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Mistakes are just lessons waiting to be learned! Unfortunately, some of those mistakes can be very, very expensive. They hit your wallet with the force of a charging rhino, leaving you clutching your head in agony and letting out incomprehensible bleats about how much money just went down the drain.

That’s where the ‘That Looked Expensive’ subreddit comes in. It’s an internet community that’s dedicated to documenting all the hilarious (not to mention painful) times that people made expensive mistakes. Like wrecking their cars. Or planes. (Or presidential campaigns. Sorry, Mike Bloomberg.)

Bored Panda spoke about the best way for people to deal with mistakes and how important a role emotions play in learning from them with researcher and Assistant Professor of Marketing Noelle Nelson from the University of Oregon. She told us that people vary in how much they tend to justify their mistakes. "Some learn early that it's important to accept when you've done something wrong while others get in a habit of justifying/deflecting/making excuses. Everyone, though, has done this to some degree." Scroll down for our in-depth interview with Noelle and for our chat with the founder of the 'That Looked Expensive' subreddit, Approx-, dear Pandas. Remember to upvote your fave expensive blunders and to let us know in the comments what the most expensive thing that you wrecked was and how you did it.

Discover more in This Group Is Dedicated To People Posting Really Expensive Accidents And Mistakes, And Here Are 45 Of The Worst Ones

Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

#1

No Matter How Much You Screw Up, You'll Never Ever Have To Tell Your Boss: Sir, I Toppled That 290 Million Dollar Noaa-N Prime Satellite Right Onto The Shop Floor.

Expensive accident involving a damaged satellite inside a secured lab with technicians in safety suits nearby.

Snow-Lemur Report

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    #2

    When The Fire Suppression Foam Is Accidentally Released

    Military aircraft hangar filled with foam after an expensive accident causing major damage to planes.

    5_Frog_Margin Report

    #3

    When You Forget You Parked On Top Of The Self-Hiding Garage

    Black SUV crashed on top of garage roof above another parked car in a costly and expensive accident outside a residential building.

    The car at the bottom was flooded. Car at the top was crushed

    tsMineDK Report

    Noelle told Bored Panda that there are a lot of reasons why we justify our mistakes and she told us a couple of the main ones. "We don't like feeling negative emotion and the goal is very often to 'get back' to a positive state. If we can justify something we did wrong, we don't have to feel bad about it anymore."

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    She continued with the second reasons: "We want to protect our positive self image. Justifying a mistake means that I didn't do anything wrong or whatever went wrong wasn't my fault. That means I can still feel like I'm 'good.'"

    Noelle said that her research suggests that taking the time to stop and feel the negative emotions associated with the mistake helps a person learn from that mistake. "We find that it's not enough to just think about the mistake and why it happened. Our brains are designed to be guided by emotion, so actually feeling that negative emotion is important," she said.

    #4

    Don't Tailgate A School Bus When Your Car Is Shaped Like A Door Stop

    Yellow school bus rear-ending a silver sports car with a tow truck and worker at the scene of an expensive accident.

    DPLaVay Report

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    #5

    Florida House Split Via Crane Mishap

    Crane truck accident leaning against a house causing significant costly damage and expensive mistakes posted by a dedicated group.

    IAmGodMode Report

    Granny's Thoughts
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sure hope someone has good insurance.

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    #6

    Parking On The Beach

    Luxury Mercedes SUV stuck in wet sand at the beach, illustrating a really expensive accident and mistake.

    Hera03a Report

    "In our experiments, people who were asked to feel those negative emotions corrected their behavior on a similar task later on. This happened even though they didn't know the tasks were connected! That suggests that the emotional learning doesn't have to be consciously done by a person; simply making sure to allow oneself to feel those negative emotions leads to learning."

    Noelle revealed to us that lately she's been working on research that addresses why people have a hard time changing their minds about important topics and how we might be able to communicate in a way that would help them absorb new information that they don't necessarily agree with. "Generally, how people process emotions and thoughts is important in how they learn, function and interact with their environment."

    #7

    Your Internet Access Will Be Restored Between January And December 2020

    Construction worker removing expensive damaged cables tangled around a drilling machine during a costly accident site cleanup.

    jazz_man Report

    Granny's Thoughts
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wouldn't want to be the one who calls the boss.

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    #8

    Expensive Tip...

    Server with many hard drives destroyed and scattered on the floor as an example of expensive accidents and mistakes.

    _w0xy Report

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    #9

    Technician 'Accidentally' Fires Vulcan Cannon & Obliterates F-16 Sitting On The Runway

    Burned and damaged fighter jet wreckage on runway, illustrating one of the most expensive accidents and mistakes.

    J00G0LD Report

    Reddit user Approx- told Bored Panda that they started the subreddit back in March 2018, as a result of a comment made by another user, Deathtastic.

    According to Approx-, the subreddit grew steadily and naturally gained users since it was first created. "We haven't really done anything in particular to make it grow, other than ensuring content is well moderated," they said.

    "I think the appeal of expensive mistakes is twofold. First, it's just straight-up entertainment to see expensive things destroyed. But I think it also gives folks a bit of a sense of relief that maybe their screw-ups aren't all that bad after seeing a multi-million dollar mistake," Aprrox- said.

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    #10

    If Insurance Companies Had Nightmares...

    Two red Ferraris severely damaged in a multi-car crash on a highway, showing expensive accident and mistake aftermath.

    Liberal_Leopard Report

    #11

    If You’re Having A Bad Day, Just Know That At Least You Didn’t Shatter A 16,000$ Bottle Of Victory In Europe, 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild

    Partially broken vintage Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine bottle from 1945, an expensive accident shown on warehouse table.

    I_kickflipped_my_dog Report

    #12

    The Slide Opened Inside The Aircraft

    Inflated airplane evacuation slide blocking cabin aisle during a costly accident on flight.

    viboux Report

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    The ‘That Looked Expensive’ subreddit has more than 416k members and the community has been going strong since it was first founded.

    It’s one thing to mess up as an individual but it’s a whole other ball game when companies or countries mess up. For example, back in 2000, Netflix approached Blockbuster with an idea to take care of the digital part of their company. Blockbuster said ‘no’ and, well, we don’t have to tell you how things worked out over the next two decades for both companies, do we? A ‘yes’ instead of a ‘no’ and we could still have a healthy version of Blockbuster!

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    #13

    Cement Truck Mishap

    Car covered in wet concrete from a cement mixer truck, showcasing an expensive accident and costly mistake.

    KevlarYarmulke Report

    #14

    Big Oof

    Rare $194,000 grand piano smashed by movers, an example of really expensive accidents and costly mistakes.

    Dcln-e Report

    #15

    Renewable Energy Needs Renewing

    Damaged solar panels with large holes caused by hailstones, illustrating expensive accidents and costly mistakes.

    Absentfriends Report

    Another costly blunder happened when the so-called ‘Walkie-Talkie’ skyscraper was built in London. It took millions of pounds to fix a huge issue: the southern wall of the skyscraper was covered with reflective glass that was causing fires and melting cars. Yeah, you read the right—actually melting cars like a heat beam that some comic book villain would use.

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    We all know that failure’s a part of life and we can’t avoid it forever. So it’s important to learn how to handle it in the right way. Common sense tells us to let things go but that might not be what’s best for us.

    #16

    New Boeing 737 Fuselages Wrecked In Train Derailment In Montana (July 2014)

    Several airplane fuselage sections lie broken and submerged in a river after a costly accident in a forested area.

    PerciFlage88 Report

    #17

    Don’t Leave Your Malinois With Your Porsche

    Porsche with severe damage to rear wheel arch and peeling paint, an example of a really expensive accident and mistake.

    koogledoogle Report

    #18

    F

    Burned game room with 30 systems and over 2000 games destroyed in one of the most expensive accidents and mistakes.

    ElBarani Report

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    #19

    The Alcoholic In Me Is In Tears!

    Wine bottles falling and breaking in a cellar, capturing an expensive accident and mistake with spilled wine and shards.

    OrangeJeepWdw Report

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    #20

    Should’ve Thought That Through...

    Excavator stuck in sand on a beach as part of really expensive accidents and costly mistakes posted by people.

    Turtlechampy Report

    #21

    This Guy Sunk His Raptor And Jeep Trying To Save His $300,000 Boat That Was Sinking

    Two trucks partially submerged in water near a shore, with people on nearby boats witnessing the expensive accident.

    SloppyToppyDownSouth Report

    #22

    Two Carnival Cruise Ships Colliding

    Two cruise ships colliding in a costly accident at sea, showing damage on the vessels near the dock.

    unknown Report

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    #23

    Aston Martin That Was Worth £1.5m.

    Silver vintage car with severe front-end damage after a costly accident on a city street near traffic lights.

    Jorarl Report

    Paul Sloan
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Q will be upset with James over this one.

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    #24

    Stray Bullet Landed On A Solar Panel I Just Installed.

    C*****d solar panel with a circular impact damage, showing one of the expensive accidents and mistakes.

    zopilord Report

    #25

    It Will Hurt The Wallet

    Burned vintage sports car with gullwing doors open in parking lot, showing severe damage from an expensive accident.

    Venom4174 Report

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    #26

    Someone Forgot To Lower The Dump On The Truck

    White dump truck crashed into building wall causing expensive accident with debris and structural damage visible outside.

    phetish23 Report

    #27

    See The Problem There Is That The Back Fell Off

    Pickup truck accidently lifted upside down on a car lift in a garage, showcasing a really expensive mistake.

    OvercastHaze Report

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    #28

    Tug Hit An A300

    Close-up of a damaged airplane engine after a costly accident on a wet night, illustrating expensive accidents and mistakes.

    ttv_Alotta Report

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    #29

    Jim Bean Wearhouse Fire That Was Left To Burn Through 45 Thousand Barrels Of Whiskey To Avoid Runoff Into Nearby Water Sources

    Fire blazing over large pile of debris behind Old Crow Distillery sign, showing an expensive accident site.

    liamurray12 Report

    #30

    Well, Not One But Two

    Two yellow luxury sports cars with open doors involved in a minor collision, highlighting expensive accidents and mistakes.

    feliciteer_mij Report

    #31

    Flipped The Apc And Crashed A Truck That’s Gotta Be Expensive

    Military tank accident involving a large vehicle overturned on a highway, illustrating a really expensive mistake.

    Saint9407 Report

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    #32

    A Rock'n Boat

    High-speed ferry in motion and later after a really expensive accident, crashed on rocks causing severe damage.

    istionyyc Report

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    #33

    70m Yacht Capsized In Greece

    Capsized luxury yacht partially submerged near dock, illustrating one of the most expensive accidents and mistakes posted online.

    TheRigSauce Report

    #34

    Residential Homes Built In South Dakota Over Undisclosed Abandoned Gypsum Mine... Sinkhole Renders Entire Neighborhood’s Property Values Now Worthless.

    Large sinkhole causing expensive accidents and mistakes in a residential driveway with two people observing the damage.

    Dan Austin/Paha Sapa Grotto Report

    #35

    Rag Left In Engine After Repairs Turned To Shreds

    Car engine interior filled with shredded insulation, showing a costly accident and expensive mechanical mistake repair.

    Geovestigator Report

    not a sock
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    for a sec i thought i was seeing a mangled human😅

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    #36

    300,000$ Porsche Crashed During Test Drive

    Red sports car with heavy front damage after a costly accident, part of expensive accidents and mistakes collection.

    urmommyre Report

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    #37

    Trailer Full Of New 2020 Shelby Gt500s Tipped Over In Detroit Today.

    Aerial view of a serious multi-car accident involving overturned vehicles and response trucks on a busy highway.

    ablebodiedmango Report

    #38

    Suv Crashes Into Mclaren Dealer

    Black SUV crashed into a silver McLaren at the dealership, showcasing one of the most expensive accidents and mistakes.

    netg0d Report

    #39

    Hope Insurance Covers This

    Car dashboard showing low tire pressure warning and a badly damaged tire, illustrating expensive accidents and mistakes.

    andocromn Report

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    #40

    What Happens When A Bandsaw Hits A Nail

    Industrial machine accident causing sparks while processing wooden log in a factory, highlighting costly mistakes and accidents.

    hazzardous010 Report

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    #41

    Porsche Panamera Hybrid vs. Tesla Model S

    Two luxury cars involved in an expensive accident with front-end and rear-end damage and people discussing the collision nearby

    PhilpotBlevins Report

    #42

    Landslide On Highway

    Highway landslide causing a major expensive accident and road mistake, surrounded by lush green hills and valleys.

    voy_conlag_mental Report

    Greenkitty
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm guessing this is not real, AI or something.

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