Every day, we perform so many tasks that we instantly forget about them. Meeting the deadline at work, picking kids up from school, reserving a dinner table, paying bills, doing this and that; no wonder our heads are spinning by the end of the week.
Whatever we do, even if we do so voluntarily, we have to follow some general rules, sometimes strict instructions or simply common sense to complete each task. But what happens when a person not just does what they’re supposed to do, but does so in such a literal way that it modifies the initial task altogether?
Call it a sense of humor, malicious compliance, a miscommunication, or a human error, but one thing is clear, every now and then, people take stuff at face value. Below Bored Panda wrapped up some of the funniest examples to remind everyone that we had better be clear than sorry. More literally completed jobs await in our previous post here.
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We Told Our 3-Year-Old That New Year Is Special Because You Get To Toast. Later, She Said: "Are We Gonna Make A Toast Now?" And Thus, A New Year's Day Tradition Was Born
This Is The Picture Amazon Sent My Bill To Say The Packages Were "Delivered To A Family Member Directly"
Someone At A Festival Offered Me A Little Bag Of Coke
Let’s make one thing clear – people are destined for miscommunication, for one reason or the other. Sometimes it happens by accident, other times it depends on the wrong assumption or interpretation, and other times we do it deliberately to prove a point. Call it an act of malicious compliance, a phenomenon well documented on various online platforms.
At the same time, if we want to make a real connection, miscommunication between us and the other person will break the deal. After all, social interaction follows us everywhere: at work, on a date, while out with friends, or having a coffee with your bff. So how could we possibly gain that confidence to express ourselves so that we are understood? Bruce Lambert, a professor, scientist, and consultant who has taught thousands of people all across the United States how to communicate more effectively, may have some answers.
My Grandma Wanted Some "Creative" Grad Photos Of My Friend Since We're Graduating At The Same Time. This Was Her Least Favorite
She’s A Genius
Always Asked For A Skateboard As A Kid. My Parents Said Not Until I'm 35. Today They Delivered
He looks so happy! Edit: ty for the upvotes, this is the most i've ever gotten!
First, we have to realize that being misunderstood is one of those common things that are virtually impossible to get rid of altogether. As long as we are a community, we will misunderstand each other. Nevertheless, it still puzzles us.
“People say they want to learn to express themselves more clearly so that they won't be misunderstood. When we are misunderstood, we think it is because we chose the wrong words. We didn't convey our ideas properly. Or we blame the other person. We expressed ourselves perfectly clearly, but they misinterpreted us. They got the wrong idea out of what we said,” Lambert explains on his website How Communication Works.
Experts Recommend Keeping Your Daily Rituals Even While Working From Home
Mom Told Her Daughter To Grab Her Mask So They Can Go To The Store. This Was The Mask She Grabbed
Hey, it covers her nose and mouth… which is more than I can say for most customers who roll through the store I work at…
My Buddy Was Told He Could Wear A Costume
But Lambert argues that it's not that simple. “It's not about putting our ideas into words and having other people decode our words and extract our ideas,” he writes. “It's about saying and doing things in the world so that other people, drawing on mutual knowledge about you, the context, language, and how the world works, can make accurate inferences about your beliefs, emotions, attitudes, plans, goals, and intentions.”
Found Some Amazing Indian Writing
My Dad Asked Me If I Wanted An Egg Sandwich. I'm Not Even Mad, This Is Genius
Told My Boyfriend I Was Getting Him A Burger For Christmas
According to him, when communication breaks down, it is a breakdown in this inferential problem-solving process, not a breakdown in encoding or decoding. “Avoiding misunderstanding means supporting this inferential process, or, when possible, minimizing the need for inference by being explicit,” he says.
They Asked For A Lion Cut, They Got It
There You Go
Fifty Shades Of Gray
So in order to avoid being misunderstood, Lambert’s advice is to ask yourself whether there is enough common ground to support accurate inference. “Accurate inference requires mutual knowledge, i.e., a set of facts that we share in common. We make assumptions about what other people know and what they know we know, and what they know we know they know, etc.”
What’s important to understand is that these assumptions are often wrong. “When the doctor tells the patient to put the patch on a different place every day, she assumes the patient knows to take yesterday's patch off. Dangerous assumption,” Lambert explained. To avoid misunderstanding, it’s always great to check your assumptions about mutual knowledge, and where it's lacking, do the work needed to fill in the gaps.
My Cousin Wanted Cake And Ordered One. Told The Bakers To Write Whatever They Wanted Because It Was For Just For Her Anyway
Can You Talk Real Quick?
Garlic Powder
Another tip from Lambert is to ask yourself if the person knows you well enough to realize when you're speaking literally or not. “Most of what we communicate, we communicate indirectly, by saying one thing and meaning much more,” he argues and adds that it’s efficient when people share enough knowledge and know each other well enough.
However, “When people do not know you well, they will be unsure when to take you literally and when to use inference to go beyond what you said to get at what you really meant. Avoid irony, sarcasm, and other forms of indirect, non-literal speech when speaking to people who may not know you well enough not to take you literally,” Lambert suggests.
Asked For My Cheese Steak To Be Made With Love. They Delivered
I Asked My 5-Year-Old To Keep An Eye On His Sister While I Served Him Dinner, I Peek Out Of The Kitchen And Find Him Like This. His Sister Is In Good Hands
All I can see is that playpen snapping and him falling on the little girl.
Not Gonna Lie, This Is A Little Too Accurate
They Got What They Asked For
Picked It, Thanks
They Asked Me To "Dress Like What You Want To Be When You Grow Up". So I Went With Retired On An Island
My Brother's Camp Requires The Kids Write A Letter Home After The First Week
My Daughter When She Said She Wanted To Be A Transformer For Halloween
I Was So Busy In The Kitchen I Didn't Know What To Do First, My Little Brother Asked Me What He Can Do To Help. I Told Him To 'Get That Bag Of Potato, Peel Half Of Them And Boil'
My little brother is a true genius.
My Bro Told My Grandma, Jokingly, That He Wanted 100 Things From The Dollar Store For Christmas, Grandma Doesn't Like Being Challenged
Can't Blame The Answerer
My Buddy Jokingly Decided To Get A Henna Tattoo Of A Mustache While At The Beach. The Foreign Worker Didn't Understand What He Was Saying
So she asked him to write down what he wanted. This was the result
This Brazilian Girl Is A Big Fan Of K-Pop And All Korean Culture, So Her Father Without Understanding Much Wanted To Personalize Her Party
With the most famous Korean character he found
A First Grade Class Was Asked What They Would Say If The Pilgrims Showed Up At Their Door On Thanksgiving
My Wife Doesn’t Want Our Newborn Son’s Face Posted On Social Media, So She Asked Me To Censor It. Needless To Say, I Won’t Be Asked To Do That Again
Actual question, would like legit replies (I don’t have kids so I don’t understand this): Why do parents wish their newborn’s/baby’s face to be censored on social media? Privacy? The child/adult that the baby is going to grow into won’t resemble the baby’s face that much, so why hide the baby’s face? (If the parents don’t censor their faces, I don’t see what censoring the baby’s does in terms of privacy.) Is it a “baby can’t make their own decisions about whether or not they want their face posted online publicly” thing? I’m not trying to be an a*s, I’m truly curious as I’ve never understood this!
Looking For People With TV On Their Wall
We Are Now A Hands-Free State
This Guy
Why Indeed
He Is Simply Following Orders
My Wife Is A Teacher And Found This While Marking An Assessment
My Son Wanted "Cold Hard Cash" For His Birthday
Everytime Everywhere Follow The Signs
My Sister In Law Told My Brother “Use Those DIY Books And Fix The Chair!” Done
Our Wedding Shower During Quarantine. We Made The Best Of What We Had
It also brought out a lot of creativity crazy people.
Load More Replies...This is good but I never understood how shower can mean a party? It doesn't in other English speaking countries. Language is weird lol!
It refers to "showering" the guest(s) of honor with gifts; like raining down gifts upon them, figuratively speaking.
Load More Replies...when I was little I thought a baby shower was when the expecting mom was in a shower while she watched all of the guests party. Fun am I right
what the hell is a wedding shower any way ?What you have a party after your engagement party and before your wedding ? Americans make up some crazy c**p
Some Kids Take Things A Little Too Literally
How Do You Want Your Sandwich Cut She Said. I Don't Care I Said. Turns Out I Do, Mildly
Every Year I Get My Boyfriend A Cake For His Birthday. This Year I Asked What Type He Wanted. He Said, “I Don’t Care”
I’m going to borrow this idea… XD Now, just to find out what cartoon/character my bf abhors the most… (but cake flavor will be his favorite, of course!!)
I Wonder What He's Gonna Do When He'll Become 90
Two Is Less Than Three
This Is What A Human Hand Looks Like Under A Microscope
My Friend's Tattoo. When Asked "What Does That Mean?" He Replies, "I Don't Know, I Don't Speak Chinese." That Is Literally What It Means
He's Turned Them Into The Literal Metallica Band
As God Intended
"Which is right? Under / Over. Who will win? Vote with your bum"
Over was "right," but is not necessarily "correct"... ;) lol
My Korean Mom Asked Me If Her Friends Can Come Over To My Place And "Pull My Wood." Having No Idea What This Was, I Was So Relieved They Only Wanted To Do This
I Can Make The Gap Bigger If You’d Like
I Always Follow The Rules
Literally
When I Asked My Little Bro Why There Were Polar Bears And Penguins In The Freezer, He Answered "Because That Is Where They Belong"
When You Ask For A Half Pint In Ireland They Take It Literally
Just Finished The New Pool And Deck
Did My Job Boss. Barber Shaves Triangle Into Man's Hair After He Pauses Video Of A Model He Wanted To Look Like
The Box For My Daughter's Bath Bomb Said It Had A Calming Message Inside
Told Abby This Is Where She Can Put Her Letters For Santa. So She Gathered Her Toy Letters And Put Them In For Santa
My Sister Asked For A Nintendo Switch For Christmas. Her Boyfriend Must Have Misunderstood
This Domino Effect On The Domino's Delivery Scooter
I Asked My Boyfriend To Bring Me An Ice Cream Sandwich, I Am Exhausted From This Disrespect
When You Get Told You Can Only Use One Side Of A Piece Of Paper To Write Formulas For The Final
A Customer Called Asking If We Were Practicing Social Distancing With Her Sandwiches. I Told Her We Are, But To Be Honest Guys I'm Running Out Of Space
My Brother Had To Work, So He Asked Me To Save Him A Little Bit Of Everything
Me To My Class, "Okay Boys And Girls, Hang Up Your Snacks So We Can Go Into Art Class!" I Laughed So Hard. I Love Kindergarten
It Seems That Malicious Compliance Begins At The Young Age
My Coworker Decided He Wanted A Standing Desk
My Friend Works For A Contracting Company That Is Renovating A Hotel. They Asked For Room Numbers, With Braille On The Bottom For Blind People To Read
This is what their supplier sent them. Every single one is like this
This Is Too Literal
Asked Wife To Write A Small List For The Grocery Store. She's Not Wrong
A Tight Squeeze, But I'll Do My Best
you think it's a squeeze now? wait until you obey the sign & drag a small child with you!
Pizza Shop Asked Me "Who's Name Do You Want The Order Under?" I Replied "My Wife Michelle". This Is How They Announced Her Name When She Picked Up The Food
I Asked My 17-Year-Old Son What He Wanted To Eat For Breakfast
Touch With Eyes Only, Thank You
I Am Picking My Wife Up At The Airport After A Long Trip. A Friend Said To Bring Her Some Nice Flours As A Surprise. I Am Bringing Her A Basket Full Of Her Favorite Flours
I Asked My Teacher For A Note To Go To The Library. He Gave Me This. They Didn't Let Me Into The Library Because I "Didn't Have A Whole Note"
I Asked My Sister To Knit Us A Sweater For Christmas. I Think She Took It A Little Too Literally
I Told My Teenager To Unload The Dishwasher Before Going Out With His Friends For The Evening
We Ordered A Pound Of Carrots. We Got A Pound Of Carrot
My Dad Told Me There Were Brownies In The Pan
I did this to my teachers on April Fools Day. I got them all
Someone Took The Drive Thru Sign A Bit Too Literally
I Asked My Thai Place To Make It So Spicy Someone Would Get In Trouble. They Gave Me This
When You Order Two Cakes With "Happy Birthday" On Them But Get This Instead
I Ordered An Espresso Shot Over Ice This Morning
I Think There Was A Bit Of A Misunderstanding Here
So I Ordered A Lettuce Burger, Thinking It Would Come With Two Pieces Of Lettuce
I Think They Took The Term "Hand Soap" A Bit Too Literally
He Did What They Asked
Told Him To "Please Line The Shoes Up By The Back Door"
I've Found It In My Childhood Stuff Box And Now I'm Wondering If 7-Year-Old Me Was An Idiot Or A Genius
Taking A Sign Too Literally
My Kid Said I Gave Her Too Many Grapes. I Said Just Eat Half Of Them
When You Ask Your Darling Husband To Bring You Socks And Put On Your Cold Feet
They Asked And I Did
Ordered A Hot Dog With Ketchup Only. They Sorta Got It Right
Literally
"Soo.. just a metal plate?" "Yes" "NAH F**K THIS S**T IM ENGRAVING THAT"
Quite A Few People Took This Sign Literally
Not Sure They Intended For The "Grand Opening" Sign To Become Quite So Literal
They Asked For A Recent Photo
Took It Literally
My Son Wanted To Feel Like He Had An Important Role In Helping Me Cook. Told Him To Keep An Eye On The Oven Tray
I Ordered A "Sprinkle Donut". They Took It Very Literally
Please Flush
This must be one of those counterfeit W***y Wonka bars I read about recently.
My Boyfriend Ordered A Plain Pizza. Literally
To be fair, what is a plain pizza? Never heard that. Is it just sauce and cheese? Is that not a "cheese pizza" then? lol
Don't Get A Tattoo In A Language You Don't Understand. This Is Supposed To Be Butterfly In Hebrew, But Instead It's A Literal Translation As In Butter-Fly
While I have no problem with tattoos, I have never understood getting one in a language you don't speak. Except maybe fictional languages.
My Girlfriend Wanted A Sponge Cake. Still Not Sure What's The Problem
On The Package, It Was Written: "Heat To 120 Degrees." I Don't Know Why It's Not Ready Yet
When I was younger, but let's be honest, old enough that this was embarrassingly stupid... the directions say "let stand for 2 minutes" which means take it out of the microwave and basically let it cool for 2 minutes. But that's not what I did. I stupidly did it for 2 additional minutes while I stood there...
My Son Asked The Elf To Bring Him A Nintendo Switch. He Found This In His Stocking This Morning And Was Sorely Disappointed
He is now drawing a picture for the elf, trying to help him know what he really wanted