This might be not the first time you’re clicking on a link to check out pictures of annoying things. In fact, there’s a chance you’ve done it on multiple occasions, maybe even a few dozen times. That’s because, in a very contradictory way, mildly infuriating pictures are very appealing.
The popularity of the “mildly infuriating” genre is further proven by the number of sources you can find that share collections of frustrating images. This time, we found all of these on two Facebook groups, one with over 2,000 and the other with over 12,000 members. This means that there are people out there that want to see frustrating images on their feeds every day. Odd, isn’t it?
Scroll down to see if the following images appeal to your taste and read on to understand why you keep coming back for more.
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So why is it that when you see misaligned tiles in a public bathroom, you can’t help but snap a picture to share it with your friends and family? Well, there might be a few things at play here, but emotional catharsis through social validation is probably the best guess.
Emotional catharsis is a release of tension that builds up when experiencing a certain emotion. For example, when you’re sad, the emotion might fill you up to the point when you overflow and might start crying. After that, you feel lighter and calmer because you released that feeling from your body—you experienced a catharsis.
Similarly, when you fail to neatly open the foil part off of a Nutella jar, you can get understandably annoyed. You can, of course, let that annoyance build until you overflow and start shouting at a random stranger. Or, you can let it go right away by tweeting about it to the world and letting others validate your frustration. Because sometimes, all you need to soothe your soul is a random person on the internet saying that they feel your pain.
On the other side of the screen, when we are looking at mildly infuriating images, we are exercising our empathy muscle. Most of us are familiar with the pain of seeing all the toppings fall off the pizza slice as you’re picking it up, and we feel bad for people going through it. We relate to it, and that’s why we click that like button and comment with our support.
We also know friends who can relate to the same pain so these pictures are also highly sharable. We seek to connect and commiserate so we tag people and retweet posts that floats the frustration bubble up to the top. A study published in 2016 showed that social media usage can increase a person’s feelings of empathy, and these images are a great example of that.
On top of relatability, mildly infuriating pictures are also very universal. The annoying experiences transcend the need for words and they occur no matter where you find yourself on the globe. This gives them even more potential for being shared and appreciated everywhere. After all, people from different backgrounds can be familiar with the frustration of someone parking just a tad bit too close.
To be fair, if those motorbikes were there first it looks as if it would be a bit tricky to open the driver's door.
On the other hand, according to Joe Palka, a journalist who co-wrote “Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us” with Flora Lichtman, annoyances can be very individualistic. For example, if public transportation always comes on time wherever you live, you might get annoyed if it’s running late. However, if it’s never on time, you are probably not too bothered if it turns up later than expected. This might be part of the reason why there’s so little research on things that rub us the wrong way.
It's funny they husked it just to wrap it back up again. Possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever seen
Palka and Lichtman did identify three essential qualities for an annoyance. First is that it has to be noxious without being harmful. Second, and that’s a big one, is that it needs to be unpredictable and intermittent. Lastly, to ramp up the frustration, it has to persist just long enough to be somewhat bearable but also not quite. Altogether, this makes an annoying situation to remember.
Sometimes the annoyance we feel is not at all related to the images we’re seeing, it’s something we’ve been carrying with us that needs unleashing. Our lives might not always offer a chance to release frustrations related to our family or work routines. A list full of other people’s annoyances allows us to let go of our grievances while, at the same time, giving us a distraction from our problems.
This drives me insane. As a wheelchair user it's not always easy to me to just "go around them" if there are curbs. I can't just squeeze past. And if I have to go on the road it's dangerous because being seated it's often hard for drivers so see me; drivers are used to looking for people at a standing height but can miss looking lower down. The owners of these vehicles should have been more aware to the needs of others when parking.
I know exactly how you feel. I deal with the same thing, I hate ot more when people block sidewalks and I have to wheel myself on the road.
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This an folk who park in front of the dropped kerb that's supposed to facilitate easy access for wheelchair users
Shhh. This is the closest these good ol' boys get to intimacy. (Satire.)
All they need are some wheel chocks X-distance from the curb. They work both ways - cars backing in like this won’t be able to get their towbars over the footpath (sidewalk) without running over the chock- and smaller cars driving in forward won’t get their front bumper bar (fender) pulled off when they get it stuck on the pavement edge after they place their substantial bottoms AND shopping in the front of the car before backing out - saves the front of the car, and the pavement doesn’t get pulled away as often either. Win-win for drivers and local authorities. Call any local council in Victoria, Australia for details on how a concrete wheel chock can save your footpaths (sidewalks) today!
MIG welder + iron bar. 'Get out of that without moving!' (Peter Cook and Dudley Moore) I'd weld all three together. Tailpipes and all.
I probably would’ve taken the time to have gone into the hardware store to buy a chain and a lock.
Ridiculous pickup trucks park like a******s. What a surprise. Has to be the first time this happened, right?
Why do pick up truck drivers always back in? (Serious question… I am curious).
Can only speak for myself but I do it whenever possible because backing out of a busy parking lot can be dangerous for pedestrians with trucks. It's difficult to see people sometimes when they pop out from behind a large SUV or another truck and I'm trying to back out with my truck, especially if it's children or wheelchair users. These particular people are just buttholes though. Parking over a walkway is just idiocy. In the words of your ex girlfriend, it ain't that big, it'll fit
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Is someone describing this picture to you? How does that work exactly?
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I am a go with the flow kinda gal. I would analyze situation to realizing it's the trucks' fault, not driver. They are trying to not have any of their truck sticking out so they do this. Then they got those ball things to make it more a pain. I would choose to just lift my legs and get around it, forgetting I am really short and one of my legs would get stuck, but I end up saving myself. I am a klutz, so I am trained for moments like this.
The receivers are probably all the same size and most likely held on with cotter pins. So you should just switch them so they all have the wrong size hitch for their trailers. They won't notice until they have to tow something.
OMG. I drive a compact, so it doesn't cause this mess, but I am SO bad at doing this.
So you all would rather the beds and hitches were sticking out the other way and blocking traffic?
Neither of these trucks is jacked up otherwise indicative of a "vanity" ride. These could easily be tradesman or farmers... earning a living with your vehicle has little to do with penis size.
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In my country, some places go to extraordinary lengths to stop this happening, like ridiculously wide footpaths in shopping centre carparks, and barriers two feet from the kerb to stop cars even getting close. That's what is mildly annoying.
Loss of knee caps or lots of leg damage if walking through
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Maybe the question asked for the answer to be an improper fraction?
Another thing that makes these mildly infuriating posts so appealing and popular is the humor in it. A lot of the mildly frustrating images are quite ridiculous and funny in their own way. No one is experiencing real harm that’s detrimental to their well-being, they’re just a little unlucky. This allows one to smile at the little misfortunes without feeling guilty. Sure, your cat sitting on your pizza is a bummer, but it’s also quite hilarious at the same time.
All in all, mildly infuriating pictures is quite a contradiction. They’re things that make you frustrated while also making you smile. They’re something you never want to experience in your life that you also can’t get enough of. In other words, see you here next time. There’s definitely going to be a next time.
For any Americans reading: this is a normal amount of water to have in a toilet. You'll see it only goes up to just above the earphones themselves. I've never understood why your bowls are almost full and yet you still seem to have so many stories about clogged toilets. I've never encountered a clogged toilet in 40 years of being in the UK.
Waiting for the after photo, the one where the employee rams all the carts together against this guy's bumper. ... Just because you can park there, doesn't mean you should.
I mean, that's terrible quality fabric. But you could still patch it!
as a french citizen, I declare war on this person and I denounce him/her for crime against the viennoiserie
Well, it *is* centered on the mantlepiece. This is something my ex would do. He's very precise but has no eye for artistry.
Note: this post originally had 87 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
dear author: it would help a lot, if the original titels/descriptions would have been included.. i sometimes wondered what the problem was :)
Ngl I got to number 10 and started to feel itchy with unbearable frustration at these images
Some of these were mildly infuriating, but others (like the messed up patterns) make my brain itch and that is a million times worse
Bowtechie, you didn't deserve downvote. I upvoted for you. Some of these were much worse than others, I guess different things annoy different people.
Load More Replies... dear author: it would help a lot, if the original titels/descriptions would have been included.. i sometimes wondered what the problem was :)
Ngl I got to number 10 and started to feel itchy with unbearable frustration at these images
Some of these were mildly infuriating, but others (like the messed up patterns) make my brain itch and that is a million times worse
Bowtechie, you didn't deserve downvote. I upvoted for you. Some of these were much worse than others, I guess different things annoy different people.
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