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118 Pics That Make You Wonder What Happened Five Seconds Before The Photo Was Taken
There’s an odd and bizarre side to the internet that you don’t often see scrolling through the handful of websites and social media networks you visit every day. But there’s so much confusing content out there that’s hidden just beneath the surface.
We have visited some of the weirder niches online to bring you the most chaotic, confusing, and random images where nobody’s quite sure what’s going on. Keep scrolling to see the Bored Panda team’s selection, and don’t forget to share your interpretation of the pics in the comments.
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Imagine hating me and I’m over here making empanadasauruses
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One reason why weird, chaotic, confusing, and random images go viral is that they offer something fresh and unexpected.
‘Ordinary’ memes eventually become stale. Daily humor gets boring. So you look for something slightly different to temporarily break the monotony of your predictable and boring social media feed.
Another reason why these odd and bizarre pics are so appealing is that they are mysterious and make you do a double-take.
There’s something dynamic and strange happening in the frame, and you’re left with a puzzle to figure out. You immediately have a strong emotional reaction, even if it’s confusion.
#4
Learned how to say hi in Mandarin
The images are also quite often visually striking and unique, and draw you in.
There’s a social dimension at work here, too. Your interpretation of the events might not match other people’s guesses, which naturally sparks a back-and-forth conversation.
You’re (not so) quietly invited to join the discussion and share your thoughts on other internet people’s interpretations of what’s happening in the pics and why.
New research, however, is adding a new dimension to the conversation surrounding virality. And weirdly enough, it has little to do with emotional impact.
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martymcmatrix 2 weeks ago
This appeared first in a post about orange cats who all share a single braincell, and the caption was like »My FIL helping his buddy Dobby looking for the braincell«...🙋🏽
According to recent research, the memorability of content might have a greater impact on its virality than emotion does.
The Brain Bridge study, conducted by Wilma Bainbridge, an associate professor in the University of Chicago’s Department of Psychology, and her Brain Bridge Lab, looked at whether memorable images have different fates on social media than forgettable images.
Based on Bainbridge and her colleagues’ findings, more memorable images tend to get more comments and provoke more discussion. However, they don’t necessarily get more upvotes.
Furthermore, the research found that the comments on memorable images tend to be more emotionally neutral. Meanwhile, forgettable images tend to have positive comments.
#15
Saw this today in the back at a local sub shop
“Even if something elicits positive discussion, it doesn't necessarily stick in your memory,” Bainbridge notes.
Discussions that happened around memorable images also tended to tackle more abstract topics and ideas. These conversations went beyond the image itself.
“For memorable images, we found there was more abstract language. They might talk about political views or thoughts that the image elicits — or humor, (they might) make a joke. They also talked about more things that were not directly in the image: Maybe this image would make them think about another event that happened to them or something else that they saw. So in a way, the memorable images elicited richer discussion,” Bainbridge said.
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Auntriarch 2 weeks ago
You know when people take their much loved childhood teddy to The Repair Shop, this looks like the "before".
On the flip side, the study showed that forgettable images resulted in internet users commenting nice things. However, there was very little discussion beyond that.
So, as a content creator or influencer, if you want to spark discussion, choose memorable images. Meanwhile, if you want positive reactions—say, as an advertiser—you should opt for beautiful but forgettable pics.
“A lot of the work done on testing what makes something viral has purely focused on emotion. Here we actually find a totally different factor that impacts virality is memorability, and we even almost find an opposite effect of this emotion work: Some memorable images cause less emotional commenting.”
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 weeks ago
Ah yes, the rare and beautiful desert wrenchakeet! I think non-Americans call this species the wrenchgerigar.
Which of these internet images confused you the most? What is your best guess about what’s going on in them?
From your personal experience, what is the most bizarre and confusing picture or story that you’ve stumbled across recently that you couldn’t look away from? What's the funniest?
Grab a snack and a drink and tell us what you think in the comments!
#32
Marivali 2 weeks ago
This is Don Sheehy, photographed in Princeton, New Jersey, on 30 April 2004. He was dressed in a tuxedo for a formal event when a UPS truck accidentally rolled down an embankment nearby—apparently after its parking brake failed. Seeing the spectacularly misplaced truck, Don and some friends decided the scene wasn’t surreal enough. He grabbed a sewing machine and posed with it specifically as a reference to the Seinfeld episode “The Pothole.” In that episode, Newman’s mail truck runs over a discarded sewing machine; sparks from it ignite paint thinner Kramer has spilled on the road, and the truck bursts into flames.
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AskMeAboutMyPoorJudgment 2 weeks ago
Honest question: Do you really need EMTs for this? You can't just ... pluck them out?
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Герберт Майн 2 weeks ago (edited)
I wrote this under this picture before. This is in Thailand. There is a tradition for young men to go to monastery (vihara) for about a year. Or a month, or only a week. It is considered good luck and also should teach young men some discipline. So this monk apparently was a sportsman/bodybuilder before his monkhood and will continue his training after he will leave the vihara. It is NOT Shaolin. Buddhist monks in Theravada (Thailand is a Theravadan country) are not training to fight, it is a peaceful religion. I am a Theravada Buddhist and last time I got really tired of all the jokes.
#59
I found a really cool Mona Lisa tapestry at the Goodwill bins & bought it before noticing she’s jacked
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Doug Moyer 2 weeks ago
Where do the antennas come from? They aren't even the same shade of shadow...
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 weeks ago
Reminds me of all the times I've caught my sister outside hosing down the concrete side walkways of our house when it's raining. I've asked her wṫf she's doing, hosing the walkway with WATER while it's RAINING, and she says that the rain is causing dirt to collect on the walkways, so she has to hose the dirt off. She doesn't seem to understand that, because it's still raining when she's doing this, the walkways are just going to get more dirt on them XD
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Kyla Tinch (she/her) 2 weeks ago
That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how you make a good impression.
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#94
Caught a fish and the photo makes it look transparent
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driedgrapes 2 weeks ago
There's a story here. I'm already laughing and I don't even know what it is.
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martymcmatrix 2 weeks ago
Here's how it goes...sneak out of the classroom...make it to the rooftop...slide...grab a wire mid-flight...shimmy along until you're above the sandbox trampoline...🙋🏽
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Doug Moyer 2 weeks ago
Aren't you so funny! Making a mess for the minimum wage worker to clean up just to show how clever you are...
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Ellie 2 weeks ago
The title is "118 Pics That Make You Wonder What Happened Five Seconds Before The Photo Was Taken" . how are the pics connected to the title exactly? they are funny, yes. but 0 connection with the title. get your things straight, BP. too much censorship and too many articles with posts that have absolutely 0 connection with the title or the link.
Jan Castle 2 weeks ago
Since it enter to 2.borepanda it only load 40 pictures in every article, i'm on PC :/
Ellie 2 weeks ago
The title is "118 Pics That Make You Wonder What Happened Five Seconds Before The Photo Was Taken" . how are the pics connected to the title exactly? they are funny, yes. but 0 connection with the title. get your things straight, BP. too much censorship and too many articles with posts that have absolutely 0 connection with the title or the link.
Jan Castle 2 weeks ago
Since it enter to 2.borepanda it only load 40 pictures in every article, i'm on PC :/
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