Java Edition:Block Replacement Bypass

From Alpha v1.0.5-1 - Beta 1.4_01, water, lava, fire, or snow could be replaced with certain blocks to create invalid states the blocks can not normally exist in. Due to the replacement of the block bypassing the initial update check, the blocks are able to be placed.

Uses

Brown Mushroom

Brown mushrooms can be placed invalidly using this method from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 but they will only last temporarily until they receive an update. This will then cause them to break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a brown mushroom, leaving it floating

Cactus

Cactus could be placed on invalid and floating positions from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01. As long as the cactus does not receive growth updates, such as with a block on top of the cactus, it will remain in that state forever.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a cactus, leaving it floating and next to a solid block

Cake

Cake can be placed invalidly from Beta 1.2 (the introduction of cake) - Beta 1.4_01 using this method. Cakes placed in this state can be eaten without making the block break or disappear.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a cake, leaving it floating

Chest

Chests can be placed next to chests you otherwise couldn't, creating triple, quadruple, or even quintuple chests.

Dandelion

Dandelions can be placed invalidly using this method from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 but they will only last temporarily until they receive an update. This will then cause them to break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a dandelion, leaving it floating

Rose

Roses can be placed invalidly using this method from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 but they will only last temporarily until they receive an update. This will then cause them to break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a rose, leaving it floating

Ladder

Ladders can be placed invalidly using this method from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01. This can be used to put ladders on transparent blocks and even air. Placing the ladder on air will cause it to render as invisible with only the hitbox being visible. The hitbox will change orientation to match the hitbox of the last ladder the player has looked directly at, and if no valid ladder has previously existed in the world, it will be a full block.

Lever

Levers are perhaps the most interesting on this list because they are the exception. Placing a lever using this method on the top side of a block creates levers with data values ^[test].

Rail

This section is a work in progress.

Please help in the creation of this article by expanding or improving it.

Rails can be placed in many invalid states using this bug, from floating rails of any kind to rails on top of rails. It should be noted that a floating rail will drop if it receives a block update. However you can place and ride minecarts on them.

For extra interesting rail technology using this glitch check This Reddit Post.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a rail, leaving it floating

Red Mushroom

Red mushrooms can be placed invalidly using this method from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 but they will only last temporarily until they receive an update. This will then cause them to break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a red mushroom, leaving it floating

Saplings

Saplings can be placed invalidly using this method from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 but they will only last temporarily until they receive an update. This will then cause them to break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a sapling, leaving it floating

Stone Button

Stone buttons can be placed from Alpha v1.0.5 to Beta 1.4_01 using this method. It will remain in this invalid state until it is activated, then it will update and break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a stone button, leaving it floating

Stone Pressure Plate

Stone Pressure Plates can be placed from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 using this method. It will remain in this invalid state until it is activated, then it will update and break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a stone pressure plate, leaving it floating

Sugar Cane

Sugar cane could be placed on invalid and floating positions from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01. As long as the sugar cane does not receive growth updates, such as with a block on top of it, making it a permanent discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a sugar cane, leaving it floating

Wooden Pressure Plate

Wooden Pressure Plates can be placed from Alpha v1.0.5 - Beta 1.4_01 using this method. It will remain in this invalid state until it is activated, then it will update and break off, making it a temporary discontinued feature.

Water that was just placed for BRB
The water replaced with a wooden pressure plate, leaving it floating