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The Universe really does work in mysterious ways. No matter if you’re a super-skeptic who only believes what they see with their own two eyes or somebody who checks their horoscope every morning, you can’t deny that it’s spooky how quickly karma sometimes catches up to people. On rare occasions, it’s nearly instantaneous. And karma loves putting evildoers in their rightful place.

To show you what we mean, we’ve collected some of the best posts from the ‘Instant Karma’ subreddit that prove that Justice (yes, with a capital ‘J’) can sometimes strike like a bolt from the blue. As you’re scrolling down, upvote the pics where you agree with how karma dealt with people and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever seen any instant karma moments in your own life. Be sure to give r/instantkarma a follow if you like what they do.

According to Dr. Alex Lickerman on Psychology Today, Nichiren Buddhism teaches that everything that happens to us is “ultimately due to our own influence.” Whether intentional or quite the opposite. Meanwhile, coincidence is considered to be but an illusion. Or, in short, what goes around really does come around—but with everything that you think and do.

Bored Panda reached out to Lickerman, the author of The Ten Worlds and The Undefeated Mind, and spoke to him about humankind's hardwired sense of morality, as well as the benefits of taking responsibility for all of our actions. Read on for his insights.

If we’re to believe the Buddhist perspective on life, it means that at the end of the day we’re all responsible for what happens to us. However, this doesn’t mean we’re to blame.

For example, we’re not to blame for being born into poverty or for having something awful happen to us. However, we’re responsible for how we deal with the situation, how we respond to things, and what our next steps will be. In other words, we have the power to better our situation and not just be flung about by the winds of fate (or, rather, by our own decisions).

Though some people would argue that morality is something that's learned through experience, Lickerman told Bored Panda that "our sense of morality may actually be neurologically wired into us." However, this doesn't mean that acting morally or responsibly is easy or the go-to decision for most of us.

#4

This Subreddit Never Said Bad Or Good Karma!

This Subreddit Never Said Bad Or Good Karma!

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#5

Got What He Deserved

Got What He Deserved

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Lickerman told Bored Panda that we tend to need some sort of push to make us act responsibly. "People, in general, need a motivation to accept responsibility for their actions," he said. That motivation could be pretty much anything, however, Lickerman suggests that accepting responsibility for our actions "may actually make us stronger, more resilient."

He added that it's difficult to say where the limits of our ability to change ourselves to match our own perceptions are. "Research shows our self-perception is a very powerful influencer of our behavior. Can’t say it’s been quantified. It won’t change immutable characteristics, like personality characteristics, but it will change behaviors," he said.

In his first book, The Undefeated Mind, Lickerman explains how research has begun to show that belief in good (what is just and fair) and evil (what is unjust and unfair) may be "far more universal than previously thought." Psychologist Marc Hauser and his colleagues conducted an internet study with 5,000 subjects in 120 countries, asking them to "render moral judgments and to justify them" in moral scenarios. One of them was the infamous trolley problem where you have to choose between killing one person and five.

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#9

Well This Says Something

Well This Says Something

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

Not sure if this is funnier cos of the irony, or when he had to either come out to his congregation to not look like a liar, or apologise to his conversation and look like a total TWAT. Sincerely hope those followers left his church and used the donations to help those in need, rather than pay this guy’s wages.

samlomb avatar
Samantha Lomb
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I doubt they left. Cultists are very good at ignoring things that contradict their beliefs. Look a Trumpsters

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fuyu avatar
fu yu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Methinks Christian leader was thinking too much about gay people's activity.

a_jmilne avatar
A.J Milne
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dude, in the bible it doesn't say anything about gay people going to hell or gets punished at all for being gay. Love the ones you love.

martha_hubbs avatar
Martha Hubbs
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, it does. Leviticus 18:22 describes it as detestable, and Leviticus 20:13 says they must be put to death. I am not a proponent of either of these, not homophobic in any way, shape, or form. I have just studied the Bible and it's scripture for over twenty-five years, and it does address it. And, no the word homosexual is not used rather it says, "if a man lies with another man..." These are not the only passages of scripture, these are just two that come to mind.

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Tequila4Two
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Plottwist: shortly after that he came out as gay, just to prove his point. /jk

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

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. IN THE BIBLE IT LITERALLY STATES THAT GOD LOVES EVERY ONE EQUALLY. THATS WHAT THEY TEACH IN BIBLE SCHOOL. also in the bible it also says that you can marry your sister soo.

tjkckh2 avatar
BIG FOOT
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Umm buddy I think that was when there were no rules and way back then.....

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

If all these conservatives would keep their noses out of other peoples' private parts, the world would be a better place.

msmith_3 avatar
PjandBolt
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, God said love your neighbor as yourself no matter what so that's what I'm trying to do!

johnblauvelt avatar
John Blauvelt
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A bit off subject but in the M*A*S*H episode 'Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler' a soldier (Capt. Chandler) is without dog tags and tells the staff he is Jesus Christ. When they bring in Pyschiatrist Sidney Freedman to speak with Chandler, Sidney asks if God answers all prayers. A tear rolls down Chandler's face as he responds in the affirmative, but adds, “sometimes the answer is no.” Powerful and has always stayed with me.

sarah901 avatar
Sarcasm101
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guess we shou9d expect something of him coming out🤷🏻‍♀️

emyred79 avatar
Emy Loves
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This guy makes me sad. I'm Christian an love all people. My niece is gay and she's one of the BEST people I know. Please don't put all Christians to shame. Some of us know better. Love all. Period. Not that hard

ljamie04 avatar
Hollysmom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And of course we all know that no one had ever altered the bible and that all translation are correct and true. Right? Not

messybaker28 avatar
Sarah
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ugh. he is not a good Christian. Being gay isn't a sin. It was talking about being a pedophile because the priests would rape or harass the young students in the church.

gjwilliams11 avatar
Gloria J Williams
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What God is he talking about? If you preach this stuff, you are the disaster.

lucy_hill121289 avatar
Lucy Hill
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those who so vehemently damn gay ppl are usually in the closet themselves. If that’s not the case for this tool, I hope the first thing he did after the flood was think “damn...am I gay? Does God know something I don’t?!”

valrico63 avatar
Sam Cook
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t support homosexuality myself, but what he said was just wrong.

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

Oh he forgot ‘god’ was gay and decided to take him up on his threat. Karma is a bitch and a fierce one at that!

kawaiigirlygal avatar
Joan Marie Wiser
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate that this makes Christians look bad. We’re not bad people, so please don’t reply if you are just gonna judge.

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

BRUH first of I am gay second off KARMA IS MY BEST FRIEND

fracarr avatar
François Carré
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

God must have a wicked sense of humor because there are plenty of stories like this, bigots being affected by the same calamities they had claimed to be God's punishment for so-called sinners.

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

A lot of people like this actually are gay. The reason they feel such resentment against openly gay people is because they think that everyone is gay and that the people who are openly gay are just the ones who refuse to follow their version of Christianity and suppress their natural selves.

isabellaszick2 avatar
XxInstantKarmaxX
Community Member
1 year ago

This comment has been deleted.

saradagrape avatar
Sarah Grape
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

hope his followers completly and totally belived his sermon, and continued to belive it after the dude's house flooded

bxiaox20 avatar
Bridget Xiao
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So is he gay? .... Actually maybe he has a severe case of idiot.

frogfever127 avatar
Teri Campisi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Really! Wonder why yourhome got destroyed? Maybe God didn't like you saying that stuff!

justlilme50 avatar
Tracy Thornton
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He's not our Judge. Believe what you choose but let God continue doing what he does best judging people like yourself . I pray you find your way to the truth but I pray more for any of his followers that God shows them His Truth about judgements 🙏🙏

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

Haters who believe they are Christian and act like thugs.

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

ok, I hate this kind of "leader" of what, golden ringed and watched, using cult to gain money with donations, but unfortunately Louisiana floods wasn't only for him...

joodith227 avatar
Mumof1
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amazing how some people know exactly why their "god" behaves in a certain way.

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

He has followers because some people are incomprehensibly stupid.

ltweezie avatar
Louise Stange-Wahl
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just another example..."religion" has nothing to do with "God"---any one of them!

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

But it didn't happen as stated. Do your own research, people, FFS!

nawlinsladies avatar
Jenifer Halpern
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wake up you so called "christian people"! It's a bunch of bulls**t don't you know!

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

Show me a religious homophobe and I'll show you a gay dude.

elsa-chall avatar
mentally unstable frog
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oooooopsie shouldn’t have called up my good fellow Karma and flooded your house ;)

jennyv avatar
Bored Broad
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank You Flood Fairies. Hope the Pr**k wasn't insured either. Sending nothing but bad ju-ju to all Homophobes !

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

Sounds like somebody might be in the closet. But seriously, malice in his heart just might have been returned.

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

Is this his unique way of coming out of the closet?

jmchoto avatar
Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm all for "acts of god" destroying property like this, but sadly, most of the time, people who are already poor are the ones who get screwed over.

damonrn avatar
Theoretical Empiricist
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I take unseemly glee in gay-hostile regions being regularly hit by "acts of God".

jzinsky avatar
Andrew Bridge
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

God punishes gay people, yet all these disasters are in highly christian areas...

alejandralima29 avatar
Alejandra Lima
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

May be this is the way God makes stupid people come out of the closet...

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

Maybe God went to the wrong house? Mistakes happen. I'm sure an apology will be forthcoming. Personally, I'd hire a lawyer and sue for restitution.

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Id row
Community Member
3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Reason #422 why religion should be banned.

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

Religion is a beautiful thing when used correctly. It is a horrible excuse for to be rude to others though (homophobes, xenophobes, etc.)

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Lickerman writes: "The subjects agreed about which actions were moral and which weren’t in most of the scenarios, delineating in the process a set of moral principles that seem to be shared by members of all cultures—namely, that it’s less morally permissible to intentionally harm someone than to allow them to be harmed, that it’s less morally permissible to invent a way to cause harm than to cause harm with an existing threat, and that it’s less morally permissible to cause harm directly than to cause it indirectly. Yet the vast majority of subjects couldn’t name these reasons as their underlying justification for judging the actions in each scenario as they did."

He continues: "When we take moral action, we seem to rely not so much on moral reasoning as on moral intuition and then work backward to rationalize the judgments we’ve already made. (Which isn’t to say our moral intuition can’t and shouldn’t be influenced by reason, but rather that our moral intuition remains the primary driver of our moral decision making.)." However, where our moral intuition comes from is still unclear. However, our conception of good, the desire to provide help and prevent harm might be "rooted [...] in the psychological and perhaps even neurological processes of the human mind."

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#11

Got What They Deserved

Got What They Deserved

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#12

Kid Refuses To Move His Legs, Guy Sits On Them Instead

Kid Refuses To Move His Legs, Guy Sits On Them Instead

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ner_diz avatar
Serial pacifist
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If that's the kids mom to his right, she needs disciplining way more than the kid.

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Meanwhile, becoming responsible for our actions can have the added benefit of making us stronger and more resilient. In his book, Lickerman alludes to a study led by psychologist Kurt Gray where participants would hold up a 5-pound weight, would be given a dollar, and half of then would be given the opportunity to donate it to charity. Donating the money made the participants able to hold up the weight 7 seconds longer than the control group.

"Why? According to Gray, because doing good increases our sense of agency, or potency, a phenomenon he terms moral transformation. (Interestingly, this effect wasn’t seen only with acts of charity but also with acts of villainy.) [...] Which all suggests a reason that action in the moral sphere, whether good or evil, makes us strong: it requires us to be. Or, at least, that’s what we think people who take moral action are: research shows that we’re cognitively biased to 'typecast' people who take such action as resilient—-a bias, it turns out, that affects not only our perception of others but also of ourselves," Lickerman writes.

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"And when we perceive ourselves to be endowed with a particular quality, we have a tendency to conform to that perception. All of which implies that performing or even attempting to perform moral action may increase our resilience because it causes us to perceive ourselves as more resilient. This then makes us act, and therefore feel, as if we were."

#13

Amazing. Impeccable

Amazing. Impeccable

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#14

Instant Karma

Instant Karma

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

I remember this one. If I recall correctly, the clerk wasn't sure whether to report it as they didn't know if a crime had been committed.

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#15

Guy Is A Jerk To A Police Officer In An Unmarked Car

Guy Is A Jerk To A Police Officer In An Unmarked Car

BehindBlueLine Report

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

I LOVE it when a bad driver is caught out. This is a special kind of karma. Overtook me even though I was doing the speed limit? Oh look, speed camera van ahead! What a shaaaame.

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With nearly 1.9 million members and 8.5 years of getting their show on the road, the ‘Instant Karma’ community is one of the leviathans of Reddit. However, don’t think that they’re just about seeing only unethical people get punished. They also urge their members to post examples of folks getting rewarded for good behavior as well.

Examples of delayed karma or scripted events are, obviously, not permitted on this subreddit. The name of the community is pretty self-explanatory. What’s more, r/instantkarma’s moderators have pointed out that they have no tolerance for calls to violence.

Just because somebody deserves to be punished doesn’t mean that redditors should pour hatred and vile language online. Of course, discussions are encouraged, but they have to be civil. Exactly like people ought to be in real life.

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#16

I Don’t Know If It Belongs Here!

I Don’t Know If It Belongs Here!

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#17

Respect Your Mother

Respect Your Mother

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troufaki13
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Children need discipline, I don't understand why parents just give in and don't set boundaries

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#18

Gave Him The Express Shipping Option For Free

Gave Him The Express Shipping Option For Free

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

So glad the driver wasn't charged. As one who was in the delivery business for 30 years, I was in fear of my life on a couple of occasions. Not as easy a job as one my think.

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#22

Mayor Dishes Out Karma On Litterer

Mayor Dishes Out Karma On Litterer

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#24

Reverse Brick

Reverse Brick

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

I don't think I would be able to stop laughing if I saw that in person.

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#25

Oh How The Tables Have Turned

Oh How The Tables Have Turned

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#29

Anti-Gay Politician Caught Fleeing A 25-Man Orgy

Anti-Gay Politician Caught Fleeing A 25-Man Orgy

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#32

Politicians Get A Taste Of Their Legislations

Politicians Get A Taste Of Their Legislations

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#34

This Is Venice City Hall Right After The Approval Of A Climate Change Denial Amendment

This Is Venice City Hall Right After The Approval Of A Climate Change Denial Amendment

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#35

Karma

Karma

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

This jerk and his jerk brother tried to capitalize off the pandemic by buying up all the sanitizer supplies they could find to sell at a profit until Amazon and eBay forbid it.

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#37

Order Them To Stop

Order Them To Stop

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James016
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's becoming more and more apparent that lawmakers think that their laws don't apply to them

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#39

Block An Electric Charging Station... Get Towed

Block An Electric Charging Station... Get Towed

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#40

Firefighters Had To Smash The Window Of This Illegally Parked Vehicle On My Street

Firefighters Had To Smash The Window Of This Illegally Parked Vehicle On My Street

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#45

Woman Tried To Acid Attack Her Former Lover

Woman Tried To Acid Attack Her Former Lover

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#46

Guy Parks On Stripes To Avoid Freezing Rain, Happens To Be Under A Leaky Pipe

Guy Parks On Stripes To Avoid Freezing Rain, Happens To Be Under A Leaky Pipe

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

I kinda feel sorry for this one. He just wanted to get out of the rain and didn't really obstruct any free passage.

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#47

Just Remember The Quote, “ If I Get Corona, I Get Corona. It’s Not Gonna Stop Me From Partying”

Just Remember The Quote, “ If I Get Corona, I Get Corona. It’s Not Gonna Stop Me From Partying”

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

it's not even about if you get corona- what about the people around you?!

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#49

Taxi Driver Took A Much Longer Route Than We Agreed To. We Told Him To Stop The Car And Let Us Take Another Taxi. The Police Immediately Saw Him Stop And Fined Him

Taxi Driver Took A Much Longer Route Than We Agreed To. We Told Him To Stop The Car And Let Us Take Another Taxi. The Police Immediately Saw Him Stop And Fined Him

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#50

No Title Needed

No Title Needed

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Note: this post originally had 52 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.