50 Times People Spotted ‘Absolute Units’ And Just Had To Share Pics With This Online Group (New Pics)
If you’ve been online for more than a hot second, you know that regular units have become ancient history. In these modern times, tiny units aka smol animals capture the internet’s collective heart, and absolute units have basically become an integral part of cyberspace culture. But if the latter doesn’t ring a bell and you somehow missed how this adorable meme took the web by storm, this odd-sounding term refers to objects and animals that are round, hearty, and exceptionally out of proportion to their surroundings.
In fact, this phenomenon has even spawned a subreddit with the same name. Also titled 'Lads that you’re in awe at the size of,' the online community offers a variety of adorable and surprising pictures where critters and objects can’t even be compared to their peers. I mean, you wouldn’t believe how big some things can get! And we’re here to show you that there's absolutely nothing wrong with that — it only gives us more to love.
Below, our team at Bored Panda has wrapped up the newest batch of some of the best posts from the group, so continue scrolling to check them all out! Be sure to upvote your favorites and let us know what you think in the comments.
Psst! For more similar content, look no further than our earlier pieces filled with the absolutest of the units here, here, and here.
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This Cat
Absolute Unit
The Head Size Difference Between A Man And A Cane Corso
I have an English Mastiff and his head is the only thing i can hold. He loves resting his head in my lap for scratches behind the ears.
The online universe is fascinated by photos of absolute units. Whether it’s gigantic horses, chonky cats, or exceptionally huge plants, it’s hard to deny the inexplicable allure of this meme. And as netizens' obsession with comically oversized items seems to be beyond anything at this point, let's take a look at the origin of this amusing artifact, shall we?
The internet meme database Know Your Meme stated that the first absolute unit meme was born on December 13, 2017, when a Twitter user who went by the handle @mrreptoid wrote, "In awe at the size of this lad. Absolute unit," with regards to a photo of British hotelier David Morgan-Hewitt standing next to the late Queen of England.
Although the tweet quickly caught on with many people using it widely to caption their own pictures, everything took off in 2018 when the Museum of English Rural Life tweeted a photograph of ram with the title: "Look at this absolute unit." Adam Koszary, the museum’s program manager who submitted the tweet, gained over 98k likes and more than 27k retweets in the next couple of days.
Now, over 1.3 million members of the 'Absolute Units' community get to enjoy this adorable phenomenon daily.
A Caleb Cluster Of Grapes
Wolfdog From 2.5 Months To 2 Years
Absolute Unit Paws On This Kitty... Extra Toe Beans!
But what makes this meme that pokes fun at objects that are comically and abnormally out of proportion to their surroundings so entertaining to us? To gain more insight on the topic from an expert, we reached out to Bradley E. Wiggins, Ph.D., an associate professor and department head of Media Communications at Webster Vienna Private University. Wiggins is a renowned author of The Discursive Power of Memes in Digital Culture, and his research interests also include digital semiotics and strategic communication.
As Wiggins is about to give an invited keynote talk entitled Research Memes: Challenges, Pitfalls, and Opportunities at the Digital Research Data and Human Sciences (DRDHum) 2022 at the University of Jyväskylä, he was more than happy to share his thoughts on the matter.
Absolute Unit King Penguin Chick
Garlic
Freya Is Making Herself Known And Comfortable, All 900kg Of Her, By Lounging On Docked Boats
Freya, RIP...I'm still mad at how they handled this. There wasn't much time between the story of the boats sinking and the news of her being killed. Surely a decent decision could have been made if more thought was actually given. Funny how 'safety concerns' are always for people/property and not for the environment and nature in which the people are encroaching on.
Professor Wiggins explained that the shape of the animal or object doesn’t really have much importance when it comes to the draw of the meme. "But the placement of the shape in contexts where it is reasonable to be surprised makes sense that it has become so memorable."
"In other words, I think the point is really about a bit of surprise and delight together with some sense of familiarity with the content that makes it so memorable," he told Bored Panda.
Zeus Is An Absolute Unit Horse
My Crow Friend, Who Comes Visits Me Daily
This Elephant Ears Plant At A Plant Store
Interestingly, while many of us perceive the absolute unit as a common internet joke, Wiggins explained this is not the correct term to use in this scenario. And to those of you reading this article right now and scratching your head from confusion, the professor explained that a meme and a joke aren’t the same thing.
It turns out that structurally, they are closely related, but there’s a slight disparity that internet aficionados should be aware of. "One chief difference is the visual component offered by the meme," Wiggins said.
"The visual component gives context and meaning to the viewer, and the viewer's job is to laugh at it or be otherwise triggered (positively or negatively) and this can cause sharing, re-posting, etc. The choice to do this may be rooted in the desire to connect with others in impersonal ways. This is what social media, ironically, has taught us all to do, rather well actually."
This Massive Owl
A Cottonmouth Spotted In South Georgia. Ole Thing Hasn't Skipped A Single Gravy Covered Biscuit Since The Day It Hatched
Big Lettuce
Moreover, it’s easy to be amused by something we wouldn’t otherwise see in our daily lives. "Encountering the absolute unit meme, or perhaps memes like it, online means some degree of 'taking us out of the ordinary', but it also suggests a longing, perhaps even a kind of yearning for something new to laugh about," Wiggins added. "Again, this may well be a side effect of social media."
1905 Log Cabin In Oregon
The Beast's Doors Are In Their Own Class
There's No Point In Playing Dead If You Meet This Absolute Unit
He's just a cuddly little thing, looking for nose boops, tummy rubs, and a picnic basket.
This can even tell a few things about us as human beings. After all, memes are known as the perfect attention trap that captures our attention and doesn’t let it go. Feeling sick and tired of the people and the world around us, we often seek these tightly packaged chunks of information to find relief and unwind from our daily troubles.
Professor Wiggins explained that when we succumb to the mindless scroll and look at our screens endlessly, whether standing in queues, waiting for appointments, or simply having nothing else to do, "we become transfixed by content that is largely designed for attention-grabbing and retention."
U.S. Cavalry Soldiers Pose In Front Of A Tree Known As The "Grizzly Giant" 1900. That's A Big Tree
This Titan Of A Tiger
Can someone put a banana next to him for comparison?... anybody?... no?
This Unit Of A Caterpillar
"This dude does not want to pupate. I think he's enjoying being a caterpillar too much. All he wants to do is eat and he's gotten enormous."
"It makes sense that we go back again and again, seeking what we may never really know," he added. "The absolute unit meme is a moment, a flicker, a spark that starts and stops almost immediately. Yet you can experience this spark again and again and again. It's liminal."
"That means it situates you between a 'now' state and a 'then' state, it's somewhere in between, like a wedding or graduation ceremony, they only exist because something ended and something else will start, but hasn't yet. But social media allows the liminal to become nearly permanent," Wiggins concluded.
Cardon Cactus In Mexico, 1890s. Absolute Unit At 8 Meters (26 Feet) And Weighing 10 Metric Tons (Over 22,000lbs)!
Do these even exist anymore? I feel like these probably don't grow like this anymore...,
Felt Like This Was A Unit Of A Water Lily
Absolute Unit Of A Horse - 3200 Lbs
Does This Belong Here? Lemon From My Parents Lemon Tree
Aerial Photography Camera Used During WWII
The Heart Of A Blue Whale
This Cat’s Arm Size
The Size Of This Car
Big car, big ego, tiny- oh yeah there are children here.
Load More Replies...I never mind seeing a vehicle this size that’s actually doing work, but that shiny piece of shitt is just some man-baby’s pedestrian killer.
If you see one of these sparkling clean, they probably don't really need one
Load More Replies...I had never been in a vehicle this big till last summer I got into my cousin's truck & my first thought was, if a kid got into the road, no way he could see them.
heh i find it funny that the guy needs to defend his 5'9" by pointing out it's average male height lol
This is the kind of truck I have at work, but its for...work...and needs to be large to carry everything, plus tow things. Not fun to drive or park.
Oh god, the parking .... in Amsterdam .... on a Saturday ... AAAAAAAAAH
Load More Replies...You don't need a super duty to get ridiculous, most trucks including the F150 are so stupid tall that I can't properly get snow off the windshield despite being 6' tall.
Try adjustable handle brush-scraper combination. It works beautifully. Only $5 USD, before pandemic. Reaches all the way across GMC, Blazer, and Dodge.
Load More Replies...I know, instead of making them illegal let's make them really expensive to keep on the road. Oh that's every car. Never mind.
A truck like that will usually start at around $50,000 and that's for a farm rig. Start upgrading and they can go over $100,000.
Load More Replies...Saw one of these big boy toy trucks with the roof smashed in, trying to enter a multilevel concrete parking structure. LOL
Just because they're big doesn't mean they know how to use it
Load More Replies...When one of these comes up behind me at night I am totally blinded. It reflects my windshield back into my face.
The urban dictionary describes it and the owner perfectly;. “He sneered at his fellow humans through the tinted glass of his wankpanzer”
Ha!, Puny Ford SuperDuty. Have a look at the BelAZ 75710. worldsteel...5c06d6.jpg
It's $2,000 to fill up farm combine with fuel, this week... wonder what costs that quarry climbing beast would generate!
Load More Replies...Anyone remember years ago when it was trendy for soccer moms to buy/drive HUMVEEs?? 🤦♂️
My parents have a Ford F-350 Superduty, to pull their camper. I am 5'11"and their truck is not that tall. That truck has been lifted, I think. It's has a diesel engine, so they don't drive it much, except when they go camping.
There are so many oversized trucks where I live, they are the majority of vehicles on the road. Sucks to behind them in a car. They are slow. They block everything. Seems the people who drive these think they own the road. My dad used to say "They've got nowhere to go, and all day to get there."
Why does a truck size offend so many people? It's not a personal attack against you, it's a truck...
My mother cracked her skull on a side view of one these things getting out of her car
No less than 20 "male compensation jokes" in this one thread. TWENTY. C'mon, Pandas.
Old Dodge trucks were the best. More torque in reverse gear than most trucks had in forward gears. They had a unique style, too. Ok... they were ugly ...but they ran without trouble for ages. New Dodge? Eh.
Load More Replies...Why are they producing more 4-wheel drives for the city folk, seems every mum that drives has one now. I cant even get up into one unassisted.
the important thing is that it's "super" something... as the brand on the hood says. it makes no sense in the city. One of the things I don't like about Americans is this mania for being big at all costs in everything...
It's totally necessary. Especially in the rough terrain of a city.
Stupid driver insurance. They rather kill the person they hit then learn to drive.
Eff you....I'll buy as big of a vehicle as I feel like having and not give a s**t what what you think.
It is true that this car is unnecessarily large, but if the OP was standing in front of a semi, that's much larger. Should we ban them too?
Just because you can't afford one doesn't mean you've got to put down those who can.
Load More Replies...I wonder why this assumption still is ok. I understand, some people who drive big trucks are assholes. So are some people who drive small cars. I know plenty of people who have bigger-than-needed trucks and they’re fine people. It’s something they enjoy. I’m sure we can all find something in our lives that are “bigger than necessary” that we enjoy.
I once saw a tow truck that had to tow out a crane that got stuck on a construction site. But in the city like that ? Must not be too long because I had to park my ford 350 ( also construction truck ) in a parking garage when I was forced by circumstances to drive it to downtown Alexandria, Virginia.
I see half a dozen of these driving to and from work every day here in the US. The people driving them (at least in my experience) are often bad tempered tailgaters going 100mph and likely as not flipping me off with one or both hands while doing so.
Love folks who live in cities and don't have a need for something and myopically assume no one else does either. How do you assume the farmers that grow your food move tractors and other equipment around? How do you think the giant horses in previous pictures get around the county? While plenty on people have giant trucks like this for no reason, they are loads of legitimate use cases.
There is literally no reason for anyone to need a car that size. I'm currently stuck with one of those as a rental after my car got hit by a deer, as it was the only vehicle the rental place had. No exaggeration, it does not fit in my driveway.
I have seen them being use to pull a super large size horse trailer. Or a contractor doing delivery of his own construction supplies. Few and far actual legitimate uses.
Load More Replies...I think it’s just jacked up really high, lots of those nowadays. My friends dad has a tick really jacked up and I have trouble getting into it and I’m tall for a female my height
It's like a loud muffler...these guys are trying to make up for SOMETHING.
I have seen a big truck that the husband gets out and brings a small stool over to his wife's side to help her get down safely. I have also seen them towing large trailers. Some of the trucks have automatic side steps so they can get in and out. $$$$$$$
Load More Replies...Huh? Not mad just trying to figure out what you mean.
Load More Replies...These one in our apartment complex. Idk how he gets it under the covered parking but he does. Has to back in. Gas and tires alone woukd be a huge NOPE from me.
Those headlights should be illegal. They shine right in every single car. I hate them. I think the US Govt is trying to get the automakers to make them smaller.
I'm 5'2", sold cars and trucks for years, and yes, you could.
Load More Replies...& you just know this truck has never even towed or hauled anything! Lol. Ppl who buy these trucks usually don't even use them for the reasons they were built. Lol.
I was just about to say, tons of replies saying "for towing stuff" like this truck has ever towed anything more than a cooler of Bud Light.
Load More Replies...Any vehicle that has a hood more than 4 feet off the ground should not be street legal imo
That would cover most farm and logistics vehicles too.
Load More Replies...but it makes the owner feel like his peen is just a little bit bigger.
That's the average American males way of compensating for a small penis. Telling everyone they have a small penis and huge car payment is a weird flex.
The Size Of The Lockheed C5 Galaxy Compared To Other Military Planes
The C-5 Galaxy routinely carries 73 troops and 36 standard 463L pallets. The aircraft is able to carry two M1 Abrams main battle tanks, or one Abrams tank plus two M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicles, or six AH-64 Apache/Apache Longbow attack helicopters.
This Straaaaaawberry I Saw In The Store
Chonky Carp
Absolute Units Of Bolts
The Size Of The Original Big Mac
This Carrot
Absolute Unit Of Communications Wiring Bundle
Before Chainsaws This Was The Length Of The Two-Man Hand Saw And Heavy Duty Axes That They Used To Drop These Tremendous Trees
This Dude’s Squeegee At Illinois State University
The Black Crack, A 65-Foot-Deep Fissure Along A Trail In Canyonlands National Park In Utah
18 Year Old Mike Tyson’s Neck
Absolute Unit Of A Gumball Machine (My 5'6" Shy 13 Year Old Son For Scale)
A Vietnamese Guy With His African Bullfrogs
I Got To See This Monster In Iceland. What An Absolute Unit!
Sleipnir was the name of Odin's giant eight-legged horse. Seems fitting for this!
Monster Morel
Statue Of Unity In India (Biggest Statue In The World)
I think the money that went into building the statue could have fed and housed a lot of people.
This Case Of Beer
Okay, you know you have a drinking problem when you're buying the 1844 pack for yourself...
I See Your Absoluteunit Of A Dandelion And Raise You The Absolutest Of The Dandelion Units
Apparently My Thumb May Be An Absolute Unit?
Bugatti Tyre Next To Normal Car Tyre
Friend fitted 315's to his car and showed us a picture of a stack of tyres. A first glance we thought it was 4 tyres stacked - it was 2! Standard width we run is 225, and smaller cars run about 165. The Bugatti tyre looks like it is more than that, but that's what you need to put 1000HP down onto the road. I suspect the fronts are somewhat narrower!
14 Year Old, 6’1″, 300lb Football Recruit Tyler Parker
This kid’s bones are still in the process of calcifying. I’m not sure that amount of musculature is doing him any long term favors…
Note: this post originally had 53 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
There wasn't anything on the large toilet from the beginning of the article. 🤨
Reminds me of that megalophobia post from the other day.
Is calling something big a unit new to the US or Europe or something? I keep seeing it used in apostrophes as though it's the latest thing the kids are saying, but rugby-playing nations have been using it for decades, referring to players, the front row, and the entire pack.
New? Not really. I've been sick of this term for a couple years now. And it's supposed to be "absolute unit".
Load More Replies...There wasn't anything on the large toilet from the beginning of the article. 🤨
Reminds me of that megalophobia post from the other day.
Is calling something big a unit new to the US or Europe or something? I keep seeing it used in apostrophes as though it's the latest thing the kids are saying, but rugby-playing nations have been using it for decades, referring to players, the front row, and the entire pack.
New? Not really. I've been sick of this term for a couple years now. And it's supposed to be "absolute unit".
Load More Replies...