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What makes a photo memorable? Is it the lighting? The mood? The angle? Sure, all of those things are important. But! What. You. Really. Need. Is… impeccable timing! In fact, timing and rhythm are what great photos and wonderful comedy have in common. Without them, no technical know-how will save your work from falling flat on its face.

Fortunately, the world’s full of quality photographers who, either through skilled reflexes or sheer luck, take a snap at the right moment and capture a hilarious moment. Upvote your favorite perfectly timed funny pics as you scroll through this list compiled by the hard-working Bored Panda team and let us know which pics you loved the most and why in the comments.

By the way, you’ll find some more amazing photos that were timed so right you’d think the Universe was directly involved in our posts right here, here, as well as here. It was actually French photography legend (and our personal idol) Henri Cartier-Bresson who coined the term ‘decisive moment’ which is the point at which the photo is most significant.

Bored Panda wanted to learn more about the importance of timing in both photography and comedy, so we reached out to professional photographer Dominic Sberna. Have a read through what he said below. Psst, he's also got some advice for amateur photographers who constantly find themselves missing out on hilarious moments.

#1

Booped By Floppy Fren

Booped By Floppy Fren

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According to photographer Dominic, timing is a "valued asset and skill" to some degree in the hierarchy of all the things important to a photographer. But it might not be the main thing, depending on the style of photography. "Planning out a shot or scene (depending on your style) takes time and planning. Composition is probably the most important in my mind though. One doesn't have to necessarily follow the rules of composition, but how a photo is laid out is going to make or break a photo. Some of the best photos in the world don't necessarily follow the rules of composition because their layout is made that much better by breaking them in a way that challenges the norm," he explained.

Dominic stressed that the style of photography we prefer to shoot will determine just how important timing is to us. "In sports photography, it's the timing of the shutter being clicked to capture that perfect moment. In landscape photography, more times than not, a photographer has planned an exact time to be at a specific location. In nature photography, it's a bit of both, as well as a bit of luck thrown into that one to see that special animal you're looking for."

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#4

This Diving Photo I Took Of My Friend Makes It Look She's Doing A Handstand On Water

This Diving Photo I Took Of My Friend Makes It Look She's Doing A Handstand On Water

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#5

Caught This Incredible Exploding Meteor When I Went To Rattlesnake Lake In Washington, USA Last Weekend. Zoom In To See The Exact Moment It Explodes In Two

Caught This Incredible Exploding Meteor When I Went To Rattlesnake Lake In Washington, USA Last Weekend. Zoom In To See The Exact Moment It Explodes In Two

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JuJu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fantastic. I would put it on a wall. The lake, the woods, the stars...

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#6

Slipped And Fell While Photographing A Wedding Party. Snapped A Pic On The Way Down

Slipped And Fell While Photographing A Wedding Party. Snapped A Pic On The Way Down

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How people react to a person falling, from quiet anticipation via a sneaky grin to sheer terror.

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"Timing means something different to everyone, but it is of utmost importance at the end of the day. Some will say it's luck, some will say it's skill, but at the end of the day, I truly believe it is a bit of both combined with experience and the ability to learn from your previous work," the photographer told Bored Panda.

According to Dominic, if you ever find yourself constantly missing out on taking the perfect comic snaps, you have to keep trying until you improve, just like with any other skill. "Unless you know a hilarious moment is coming by recognizing that it's about to happen, is that it's a matter of just trying. Keep trying and it'll pay off eventually. Maybe not as fast as you would like it to, but like anything, if you work at it enough, it will come to you in time." So grab that camera or phone and keep at it, Pandas.

#7

My Girlfriend And Her Friends Tried To Take A Group Photo, Alfie Wanted To Be In It As Well

My Girlfriend And Her Friends Tried To Take A Group Photo, Alfie Wanted To Be In It As Well

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#8

Attempted To Take A Cute Picture Of Me And My Dog. This Was The Result

Attempted To Take A Cute Picture Of Me And My Dog. This Was The Result

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#9

Learning The Hard Way

Learning The Hard Way

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Doggo Froggo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Go ice skating, they said. It would be fun and easy, they said. Is he a furry Eddie the Eagle, by any chance?

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“We work in unison with movement as though it were a presentiment on the way in which life itself unfolds. But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it,” Cartier-Bresson wrote in the preface of his photobook, ‘The Decisive Moment.’

For him, a meaningful photograph lies at the intersection of deliberate composition and instinctively feeling when we should take the picture.

“Sometimes it happens that you stall, delay, wait for something to happen. Sometimes you have the feeling that here are all the makings of a picture—except for just one thing that seems to be missing. But what one thing? Perhaps someone suddenly walks into your range of view. You follow his progress through the viewfinder. You wait and wait, and then finally you press the button—and you depart with the feeling (though you don’t know why) that you’ve really got something. Later, to substantiate this, you can take a print of this picture, trace it on the geometric figures which come up under analysis, and you’ll observe that, if the shutter was released at the decisive moment, you have instinctively fixed a geometric pattern without which the photograph would have been both formless and lifeless,” writes photography grandmaster Cartier-Bresson.

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#10

At A Bonfire. Wife Instructs Me To Hold My One Year Old Son High To Get A "Cool Shot". I Think It Looks Like I'm About To Sacrifice Him

At A Bonfire. Wife Instructs Me To Hold My One Year Old Son High To Get A "Cool Shot". I Think It Looks Like I'm About To Sacrifice Him

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#11

Lightning Striking Simultaneously On Chicago's Three Tallest Buildings

Lightning Striking Simultaneously On Chicago's Three Tallest Buildings

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#12

She Landed On My Shoulder

She Landed On My Shoulder

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Taking grandmaster photographer Cartier-Bresson's words to heart, we can see that what makes a hilarious photo, well, hilarious, is a mix between skill and luck. The photographer might not be controlling the outcome or all of the circumstances, but they’re consistently out in the field, using their reflexes and listening to their instincts that conspire to make them take the photo at the right moment. Right when things are most decisive and powerful.

Just like in photography, timing means a lot in comedy as well. Just imagine blurting out the punchline to a joke before your audience even had time to absorb the wind-up. Or the opposite: revealing the punchline once all the tension and anticipation has already evaporated.

The same applies to comic photos. A second too early or too late and the humor is gone or the entire tone of the image shifts.

#13

This Man Saved Our Dog. You Can See Our Cat Jumping Out The Window

This Man Saved Our Dog. You Can See Our Cat Jumping Out The Window

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#14

My Wife Just Texted Me This Picture Of Our Cat Playing Behind The TV

My Wife Just Texted Me This Picture Of Our Cat Playing Behind The TV

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#15

My Father’s Chair Failing At A Coast Guard Change Of Command

My Father’s Chair Failing At A Coast Guard Change Of Command

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#16

Love At First Sight

Love At First Sight

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Raine Soo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ha, ha , ha! That caption made me burst out laughing. I see kindred spirits.

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#17

Picture Taken Of Woman Falling Before She Realizes She Is Falling

Picture Taken Of Woman Falling Before She Realizes She Is Falling

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#18

The Timing Of This Image Makes It Look Like My Nephew Is A Waterbender

The Timing Of This Image Makes It Look Like My Nephew Is A Waterbender

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#19

This Is The Best Photo My Mom Ever Took Of Me

This Is The Best Photo My Mom Ever Took Of Me

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#21

One Second Before Disaster

One Second Before Disaster

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Full Name
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One second before disaster for kitty, and one point one seconds before disaster for Doggo.

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#22

Giraffe's Shadow Looks Like A Unicorn

Giraffe's Shadow Looks Like A Unicorn

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#23

My Cat Seems To Have Misplaced His Body Somewhere

My Cat Seems To Have Misplaced His Body Somewhere

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Raine Soo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did a double take, and then noticed the ledge. There is always a logical explanation for everything, right?

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#24

I Snapped This Photo Of A Cardinal Jumping And It Looks Like He Is Floating

I Snapped This Photo Of A Cardinal Jumping And It Looks Like He Is Floating

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#26

This Picture I Took Of My Dogs As The Ball Was Being Thrown

This Picture I Took Of My Dogs As The Ball Was Being Thrown

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#27

The Mythical Annubis

The Mythical Annubis

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#28

Caught My Crow Buddy Mid-Blink, Making Her Look Very Sinister

Caught My Crow Buddy Mid-Blink, Making Her Look Very Sinister

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#31

She Kicked The Phone Out Of My Hands At Exactly The Right Moment

She Kicked The Phone Out Of My Hands At Exactly The Right Moment

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#33

My Friend's Dog Sneaking It's Tongue Into His Mouth While He Was Laughing

My Friend's Dog Sneaking It's Tongue Into His Mouth While He Was Laughing

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#34

Just Trying To Take A Nice Picture With My Cat

Just Trying To Take A Nice Picture With My Cat

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#35

This Picture My Wife Captured At The Perfect Moment Of Our Cats

This Picture My Wife Captured At The Perfect Moment Of Our Cats

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#36

I Photographed A White Stag Mid Sneeze

I Photographed A White Stag Mid Sneeze

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#37

Girl Scratches Her Back And It Looks Like A Horror Movie

Girl Scratches Her Back And It Looks Like A Horror Movie

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lsoo avatar
Raine Soo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How flexible is this woman? That arm looks completely disembodied, which amps up the fright factor.

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Kat Hi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

it´s fake. look at the thumb. it´s a right hand...now try to make that with you right hand. and then also: look at the size of her left arm and hand...and then look ath the size of the other hand...it´s a mans hand.

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Lu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She looks slim while that looks like a man’s arm!

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Earl Grey
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree. That, plus you’ll note that the wrist is flat, not pronated as it would have to be when twisting your arm behind your back, and why the ridiculous gyration when you could more easily just reach over the top of your shoulder to scratch the same spot?

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Hańka
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it is photoshop. Look how big is that hand, not to mention the impossibility of positioning.

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Agata Konador
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is not her hand. If she was scratching her back with right arm then thumb would be on the opposite side of palm

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can anyone put their right hand behind their back with their thumb pointing to the left? I definitely cannot, but maybe I'm just not flexible enough. (Thumb pointing to the right, sure, but not to the left.)

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Aroha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can do this without any problems, didn't realise it was a special skill :D.

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giku T
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

and she has a man's hand; which is flexible enough to scrath her back with a 180 degree angle.not scared yet?

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is this really possible? Isn't she supposed to have bones or something?

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Marigen Beltran
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can scratch my back like that, my husband needs to use a scratcher. Don't know why so many people think it's fake. Also, the thumb is in the correct position.

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Derek Clark
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have hypermobility, I can do this too. We're just very flexible.

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Joan Humphreys
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not right. The hand looks like it belongs to a man, complete with the hairy arm.

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Shain
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is impossible, and the hand is too big for her, it looks more like a man's hand.

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Aroha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is actually easy to bend your arm like this. I guess people either can or cannot do this? I can and didn't realise it was something special.

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Shirley Heyn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, so how many people tried this at home and were unable to get this result???

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Martine Remmelzwaal
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It does which helps the effect of the pic. But women can definitely have hands like that my sister does for instance. I think it stands out more because it is on her back. If you would see her holding a phone or something you wouldn't have noticed as much.

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Casey B
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It can be done if her arms are long enough, and judging by her left arm that's entirely possible.

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LegendYak
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's like theres a small portal in the back of the chair through which someone grabbed that girl

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Vladimir Bozic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is absolutely not real! The arm can't be bent like that, for fricks sake!

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Aroha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can do this easily :). But only with my right arm, not the left.

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hi myself
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At first I read girl SNATCHES her back, and was like "What?"

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Blondhorsecrazy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How? That hand doesn't look like it belongs to her. And the way its bent? Thats just not possible.

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Elaine Mattingly
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Notice, not many people left in the room, now there will be one less.

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Diana Murtaugh
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The hand looks too big for the body. Definately creepy looking.

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María Sabelli
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

it seems totally fake. The hand that scratches is a man's hand, between other things

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Madeline Sellers
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It that was her own arm, I don't think the thumb & fingers wouldn't be in that position.

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Karen Gorzkowski
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd love to be able to scratch my back like that! Is she double-jointed? Ah, who am I kidding? I'm just old....

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LeighPig
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Especially with that mans shirt to the right of the screen...looks bloody

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Dash Blue
Community Member
3 years ago

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Carmen Elena
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can do that with my left arm, but the right one is kind of lazy.

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Kristin Ingersoll
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For those saying this is fake, I can do this, too. I'm not super thin, but I *am* super flexible and double jointed. I can reach the same spot. And I just did it to see which way my tumb faces, and this is right.

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Aroha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can do it and I am not especially flexible and definitely not double jointed :D.

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Biljana Malesevic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't do that with my arm, not even close. She must be very flexible.

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Loki C
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can do this!! It's because of ehlers-danlos syndrome (for me).

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Martine Remmelzwaal
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It think anybody can do this. No medical reasons required. It is not like the dislocating shoulder "trick". Though like reaching your toes some might be stiffer than others and can't reach as far.

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Loki’s Lil Butter Knife
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, I am going to be that person and call "Photoshop" on this one. In the first place, this woman would have to have contortionist levels of flexibility to get her arm to bend like that. Secondly, the size and musculature of the hand definitely looks like it belongs to a guy.

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Aroha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can do this, and it doesn't require any effort. I am not even especially fexible.

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Jarupa Suksut
Community Member
3 years ago

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#41

I Had Just Finished Saying “I Can’t Believe She Never Falls In!”

I Had Just Finished Saying “I Can’t Believe She Never Falls In!”

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#42

The Lid Coming Off Jonah Hills's Drink

The Lid Coming Off Jonah Hills's Drink

"The internet has been very interested in this photo of me dropping my coffee. But we’re all forgetting the real tragedy here. We’re forgetting to mourn this coffee. I didn’t know it long but damn was our time together special. As fleeting as it was. I’ll never forget you."

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#43

Thought The Driver Of This Car Was Just Staring Me Down For No Reason

Thought The Driver Of This Car Was Just Staring Me Down For No Reason

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#44

This Girl Looks Like She's Underwater And Jumping Into Water At The Same Time

This Girl Looks Like She's Underwater And Jumping Into Water At The Same Time

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#45

My Baby's First Birthday. We Had No Idea There Was A Sparkler In The Candle

My Baby's First Birthday. We Had No Idea There Was A Sparkler In The Candle

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#46

Years Ago My Brother Lost His Cellphone On A Roller Coaster. We Figured There Was No Way To Know When. Then She Saw The Ride Photo

Years Ago My Brother Lost His Cellphone On A Roller Coaster. We Figured There Was No Way To Know When. Then She Saw The Ride Photo

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Sunzilla
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read this: "68 years ago..." which didn't make a whole lot of sense when you talk about a cellphone 😂

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#48

What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Picture With This Gopher Snake I Found In The Road?

What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Picture With This Gopher Snake I Found In The Road?

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#50

My Parents' New Pupper Misjudged His Jump

My Parents' New Pupper Misjudged His Jump

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Note: this post originally had 120 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.