Who doesn't love learning new things? Our brain floods our body with dopamine when we see, to quote the American rock band Semisonic, an F. N. T. That stands for "fascinating new thing". And although the group was singing about a girl, the reference still stands, right? A spiky tiny mushroom or a transparent octopus can be a fascinating new thing too.
The subreddit r/fascinating then is heaven for those who want to satisfy their curiosity and get a dopamine rush. It's a Reddit community with over 40k members where people post interesting pictures and facts. Check out our selection from the subreddit below!
Bored Panda also got some thoughts from an insider. One of the moderators from r/fascinating, WeirdPineapple, was kind enough to answer some questions. Check out our short interview with him below!
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Ronald Mcnair, The Boy Who Refused To Leave The Library
The r/fascinating subreddit is not the only community that Weird Pineapple is a mod on. There are 9 communities in total under his wing. r/fascinating is the third on the list in terms of member count.
Nevertheless, it still ranks in the top 5% percent of the largest communities on Reddit. And it's not only facts and pictures we can find there. Community members don't shy away from posting videos with interesting facts as well.
Perspective
The Puffer Fish Skeleton And The Way It Works Is Simply A Marvel Of Nature
We asked WeirdPineapple how he became one of the moderators for this community. "I originally became involved as I was working on a handful of projects, and /r/fascinating happened to be one of them."
The mod tells Bored Panda that the subreddit wasn't in the best state when he came on board. "It was a bit dilapidated when we originally got there, but we managed to promote some growth and better content. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s been a long process that is not done yet."
The Lesser Known 1st Starry Night Painting By Vincent Van Gogh
After some research, it seems he repainted it because he wasn't satisfied with the colors and overall mood of this one, as he felt he didn't capture the true beauty and majesty of the night sky. In fact, he didn't even like the famous repainting we all know, because he felt it was too abstract. Reminder that your art and everything you put into this world is probably much more beautiful than you think. 💙
What A Wonderful Time To Be Alive!
Rare Octopus With Completely Transparent Head
The Redditor tells us why he holds this particular community dear to his heart. "This subreddit was a passion project I had alongside a tremendous team, who also helped build some of the biggest communities you still see on Reddit today. It had a solid foundation and just needed a push and some cleaning up.
The Moon During A Total Solar Eclipse Revealing A Vast Solar Corona
Chinese Explorer Zheng He's Ship Compared To Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria. Both Lived And Sailed At The Same Time (Repost /R/Pics)
Yeah Columbus's ships were tiny. Barely capable on the open sea. That is the reason most people thought he was crazy. They knew the Earth was a globe but his numbers didn't add up. If it wasn't for the fact that North America exists him and his crew would have sailed to their deaths.
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Zheng commanded seven expeditionary treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. According to legend, his larger ships carried hundreds of sailors on four decks and were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded.
The legend was invented by former submarine captain Gavin Menzies in the year 2002.
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I saw a replica of one of Columbus's ships in San Francisco many years ago and it was insane how tiny it was in person.
I saw a replica of Niña once. A family of 4 was living on a ship. Can't imagine 26 people squeased in there for a few months.
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I tend to think of those ships as huge and then you watch a film like Master and Commander and you get an idea of how relatively cramped they were.
Zheng He was a Chinese explorer who lead seven great voyages on behalf of the Chinese emperor. These voyages traveled through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa. His seven total voyages were diplomatic, military, and trading ventures, and lasted from 1405 – 1433. However, most historians agree their main purpose was to promote the glory of Ming dynasty China. Excellent article about him here: https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/zheng-he/#:~:text=Zheng%20He%20was%20a%20Chinese,and%20lasted%20from%201405%20–%201433.
A nice illustration of what Eurocentrism does to your brain. That is if you are European, American, or Australian..A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
The Zheng He model is based on a fantasy novel written 150 years after the voyages. No evidence exists that the actual ships were that large. Those with knowledge of wooden ship construction know that such a vessel, if built, would never survive the open sea. If built, it might sit on a lake, like Caligula's barge. The ships used in the Columbus expedition were chosen not for their size, but seaworthiness.
I've read that the Chinese built their ships with watertight compartments, so it's not just bigger, it's way more seaworthy.
Nope. Despite being smaller the European ships were better for open sea ( ocean)
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Zheng He's ships were very slow, had to stay within shore view because they couldnt handle rough seas or deep seas, and were mostly for cargo, hence his voyages to India, Arabia, and East Africa. Columbus's ship were long range exploring vessels designed for rough seas, open oceans and navigation. Different ships built for different purposes, and each did great for their role.
but right around that time the Chinese decided to stop exploring, halted most of their long distance seaborne trade became isolationist. Imagine what the world would be like today if they had had not- if they had continued exploring and trading like the Western Europeans did.
Not at the same time. Zheng He died 20 years before Columbus was born. Makes it all the more impressive, though.
We learned about him on Adam Ruins Everything.... super fascinating!
Looks like the Chinese made exploration more of a priority than the Europeans did.
but Europeans felt they were so much more superior... for centuries
“I’m taking a day trip tomorrow.” “Really? To where?” “The other end of the ship.”
Columbus also crossed the Atlantic during hurricane season, the absolute most dangerous time to do so. It's incredible he reached the Americas at all.
The name is Zheng He, the apostrophe denotes the possessive
Load More Replies...This Is How Mt. Fuji Cuts Through The Clouds
This mod has extensive experience, yet the beginning of the subreddit was still a challenge. He says he used to spend a lot of time moderating the community. "But communities become more established and you incorporate a decent auto-mod system, you end up with a mostly autonomous community," WeirdPineapple explains. "Manual spam-removal is still essential, however," he adds.
This Couple Met In Wwii, Then Got Married In Germany. The Wife Traded A Soldier Two Cartons Of Cigarettes For A Parachute To Make Her Wedding Dress
The Canadian Rockies By Dan Schyk
As some who has only ever lived in flats lands, this is haunting in a way I don't have words for.
Fairy Pools, The Isle Of Skye, Scotland By Nikola Niki
The Redditor says the most challenging part is monitoring trolls. "It’s mainly a battle of fighting paid spam and misinformation posts, as with many subreddits with any traction. I understand making a name for yourself or your community, it just needs to be done within the proper channels."
Oldest Living Thing On Earth. Methuselah, A Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, Is 4,853 Years Old
Well, not quite. It's the oldest known living, non-clonal tree. There are a number of things older though. Expessially if you count clonal colonies, which can be in the 10s of thousands, and doubly so if you get into microorganisms that are potentially revivable, with at least one successful revival of a million year old organism and candidates for revival over 100 million years old.
This Tiny Mushroom (Possibly Mycena Subcyanocephala)
Big Old Snail
There's a somewhat fascinating fact about WeirdPineapple himself. He says working as a Reddit mod led to him starting a career as a professional racer. In fact, one of the communities he oversees, r/capps, is a place where he can document his achievements.
What Lightning Does To Sand
This is after polishing. Straight after the lightning strike it looks like opaque branching coral because it's coated in sand grains that have stuck to the surface.
Monument Valley, Arizona By Paul B. Moore
"I never expected where I’d end up when I started working with/on Reddit over a decade ago," the mod confesses. "But professional racing was not in the top five that I saw coming if I even had a top-five back then."
Gerrymandering Explained: How Elections Are Stolen By Redistricting
i didn’t really realize this was a thing in the US until i read an article a while ago about it and it really made me wonder how you guys consider this to be “fair”, like i’m genuinely really curious.
Inside The Mouth Of A Leatherback Turtle
Allegheny National Forest By Zack Frank
The Reddit user also feels a lot of gratitude towards the platform and its other users. "I’m extremely thankful for what Reddit has been able to do for both me and the communities I oversee," WeirdPineapple says.
Researchers Studied The Effects Of A 20-Minute Walk On The Cognitive Performance Of A Group Of Children. This Is Fascinating
Need more info. For example, the measurement you're taking is probably blood flow, in which case obviously exercise increases blood flow. Also, without further information we don't know if this extra activity is due to damage repair, cleaning out the lactic acid toxins produced by the exercise.
This Is A Human Nervous System That Took Over 4000 Hours To Dissect. There Is Only 4 In The World
Mt. St Helens The 17th Of May, 1980 vs. 4 Months Later
We throw the word 'fascinating' around quite a bit here on this post. Oxford Learner's Dictionary describes it as being 'very interested.' But that doesn't really do it justice, does it? When we say that we're fascinated, it's not just that we find it very interesting. There's something stronger – it captivates our attention.
A 3300 Year Old Wig
Yes you read that right! This is the wig of Merit, wife of Kha, found in the tomb of the couple (TT8) in Thebes, present-day Luxor, Egypt. The wig was beautifully constructed of human hair. The wig can now be seen in the Museo Egizio, Torino, Italy.
This Is My Left Hand, I Was Born With It And I Can Still Do Plenty Of Stuff
I saw an old lady the other day who had just one finger and a thumb on each hand, and she was *amazingly* dextrous with them. Us humans are so adaptable!
This Is What All The Nerves For Your Teeth Look Like
Simone Redaelli Ph.D. links fascination to mystery. "Fascination occurs when our attention is involuntarily captured by a given environment. Being a potential source of unprecedented knowledge, a mysterious setting easily attracts us and it is therefore a source of fascination."
Taughannock Falls In Upstate New York By Paul Massie Photography
Two Baby Geese Touching Beaks
Comparison Of Actual Distances On The Mercator Projection Map
i can’t remember the name of the map that is more accurately projected, but y’all, africa is HUGE. the whole continent can fit an insane amount of other countries in it (i think it’s like six chinas or something?) and this is coming from a russian. WE NEED MORE ACCURATE MAPS
We can say something similar about the entries on this list from /fascinating. The creators of the subreddit chose the name very aptly. Let us know which pictures captured your attention involuntarily. Upvote your favorites and let us know what you liked in the comments!
Mathematical Analysis Of The Electrical Signals Fungi Seemingly Send To One Another Has Identified Patterns That Bear A Striking Structural Similarity To Human Speech
A Man Standing In The Lumberyard Of Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing. 1939
Crystal River - The Most Beautiful River On Earth
Detailed Color Theory Infographic
Baby Pacific Pomfret Hitching A Ride On A Baby Jellyfish (Three Angles)
Donut Graph Visualizing Composition Of Earth's Surface
Lifespan Of Animals
Glacier National Park, Montana By Galyna Andrushko
The Canadian side (Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) is beautiful too!
Chart Showing Mouth Locations Used For Phonetics In The International Phonetic Alphabet (Ipa) Along With English Examples
You can physically feel the words move front to back as you say them!
Picture Of Comet 67p/Churyumov–gerasimenko With A City For Scale
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore In Wisconsin By Bryan Neuswanger
Alexander The Great, Based On His Busts And Ancient Accounts Of Him
But how did they know what color his eyes were? Edit: kind of looks like Gerard Butler when he was younger.
Fascinating Facts
I assumed this was one of us Americans. It's sad that I'm actually pleasantly surprised it wasn't us this time.
Wendy The Whippet With Myostatin Gene Mutation
The Way You Can See The Truck Through These Pipes
Stereoscopy - The Optical Illusion Of Seeing A Picture In 3D Without Equipment. Cross Your Eyes Until The Images Overlap To See The Effect
Age Of Bands!
Theodore Roosevelt National Park In North Dakota By Zak Zeinert
Thank you Theodore Roosevelt for the establishment of the concept of National Parks.
This Was The Scene When Driving Through Paradise, California During The Fires On The 8th November.... Photo; Oakland Firefighters Local 55
Full Contact National Lightsaber League And Tournament
Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Why is the stupid video ad at the top of the screen not going away? Even tho I keep touching the X! So f#*king annoying.
Also, the share icon covers the bottom right of the text/photo. How do i get rid of it? 🤷♀️
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This was the wrong post to scroll through right before going to sleep
The other evening I ran my finger through my crotch and then my finger smelled like lasagna. I was baking lasagna at the time! Fascinating!
I make over $100 an hour shoplifting bras at plus size stores.
Load More Replies... Why is the stupid video ad at the top of the screen not going away? Even tho I keep touching the X! So f#*king annoying.
Also, the share icon covers the bottom right of the text/photo. How do i get rid of it? 🤷♀️
Load More Replies... This was the wrong post to scroll through right before going to sleep
The other evening I ran my finger through my crotch and then my finger smelled like lasagna. I was baking lasagna at the time! Fascinating!
I make over $100 an hour shoplifting bras at plus size stores.
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