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"
Give $600 to a poor person and it goes right back into the economy since said person wants to eat and pay for other necessities. Give $600 to a rich person, they put it on offshore accounts, pretend they have no money, and ask for another $600.
"Build a man a campfire and he'll be warm for the night, light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life" I think we need to set him on fire
Also translates to: The poor need the money. The rich wants the money
Seriously, £600 to a poor person will not only go straight back into the economy but it will in large part go straight back into the local economy. Give it to a rich person and it will be banked off shore before you can say Jack Robinson. It won't raise a penny of tax or help anyone in the same country, let alone the local community. This is a well known economic fact. What a ridiculous post.
Off topic, but I got my last $$1,400 stimulus check early in last year, in 2021. I'm low income, and I don't know what possessed me, but I spent all $1,400 of it to help support my local homeless shelter with their 300 Easter gift baskets, food, products for women, etc. I spent it ALL. In my gut it just felt like the right thing to do. I got candy, toys, coloring books, diapers, tampons, soap, I even got some gift cards to 2 popular charity shops so people could get suits or business clothes for interviews. I got BLASTED from neighbors and friends. Later that night, I just cried. I got A LOT of stuff for them, and I volunteered to give it out and serve Easter dinner, washed bedding, cleaned, etc. I don't understand people.
Ignore them. You did a good thing. You may be low income but you have a good heart, you understand that just because you don't have much, doesn't mean that someone doesn't have even less. You helped people who needed it, probably more than you. Don't pay attention to people who are negative. You did what you knew in your heart was the right thing.
Load More Replies...If you give money to a rich man, he puts it in the bank where it does no one but the rich man and the bank any good. Give money to a poor man, on the other hand, and he spends it, because he has to. It helps the poor man and it helps the economy, and the rich man will have it eventually anyway.
For the poor in the US, while they are receiving $600 with the right hand, they are already working out which bill to pay with the left hand.
They've already shown that for every dollar in aid you give a poor person, that and more gets poured back into the local economy.
There's no way for an average person to get 10x return on their money without waiting for a long time or being part of a scam.
I thought the OP said "poor-minded" which is slightly different from just "poor" as in lack of money. Because there are "rich" people that are "poor-minded" who eventually ends up "poor" and vice versa.
Hey...you are interrupting the discontented grandstanders. ;)
Load More Replies...Molly Mae Hague is this dense.... "We all have the same 24 hours". Beyond infuriating.
This one was on another BP post that I got done reading short while ago.
THAT'S A 1,000,000,000,000 DEGREE BURN!! I CAN FEEL THE HEAT COMING OFF OF THAT BURN, ALL THE WAY TO WHERE I LIVE & AT THIS PRESENT DATE!! LMFAO
He said "poor-minded", not poor financially. He is referencing a mindset not a physical state of being. If you don't think about ways to increase what you have been given, you are "poor-minded".
This reminds me of a Bible Parable, but I'm not sure which Book....were there three sons or three servants?
Thank you! When we were both laid off our home was saved with $500 won on a coke top. Own our home now and enough money in the bank to buy several more.
Give 600 dollars to a person in need and ot will come back to you 3 times over. Then you can give $1,200 to two people in need and that will come back 3 times over. Then give $2,400 to 4 people in need and it will come back to you 3 times over... And each time you get to keep 1/3 of what you get back. Makes me wonder why people can't just do this and have to do everything the hard way. This us vs them mentality doesn't do anyone good.
Wait, so that poor person would have died had you not come along out of the blue and given them an extra $600?
Yeah, give $600 to a poor person and they will spend it right away in paying debts. Maybe they cas spare a few cents to eat. And that's it: "poor minded". But ovbiously a rich person who don't care about $600 more or less in their accounts is more worthy because they really don't need anything... or have allways any amount of free stuff and discounts and courtesies to everywhere they go, and are so fuc***g rich they don't need even to work or lift a finger, suddenly have "rich minds" and deserve more money they can even use or spend. Great!
It's gone in a week or less because I can't afford to wait to watch it grow. Not if I want food in my belly or a roof over my head or my lights turned on. Notice how I used "or". Because 600 wouldn't cover all three no matter how you stretched it.
Yes they were being derisive, the OP is saying poor people are reckless with money whereas a rich person would wisely invest it.
Load More Replies...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
Logic
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?
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.
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
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
Load More Replies...