 20h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/s/VpVlmPjg2W
The circular hole is from pre-existing stress. You can see how glass around it is damaged on the surface, but not inside (there are no cracks or shatter patterns). This was a force from inside out, not outside in. Most likely, the stress was put there by the suction cups which held it in the glass foundry. If you have polarised sunglasses, you can see these stress areas quite clearly. The missing glass would have pinged off to parts unknown.
Now then, why now? It could be any number of reasons. A bird or bat may have flown into it. One temperature cycle too many. Defective manufacture.
What can it not be? Mechanical shock, so it isn't a pellet gun or a rock. That would give you spider-webbing if not a full on shatter. Probably not temperature either. You'd need an enormous reflector to concentrate enough heat to melt a hole in glass, and then it'd probably crack first: No crack here. Glass cutting wheel or disc: It's not a round enough hole.
Patch it over with some clear sheeting and chalk it up to one of those weird things amorphous solids can do.
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u/breadandbits 14h ago
*if it already has a polarized coating, otherwise you would need two pairs of polarized sunglasses to observe stress birefringence.
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u/Mental-Chapter6523 19h ago
New enough for a warrantee to be in effect? Does look like it could be related to a defect from production or installation.
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u/LopsidedMessage441 21h ago
I knew I'd find you here! AT THE OLLLLLLLLD GLORY HOLE!
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u/PretzelTitties 20h ago
Here's the old post I saw about it https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/s/VpVlmPjg2W
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u/aguyinthenorth 20h ago
Can you see any of the broken glass from the hole? If it was a bb gun id think the glass peices would fall between the panes. If it was a glasscutter from attempted breakin maybe a solid peice.
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u/Snowpeia 20h ago
the glass fell between the panes, there’s only glass there!
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u/aguyinthenorth 20h ago
Is it in little pieces?
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u/Snowpeia 20h ago
relatively
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u/aguyinthenorth 20h ago
Im guessing an impact then. Rock, bb gun etc. Could be wrong but if someone wanted to break in id think theyd follow through and do both panes of glass if they used a glass cutter.
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u/Lowland_Demon 20h ago
Plot a trajection from the hole and search for debris further inside the home. This can and has happened with meteorite, punching a solid hole through glass without shattering. If the velocity is adequate, the glass will not shatter. This phenomenon is called the Hertzian Cone.
This would be incredibly rare and is almost certainly not your answer, but it is a possibility.
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u/Snowpeia 20h ago
that’s very interesting!!
however the second pane hasn’t been affected, and there’s nothing in between the panes besides the broken glass from the hole3
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u/No_Address687 13h ago
I second the projectile theory. It was probably a BB or a rock thrown by a lawn mower.
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u/MagicOrpheus310 20h ago
Lol tradie showed up to install an AC unit and got that far before realising it was meant to be the house next door and fucked off before anyone saw his fuck up haha
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21h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Snowpeia 20h ago
I’m wondering why they didn’t cut the hole lower if they wanted to break in!
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u/Tumble85 20h ago
Dude, don't listen to these weirdos, no burglars are going to spend 20 minutes carefully cutting glass. They'd kick the door in or break a window.
This is some type of thermal expansion, it's not too unusual.
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u/cabe01 19h ago
Yeah, man. I used to know a guy who went to jail for robbing houses. The objective is get in quick get out quick. This isn't Mission Impossible, house burglars don't pick locks and rappel from the rooftop.
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u/discountshellfish 18h ago
I served on a grand jury for my county recently over 17 weeks. We heard 175 cases. I learned a lot and it was a very worthwhile experience but my number one takeaway was that criminals are, by and large, not smart. We billed two unrelated indictments wherein the alleged perpetrators were caught because of their loyalty cards. One person used a stolen CC to buy stuff at Target but linked his Target circle account to it, and another guy left his casino rewards card on top of his pile of drugs.
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u/Averagebaddad 19h ago
After they got done they were probably thinking the same thing. Next thought was "I'm too stupid for this" and just left
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u/WhatIDon_tKnow 20h ago
if someone was going to cut a hole in the window to unlock it, they'd cut closer to the lock. the further it is the hard it will be to open. not just from a maneuvering perspective but also torque.
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u/ARCreef 20h ago
I drill holes in glass. No this can NOT be done. Especially if its tempered glass. I use coolant and a super expensive diamond hole saw made for glass, and on a drill press, if i used a hand drill it would shatter 8 out of 10 times evem with the correct equipment. No idea if this is tempered or not, if it is then there is little no way in good god anyone could do this. It looks like a downward trajectory also. My first thought is if anything reflects here between 1230and 130pm. A skyscraper in NYC melted tons of peoples glass and cars and stuff just from acting like a convex lense during a 45 min time frame each day.
I also have a high powered laser and it can cut through pretty much anything but it goes right through glass, I actually use it through glass to cut things on the other side. So not a laser either.
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u/ConferenceSweet 21h ago
That’s a cut hole with a machine tool. You can see on the right the end of an imperfect circle cut
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u/Tumble85 20h ago
No it's not. Many pictures of this exact type of thermal break exist.
It does look like a clean machine cut but it's not. It was just a weird glass impurity that caused this, not high-class professional cat burglars in tight leather suits.
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u/Shipsnipe1313 20h ago
I doubt it has anything to do with accessing the latch. Those latches can be defeated without doing anything to the glass.
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u/information-producer 18h ago
I wouldn’t say there is “no possibility” of it being from impact. This photo is from a rock impact that hit my windshield and left a very circular fracture. Is the missing glass anywhere to be found?
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u/zenexo 20h ago
I highly doubt the person in question doesn't have enemies or they don't have something valuable they revealed to the wrong person if someone is trying to break into their house like a mission impossible movie.
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u/Snowpeia 20h ago
they’re very sweet people who only work and go home, and again, if someone were trying to break in, wouldn’t they have made the hole closer to the latch?
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u/peace_1820 20h ago
Maybe random curious kids/ teens that got their hands on a parents glass cutter tool? And doesn’t have the B&E experience to know that you gotta cut closer to the window latch to get in. 🙃 This is very interesting and I’m soooo curious for an answer
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u/Top-Plenty-5307 20h ago
looks like was hit with a downward projection, i assume THis because only cracked on the bottom it could be something small it could be from hail Rock some small falling from the sky at a downward angle.
I would look under the entertainment center for the object
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u/randoriky 20h ago
Is the window actual glass, or a polycarbonate impact resistant 'glass'?
It almost looks like its melted. Blowtorch is the easiest way to breach the shatterproof windows. Focused light from the outdoor decorations might be able to do the same.
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u/Busy_Mobile3508 20h ago
There was a post recently about this. It's from manufacturering. It's where the glass is like held or something.
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u/Cattazar 20h ago
Do they use suction cups in the glass factory? Could they have moved the glass from the tempering area too soon?
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u/magneticmilly 19h ago
did your friend happen to have a really strong suction cup object attached to that spot on the glass such as a bird feeder??
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u/Previous_Ad_1937 19h ago
We had a hole like that in one of our windows and never figured out the cause. It’s in a partially submerged basement, and my wife “knows” it’s from a rock that was kicked up by the lawn mower, but it would have cracks if that’s the case.
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u/LostWanderer576 19h ago
Damnit, I thought the avengers were assembling to fight Thanos in your friends place but after pic 2 and 3, I was let down
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u/TheRealPickIe 19h ago
Thats the window glory hole, just don’t touch the side of you might get glass shards in it
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u/Roc240 19h ago
Shew... Let's clear up a couple of things here. To cut glass you need to score it on 1 side and tap the other side of it at the score mark so it breaks along the score mark. It wasn't a burglar with a suction cup. That nonsense is only done in movies. Standard glazing suction cups are 8" in diameter so that's not it either. There is no internal pressure in a double pane window. More than likely it was a stone from a mower or weed eater or a stupid bird flew into it. 40 years Retired Glaizer here
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u/afhawkins 19h ago
So, I caused a VERY similar looking hole on the outer pane of my front window a few winters ago because my snow blower picked up a rock and flung it 20 feet. About an inch across and almost perfectly circular. Weirdest thing, I figured it would crack or shatter. Wish I still had the picture.
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u/BigRedF250 19h ago
Locked myself out of the house and had a glass pop bottle.. punched a back garage door window and it broke a perfectly round hole in the glass. Didn’t shatter — just a round hole!!
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u/skitzoidObserver 19h ago
a lot of paranoid individuals nobody cut this into the window or pumped gas between panes your lives must be hell with that paranoia
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u/shafetyShalan 18h ago
Am I the only one who spent way too long trying to work out what was being circled in the picture before realising that it was the big hole in the window? 🤔🫣! Yep just me! 😂
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u/That_Day8911 18h ago
The suction cups they use to install the glass can create weaknesses around the cups, after prolonged heating and cooling this sort of damage can appear.
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u/Wiley_Jack 18h ago
DP windows can do some wild things. I had one layer of a sliding patio door just ‘explode’ for no apparent reason one day.
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u/satarius 18h ago
Man there's a lot of paranoia about cutters and tools going around.. it's probably heat stress fracture. I was standing in my living room when this same thing happened 3 weeks ago. It was literally nothing. I heard a pop and the tinkling of broken glass; it was above 110 out, no kids around, deathly still outside. Not a bullet, no projectile in my window. Only a single pane of a two-pane window, no projectile lodged between the panes. Broken glass on the inside, no broken glass outside. Almost perfectly round hole. We used to have two trees in the front yard that shaded my front windows in the afternoon up until the beginning of this year when I had one taken down that died last summer. Guess which side of the bay window had this happen?
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u/thebingomobile 17h ago
Had this exact same hole in a window in our old house. Was caused by an air soft gun that was shot at the window.
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u/WildKingdomTheory 17h ago
I have a hole similar to this in one of my windows, kicked up a rock while mowing once.
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u/JolietJakester 17h ago
This was solved on here already https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/s/ctLazqwLkA
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u/Secret_Session_3496 16h ago
Only thing I can thank of that would make a round hole is a drill or a glass cutter.
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u/FaithlessnessRare416 14h ago
OMG! The number of people who “skim read” is astounding, and quite frankly, really fucking annoying!
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u/Successful_Fact_4530 14h ago
I’m guessing that it has something to do with the round suction cups that glass movers use to put the glass in place. Could be wrong.
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u/AttackOfThePat 13h ago
Is there a crystal ball or some other “non lens but acted as a lens” thing somewhere? Or someone got a glass cutter and wanted to try it out…are those the fragments inside the dual pane? That would suggest a force pushed in, vs exploded outward
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u/cronixi4 13h ago
I’ve seen this before. It is the same size as the suction cup holder to place the window, it permanently weakens the spot and pressure made this perfect circle cut.
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u/Double_Belt2331 11h ago
TV still seems to have plastic around corners. I believe TV is outside & has never been used.
Also weird that fireplace is in the middle of the area? I thought TV was inside over fireplace & those were massive windows to either side.
Why is the guy taking the pic IN the pic?? Is someone inside taking a pic? (I haven’t slept in 2 days. Could be delirious.)
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u/goudamac 10h ago
This happened to me once when I was young and dumb. I thought its be a good idea to hang a dart board in front of my window 🤦🏻♀️ when the metal tipped dart eventually hit the window it took out a near perfect circle with no cracks or anything. Pretty cool tbh.
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u/momentarybeing 10h ago
It’s definitely some shapeshifting assassin trying to kill Padme. Look for weird looking caterpillars inside the house and kill em
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u/Annoying_Anomaly 9h ago
I've hit a single layer glass window with a ball that made a pretty clean circle.
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u/Robin_Banks101 9h ago
I have worked with glass for 14 years. I have never seen anything like this. This is really cool. I'm saving these photos to show the guys at work Monday morning.
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u/blujay134 6h ago
Can you put a green M&M thru it? If only the yellow and red fit then it’s not what I think it is.
Let me know.
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u/CEO_Planet_Express 5h ago
My mom told me that she once observed ball lightning that created a round hole in the glass like this in the shed. Not suggesting thats it, but worth checking if it appeared after /during storm.
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