‘Mildly Interesting’: An Online Group Exploring The Weird And Wonderful Side Of Everyday Life (50 New Pics)
The internet is awash with content designed to provoke a harsh reaction. Whether it’s spite for celebrities and their drama, anger from sensationalist reporting, or one of the latest cringe compilations, consuming all this can leave you with a bad taste in the mouth.
That’s why we’ve decided to help you with a little palate cleanser. It’s time to put on your slippers, grab a glass of room-temperature tap water and make yourself comfortable. When you’re ready, enjoy a few of Bored Panda’s latest entrées of ‘Mildly Interesting’ morsels.
The name of the Reddit page that collects these photos is a bit of a misnomer. Although /r/MildlyInteresting doesn’t post jaw-dropping content, there’s always something fascinating and it injects a little wonder into the everyday. We love the page here at Bored Panda, that’s why we’ve written on it once, twice, thrice and uh… four times before. So, be sure to check them out after this one!
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My Hotel Phone In Iceland Has A Special Button That Will Wake You Up If There Are Northern Lights In The Sky
/r/MildlyInteresting has captured the intrigue of over 19M people, so it goes to show that the content is more than just a little bit interesting.
Bored Panda spoke with one of the moderators, RedSquaree, on the continuing success of the page. They said, "I think we've done an amazing job of curating a subreddit that is still niche despite being hugely popular."
"The content is roughly the same today as it was almost a decade ago. Most subs change (for the worse) as they grow, but we've kept things mild—just the way people want it," they explained.
My Dining Room Table Houses A Secret Spiral Staircase
My Apartment Complex Rented Out 200 Goats To Eat Away At The Overgrown Path And Riverbed Behind Our Buildings!
New career goal: owning a Rent-a-Goat business ("No Job Too Shrubby")
Missing Cat Owner Posted A Follow Up Where The Previous Missing Posters Were
I Came In My Kitchen To Find A Lizard Using A Sponge As A Raft In The Sink. (I Live In New Mexico)
Woo Hoo - this is fun!!!! Come back in 10 - I'm enjoying myself here.
I Gave My Wife LEGO Flowers For Her Birthday
It's hard to define what makes something 'mildly interesting' but in my opinion, there’s a certain theme running throughout. The images shared usually go against the grain of what we consider as “normal”. Or, they highlight some bizarre coincidence that we would never have expected.
However, everyone sees it differently. Since RedSquaree has been moderating the page for some time, I asked for their views on the secret formula behind the photos posted and how they would define them. They said, "Everyone probably has a slightly different interpretation or idea of what is mildly interesting." But they believe that the concept of relatability is most important—it has to be "nothing spectacular but something novel".
But this can also make it difficult to moderate the content being posted on the page. They explained further, "Sometimes we see users post to /r/mildlyinteresting first (because if they didn't, it would break rule 3 of our page). Then, they go on to crosspost to /r/damnthatsinteresting. And we're thinking to ourselves, '/r/HolUp, it can't be both'."
This Incredibly Detailed Picture I Took Of A Bonfire
When I Went To Switzerland And Happened To Look Exactly Like This Random Wood Statue
Miniature Traffic Playground In Copenhagen Where Kids Learn To Bike In Traffic
So, should the content be strictly regulated before posting? RedSquaree doesn't think so, at least for now. They said, "Many people have recommended we make a Rule 7, so content must be mild or it gets removed. But it would be so problematic to enforce that we haven't gone that far... yet."
They also told us about their personal favorites handpicked by the moderator team. RedSquaree said, "We have a 'Quality Post' link flair which we use (sparingly) to tag on submissions we find particularly mildly interesting. Everything we've marked 'Quality Post' can be considered officially mildly interesting."
A Supplier Of Ours Now Fills His Packages With Air-Cushions Made Out Of Paper Instad Of Plastic
How much does a packet of air cost? Because I want in on this ASAP.................
How Well Our Movers Tetris’d Our Stuff
Dang, that is genius level! it should never be touched again: a monument to perfection.
Last Night My Wife's Uber Had A Duck In It
When we’re so accustomed to seeing something in one way, our thoughts are suddenly shaken up when it suddenly appears differently or juxtaposed with something else. It’s a great reminder to rethink what we know and open ourselves up to new possibilities. But there’s a reason why we build these cognitive biases in our minds.
I Was Trying To Take A Picture Of The Guy In The Costume And A Person With With Opposite Colors Walked Into The Frame
My Butter This Morning Looks Like A Happy Naked Man
My Local Library Has Cake Pans Available To Check Out!
Sometimes a recipe requires a specific pan. If you're only trying the recipe for the first time or you only do it a couple of times a year, you don't want to buy the pan. Therefore you can "rent" it.
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Unusually shaped pans are expensive this would be great for a birthday or special occasion when you might never use the pan again.
"I'll take the teddy bear cake pan, and do you have the new Stephen King?"
As a home baker, who has spent a fortune on "just the right pan", I would absolutely LOVE this.
That is a cool idea! That way you don't buy a cake pan to use only once!
There are places where you can borrow things like drills and ladders.
i like it. i saw the comment about what amounts to a community tool crib, another good idea. there are all kinds of things a lending library can lend besides books. good for the library -- increased traffic, and good for the community, because lower income folks can have access to items they won't buy for a one time use, and keeping busy is a good way to ward off depression...
Good comment! Thoughtful and addresses an important economic issue.
Load More Replies... Our main library in Tulsa has similar as well as a full Make Lab with laser cutters and 3D printers.
A library specializes in buying materials (books, DVDs, tools, cake pans and more!) that are expensive and rarely used. Rather than one person buying a cake pan for thirty bucks to use for one kids birthday, the cake pan is bought by the library and shared among all their patrons. Talk about being eco friendly.
My local library rents out weird stuff too.... Lawn chairs, tents, microscopes, game consoles, cricuts, 3d printers.. I'm not sure about cake pans tho
Cricuts!!!! No way really!!!!???? Omg I would love to have this in my local library!
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What a good idea! I mean how many time are you going to make a Mickey Mouse cake after your kid's birthday?
My kid would have a Mickey Mouse birthday cake every birthday. As long as I'm around.
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This is really a fantastic idea! I had to look it up and found out that the library is in Colorado - (https://emcld.org). Here's the search page - https://emcld.polarislibrary.com/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=3.1033.0.0.3&type=Default&term=cake pans&by=KW&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=*&query=&page=0&searchid=2
Our library does the same with musical instruments (excepting acoustic pianos of course).
My local library has power tools to borrow, because why buy an electric drill if you only need it to install one thing. Library membership is free so everyone can take advantage of everything they have to lend.
Fabulous! Great idea! Want a special shape for a party? Check one out instead of buying it for a one time use!
We had a store here, Blue Springs, MO., that was called The Cake Pan and they rented all kinds of cake pans.
If they're overdue will they forgive the fine if you return them filled with goodies?
Love this idea. A local bulk store used to do the same. Thanks to them I could make awesome cakes for my kids' birthdays.
A lot of libraries in the states do this (at least in my area). You can check out hammers, cake pans, sewing machines (although the sewing machines have to be used at the library). It's great for apartment dwellers or people just starting out who don't have all that stuff and just need it once in a while.
Heaven! I have 34 pans of my own but this would be a dream!! These pans are kinda pricey and sometimes hard to find
They do that here in New Mexico too...and also you can check out passes to ALL the museums around Albuquerque and Santa Fe (all of them also have a day of the week that residents get in free.
oo wow reminds me of my library only we have instrements. but i kinda want the cake pans XD
I think this is fantastic. I've bought pans I don't use, but someone else could
Our library does this also! Just at my neighborhood branch we have a Scooby Doo pan, a butterfly and a Madeleine pan. We're a small branch but I'm sure there are more system-wide. We also have a seed library. I believe the deal is you get some seeds in the spring, plant your garden and contribute some after your harvest. Very cool. Libraries rock!
Some Libraries have movies, tools, and other items to loan-it is a great program
I'm wondering about the noise it would make in a library, carrying a selection of those to the desk to check them out!
A research paper called the Theory of Cognitive Pattern Recognition seeks to find out how and why we build these links in our minds. The paper defines pattern recognition as “a process of inputting stimulating (pattern) information and matching it with the information in long-term memory, then recognizing the category that the stimulation belongs to. Therefore, pattern recognition depends on people’s knowledge and experience.”
Found An Arrowhead In A Dried Up Stream!
The Banisters At My Hotel Were Held Up By Little Metal Men
Townhouse In Dc Has A Cute Little Model Townhouse In Its Front Yard (And The Model Has Its Own Model!)
My Fiancé Capped The End Of A Cut Banana With Banana Skin
Before It Was Sprouted, This Tree Went To The Moon
This Ornamental Hand At My Local IKEA With The Middle Finger Ziptied Down
The Tailgate Of This Truck Is Painted To Look Like There’s A Bulldog In The Bed Of The Truck
This Group We Came Across In A Forest Casually Hiking In Medieval Outfits
A Cast Iron Cauldron I Found Buried In My Forest
There Was A Massive Pirate Ship Driving Around My Neighborhood
This Shopping Cart Has A Spot For Kids To Stand On While The Parent Pushes
The Way My Wife Eats Cheetos Without Messing Up Her Mouse
Brilliant! No need to have a mouse that looks like Donald Trump's face
One Of Our Local Libraries Moved Into An Old Marsh Supermarket
Feels like one of those dreams where you see familiar places but get confused too.
My Cat Fell Asleep Looking Like He's Standing Up
Saw A Knight In The Park The Other Day
The Gap In My Bedroom Window Became A Pinhole Camera
Color Coordinated Wristbands For Back To Work Post Covid
Bought 2 Different Sizes Of Shoes, But The Boxes Align Perfectly With One Another
A Century Old Suit
Found An E Than Survived The Recycling Process On The Cardboard We Use At Work
This Jeep’s Break Lights Are Jeeps
60 Doses Of Pfizer Vaccine Ready To Go
The Crack In The Door Splits My Grow Light Into Different Colors
My Wife And I Had Plane Snacks That Matched Our Books On Our Way To Our Honeymoon
Lowercase Stopsign
The Air Filter I Just Took Out Of My Lawnmower vs. The One I Replaced It With
This Pressure Washer Looks Like Mike Wazowski
The Hallway To My Dentist Office Looks Like A Stanley Kubrick Scene
It does! So does the hallway outside my floor. Every single time i see the twins. Every single time...........
The Door Into My Work Casts A Solid Rainbow For A Few Minutes In The Mornings
My Peas & Lentils Look Like An Ishihara Test
The Inside Of My Inflatable Air Mattress
This Is A Truck Carrying The Signs You See On The Interstate
Really gives you perspective on how big they are (obviously I know they’re huge but you can’t always tell how big while driving in a car)
This Egg Has No Yolk
A 130 Year Old Crypt Found While Renovating A Church In Sc, They Put A Glass Window On It So You Could See The Face
My Mom Still Has Napkins From The Original Space Jam
Note: this post originally had 89 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
So do I, Stephanie. I usually scroll through the new articles to see what they have added, and this is the first one I read when I find one like this. More than "mildly" interesting to me.
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Very interesting! I love it. I never seem to find interesting things like that.
This sounds like an excellent real world mindfulness challenge
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Interestingly enough, while reading this I learned that my phones touch screen registers bread. So I can use bread to scroll down the list. Knowing how unhygienic phones are though, im not gonna do that
LOVED these images - surreal dada and expressionist moments in real life that prove we live in a beautiful world full of visual poetry if we just take a moment to ponder and enjoy the bliss.
I enjoyed this. I think the first thirty or so were moderately to extremely interesting, and after that, it hit a stride of mildly interesting.
So do I, Stephanie. I usually scroll through the new articles to see what they have added, and this is the first one I read when I find one like this. More than "mildly" interesting to me.
Load More Replies... Very interesting! I love it. I never seem to find interesting things like that.
This sounds like an excellent real world mindfulness challenge
Load More Replies... Interestingly enough, while reading this I learned that my phones touch screen registers bread. So I can use bread to scroll down the list. Knowing how unhygienic phones are though, im not gonna do that
LOVED these images - surreal dada and expressionist moments in real life that prove we live in a beautiful world full of visual poetry if we just take a moment to ponder and enjoy the bliss.
I enjoyed this. I think the first thirty or so were moderately to extremely interesting, and after that, it hit a stride of mildly interesting.
