30 Times People Tried To Share Their Knowledge Of History Online But Embarrassed Themselves Instead
We humans spend lots of time studying and analyzing the most essential moments of our history. After all, many of us strive to better understand our past and the world we live in. But knowledge also includes failure. While some people keep their factual mishaps low-key, others loudly declare their silly (and usually false!) opinions, making people smack their foreheads in disbelief.
Whether it's thinking that the Berlin Wall worked or that learning about WWII is bad for your mental health, some people clearly had a hard time with history, and it shows. Enter the subreddit r/FacePalm, self-described as "a gallery of inexplicable stupidity". The moderators ask the members to share screenshots of human idiocy, all for your amusement.
Bored Panda has selected the best examples of people making a complete fool of themselves and rightfully getting shamed for it online. Continue scrolling and upvote the ones you enjoyed most! And if you’re in the mood for some more stupidity of individuals both online and in real life, check out our previous posts here and here.
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Burnnnnnnnnnnnn
Dear Athiests:
Won't Somebody Please Think Of The
Since its creation in 2009, the Facepalm subreddit has been steadily growing and becoming a true powerhouse of more than 6.1 million members ready to document people’s stupidity from forums, social media sites, or just real life. It comes as a great source of entertainment, and a dedicated moderator team stands right at the center of it.
One person who looks after this online group told Bored Panda in a previous interview that they moderate it "according to Reddit's content policy and that means that most of the comment moderation we do is to remove bigotry and racism," they said. "The subreddit's community is fine, for the most part. A lot of people come here to have a laugh at whatever silly thing is being posted and that's ok."
Uhh Moment.
The Deadly Argument For Going Natural
“If Masks Were Necessary We Would Have Evolved One By Now” Lmao
When it comes to the topics that are well-liked by the community, the moderator said they can change quite fast. "[What's popular] really depends on what is on people's minds at the time. Currently, a popular topic is the insane lengths people go through to deny the facts about Covid."
You see, there’s truly no end to human stupidity. Some people will always be ignorant and believe they can become experts in politics, science, and whatnot overnight and blare their ideas online. Well, thanks to the members of this community who hunt down ridiculous posts, they do everyone a public service by shaming them online.
Yeah I Think Native Americans Know More About The Land If They Lived Longer In It(Forgot To Add A Flair)
Antivax Logic
Ironic Idiots
And the country that defeated it started by european colonization
There’s a myriad of scientific evidence that proves humans are poor judges of their quality of performance and abilities. Well, people believe they are smarter and more capable than they really are and often claim to know a lot when, in fact, they have very little knowledge about the subject.
A 1999 study in which David Dunning and Justin Kruger, psychology professors from Cornell University, showed how people tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities. The researchers asked participants to do four tests to assess their humor, grammar, logic, and then evaluate how well or poorly they thought they did.
The results revealed that most participants overestimated their performance, but the ones that scored in the bottom quarter were much more likely to overvalue themselves. "Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it," the researchers wrote.
Wait Hold Up A Sec
Ouch. It must sting when someone who you think is on your side tells you that you're an idiot.
Failed The History Class
Know Your Place Trash
"The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club," David Dunning told Vox. "People miss that." Our brains tend to hide our blind spots from us. That’s why we often feel more confident about our skills, knowledge, and abilities than we should. And often, we’re completely unaware of our overconfidence.
Facebook Making Memes Unintentionally
Maybe Rethink That Again...peter
“A Bioweapon Against God”
"The work is about [how] when people don’t get it, they don’t realize they don’t get it," the professor explained that this is a phenomenon that visits all of us sooner or later. "Some of us are a little more flamboyant about it. Some of us aren’t. But not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition. The problem with it is we see it in other people, and we don’t see it in ourselves," he said.
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions.
On Dinosaurs
Redefining History
To become a bit more skeptical, modest, and aware of our cognitive blind spots, David Dunning recommends you to ask yourself where you could be wrong if the decision is an important one. "Think that through — it matters. Think about what you don’t know. That is, check your assumptions."
"On a more general level, a lot of the issues or problems we get into, we get into because we’re doing it all by ourselves. We’re relying on ourselves. We’re making decisions as our own island, if you will. And if we consult, chat, schmooze with other people, often we learn things or get different perspectives that can be quite helpful," he explained.
Hmmmm
When I visited the US in 2018 a group of high school kids found out I was from Germany and asked me if the Berlin Wall was still up and if Hitler was still alive. These are the moments you feel your soul leave your body
As an American, I apologize for my more idiotic countrymen. Es tut mir leid.
Load More Replies...I have American friends, I’m always there to send them best wishes on 4th July or Traitors Day as I prefer to call it here in the U.K. 😀
Lol, I used to reply to my British friends 'happy losers day' 🤪
Load More Replies...We do actually. Of course we celebrate the day the Fresh Prince and Ian Malcolm saved us all from Aliens using only a Mac Powerbook.
A good few years ago I was in NYC for the 4th of July (from the UK). I happened to be on a dinner boat trip on the Hudson to watch the fireworks and got chatting with this lovely family from upstate. They asked in all seriousness what we (in the UK) did to celebrate independence day. They had no real idea of what was being celebrated or why, to the extent that they kept asking me more and more questions around those events. Like wide-eyed children they were amazed at those things. To be fair, my knowledge was not encyclopedic on the subject but they wanted to know more. It says a lot about the US education system, or perhaps that if you give people the oppotunity to learn they do.
This is an example of the result of US education. Little is taught about other countries. If it is taught, it's likely the UK and other parts of Western Europe.
I mean, we discussed Japan, China, Africa, Russia, India and s few other places but I wouldn’t complain about learning more
Load More Replies...Anyone outside France celebrating Bastille Day? .... Yeah. See, this is why you have to not just pass history, but *learn it*.
Our household does in Ohio. My husband likes it; visiting the bastille was his most disappointing memory of Paris.
Load More Replies...Idk do Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Oh wait, they do and poorly.
That celebrates a famous battle between the Mexicans and the French Empire. Mexican Independence day is September 16th. But Americans who speak predominantly English have a much easier time with "Cinco de Mayo" than "Diez y Seis de Septiembre".
Load More Replies...I could maybe see the UK celebrating but I don't think the reasons would be the same. :-D
I once asked my cousins in the Netherlands if they celebrated Thanksgiving. Luckily I was a child at that point and have since learned that the U.S. is not the center of everything.
I got asked this when I visited the US in 1993. I was too stunned to reply! This was a college student ...
A lot of nations celebrate their own independence day. Everyone, everywhere has had to fight for their freedom from someone. And then fight someone else who wanted freedom from them. What a crazy world.
WHY don't people in the USA celebrate Australia Day? Or the Queen's Birthday??
Even if the 4th of July was made a public holiday and you got a day off work here in Australia, most people would probably just go to work, or else we’d organise a mass p*ss up, eat junk food and spend the day watching rubbish on TV.
Mind you, a lot of Australians don’t celebrate Australia Day either.
When I was in Germany we were about to leave our room and someone said, "It's Thanksgiving, will anything even be open?"
I showed this to my mom and she said "Well it would make sense for other countries to because most of their revolutions were inspired by ours" girl wtf
Visiting friends in England on July 4th. We had a couple of beers and told war stories. /s
when the communists took over russia which at the time was a kingdom ruled by a guy called Tsar (emperor) Nicholas
Load More Replies...When the USSR celebrated May Day, its origin was the judicial lynching of Chicago labor activists in the 1880’s.
I'd like to have a day off for every independance day, it would make the year lighter ! (BTW, 21th of July if you want to follow the Belgian one ! )
No, but the Congo *would* like you to take down your statues of Leopold and pay reparations for the 10 million dead. Thanks.
Load More Replies...Pleeeeeaaaase... The name of the country is United States of America, as it is on a continent called America.... America is a whole continent. You may call it "the States" or "USA", or whatever in between but please stop referring to America as a country... It is not. And for many of us that come from an american country it is not only absurd but offensive.
Happy Birthday
You're Standing Right In Front Of The Best Example In The Whole World That Proves That Walls Don't Work.
Not only did it eventually come down and has been considered a cruel historical mistake since they built it, it was only part of what they called the "Todesstreifen", path of death. People were shot at and killed long before they could've climbed the wall. At least 140 have been killed in Berlin alone. It's a symbol of shame not an accomplishment.
Numbrs... I Don't Know What I Say...
She Forgot A Very Important Bit Of Information
Big Brain Time
Picasso Was Alive When Snoop Dogg Was Born.
Back when I was in high-school this was the ultimate 'omg that blew my mind' moment for a lot of people. The only reason I knew about it before then was my mom's ex was into art and she adored Picasso and Dali. Dali died in '89 I think.
Someone Skipped 5th Grade History
1917
Absolute Genius
It is normal for students in Slovakia to visit Auschwitz around the age of 16 to see the brutal history of WWII with their own eyes. It's haunting. 17 years passed and I still remember the rings, shoes, hair, luggage, but most of all the eyes in the photos.
The Image They Don’t Want You To See
This Is Why The World Has Been Doomed…
Yeah the white blond-haired Mary of Israel. Very accurate portrait, though. *Facepalm*
Note: this post originally had 39 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I love how currently under your post is one of those spam post. It's just proving your point.
Load More Replies...This stuff reminds me of a person who recently claimed that dinosaur fossils exist because Earth was created by God around 6000 years ago from *pieces of other earths that did have dinosaurs milions of years ago*. How they can function remains a medical mystery. That's too much "WTF" to be survived.
Look TBH jellyfish don't have brains and they survive.
Load More Replies...This is what happens when education becomes politicized, turned into some propaganda tool and used as a commodity for profit.
You know, while fun, the fake ones are just annoying, especially if people think some of these are real
Learning is really mentally straining. I know. Teachers are so abusive for making you think serious thoughts.
Ugh, more stirring up dumb people into fighting online and possibly carrying the behavior into real life with real life consequences. Can we not ?
The ignorance of people about history - not just of their own country, but of history *in general* - is pretty much the sole reason I can't watch TV quiz shows any more. I just wind up shouting abuse at my TV and throwing things at it.
I love how currently under your post is one of those spam post. It's just proving your point.
Load More Replies...This stuff reminds me of a person who recently claimed that dinosaur fossils exist because Earth was created by God around 6000 years ago from *pieces of other earths that did have dinosaurs milions of years ago*. How they can function remains a medical mystery. That's too much "WTF" to be survived.
Look TBH jellyfish don't have brains and they survive.
Load More Replies...This is what happens when education becomes politicized, turned into some propaganda tool and used as a commodity for profit.
You know, while fun, the fake ones are just annoying, especially if people think some of these are real
Learning is really mentally straining. I know. Teachers are so abusive for making you think serious thoughts.
Ugh, more stirring up dumb people into fighting online and possibly carrying the behavior into real life with real life consequences. Can we not ?
The ignorance of people about history - not just of their own country, but of history *in general* - is pretty much the sole reason I can't watch TV quiz shows any more. I just wind up shouting abuse at my TV and throwing things at it.