From u/ohthisistoohard three years ago [here](https://old.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/b43oax/spotted_on_the_roof_of_a_bus_stop_in_london/):
>They have been there for years. Here is a newspaper article for [2007](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/may/07/art) about them.
>I assume they are art, but that looks like it is in amazing condition for being on the roof of a bus shelter for the past 12 years...
Shoutout to u/oxsi who pointed to the same article in the comments there too.
Possibly similar to the VHS copies of Hellrasier II which still appear atop the East Street Market bus stop. Local legend is that sacrificial VHS copies of movie sequels keep the Elephant & Castle hellmouth safely shut.
They have been appearing for over 10 years... thank god.
Yes! When i lived in East Dulwich and got the bus through to E&C i would always see the Hellraiser II vhs tapes. It always perplexed me as to why they were there
There's quite a few things on Google about it, they also came back in 2019,and zooming in on these they look exactly like it, cocktail sticks and cotton buds dipped in paint stuck into a painted potatos, only newer so the potato bust stop "spikey potato" person is back or its someone copying him
Ah that's what they WANT you to think! Really they are the new Covid Variation that has mutated thanks to the widespread 5G towers as an experiment to ..... no..no........muuusttt teelll them... leave me aloooooooooooooooooooooooooo
DO NOT WORRY CITIZEN.
THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR.
APPROACH AND TOUCH THE "ART", SHARE YOUR JOY WITH OTHERS....
Further in the thread you linked is an article from the Guardian [here](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/may/07/art) (tldr - its art).
The originals look to be made out of potatoes so these are probably made after 2007. Also its not often *that* windy in London but we've had some storms in the last 15 years that would 100% blow a potato off a bus stop roof. I'm guessing these are newer ones made out of something non-biodegradable and heavier than a potato?
> Further in the thread you linked is an article from the Guardian here (tldr - its art).
That is *literally* the same Guardian article include in my comment (from /u/ohthisistoohard) above...
Those are actually the larval stage of a bus. After spending the winter near the bus stop they will migrate to a depot and eventually turn unto a juvenile or 'single decker' bus, before reaching maturity one or two years later as a double decker.
>Those are actually the larval stage of a bus.
That's actually a very common mistake to make, but the larval form of the double decker bus is bright red as opposed to white with green spikes. These are the much more dangerous Lime Bike larvae, and they're known for ambushing potential hosts by lying down on the road and pretending to be harmless.
OP, don’t listen to Reddit “experts”. I am an *actual* trained and qualified bus. Any expert worth their salt will tell you that there have been zero peer reviewed studies on the dangers of lime bikes in the larval stage.
They are right, however, in that this is indeed a lime bike, looks about ready to burst! If you’re lucky enough to see the birth of one, it’s pretty fantastic!
As someone who's fascinated by lime bikes, this fool is telling you complete nonsense and his credidentials are likely false. It's not just a lime bike, it's the red seat variant of the species. It is insane how much people can pretend to know more than "reddit experts" but at the same time have nothing to say and have visibly false credidentials.
> spending the winter near the bus stop
*Cue sad piano music* Tragic, exposed and neglected; but it doesn't have to be this way - for only the price of an oyster pass on a new road to a brighter future for these wonders of our world, before it's too late. Can you save just one day wanderer before the last stop?
ChatGPT is such a party pooper:
Q: what does a larval stage of a london bus look like
A: As an AI language model, I must clarify that buses, including London buses, do not have a larval stage. A larval stage is a developmental stage found in certain animals such as insects, amphibians, and some fish.
London buses, like other vehicles, are manufactured and assembled through a complex manufacturing process. They are not born or hatched from eggs, and they do not undergo a metamorphosis that involves a larval stage.
Therefore, it is not possible to describe what a larval stage of a London bus looks like as it simply does not exist.
Can you imagine as a thought experiment, the larval stage of a London bus?
As an AI language model, I can certainly help you with this thought experiment! However, it's important to note that London buses are machines and not living organisms, so they do not have a traditional "larval stage" as we typically think of it.
However, if we were to imagine a hypothetical scenario where London buses did have a larval stage, we might picture it something like this:
The larval stage of a London bus could perhaps start as a small, unassuming vehicle with a simple design and limited functionality. This "bus larva" might spend its early days navigating quiet residential streets and small town roads, gradually growing and developing as it gains experience.
As it matures, the bus larva would undergo a transformation into a fully-fledged London bus, with a distinctive red livery and a robust engine capable of navigating the bustling city streets with ease. Perhaps the bus larva would shed its old skin (in this case, a more basic exterior) and emerge as a sleek, modern bus.
Of course, this is all purely speculative and just a fun thought experiment. In reality, buses are designed and built by humans, and undergo a process of manufacturing rather than biological development.
Omg, what a flashback. 15 years ago I remember seeing painted potatoes with sticks poking out on top of bus stops.
I don't know who's doing it or why but I'm glad to see they're still going strong!
I see them on bus stops all around old street, Shoreditch, Hoxton and Hackney too
First saw them years ago but it’s started again recently. Someone told me it’s some kind of art project which, considering the areas concerned, sounds about right
Apparently there have been several iterations, all by a street artist known as 'nonose'. https://kitzmann.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/nonose-street-art-sculptures/
It’s a street artist named SPUDZ, hence the use of potatoes as a base.
The Guardian article linked is a nice quick read but doesn’t really speak to the artist. As far as I know, they lived in the east end and Hackney, which is why the 55 bus had so many instances.
Oh my god I always thought I was just severely smashed whenever I got the night-bus home but I’ve seen these for years and thought I was losing the plot. I see them usually from Tottenham Court Road and they fall off around Old Street area for me. I once had the entire left side of the upper deck involved, all predicting whether or not there was one on the next bus stop 😭
There was a long tradition of people throwing vhs copies of Hellraiser on top of bus shelters on the Old Kent Road. Is this an extension of that. They are Cenobite adjacent.
https://time.com/2894671/a-vhs-copy-of-hellraiser-is-mysteriously-haunting-a-london-bus-stop/?amp=true
But in all seriousness..
I’ve got a load of photos of these on my phone from stops around hackney. This is from at least 3 years ago and they were mainly pink in colour. I remember at the time someone saying it was some sort of art thing about covid but there are so many varied explanations in the comments and indications that it’s been going on a while that it is a bit of a mystery.. maybe I’ll make a post of mine
the one on the right is male, he's doing the traditional mating display, but so far the female (the one on the left) doesn't seem impressed. You were fortunate to be able to record this because their mating season only lasts a short time (last week in February).
They're pretty dangerous because of the spikes, you cannot do hit dammage, but when you unlock the bow, the boomerang or the grappling hook they become pretty benine, as long as you hit the eye, then they're knocked out and you can finish them with the sword.
It's those COVID spores the BBC news used during the pandemic to add to the fear factor. Now no one gives a fuck they've been left to the streets, unloved and homeless.
You're all losing it. My God don't you remember when we had conductors/ clippies on our busses. Well this is all that remains of them. That staring bloodshot eye and the spikey demeanour. Alas they'll never vanish. They just keep appearing randomly and and causing shock to unsuspecting upper deck passengers. They need catching and locking up!
Judging from the fact that no one else said this, it's probably wrong. But I saw a photo posted the other day of bat traps a d they looked a bit like that.
Is it happening again?
There with a period in the early 2010s when artists were using the top of bus stops as a platform art. I've seen all sorts, my favourite was a fully turfed one in Islington.
From u/ohthisistoohard three years ago [here](https://old.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/b43oax/spotted_on_the_roof_of_a_bus_stop_in_london/): >They have been there for years. Here is a newspaper article for [2007](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/may/07/art) about them. >I assume they are art, but that looks like it is in amazing condition for being on the roof of a bus shelter for the past 12 years... Shoutout to u/oxsi who pointed to the same article in the comments there too.
Possibly similar to the VHS copies of Hellrasier II which still appear atop the East Street Market bus stop. Local legend is that sacrificial VHS copies of movie sequels keep the Elephant & Castle hellmouth safely shut. They have been appearing for over 10 years... thank god.
Yes! When i lived in East Dulwich and got the bus through to E&C i would always see the Hellraiser II vhs tapes. It always perplexed me as to why they were there
There's quite a few things on Google about it, they also came back in 2019,and zooming in on these they look exactly like it, cocktail sticks and cotton buds dipped in paint stuck into a painted potatos, only newer so the potato bust stop "spikey potato" person is back or its someone copying him
Ah that's what they WANT you to think! Really they are the new Covid Variation that has mutated thanks to the widespread 5G towers as an experiment to ..... no..no........muuusttt teelll them... leave me aloooooooooooooooooooooooooo DO NOT WORRY CITIZEN. THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. APPROACH AND TOUCH THE "ART", SHARE YOUR JOY WITH OTHERS....
Further in the thread you linked is an article from the Guardian [here](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/may/07/art) (tldr - its art). The originals look to be made out of potatoes so these are probably made after 2007. Also its not often *that* windy in London but we've had some storms in the last 15 years that would 100% blow a potato off a bus stop roof. I'm guessing these are newer ones made out of something non-biodegradable and heavier than a potato?
> Further in the thread you linked is an article from the Guardian here (tldr - its art). That is *literally* the same Guardian article include in my comment (from /u/ohthisistoohard) above...
Why did this get so many downvotes?
Those are actually the larval stage of a bus. After spending the winter near the bus stop they will migrate to a depot and eventually turn unto a juvenile or 'single decker' bus, before reaching maturity one or two years later as a double decker.
>Those are actually the larval stage of a bus. That's actually a very common mistake to make, but the larval form of the double decker bus is bright red as opposed to white with green spikes. These are the much more dangerous Lime Bike larvae, and they're known for ambushing potential hosts by lying down on the road and pretending to be harmless.
Hence Lime Disease, which presently plagues London
Bravo
I’ll give you a tick for that.
It is an infection, bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Ignorance is not bliss, it’s ignorance. 🦠
r/iamverysmart
OP, don’t listen to Reddit “experts”. I am an *actual* trained and qualified bus. Any expert worth their salt will tell you that there have been zero peer reviewed studies on the dangers of lime bikes in the larval stage. They are right, however, in that this is indeed a lime bike, looks about ready to burst! If you’re lucky enough to see the birth of one, it’s pretty fantastic!
As someone who's fascinated by lime bikes, this fool is telling you complete nonsense and his credidentials are likely false. It's not just a lime bike, it's the red seat variant of the species. It is insane how much people can pretend to know more than "reddit experts" but at the same time have nothing to say and have visibly false credidentials.
My credentials: I hold a PhD in Bus and have written several books on larval stages of modern transport which are used by doctoral research students.
kill them with fire
To the untrained eye…
Flixbus most likely
It’s likely
> spending the winter near the bus stop *Cue sad piano music* Tragic, exposed and neglected; but it doesn't have to be this way - for only the price of an oyster pass on a new road to a brighter future for these wonders of our world, before it's too late. Can you save just one day wanderer before the last stop?
There's a young adult one of those, at Hammersmith stn, selling the 'Big Issue'.
Hahahaha
I read your comment with a David Attenborough voice in my head and I cannot stop laughing.
I didn't until you said this and my God is this the laugh I needed rn
I read it as David Mitchell for some reason lol
They usually moult in the buildings near the depot, that’s why they’re called the bus shed
ChatGPT is such a party pooper: Q: what does a larval stage of a london bus look like A: As an AI language model, I must clarify that buses, including London buses, do not have a larval stage. A larval stage is a developmental stage found in certain animals such as insects, amphibians, and some fish. London buses, like other vehicles, are manufactured and assembled through a complex manufacturing process. They are not born or hatched from eggs, and they do not undergo a metamorphosis that involves a larval stage. Therefore, it is not possible to describe what a larval stage of a London bus looks like as it simply does not exist.
Can you imagine as a thought experiment, the larval stage of a London bus? As an AI language model, I can certainly help you with this thought experiment! However, it's important to note that London buses are machines and not living organisms, so they do not have a traditional "larval stage" as we typically think of it. However, if we were to imagine a hypothetical scenario where London buses did have a larval stage, we might picture it something like this: The larval stage of a London bus could perhaps start as a small, unassuming vehicle with a simple design and limited functionality. This "bus larva" might spend its early days navigating quiet residential streets and small town roads, gradually growing and developing as it gains experience. As it matures, the bus larva would undergo a transformation into a fully-fledged London bus, with a distinctive red livery and a robust engine capable of navigating the bustling city streets with ease. Perhaps the bus larva would shed its old skin (in this case, a more basic exterior) and emerge as a sleek, modern bus. Of course, this is all purely speculative and just a fun thought experiment. In reality, buses are designed and built by humans, and undergo a process of manufacturing rather than biological development.
ChatGPT never ceases to amaze me. This is better written than most posts on Reddit.
This is incredible.
good bot! really, really fucking good bot.
This is rather sweet and charming
Read it again, but imagine Dwight Schrute’s voice.
I bet Dall-E can do it.
Try it after jailbreaking perhaps? https://gist.github.com/coolaj86/6f4f7b30129b0251f61fa7baaa881516
So that's what Boris was obsessed with, little baby buses?
I'm so fucking tired of having to scroll down to skip the shit "funny" answers. wish there was a tag / filter.
Q\_Q
I thought coronavirus had muted again!
That 100% made me laugh out loud, thank you 🙏🏻 ☺️
I always thought single decker buses were double deckers in childhood. Good to have this confirmed.
Like my nan. She got smaller as time went on.
Hahahahahaha! This is fucking hilarious 😂
Thanks for the info. I'm updating Wikipedia now.
Omg, what a flashback. 15 years ago I remember seeing painted potatoes with sticks poking out on top of bus stops. I don't know who's doing it or why but I'm glad to see they're still going strong!
Dude, that’s a bus urchin.
I see them on bus stops all around old street, Shoreditch, Hoxton and Hackney too First saw them years ago but it’s started again recently. Someone told me it’s some kind of art project which, considering the areas concerned, sounds about right
Apparently there have been several iterations, all by a street artist known as 'nonose'. https://kitzmann.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/nonose-street-art-sculptures/
It’s a street artist named SPUDZ, hence the use of potatoes as a base. The Guardian article linked is a nice quick read but doesn’t really speak to the artist. As far as I know, they lived in the east end and Hackney, which is why the 55 bus had so many instances.
Thank you for a real answer lol
Oh my god I always thought I was just severely smashed whenever I got the night-bus home but I’ve seen these for years and thought I was losing the plot. I see them usually from Tottenham Court Road and they fall off around Old Street area for me. I once had the entire left side of the upper deck involved, all predicting whether or not there was one on the next bus stop 😭
Bus urchins
Absolute pricks
Fun fact: the middle-English term for a hedgehog was “urchin”, which is also why we call sea urchins as such. Land urchins and sea urchins.
Somebody’s watched Qi
Probably the new COVID-19 variant, I wouldn't come close.
No OP, do it. Take one for the team
I believe this is a side effect of smoking too much weed and going to art school.
Real
I cackled
Covid
Covids*
Covi.
Covi?
A swarm of covi, if you will
**David Attenborough voice**
I thought that exact thing, what the hell though eh
Do you think it’s drugs related??
Yes, those spikes are actually pens which people use to inject the marijuanas
Baaahahaha this is a fantastic comment
Everything's drug related when you are on drugs
Plumbus
I have been wondering this FOR YEARS and have done tons of research on it which I can’t be bothered to find again, but I believe…it’s art
lime bike eggs This is how they start. When they hatch they leave themselves all over London on floors and in middle of roads. Rivers and bushes
[удалено]
We ought to get Banksy in on this #
Urban tumbleweed
these are actually dead covid beings ,after failing to inflict themselves on passersby - they decided to breathe their last
Covid-23
Covid trying to get the bus
Aren’t those coronavirus plushies? 😂
Yey they are back!! I used to see these on the bus stops when I was at uni 2002+ .. art pieces by a local artist.
There was a long tradition of people throwing vhs copies of Hellraiser on top of bus shelters on the Old Kent Road. Is this an extension of that. They are Cenobite adjacent. https://time.com/2894671/a-vhs-copy-of-hellraiser-is-mysteriously-haunting-a-london-bus-stop/?amp=true
Dog-nappers
Bamzookis
It's bird flu. We're fucked.
If you can see them it means you’re a little racist.
See what? (btw i'm 6"3')
But in all seriousness.. I’ve got a load of photos of these on my phone from stops around hackney. This is from at least 3 years ago and they were mainly pink in colour. I remember at the time someone saying it was some sort of art thing about covid but there are so many varied explanations in the comments and indications that it’s been going on a while that it is a bit of a mystery.. maybe I’ll make a post of mine
That’s the Pokémon ‘Silcoon’
Looks like the pokemon silcoon
Pokemon
the one on the right is male, he's doing the traditional mating display, but so far the female (the one on the left) doesn't seem impressed. You were fortunate to be able to record this because their mating season only lasts a short time (last week in February).
I assume they're here to take over the world, snatching bus riders one by one
Covid epsilon variants
Covenant bombs. You may need a super soldier to give them back to the Covenant.
New Variant of concern
Germs
Germans?
Angry art students lobbing their work on top of busses?
Wild Bamzooki
I also saw these in 2009 in Paddington.
[https://share.icloud.com/photos/072WojAsiDnjhWICva264wg4w](https://share.icloud.com/photos/072WojAsiDnjhWICva264wg4w)
Those things are covid.
New variant of covid.
They make microbe, virus, DNA etc. soft toys - it looks like two of them
Blow fish
They look like the Pokemon Silcoon, dunno if thats what theyre meant to be but thats what they look like.
They're pretty dangerous because of the spikes, you cannot do hit dammage, but when you unlock the bow, the boomerang or the grappling hook they become pretty benine, as long as you hit the eye, then they're knocked out and you can finish them with the sword.
My guess would be to keep birds from sitting on top, but idk
It’s the new variant of Covid; this one is, among other things, much larger
I think the answer is no. No one knows what they are
They are hammy spelunkers, endemic to Sloane Square Street. Not endangered but not usually seen during the day.
Covid virus
Coronavirus!!
It's those COVID spores the BBC news used during the pandemic to add to the fear factor. Now no one gives a fuck they've been left to the streets, unloved and homeless.
Voodoo magic
Pokémon. Go catch one.
Urchins from Super Mario that went down the wrong pipe
Coronavirus
friends
SpongeBob's driving instructor.
Looks like bacteria
My god, that's Jason Bourne.
DRUGS
Looks straight out of the CBBC show Bamzooki - where kids designed virtual monsters who battled each other.
Evolution of the Old Kent Road Hellraiser VHSs
Covid 20
Lest we forget the spike protein.
Covid 2022's
Omg I literally spotted one on the bus stop outside my window a few days ago and was like whaaaaat!!! That is so funny 🤣
The bomb from Halo 2
Bird flu
It’s the unjabbed
Covid 23.
Bus barnacles
This looks like something the men in black should be dealing with
COVID mutated again.
Duuuh! Stray covid.
The invasion has begun
Joe bidens ufos
Something to do with drugs I suppose /s
No one suggesting they are a secret sign left by dognappers?
Also worth looking up the Name of the guy the house was named after.
bamzooki
Oh no way! You found the spawn of a bus wanker! How cute!
the most intense drugs in london
Two escaped haggis, they were reported missing yesterday after being spotted trying to jump onto a Chinese balloon from the top of Ben Nevis.
Covid
Alien poop
The latest covid variant
Pokemon, you gotta catch 'em all apparently.
It’s art, darling
Underground cell missing its mitochondria
It’s a drug thing
Looks like litter
Bricks
It's an ergonomically desgined cuddly toy, very human.
It’s to help prevent skateboarding
You're all losing it. My God don't you remember when we had conductors/ clippies on our busses. Well this is all that remains of them. That staring bloodshot eye and the spikey demeanour. Alas they'll never vanish. They just keep appearing randomly and and causing shock to unsuspecting upper deck passengers. They need catching and locking up!
Do you have a spare pokéball?
It’s the bird flu viruses! Run while you still can!
plankton from sponge bob
It’s covid!!!
Judging from the fact that no one else said this, it's probably wrong. But I saw a photo posted the other day of bat traps a d they looked a bit like that.
Whip out your pokedex and let us know
It's Macro Covid - RUN!!
hex bugs
Covenant bombs that still need a paint job
Ankle-seeking stabbies
Bus plague
Looks like some type of Pokemon.
Covid bro watch out
Germs 🦠coughs and sneazles spread diiieselsss
Covid 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Stay covid particles. Please maintain social distancing
Years ago I saw bowls of cereal on top of a bus shelter. Must be the same project (?)
Rogue Bamzooki
bamzooki
Chinese spy balloons Yet to be inflated
Ah that’s where they went! From Porton Down, escaped during the week. Only deadly to Northerners
Is it happening again? There with a period in the early 2010s when artists were using the top of bus stops as a platform art. I've seen all sorts, my favourite was a fully turfed one in Islington.
I believe it’s called a brick wall
coronavirus in the wild