I think this may be my favorite #VisualPuzzle ever.

@cliffordbeshers I’ve come back to this several times. Still no idea of what it is, a stain?

@johnjohnston Yes, I think you could say that, at least partly. I think I might post another photo before revealing the answer. Also, I expect it to be impossible to guess, but people seem to like that.

@cliffordbeshers @johnjohnston I also love this image and have absolutely no idea. Looks like metal corrosion with a splatter of ink. A close-up view of something metal that has been in a fire? I’m tripped up by the out of focus parts I think. Need a hint or photo from another perspective maybe.

@cliffordbeshers This one is a real stumper. 🤔It looks like the image taken with a flatbed scanner. The left side looks like heat-blued metal while the right looks like seriously out of control mold in a glass dish.

@cliffordbeshers I don’t know if I should say very worn iPhone case, (lower right don’t look like it), or part of a soldering iron.

@fgtech Metal in fire is correct. But the black isn’t ink.

@odd I think the iphone case is relevant because of the metal, the soldering iron because of heated metal.

@cliffordbeshers A bumper with rubber marks? (Maybe a fire truck, or on a burned out car)

@cliffordbeshers What if I say it’s a bottom of an oven dish, and with stains from fat or sugar?

@odd I would say you were astonishingly close, but there was no sugar, and the dish wasn’t exactly an oven dish.

@cliffordbeshers So, is it a spatula? Or maybe a serving tray of metal? I’m not getting any closer, am I?

@odd Actually, yes, your are. It's the inside of a cafeteria chafing dish, like they use on buffets and salad bars.

@fgtech There is actually nothing out of focus, I think. That is, the lens was properly focused when I captured the image; the blur is in the artifact.

@johnjohnston @fgtech @gregmoore @odd With @odd's last guess, I think you all have come as close as you possibly could without more info. Stay tuned for next Wednesday's visual puzzle...

@cliffordbeshers Oh, I can see it now! That was amazing. The areas of soft focus are just at the edges where what I now know are the sides of the chafing dish come up. I kept seeing that as receding into the distance and couldn’t get past that. Really nice image and a fun puzzle. Thank you!

@cliffordbeshers Aha! A long way from fire truck bumper then! I don’t think I would ever have narrowed it down to that final guess. Thanks for holding the puzzle, and in holding back just enough! I’m peppering with suggestions, I’m sorry, but I can’t help it.

@cliffordbeshers This was a pretty one and it’s neat to see how beautiful things can be out of context.