When string or M theory is compactified to lower dimensions, the U-duality symmetry predicts so-called exotic branes whose higher-dimensional origin cannot be explained by the standard string or M-theory branes. We argue that exotic branes can be understood in higher dimensions as nongeometric backgrounds or U folds, and that they are important for the physics of systems which originally contain no exotic charges, since the supertube effect generically produces such exotic charges. We discuss the implications of exotic backgrounds for black hole microstate (non-)geometries.