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A picture can really be worth a thousand words. But sometimes, they're "written" in a foreign language.

As you might've learned from our previous article on 'Images That Require More Context', there's a reason why people should provide captions for the photos they post online. If there isn't one, the rest of us might have more questions than answers.

"Why is that duck riding the subway?" "Did it pay for a ticket?" "How does the bird know when to get off?" "Can it read?" And so on.

But in case you missed the memo, let's take another look at what the Twitter account has been posting lately.

(Spoiler alert, it continues to stay true to its name.)

More info: Twitter

If you feel uneasy when browsing these pictures, don't worry. There's nothing wrong with you. In fact, Dr. Clay Routledge, who is a social psychologist and professor of Psychology at North Dakota State University, points out that we humans need meaning. So whenever there is a lack of it — as it seems with many of these images — we're triggered.

"According to terror management theory, a prominent theory in social psychology, humans are like all other animals in that we strive to survive. Our bodies consist of systems that work to keep us alive. And as conscious beings, we deliberately engage in efforts to avoid death. We are motivated to live. However, unlike other animals, humans are intelligent enough to realize that death is certain. That is, we are uniquely aware of our mortal nature. We understand that despite our best efforts to stay alive, death is inevitable," Routledge writes in Scientific American.

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Terror management theory asserts that this juxtaposition of a desire to live and an awareness of death can cause a significant amount of anxiety, and that humans need to manage this terror in some way if we want to keep functioning.

"We would not be a very productive species if we lived our lives in constant fear of death. Thus, according to the theory, people seek out a sense of enduring meaning that makes them feel more than mortal," Routledge explains.

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Allen Lavine
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone talking about the truck no one talking about how strong the wires are

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Mary Rogers
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Um...I am not sure this is what Jesus meant when he said to carry your cross..

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To put it simply, we know our lives are brief and so we try to be part of something that transcends biological existence. "This sense of death-transcendence can come from having children, creating works that will leave a lasting legacy, investing in a group or organization that outlasts the lives of any individual member, and so on," the social psychologist says.

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Naturally, spirituality is a particularly powerful meaning-making tool as most religious beliefs explicitly afford humans with an afterlife.

"Research supports terror management theory," Routledge highlights. "Specifically, studies find that when people are exposed to stimuli that remind them of their mortality, they exhibit increased investment in the social and cultural identities that provide meaning and perceptions of death-transcendence."

For instance, if someone actively contemplates mortality, it increases their desire to have children, level of patriotism, religious faith, and commitment to romantic partners.

"In short, heightening the awareness of death heightens efforts to find and preserve transcendent meaning"

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Ty Stratton-Quirk
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Park the van under a tree in a parking lot, and leave it there for a few hours. Then tell us that birds aren't real.

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SR Webb
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was on the news. The guy who started it says it's satire.

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Manica Bawse
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All birds were swapped out for surveillance drones in 1978 and they charge on power lines

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elmortero
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In all it's absurdity it almost makes sense..But makes me angry we had to wait so long for wireless charging of our phones :-D

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Deek
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The man in the middle is Michael Stevens from Vsauce, go check out his channel on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/c/vsauce1/featured

l11sweet avatar
The lavender Fox
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

MY DAD FOLLOWS THESE GUYS(for fun,not cuz he belives them) and its making fun of flat earthers by saying birds are drones (pidgeons,city survelance,buzzards,cleanup)

lkagan2 avatar
Lola The Showgirl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can't believe people believe this whole government conspiracy of 'birds'. Please. We know the truth. We know they're not real. WAKE UP PEOPLE!

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Amy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bought my husband a "Birds Aren't Real" coffee mug for his birthday. He takes it to work and uses it in front of his crazy conspiracy theorist coworker. The guy hasn't said a word about it yet unfortunately.

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Miss Frankfurter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wake up people! They’re drones that are spying on you. When you see crowds of them on power lines they are recharging. Bird feeders are just asking for trouble. You think those are just beautiful peacocks walking around in some parks? No, they’re taking your picture for future use in AI. It’s true. 100% true. 😉

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SarBow
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dax Shepard has a really interesting podcast episode about this movement. It's not what you think! ;)

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Zaphod
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Armchaired & Dangerous, but it's actually helmed by David Farrier along with Dax. It's great stuff! (Sorry had to add that, David is a Kiwi and always proud to see his stuff getting out there.)

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NG
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually know someone who doesn’t believe in birds. It’s this whole theory that all birds were killed off ages ago and the government made these drones who watch us. People are crazy 😂

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Robert A Reider Jr
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow! Really? Our birdbots are very sophisticated. Ours reproduce! We have tons of nests every spring.

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Bernd Herbert
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is in fact a satirical group, nonetheless, there are people out there claiming on YouTube that certain animals are fake: cgi, robots or stuffed (yeah I know, stuffed means it once was alive and existent, but those guys are not in good terms with logic itself!). Check out Hans Wormhat, who claims Penguins, Koalas, OrangUtans and Pandas are fake animals

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Dav Carro-Ripalda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Camera, battery and cpu? This is an amazing info I did not know. And as the earth is flat you only need like 4 (one on each corner) to control us all!

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tara
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And assault weapons don't kill people.

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Mary Elliott
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everybody knows birds have been replaced by government drones, duh.

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Joe Blowe
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The "Birds Aren't Real" conspiracy is a fake conspiracy started by Peter McIndoe to show the level of misinformation that some people readily believe and the amount of ridiculousness in some conspiracy theories (flat earth)

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Raimei Ai
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Park that ANYWHERE in a populated city... You will be covered in pigeon sht in no time!

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Smeeem
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, Vsauce! Michael here. When we see outside from our windows, we see, Pigeons, Crows and all sorts of flying, creatures that we call birds. We see them and we know that they are real. But are they?

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Steven Wells
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stupidest s**t I've ever heard comevto Missouri I will shoot any bird of your choosing and prove to youbits real by gutting it on front of you. I mean seriously where do you ppl come up with this s**t.

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Dense Butter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No one realized its Vsauce, this is just a joke not a conspiracy

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Rumple Schleppskin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Somehow all of a sudden, flat earth seems plausible.. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Caleb R
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poe's law dictates that there is a point in which parody of extreme beliefs become indistinguishable from extreme beliefs. Case in point, flat earth or birds aren't real.

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Shanike De Silva
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So funny how a lot of Facebook grandma's don't know the raw power of the man crouching in the middle there.

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Pete from Cali. USA
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I heard this guy being interviewed on the radio and It was painful to listen to because he cannot openly admit that it's satire but the interviewer kept pressing him to acknowledge that it's satire. It's like the unstoppable force vs immovable object but with news vs satire.

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Beks Czar
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A literal visualization of the GQP. ---- just because YOU see birds doesn't mean it's true. The Dems are lying to you about your own eyes.

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Joshua Stephens
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Politicians aren't real either. They are the lizard people. That's why they live for a thousand years.

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Cass Malone
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's hard to tell if these people are being satirical or serious

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Jessica Julian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The back appears to say that every bird is a government surveillance device...so, nothing crazy about that...

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Rob Eman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Make sure you don't get hit by the falling debris. It marks you for further review! And then you just get hit by more debris even more frequently! Non-ferrous hats do help!

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Mahogany Eclipse
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty sure its birds making a f**kton noise in the tree outside my window every morning.

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Autumn
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in case no one’s said it yet—it’s a parody of conspiracy theorists. :)

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Siriusly Sirius
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey VSauce. Michael here... Birds. They're seemingly everywhere. Or are they...

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Marco Mechkak
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/technology/birds-arent-real-gen-z-misinformation.html

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Rebecca Strong
Community Member
1 year ago

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Amber V
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think they're talking about birds bring robots... Not that they don't exist

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Lisa H
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my God, that guy on the bottom looks like my ex's cousin. He lives in that area, too, AND is a full-on far right conspiracy theorist. I would not be the least bit surprised if that is actually him.

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Amy Stone-Chandler
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One more thing..how do these guys explain people that hunt and eat birds? 🤔

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Seb Benson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They explain it by being a satirical groups which makes fun of conspiracy theories by creating one which is too stupid to believe, and yet people take it as real.

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Seb Benson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The explanation is simple, they are a satirical groups which makes fun of conspiracy theories by creating one which is too stupid to believe, and yet people take it as real.

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Wysteria_Rose
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't decide if these people are serious but nothing surprises me anymore so maybe they are.

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Daniel Engel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hmmm... Well I'm pretty much a freaking nobody and I got to have a hundred thousand birds in my yard every day... Not sure who they be spying on tweet tweet tweet

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Seb Benson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a satirical group set up to mock conspiracy theories, and yet so so many people take it as real... hence the satire

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Adrianna Back
Community Member
1 year ago

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Prashant V
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

hey vsauce, michael here. birds aren't real, little creature that s**t on your cars are witches angel.

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MOONIE
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

is that f*****g v-sauce? im literally crying my eyes out

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Amy Stone-Chandler
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes a few birds are android/drones but pretty sure they don't s**t on our cars...yet

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Jon Borrmann
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Paranoid much?? How tweeked out are you to believe birds are government cameras?? Wow man, put down the crack pipe...

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cindy schweinefus
Community Member
1 year ago

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This is actually a group of people that was bred from the Trump presidency; remember the "don't believe what you see"? These guys pictured are bringing that to our attention!

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Seb Benson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Facepalm... it's a satirical group set up to mock conspiracy theorists... and those who relate EVERYTHING to their own political ideology... like you

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Liz-ard
Community Member
1 year ago

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Of all conspiracy theories I’ve ever heard this is the most kooky one so far! And there are THREE beliving it!!!

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Esha
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Under water camping challenge!! Who ever doesn't die first gets $1000!!!!! GOT INTENSE!!!

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Similarly, Routledge says that meaning mitigates the threat of death awareness. In fact, studies show that having people think about death increases their fear of it, but this effect is only observed among those who do not perceive their lives as meaningful.

"People who have meaning are not as terrified about the fact that they are mortal," Routledge says.

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The Silly Stellar Jay
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gun or photoshop? I hope it's photoshop, otherwise this is a waste of a perfectly good billiards table.

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Research suggests that the realization that life is finite is the driving force for our efforts to feel that our lives are purposeful and meaningful.

People want to be more than mere mortal beings who, at some point in time, disappear forever. To feel meaningful is to feel like you've made a lasting mark, and that your contribution will endure.

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I know it's a stretch, but maybe, just maybe, viewing seemingly random pictures with no apparent reason behind them somehow challenges our notion of a greater purpose? But maybe that's just maybe. Maybe you're completely unfazed by this list.

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Jake stenhouse
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A truck carrying hagfish crashed on a road with the car in the picture. Hagfish release slime when disturbed, car covered in slime. Think I’ve got that right?

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Research indicates that people who report having a strong sense of meaning in life are better able to cope with mentally and physically taxing experiences.

"Meaning can give people the inner strength they need to overcome many of life’s hurdles. Meaning motivates. It makes people want to productively move forward in life," Routledge says.

I don't want to sound overdramatic, but I hope you found your meaning. If not, let's keep searching. Whether it's a dumb image on the internet or something bigger.

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The Silly Stellar Jay
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Minimum wage worker in the US forced to work with no air conditioning. Understandable to me.

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Who Panda 420
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's Vecna! Quick what's your favorite song? Edit since I got so many responses mine would be brain damage by Pink Floyd I think. I love music!

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Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.