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50 Of The Most Ironic Images That Show The Universe Has A Great Sense Of Humor (New Pics)
Some days, you can’t help but feel that the universe not only works in mysterious ways but also has a great sense of humor. Believing that people will act a certain way or signs will commit to what they are saying, you often don’t expect they’ll do the exact opposite. And that’s what makes it so ludicrous.
The world is full of unpredicted things, you just have to keep your eyes open. From manually cleaning an iRobot store to humorous health inspection awards, people who stumbled upon something so accidentally ironic just had to take a picture and share it with the whole web.
Bored Panda has scoured the internet and compiled a list of some of the finest ironic moments for you to enjoy. So get ready to have a good laugh and upvote your favorite ones! And if you’re hungry for some more hilarious situations, be sure to check out our previous posts right here and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Shell And Cif, The Destroyers Of Planets, Eliminators Of Lifeforms
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#2
Oh The Irony
#3
This Year Thousands Of Men Will Die From Stubbornness
Everyone loves a delicious bit of irony from time to time. When we stumble upon these unexpected moments, they get easily stuck in our heads—after all, we know irony when we see it. But when it comes to defining the term and expressing it with words, many people have difficulties.
The most basic definition of this term is a conflict between what’s expected and what occurs. To learn more about irony and its humorous nature, we reached out to Roger J. Kreuz, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Memphis.
In his recent book, Irony and Sarcasm, Kreuz goes into great detail in explaining how and why these words “are two of the most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood words in our conversational lexicon.”
#4
I'm No Rocket Surgeon But
#5
This Is How We Roll In My Town
#6
At Least Irony Isn't Made In China
While many of us instinctively understand when a situation is ironic, it can be hard to articulate it. The professor said that the reason behind this is that “the perception of irony is triggered by violations of implicit assumptions that we have about the world and how it is supposed to work.”
“In most cases, we aren’t even aware of these assumptions until we encounter something incongruous or peculiar that contradicts our expectations,” he added. Kreuz provided a couple of examples:
- You encounter a sign with a misspelling in front of a store. Not a big deal – mistakes happen. Not irony.
- You see a sign in front of a school. Many schools have such signs, so nothing surprising about that. Not irony.
- You see a sign in front of a school that reads “We are committed to excellense.” Educators are supposed to know how to spell, so the juxtaposition of the message, the mistake, and its very public location triggers a sense of irony.
#7
What If?
Tabby_Sohee 4 years ago (edited)
I’m sorry, but this is inconsiderate. Many people who state their religion as an excuse and do horrible things are indeed Christian, but it’s not a religion-based thing, every religion has those kinds of psychos. Christianity does not deserve to be put down like this and be called a lie; calling someone’s beliefs and integrity a lie is not the way to building equality between religions and cultures. Please, let’s try to accept other cultures instead of bashing down the ones of others.
#8
Man Experiences Irony, 1966
#9
Pharmacy Puts Their Back Pain Stuff On The Bottom Shelf
#10
Handle Broke
“In a similar way, a destroyed book is not ironic, and a book about dog training isn’t either,” the professor continued. But if you juxtapose them and see Dog Training for Dummies being destroyed by your furry four-legged friend: “Voilà, irony!”
One thing that many people tend to mix up is verbal irony and sarcasm. These two words often are used interchangeably, yet they’re not the same. “Irony is often triggered by situations and involves incongruity, juxtaposition, and unexpectedness. Sarcasm, on the other hand, is typically verbal,” Kreuz told Bored Panda.
“It often makes use of irony to criticize someone else, or to be humorous. But not all sarcasm involves irony, which is why people are often confused about these terms.”
#11
Things Have Gone Wrong Somewhere
Lousha 4 years ago
This might look funny but only 50 percent went wrong, if that. I will say that dogs should not be in strollers and shouldn't be bred to the point where they are not dogs anymore. But kids on a leash - that is a good thing! It makes the outings much safer. Such small kids, even if very well behaved and disciplined don't yet have a brain yet that can compute consequences. The world is fast and dangerous. The leash can make sure they never disappear on you when for 2 seconds you're looking at what the other one is doing, and can't run ahead enough to be hit by a car. I used to be a nanny and I refused to take the 3 year old out until I was given one of these. I was still holding her hand and she was a very good little lady, but it made me feel safer to know that she can't just dart out on a whim as we're crossing a million roads to school.
#12
Anti-Chew Spray
#13
Found This Old Apple Slogan. Times Sure Have Changed
And talking about why many of us find it comical when we come across an ironic sign, poster, or image, Kreuz mentioned that we think it’s amusing because it’s almost like solving a puzzle. “When we spot the incongruity, we can be amused, and then perhaps consider ourselves to be a little superior compared to those who don’t ’get the joke.’”
Looking through this list, you can’t help but feel reminded to expect the unexpected and chuckle at the ups and downs of life. After all, ironic billboards, posters, and situations are lurking all around us, just waiting to be captured and shared with people in great need of a laugh or two.
#14
Dog Came To The Vet Today For Swallowing A Monopoly Piece
#15
This Subway Is Telling People To Eat Next Door
#16
The Irony
#18
Noticed Our Stroller Felt A Little Weird, Found Out There’s A Pin Stuck In The Tire. The Pin Is Very Ironic
#19
Finding A Way
#20
Thank You For Driving Carefully
#22
Now What?
#24
There Was An Attempt To Stop The Seagulls
#25
Nestled Away In A Small Local Newspaper Is The Greatest And Most Ironic Ad Ever
#26
Took This After Lunch At The Restaurant. At Least The Irony Is Delicious
#27
Well
#28
A Machine Came Thru My Local John Deere For Repairs From The Tornado In Kentucky
Jef Bateman 4 years ago
"Jimmy cracked corn but I don't care." But the corn cared. The corn never forgot.
Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
Wow! This really illustrates the power of a tornado, weaponised corn!
John C 4 years ago
Too bad the farmer's not allowed to fix his own tractor and has to send it back to John Deere fore repairs, eh? repair.org
Cassidy ChillRose 4 years ago
Colonel Kernel wanted to be a ballistic missile all his life, and eventually he got his wish. It was short lived, as John Deere had operatives lying in wait to ambush him and intercept his flight path. He did not survive the impact.
Victoria Renee 4 years ago
"come down today and try some corn or we will sacrifice your newborn"
CMDR unematti 4 years ago
I heard Deere was bad at right to repair but not even the window can be changed in other shops? :O
KatHat 4 years ago
This is absolutely fake. There's no way the ear of corn could make that hole, in GLASS, with literally no damage to the kernels. Someone's idea of a joke, and it's good, but it's not real.
Kim Bush 4 years ago
That is not fresh corn, it's dried, which is perfectly able to break glass.
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Metallicd3ath 4 years ago
So like, legitimate question here. I know not everyone gets what's "ironic" properly and so I tend not to complain or bring it up on things that aren't actually ironic but... Is there something I don't know about this one that makes it ironic or even "ironic"?
Ananda Ghosh 4 years ago
I didn't understand either but perusing the comments I found "this is not irony, this is revenge" and I now think that must be what that were going for
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Anyone-for-tea? 4 years ago
Looks like Kernel Corn was out fighting zombies and the tractor is collateral damage
Bacony Cakes 4 years ago
It's a shame everyone in John Deere is stuck in a mid-2000s low budget 3D video game hellscape.
Requiem 4 years ago
That isnt strong enough to pierce through a windshield, its also in with the blunt side
Destiny Thornton 4 years ago
Yep. I have been through a few tornadoes. Not only is it possible, it's emensly probable.
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#29
Spotted In A Walmart Parking Lot Today
#30
We Always Get Each Other Ironic Gifts, My Little Sister Killed It This Year: Batteries Not Included
#31
I Mean
#32
For Christmas 2019, My Boss Gifted Us With 1 Work From Home Day In 2020
#33
Earth Day Run Irony
#34
Well Isn’t That Ironic
Bacony Cakes 4 years ago
*puts these in my printer, runs out of magenta immediately, buys new of these, print heads are misaligned, i waste all the cyan doing the test thing, i buy more of these, they're incompatible because they have drm somehow, i give up and throw my printer into an active volcano*
#35
Made In China
#36
“This Is Not Style. This Is Stupidity”
#37
That's Some Fine Irony
#38
He Knew It Would Come To This One Day
#39
This A Little Infuriating Exchange On A Dating App
#41
Oh The Irony
#42
Picking Up Plastic On The Beach Today... The Irony
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Cut to shot of a single tear trickling down David Attenborough's cheek
#43
Our Youngest Son Has A Taste For Irony
#44
Breakable
#45
Goddammit
Thomas E S Thomas 4 years ago
Put some water in, bring to a boil. The sticker will slide right off.
#46
You Can't Do It
#47
Irony
#48
There Was Flooding Where I Live Recently. Ironic
#49
The Irony Here Is Amazing. Never Tell Me The Odds
#50
The Left Door Perfectly Describes The Right Door's Condition
#51
This Truck In Front Of Me Had A Decal That Said "Sasquatch Research Society". Ironically I Could Only Get This Blurry Photo That Doesn't Prove Anything
#52
Mixed Messages In Elk City
#53
Saw This In A Parking Lot. The Irony Almost Hurts
#54
Finally A Hand Dryer That Works Properly
#55
Protesting Nike While Wearing Nikes
#56
It Always Seems I'm Doing Something Wrong With My Life
#57
Beware Of Loose Gravel
#58
Seems Like A Legit Place To Get A Job
Sue Hazlewood 4 years ago
An animal boarding establishment near me just advertised for staff and a few days later the place is on the market.
#59
Nothing Written In Stone
#60
Please Do Not Waste Toner
#61
Hopefully, They Get Someone Else To Do The Job Next Time
#62
Irony For Sale, Twenty Two Bucks
#63
A Display Of Human Decency In NYC
#64
This Is Quite Ironic
#65
Hmmm
Herbert Yeboah 4 years ago
Took a second to realize they are supposed to use the robot to clean
#66
The Definition Of Irony: My Neighbor's Smoke Alarm Spontaneously Burst Into Flames
#68
Irony At It's Finest
#69
Well, That's Ironic
#71
(Dead End)
adiiantryx 4 years ago
'I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.'
#72
Now Where Did I Leave That Sun Screen
karla Meixnerová 4 years ago
Put it in the cart. I am interested, if you will be charged 7.95 or if you will be able to smuggle it through :D
#73
Well That Is Ironic
#74
Facts. Who Needs Scoohl
#75
"Antique"
#76
The Irony
#77
Irony In A Snail Shell
#78
Accepting Resume
Brian Bennett 4 years ago
Please place in our convenient circular file. you will be notified by snail mail!
#79
Found In The Book Section Of A Thrift Store
Alex Boomhower 4 years ago
There are probably a million books with the word printed on the cover
#81
Yeah, About Your Product
#84
This Is What Inequality Looks Like In My Country
#85
This Sign Has All Of The Irony
#88
At Night The Otherwise Harmless Brodie Foodmart Turns Evil
#89
Plastic Plants That Are Unaware Of Their Own Limitations
#90
This Sign, Just Disobeying Itself
#91
Brake Fail Probably
#92
Working Together. Of Women. The Power
#95
Oh The Irony
#96
He Knows More
Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 4 years ago (edited)
Come on, that dude made a joke sign to make fun of the anti-vaxxers behind him. On the other side on his sign is written: I demand my right to be ignarant and selfish!! https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/09/13/counter-demonstrator-uses-satire-in-support-of-science-at-hospital-protests/amp/
#97
Oh The Irony
#98
Tree Of Life. That Sucks
#99
You Had One Job
#100
This Highway Marker Always Gets Me When I Pass It
Artsy Bookworm 4 years ago
Welcome to the Devil's Lair! Come on in for a Bloody Martini and an entertainment show of the most disturbing tortures ever! All hosted by Lucifer, the one and only! Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity! Remember to recommend to your friends and family before dying!
#101
I'm Hypocritical
#102
Found In The Woods
#103
Self Help?
#104
Well It Isn’t A Pub Anymore Then, Is It?
#105
She Dressed Herself, It's Definitely Backward
#107
This Looks Like Something From A Monty Python Film (Found In Montevideo, Uruguay)
#108
Got Into A Car Crash While I Was In The Passenger’s Seat, The First Thing I See When I Get Out The Car Is Amelia Earhart’s Quote
#110
Saw This While Getting Of A Plane In Munich. The Irony
This book's title is "The Forgotten"
#111
A Good Fit
#112
The Irony
#113
Spelling Optional
#114
Saw This On My Brother’s Quad. Do Decals Count?
#115
Irony Strikes Again
#116
I Got This As My Fortune Few Days After I Got Diagnosed With Alopecia Areata (Bald Spots)
Artsy Bookworm 4 years ago
The moment you realise the whole world is in a scheme to make you look like a fool...
#117
The Irony Is Not Lost On Me
#118
So My Coworker Dropped His Mug... The Irony Wasn't Lost On Him
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Apparently it is. That's why I hate all the fools saying "..... is not an option."
#119
Oh Sweet Irony
#120
My Wife Left The Sunscreen Out Last Weekend
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What do you think ?
Soggy Crumpet 4 years ago
It’s all the same content over and over now. I am taking this site off my favorites now
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Seabeast 4 years ago (edited)
Many years ago I was part of a group hired for a project and management was pleased enough with our performance to buy a "quality" award for everyone. It consisted of a clear lucite pyramid with a little clock in it and the word "Quality" stamped on it. I took mine out of the box, set it on my desk, and watched as the little clock fell out of it, face down on the desk top.
Ein Steinbeck 4 years ago
Math isn't my strong suit, but why does a post titled "120 images..." only contain 50 images?
Shaista Afridi 🇦🇫 4 years ago
they shorten it ( for some reason unbeknownst to man ) and add a hyperlink at the end to take you to the og url
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Blanche Thorson 4 years ago
When my 1st child was born the pediatrician 's name was Dr. NEWBORN
Grant Clemons 4 years ago
Most of these aren't ironic in any sense of the word. They're just coincidental.
Alex S 4 years ago
Is the irony that most of these photos aren't ironic, like the Alanis Morissette song? Is the irony that the article BP inserts between photos that no one reads, explaining the very definition of irony and that people find it very hard to identify, and then the photos proved that?
Crycket 4 years ago
We have a pear tree, and occasionally make cider. On a fruit pressing day, we have a few friends over to help, we generally pick up Chinese food to make things easier. This showed up on such a day. Couldn't get over it... 11934531_1...b72f23.jpg 
Diane Davison 4 years ago
Fun to read! Now that I have had my morning chuckles, I can face the day! Thank you!
Huddo's sister 4 years ago
So many of those were not actually irony! Irony means being the opposite.
juice 4 years ago
it's a glitch, if you click on the comments for each you'll see that the same people said the same things. try refreshing your browser
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ChickyChicky 4 years ago
What are you talking about? George Bernard Shaw was not a woman. Pygmalion was based off the Greek myth of a sculptor who fell in love with his sculpture of a woman, his own "ideal woman" that he created himself. Either you're completely daft or you're a total troll. But either way you're dumb.
Load More Replies... Soggy Crumpet 4 years ago
It’s all the same content over and over now. I am taking this site off my favorites now
Load More Replies... Seabeast 4 years ago (edited)
Many years ago I was part of a group hired for a project and management was pleased enough with our performance to buy a "quality" award for everyone. It consisted of a clear lucite pyramid with a little clock in it and the word "Quality" stamped on it. I took mine out of the box, set it on my desk, and watched as the little clock fell out of it, face down on the desk top.
Ein Steinbeck 4 years ago
Math isn't my strong suit, but why does a post titled "120 images..." only contain 50 images?
Shaista Afridi 🇦🇫 4 years ago
they shorten it ( for some reason unbeknownst to man ) and add a hyperlink at the end to take you to the og url
Load More Replies... Blanche Thorson 4 years ago
When my 1st child was born the pediatrician 's name was Dr. NEWBORN
Grant Clemons 4 years ago
Most of these aren't ironic in any sense of the word. They're just coincidental.
Alex S 4 years ago
Is the irony that most of these photos aren't ironic, like the Alanis Morissette song? Is the irony that the article BP inserts between photos that no one reads, explaining the very definition of irony and that people find it very hard to identify, and then the photos proved that?
Crycket 4 years ago
We have a pear tree, and occasionally make cider. On a fruit pressing day, we have a few friends over to help, we generally pick up Chinese food to make things easier. This showed up on such a day. Couldn't get over it... 11934531_1...b72f23.jpg
Diane Davison 4 years ago
Fun to read! Now that I have had my morning chuckles, I can face the day! Thank you!
Huddo's sister 4 years ago
So many of those were not actually irony! Irony means being the opposite.
juice 4 years ago
it's a glitch, if you click on the comments for each you'll see that the same people said the same things. try refreshing your browser
Load More Replies... ChickyChicky 4 years ago
What are you talking about? George Bernard Shaw was not a woman. Pygmalion was based off the Greek myth of a sculptor who fell in love with his sculpture of a woman, his own "ideal woman" that he created himself. Either you're completely daft or you're a total troll. But either way you're dumb.
Load More Replies...
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