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You’re in the shower. The sound of running water comforts you. You’re used to the routine of soaping up and rinsing off, so you let your mind wander. Suddenly, this Aha! moment flashes right through your head, leaving you a little baffled and a whole lot surprised.

There's an entire subreddit dedicated to Shower Thoughts and is all about "sharing those miniature epiphanies you have that highlight the oddities within the familiar." Whether we’re talking about midlife crises, gummy worms or extra-terrestrial species, this powerhouse with more than 23.6m members is a collection of truly impressive insights.

We have taken some of their best posts that might leave you pondering all day long, so make sure to check them out below. And if you’re in the mood for some more, take a look at our earlier posts right here, here and here.

Since its creation in 2011, the subreddit has been growing into one of the most popular pages on the whole platform. According to the moderators, "'Showerthought' is a loose term that applies to the types of thoughts you might have while carrying out a routine task like showering, driving, or daydreaming." 

These flashes of genius are universally relatable and can let you in on the most amusing things within the mundane. Usually, when you think of such unexpected insights, you find yourself in certain circumstances: a familiar environment with no people to interrupt you and no devices to bother you. 

As your body and mind relax, the overwhelming number of thoughts that are racing through your head start to slowly fade away. This gives an opportunity for brilliant ideas to appear as if by magic. 

Bored Panda reached out to Nancy K. Napier, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor at Boise State University (USA) and author of Unfolding Curiosity who has published widely on creativity and innovation. She was kind enough to have a little chat with us about the realizations we get while taking a shower.

When asked about the power of a shower and why is it considered to be a perfect place for the eureka effect, the professor told us that the reason behind it is simply because it’s an enclosed space, with warm comforting water, where you do something you don't have to think about.

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"As you wash yourself for those three or five or ten minutes, you can let your mind wander and that's often when an idea will hit. Also, during these times when we're with our families in shutdowns, it might be one of the few chances to be alone with your thoughts," she explained. 

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Sonia Reddel
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's what I think of the Mars station idea. If people can't follow basic rules here, how can we expect them to follow the very high number of rules living there would entail? One person could so easily sabotage the air or oxygen controls.

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According to Napier, it can be hard to allow your thoughts to drift because we usually have some sort of information—music, podcasts, radio—coming into our minds most of the day. "To have the experience of a wandering mind, we need to intentionally turn OFF the extra information and think about nothing."

However, the shower is not the only place where brilliant ideas can come to us. There are more ways humans can let their minds go free: "I read recently that taking a walk is another great place for ideas, but the key is to simply walk. Leave the radio and podcasts at home." 

"Then, while walking, look in three places and ideas will come: look above eye level (at buildings, trees), look straight ahead and look on the ground," Napier told us. She also mentioned that she tried it last week and came away with two new creative thoughts.

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Pharo Despairo
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My band played at numerous football games in the freezing cold and then our concert was canceled three days before it was supposed to happen. Since when did sports have higher value than the fine arts.

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gridsleep
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, the planetary impact that resulted in the creation of the Moon reduced the Earth (1.0) to a sterile ball of magma, which eventually became our Earth (2.0.) We have no idea what, if any life there was on 1.0, but it was completely exterminated even to the end of viruses and bacteria, if there were such things.

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Hearing other people’s shower realizations attracts a lot of attention: "Many of us are looking for ways to do things differently to get better, which is the ultimate goal of creativity." The professor said that we can always gain something from another person's idea, and the most wonderful part of it is "that we can always generate new ones." 

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Theater Kid
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because you can't wear sweatpants and start boredom eating at someone else's house

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eeeeeeeee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I would apologise for the mess, but it's always like this". My greeting to everyone who enters.

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"Lots of people have noted that we no longer allow ourselves to become bored. Laying on grass and watching the clouds go by seems to be less common and yet it's another simple way to generate ideas," Napier mentioned. 

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Chris Freeman
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know we hear all of the stories of wasted money and broke lottery winners, but its a little bit of observation bias as well. The people who win the lottery and handle the money well, whether they were well off before or not, aren't as interesting so do not get published. The best winners you never hear about and simply quietly live a better life for them and their family.

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There’s a saying that creativity is like a muscle. If you want to become more innovative, you have to train it right. And as we found out, one way of achieving this goal is by simply doing… nothing. Nancy K. Napier leaves us with one encouraging thought for the next year: "Here's to setting aside 30 minutes a week to let yourself be bored in 2022!"

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Yara Balabanova
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've read that time goes faster when you're older because we no longer experience as many new things as when we're younger. When you're young you still do new things all the time, but when you're in your twenties or thirties you start to get a work/life routine that's mostly the same

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Timmy Pillinger
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not in the UK: Even our national parks are very human landscapes, pocked with abandoned mines and farms. Not to mention the Norfolk broads, a landscape entirely created by peat extraction.

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MyOpinionHasBeenServed
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This always confused me. When the Jets came back to Winnipeg, I don't think any of the players were from Winnipeg, or Canadian at all. All fans are doing is rooting of the idea of the team being in the city.

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Bexxxxx
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For Canadians, any bookmark worth more than FIVE dollars is a waste of money I guess 😂

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Kiki
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bookmarks are so much prettier though! I brought one from my trip in Turkey and every time I'm using it it feels good! Plus I love reading so I won't accept anything as a bookmark. Same with tea, I need a pretty/funny cup :)

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just another drone
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the US is the only western country to still have dollar bills though.

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Mary Rose Kent
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The dollar coin didn’t really take off...even when all of the states each had its own.

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Tom Susala
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I use the cards that fall out of my magazines (known as "blow-in cards") as bookmarks...

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Peppermallow
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can fold the corner of your book for free. As long as you dont count the hatred of book lovers everywhere as a ''cost'

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tuzdayschild
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless the bookmark makes you happy every time you see it. Well, happier than $1 anyway.

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Kona Pake
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like a quarter on the putting green, someone’s always pulling out the dollar and putting it in his pocket.

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PickledZucchini11
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You also have to take into account the time and effort it takes to buy a bookmark

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Myr Lopez
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TBH my problem is, the dollar would get spent but you can't exchange bookmarks for goods and services. I buy a two dollar bookmark and I'm set for five years but I use a dollar bill and fifty pages in I've paid my bus fare and am short a bookmark once again xD

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Two_rolling_black_eyes
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I understand if it doesn't hold a special place for other people but like a $1 ice cream cone or a $5 cup of coffee, a bookmark is worth more than the money it took to get it. I got a Star Wars bookmark at a school fair when I was in 2nd grade. When it started falling apart, I laminated it. Its one of my prize possessions because its been there during many of my life's biggest journeys. I have a bookcase of my favorite books and when I re-read them, I still use only that special bookmark. When its not in active use, it stays in my grandfather's dictionary that he gave to my dad when he went to college and my dad gave to me when I went off myself.

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Jessica Cifelli
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've used everything from an old receipt to a piece of tissue to mark my books. I don't lend books out for fear of dog-earred pages.

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Marc Lauzon
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I use anything that I have near : Hair band, receipt, paper, ripped piece from a box, tissue, napkin, whatever. I haven't found a bookmark I want to spend on.

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Ralph Ferguson
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A dollar is more likely to be stolen, thus making the idea of using a bookmark useless.

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Melissa Johnson
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually like the bookmarks that are clips. Sometimes in school I would use a large paperclip.

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Travis Fox
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even that is a waste of money. Any scrap piece of paper will serve as a bookmark, thus making even using the dollar a waste.

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Lynne Harbison
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Best friend made me a collage bookmark with a tassel. Cost her nothing, but I treasure it.

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Niall Mac Iomera
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always use an old playing card, or receipt or any scrap of paper. Never understood the point of "proper" bookmarks

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Mark Kelly
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or did you want to bookmark that does not look like a dollar

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Seabeast
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My longest lasting bookmarks have always been nursery tags for the plants that died not long after I put them in the ground. I have those for years. The tags for the successful plants mysteriously disappear within days. Real bookmarks also get lost within a short period of time.

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mcborge1
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We must sell a lot more bookmarks in the UK then as our smallest note (bill) is a fiver.

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Andy Acceber
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Studies have shown that people who are chronically homeless do develop PSTD symptoms from not having regular, safe, full nights of sleep.

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Ayra
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every cat crossing my path is good luck and even better if it lets me pet it.

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eeeeeeeee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This. Can't watch those kind of movies without thinking of this the whole way through.

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Got Myself 4 Dwarves
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For me it's more like putting them on silent, I still get notifications but not out loud. Fibromyalgia is a complete d**k - 9.30am and I'm maxed out on dihydrocodeine already - gonna be a long day

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Mohsie Supposie
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What I find even more amazing is that even though Chris Pratt has his headphones on, we can still hear the song playing!

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eeeeeeeee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Not-in-pain" is a feeling. That feeling of when pain goes away? Perhaps the best feeling in life.

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Andy Acceber
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've had 18 years of schooling, from preschool through a bachelor's degree. I've never once had a class that taught me where my organs are or very basic anatomy. I had a minor pain today and realized I had no idea what was there in my body. It seems like a very important part of education that was somehow missed.

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SykesDaMan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people let them blink for minutes after they've already turned. The only thing that'd stop the blinking is because they turned the wheel later.

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gridsleep
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless someone was buried alive, and then that would be a haunt to avoid.

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Mazer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was curious how people living in northern climes got vitamin c, until I learned pine tree needle tea had more vitamin c than an Orange

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Sonnovab Kegeles
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This makes me believe that the author thinks the websites are actually trying to filter out people. Requiring 18+ is a great form of enticement to 14 year old's.

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Sonnovab Kegeles
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's cuz ears mouths and brains don't communicate well with each other, kinda like cia, fbi, and nsa

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Andy Acceber
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to do this math while biking home after my shift working at a bar. I was paid $2/hr plus tips. Some nights, the bar was really slow, and I'd make less than $15 for a full shift. Sometimes I'd see pennies, nickels, or dimes while cycling and calculate if it would be worth it for me to stop, turn around, get off my bike, and pick it up. Some nights, yes. Other nights, no. If I had a good shift, I'd gamble if the coin would still be there the next day and pick it up then. (P.S. Serving minimum wage sucks. If you live somewhere where tipped employees can be paid less than minimum wage, always tip. Tipping is an awful practice, but if you choose to be cheap about it, you're only hurting the worker.)

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