Human idiocy, just like our creativity, knows no bounds. Whether it's a temporary brainfart or something more severe, it seems that we always find a way to push the limit.
And you couldn't find better proof of this than the subreddit r/facecpalm. Created all the way back in 2009, this online community describes itself as "a gallery of inexplicable stupidity" and currently has over 6 million members constantly looking for new 'artworks' for its 'collection.'
Over the years, they have collected plenty of examples of people making a complete fool of themselves both online and in real life, so we thought it would be interesting to make an exhibit, featuring the most memorable ones. Continue scrolling and enjoy!
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Well You're Not Wrong
It Is Insane
We reached out to the people who look after r/facepalm and one of them agreed to tell us more about the community.
"We moderate according to Reddit's content policy and that means that most of the comment moderation we do is to remove bigotry and racism," they told Bored Panda.
"The subreddit's community is fine, for the most part. A lot of people come here to have a laugh at whatever silly thing is being posted and that's ok."
What About Nurses Who Wear Them 8 To 10 Hours A Day
In Fact, It’s Happened 7 Times
You can see a lot of different themes on the subreddit, and the mod said they can change quite fast. "[What's popular] really depends on what is on people's minds at the time. Currently, a popular topic is the insane lengths people go through to deny the facts about Covid."
But there's a way to determine what we can expect from r/facepalm. According to research, people see actions as stupid for three primary reasons: the actions reflect a foolhardy level of risk, an absent-mindedness and lack of practicality, or an impulsive lack of control.
So even though the word 'stupid' sounds subjective, scientists have discovered that people are very quick to identify it.
"People don't spend time on judging if something is stupid or not," study researcher Balazs Aczel told Live Science. "It comes instantaneously, and as our results showed, they have high agreement. If one person calls something stupid, there's a high likelihood others will do the same thing."
The First Women In The Epitome Of Stupid
This is inhumane on so many levels.... Please never ever say things like this... these days, even babies get raped... old women are getting rape... the fact is a sick mind can do such a thing and will think of any excuse possible...
You Can Still Breathe Idiot
"Let's Spend 10 Grand On Jewelry"
Scientific Name = Poison
It might seem unusual or even strange to investigate how people decide that something is stupid. But scientists love a challenge and researchers who study decision-making had no information, beyond anecdotes, as to how people decide whether an action is stupid.
So the team collected news stories and other online content that someone had described as stupid.
One example was a news story about a robber who set out to steal cellphones, but lifted GPS devices instead — and failed to switch the devices off, allowing the police to discover them (and him) immediately.
Next, the researchers invited 154 different students to gather examples of stupidity from their day-to-day life and read the stories, asking them whether each qualified as stupid.
The students (who were all Hungarian) then chose possible reasons from a long list as to why they'd decided each example would qualify for the label.
Hint Hint
Who Ever Runs That Station Is Dumb
"It harms everyone, but it harms some vulnerable people even more, so it is, worth it" is not stupid. Nobody is that stupid. That's just evil.
Now Your Own Decisions Belong To A Man You Haven't Met
This makes me very mad. Even after I had 2 kids I still had to fight to get my tubes tied because "what if you and your husband wan't more kids?" Grrrrr
The reasons fell into three categories. The first, dubbed "confident ignorance," is when someone tackles something high-risk without the required skills. The cellphone/GPS caper was a prime example of this kind of stupidity.
The next category was "absent-mindedness," which applied to situations where people knew the right thing to do, but for some reason weren't paying close attention. Aczel said one example would be walking out of the store without paying for your groceries.
The third kind of stupidity was described by a lack of control. It occurred when people knew they shouldn't do something but couldn't resist their impulse to do it anyway. Reaching for the third slice of cake when you know you'll get a stomachache later is an example of this kind of stupidity, Aczel explained.
I Get It Now
Ditto everytime I used the expression "avoid it like the plague." I was wrong. Shockingly, I've learned people don't avoid plagues.
Well Well Well... How The Turntables
I Wonder Why America Is So Unhappy?
As an america we need to learn and evolve from other countries example
She Didn't Deserve It
According to Aczel, stupidity is an interesting concept because it doesn't always track with intelligence.
Even people who possess a very high IQ can make extremely dumb moves. The research revealed that judging a behavior "stupid" reveals the observer's expectations of how someone should behave, he said. But the person doing the stupid thing might be operating according to a different set of expectations or goals.
Gun Ownership
Apparently Canada’s Healthcare Is Bad
It Was Media Control All Along
Checkmate
Clearly you havent been burdened with an over abundance of brain cells
On a more practical level, you might be wondering if any of this matters. But understanding why people call something stupid might provide better ways to call out dumb behavior, Aczel highlighted. For instance, it might be more helpful to tell someone they're being overconfident than that they're being stupid.
They’re Everywhere Man!
"Going Everywhere"
70,000 Covid cases came directly as a result of Donald Trump's rallies. We don't need propaganda, we have the votes.
They're Confused
Math Is A Myth
After the research, the team said they plan to concentrate on the cognitive mechanisms people use to monitor others' behaviors. One mystery, Aczel said, is the question why people find stupidity so amusing, a fact that drives more and more people to become members of r/facepalm.
"People want to watch other people doing something stupid as a source of amusement," he said. And it's hard to argue with that.
An 8 Year Old Shouldn’t Have To Do This
Yeah, How Dare He
Yes, shame on him for kissing and probably saying "I love you, I'm proud of you" to his son.
Just Your Average Pro Life Hypocrite
She is apparently answering her own question. She is not pro life, just anti abortion.
Cops Pepper Sprayed Their Own Senator Without Realizing He's An Authority Figure
For Me It Feels Weird To See 6:00 Instead Of 18:00
How Can People Break-Up For Such Stupid Reasons!
"Risk ginger grandchildren" - wtf. But a boyfriend who dumps his woman on command of his mom is a bullet dodged, no matter what.
Having A Functioning Circulatory System
No, perverts are criticizing women for not having the photoshop boobs they usually jerk off to.
Hospital Bill
Sorry Buddy, It's Not Christmas Yet
It's A Great Time To Be A White Debt Collector
It Is Pride Month
Slayed
“If Masks Were Necessary We Would Have Evolved One By Now”
But Nasa Uses The
Antivax Logic
The State Of The World
Most people make decisions unconsciously, because of feelings or bias or whatever is floating around in the depths of the brain... and then they look around for facts to validate a decision that's already been made without benefit of facts. This is why sane people make decisions that seem irrational, and it's also why the Universal Basic Intelligence Test is seeing whether a person will change their mind about something when provided with information that proves a previous decision or opinion wrong. Intelligent people change their minds according to the best information available, stupid people cling to stupid decisions.
Technically The Truth
High Iq Destruction
I know plenty of people who didn't learn a language, didn't read a poem and didn't memorize a fun fact ánd have no muscles to show for it.
Not A True Catholic!
It-It's Almost As If Services Become Easier With A Modernized World? And That Baby Boomers Laughing That Millennials Can't Use A Rotary Phone Is-Pathetic?
What If We Made An App That Would Endanger Lots Of Women?
These days, even stalkers are too lazy to do their jobs.
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A Stalker dream. A pervert dream. The nightmare of any person.
A r*pist dream. A serial killer dream. The horror of any person.
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I don't know but if we all work together maybe we can do it
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This is a classic case of just because something can be done, it doesn't mean that it should.
the latest episode of "Let's make women terrified to even go outside" in a seemingly never-ending series
Not just women. Imagine if someone feels you cut them off in traffic. All they’d have to do is drive along side of you and snap your picture, then turn up at your house with a pipe wrench or a hand gun.
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I will continue wearing my mask for various reasons, this being one of them.
yknow why don't we stop the advancement of AI for a while until humanity gets unfucked
Holy crap... 😳 I hope this is not a thing anymore. I can't think of anything more terrifying.
i can't even imagine a situation in which that would not be creepy
Someone actually tweeted that and didn't think that sounded like a nightmare at all.
I would become legally able to carry concealed, and my home would become a booby trapped abode.
A lot of people would die, espceially in the coutnry with all the guncrazies. It is an insane breach of privacy.
See comment above. Public= no expectation of privacy. Case law settled many times.
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This is my problem with hyperfixation on applied disciplines. Yes, we do need them. But, it seems people prefer to ask "how things work?" and rarely ask "what are the social impacts?".
USA company that uses social media to gather intel and have over 3 billion faces on file , Aussy banned it , only country to do so so far , so if you're outside Aus and your face is on Facebook or Twitter or just about any " public " forum , they got you
Its made for the use of law enforcement. How long do you think it will be before "one bad apple" uses this against women?
Load More Replies... excuse me, has your brain cells been stolen? that app would make half of the process of burglary (might not be the right word) easier. and stalkers could follow you, watch you in your bathroom, sneak in your bedroom when you're sleeping, etc. needless to say this app is just plain stupid
Why is there even a line of thinking out there that something like this would be helpful at all??
Could turn it around and wear a mask that looks like your local paranoid gun nut. That could be fun to watch the news for the result.
please tell me this isn't actually a real thing... that is just ASKING for people to get murdered and kidnapped and assaulted...
HOW IS THAT EVEN LEGAL?!?! I MEAN, SERIOUSLY!!!! HOW IN HELL IS THAT LEGAL?? IS IT LEGAL?? DO WE KNOW????
Some things should not be aired in a public forum because of the option for that information being used for evil purpose by the badguys. I feel a lot of what was said on CNN during this period of Invasion of Ukraine gives Putin too much of a picture of how our military/political strategies work. You have to know he has people here in the U.S. relaying all that info.
Wait, so someone just takes a picture and then have access to someone's name and address? A: this is deeply disturbing, and B: WHERE THE F ARE THEY GETTING YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS FROM?!!
Who the f**k came up with that idea and actually thought it was an idea that should even exist?!?! WTF?!
Umm, I just used Google to reverse image search a watsapp profile picture of a number I had lost got a both Facebook and Instagram results and tada, person identified, obviously this ai would make that process much shorter.
Well, you'll get to discover a seriously over protective dog, and a 6 foot tall woman who was taught fighting and self defense by friends in the military and did so with the nerve damage in my leg in mind. Oh, and I have a gun. Let's have some fun shall we?
To be clear. More men are physically assaulted and killed very year.
Actually 25% of ALL women you know are sexually assaulted
Load More Replies... Wow. That comment says a lot about your world view. Would you please start to see people as individuals again? In the end, most people want the same things, they just have other ways by which they think these can be achieved. About this app: a horrible idea. Goes against every privacy rule you can imagine. Bad, bad idea. I hope politicians will stop it.
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History would suggest it's far more likely to impact women than men.
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Woman are stalked and raped by men way more than men are raped and stalked by other men. That's what this post is about
Load More Replies... Ryan are you having a particularly tough day? You are a horrible ignorant narcissist. Go to therapy ffs. Get your s**t together and stop trying to ruin everyone else w your unself awareness. Ffs how do you not know you need therapy?
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Apparently There’s Something Wrong With Using A Stock Photo
Ah Yes, Chemistry
She has exploding, vagina-smelling candles. And people buy them. People are stupider than I thought...
Yoga>homeless People
Note: this post originally had 130 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
🤦🏻♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏿♀️🤦🏻🤦🏼🤦🏽🤦🏾🤦🏿🤦🏻♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏿♂️ (Idk which one is you)
Load More Replies... I haven't even read this yet but I'm willing to bet that 80% of them are dumbass Conservatives.
I was wrong. I admit it. Only 70%. The rest are dumbass conservatives commenting.
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Is this a repeat of another BP post or three? I swear we've seen most of these before.
Most of these post are done by left wing liberals whining because not everyone wants to be exactly like them.
Such overt propaganda with no alternative views actually given any respect. You don't want to listen to any countering ideas because it doesn't fit your narrative. Well done you close minded fool.
Which one triggered you the most? Perhaps these hit a little too close to home for you?
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Well, Q-anon has a lot of followers so that makes them sheeple too, right?
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Because prevention is better than cure. Because natural immunity means that at risk population will get it and clog healthcare services. Yeah natural immunity worked for the plague too, millions of deaths later. Just get vaxed already
Load More Replies... 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏿♀️🤦🏻🤦🏼🤦🏽🤦🏾🤦🏿🤦🏻♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏿♂️ (Idk which one is you)
Load More Replies... I haven't even read this yet but I'm willing to bet that 80% of them are dumbass Conservatives.
I was wrong. I admit it. Only 70%. The rest are dumbass conservatives commenting.
Load More Replies... Is this a repeat of another BP post or three? I swear we've seen most of these before.
Most of these post are done by left wing liberals whining because not everyone wants to be exactly like them.
Such overt propaganda with no alternative views actually given any respect. You don't want to listen to any countering ideas because it doesn't fit your narrative. Well done you close minded fool.
Which one triggered you the most? Perhaps these hit a little too close to home for you?
Load More Replies... Well, Q-anon has a lot of followers so that makes them sheeple too, right?
Load More Replies... Because prevention is better than cure. Because natural immunity means that at risk population will get it and clog healthcare services. Yeah natural immunity worked for the plague too, millions of deaths later. Just get vaxed already
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