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!
This post may include affiliate links.
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
I am beginning to think that Americans are just that weird kid in school that does everything differently just to gain some attention. I mean, not using ''military time'', the way they say the dates, miles and pounds, not using A4, etc...
I genuinely had no idea this wasn't a thing everywhere (24 hour time) until an American friend asked me why my clock on my phone was set to 24hr time. Here in NZ it's perfectly normal to have things in 24hr time. Not everything is America, people of the internet.
Yeah, in Australia we use them interchangeably. I thought everywhere would.
Load More Replies...
I'm American and I use the 24-hour clock. Many people do. This person is just a dense brick of calcified dog poo.
I think "Military time" is the standard everywhere except the US. In Germany we refer to 16:00 as 4 o'clock, too but we use the 24 hour clock. Military time here would be saying "16 hundred" or "16 30"
I think that's the important point: when we're talking, we won't say "we meet at 16h", we'd say "we meet at four (in the afternoon)" but, when written, always the 24h time. Also, in my phone, always the 24h time!
Load More Replies...
That coming from the people who will say s**t like "3 ft 3.38 in" to describe 1 meter
What really gets me about the American obsession with Imperial measurements is that they mix imperial and metric measurements together. They won't say or write 3 and 3/4s of an inch, but rather 3.75 inches??? How the hell ?? Measurements like 5/16th etc get metricated but they still use an imperial measurement unit.
Load More Replies...
Μy watches/clocks have the 24h time format but I will say "I will meet you at 4" not "16:00"
But you probably will say: that flight is at 17:55. Railway time is really useful.
Load More Replies...
iT´S NOT MILITARY TIME, IT´S INTERNATIONAL 24 HOUR TIME ... MUST BE A TRUMP UNIVERSITY GRADUATE.
I’m an 80+ year old American, and I am embarrassed almost daily by some other stupid ass American!
The stupidity! In many european countries we use both without an issue. And in the military it's the only time we use (in addition to Zulu time, which works the same). Children in Italy can say "it's 1400" and they know instinctively it's 2 pm. How hard can this possibly be? 1pm = 13, 2pm = 14, 3pm = 15... 8pm = 20, 11pm = 23, guess what's 24.
Is it not weird that a country who has militarized every aspect of society, is confused by a clock that goes to 24? Which is what they call military time? I think it's weird.
Well, one day has 24 hours, not 12. It has nothing to do with military.
I'm a 19 year old American with 24 hour time on my phone. It just makes more sense and I don't understand why all the morons in the US are so against it. My dad taught it to me from a young age and neither of us have been in the military.
Boy, I would love to see this person traveling internationally through different time zones. Their brain will melt.
True story. I have a ghost that changes the clock on my microwave to military time. Got a new microwave, did the same thing. Since I can count above 12, I just leave it.
I have a theory behind that but it honestly does cone across as a conspiracy since I can't prove it. I had a regular alarm clock years ago that would often change to military time, I would even test it by deliberately putting the wrong time in, only to find it corrected later.
Load More Replies...
I’m American and I’m a bit offended by this… (please don’t downvote me for this)
As an air line employee for decades, I am more accustomed to using "military" time and it elminates the need for a.m. and p.m.. Easier and more efficient, IMO.
How incredibly insecure to feel threatened because you don’t understand military time.
If you CAN'T do that perhaps you need a bit more classroom time...
Wow... getting that bent out of shape for the way people tell time...
I'm an American, and I've always had my phone set to military time. Hell, I keep my time for work in military time, the system actually recognizes it. I will agree some of my countrymen are in fact, freaking morons.
Wait, military time isn’t just used by the military and some other jobs?
I wonder how ma y hours do they think a day has… if they can’t accept 24h clock…
Some kids grow up on military time because of the adults in their life being in the military. Can we hate on something a little more important .
As an American who uses military time, I didn't understand it at first. My mom's a nurse, however, so I had to learn it so that she would be able to understand it quickly. Nurses use military time quite often, so it's not just people in the military that use it.
This is genuinely hilarious tho bc my friend uses military tiwm and I use basic time and we give eachother friendly s**t for it all the time
Thinking the technical term is "continental time". And some US folks do use it.
!Genuine question! How do I make my phone military time??? I can't find it 🥲
What people call 'military' time is just a 24hr clock. It's not just the military. Hospitals/medical use it, airlines, marine vessels, NASA, etc use it to NEVER confuse WHEN something has occurred! If a nurse administers medication at 4pm and has horrific penmanship, it could look like 4am and could seriously impact the treatment of a patient. Saying 1600hrs shows without a doubt treatment was administered at 4:00 in the afternoon. It's not just military uses and its universal.
I’m American and I keep my phone on 24hr time. Honestly, it’s not a complicated transition. The rest of the world is just smarter than most of the U.S.
I love using the 24-hour clock. It makes so much more sense. I am an American and have never been military.
people who live in the united states seem to not understand that not every country uses AM/PM.
I learnt to understand "military time" in about an hour when I was 6 years old, if you can't do that as an adult(barring learning disabilities) then you are an idiot.
I'm American, and I don't use "military time" personally. But my work does. And I can understand it.
Only 'murica has a problem with the 24-hour clock. Every other country uses it as standard on rail timetables and other services.
bootlickers because of the format chosen for displaying of time on cell phones? LMAO omg go sit yourself down somewhere and stare at the sky before you hurt brain.
I've been using military time since I was in the USAF but I can count past 12
There are many people in aviation and medicine (among other fields) who do that. Not to mention most other nations.
In hospital, we use the 24 hour clock all the time for clarity. As someone who worked 1500 to 2300, I get it.
I cannot do 12 hr time anymore, since working in healthcare jobs that require military time. My alarm clock that is separate from my phone, also military time. my wrist watch? Yep. military time. My phone is set that way, because I am so used to it, that looking at 12pm and 12am confuses my just waking Overnight Shift brain, and knowing that it is 1130 and not 2330, means grab the sunglasses when opening the window shades. However... I admit... most of my american friends, family, and acquaintances, have no idea. none. I catch myself having to think a moment and let them know the time I meant to say.
I'm more: "How the hell do you sort a set of drills after they were droped on the floor?" First the 1/4", then 3/8" and next to that goes the 1/2" and then we are back the eights again? No no no ... Why choose such a system requirering you doing fractions, which is math at a level that most people cannot handle? In metrics its just 0.5 next to 1.0 next to 1.5 then 2.0 etc. always increasing in the size of the numbers. Why go with the more difficult option, when a simple solution exists?
You can't wrap your head around 24 hour time, but you can manage the imperial system?
I used to be an airline stewardess. It's the only way to tell time accurately and I've kept the habit. It's quicker to say 18:00 that six this evening.
But military time is pretty easy once you know it. I had to learn it for my first job because that's how the managers would write up the schedules. That was close to 20 years ago and I still remember military time.
Um, it's 24 hour time, not "military time". Use it for a week or so and you'll realize it's superior to the two twelves.
I work at an international company. We use the 24 hour clock. It's very easy.
Seriously? Why is all this constant American-bashing necessary? You don't even know if he's an American, and you started bashing 330 million people just because of one dumb guy, who you don't even know is American! Please just stop this. I am sick of this "Americans are stupid" stereotype.
I'm not trying to be rude or even point out a stereotype by saying this but, that Americans are Stupid stereotype comes from how prolific Americans are, you guts do have a much larger presence on the world scale, much more public, and therefore, the loudest. Simply put, alot of it feels like attention seeking. So that's what happened. We are aware there are idiots everywhere, but your country gets the most attention.
Load More Replies...
I am not fluent in military time, but if you give me long enough I might figure it out.
I (an American myself) am of the opinion that if all of the countries were personified, America would be this person: “OMG i’m so quirky Stawwwwp ittttt”
Okay Americans, tell me the logic behind mm.dd.yyyy date format. A day has 24 hours so learn how to count!
I'm from the US, am fine with using metric or imperial, and in fact these days it's a mixed bag everywhere in the states in everyday life. The one place I draw the line though is in the arts. Going metric in songs and poems just doesn't work for me. Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two, Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four, Lord, I'm 500 kilometers away from home... just doesn't have the same ring to it 🤔
Being able to read hours properly makes you a crazy army bootlicker? That's the most progressive crap I have read in a while.
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...