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Some funny coincidences make you giggle. Others make you think there’s no way that was a coincidence in the first place. When you see an ad with a somewhat ambiguous slogan or product placement that is so poorly arranged, it becomes a joke on its own, a thought is likely to cross your mind—the people in charge must have known what they were doing.

A lot of times, they do. Some of them surely know what they are doing and continue to do it, nevertheless. And their effort often ends up on the subreddit, fittingly titled ‘They Knew’. We have gathered some of their best examples, ranging from naughty slogans to odd looking food, and much more. Scroll down to find them on the list below, where you will also find our conversation with the moderator of the subreddit.

#2

Good On You George!

Good On You George!

eskihomer Report

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OhnoI’vebeencensored
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unnecessary censorship! Makes things l**k dirty when they're not. Shameful behaviour, BP! :-P

Chewie Baron
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is it me, or does his smile look even more smug in the Apology/correction?

Robert McKenzie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I could 'please' TWO people in an entire day I would be absolutely thrilled! Let alone women!

MED71
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

George may never associate with women again! Especially those who cannot write efficiently. Or effectively.

DogFashionDisco
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If that was truly unintentional and a mistake. Well, it’s just hilarious! I bet, George, got a lot more popular after that. That, and if he’s married, I bet his wife rolled up the newspaper this article was in and tried to feed it to him. “You said you went shopping, George!”

Nice Beast Ludo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Usually the ones saying thank you are the ones who submit ads like this... I don't see how this level of innuendo could be overlooked by 15 different women though

Epona
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find it funny (funny = peculiar, not funny = Ha Ha) that they used more words in the article correcting their mistake/apologizing for it than they did in the original article. They could have just been more clear in the first article and not had to correct it/apologize!

James Gagnon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the O's probably had dots that were meant to look like eyes. Unfortunately the 12 year old that exists in most males past the age of 12 saw 2 breasts.

sivle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly if I were him I wouldn't want the retraction.

two-sided llama
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

why was my first thought have do with zombies, lovemkaing and necrophilia

Seamus Crumley
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The smile on this man's face seems to hold true for the top picture - not the apology.

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#3

Imagine That, It Fits Perfectly!

Imagine That, It Fits Perfectly!

ListenItWillHear Report

Bored Panda got in touch with redditor u/YaBoiPotatoDestroyer, who is currently the one maintaining the subreddit and guarding it from, in their own words, “spam, bad posts, and repetitive reposts”. They shared that they became a moderator a couple of years ago, together with a fellow redditor that is no longer using the platform. 

Nowadays, u/YaBoiPotatoDestroyer is the only one responsible for ‘They Knew’. “I wanted to mod for the community because I like the subreddit and I love moderating since I've previously been a mod for r/S**tPostCrusaders,” they said.

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The moderator told Bored Panda a little about the subreddit’s history. “A Reddit user, whose name I don’t know, had the concept that became ‘They Knew’. The user itself and the mods at the time were just maintaining the subreddit as it slowly grew, until one day PewDiePie made a video on the subreddit reacting to its content.”

“The subreddit gained a massive popularity boost and the modteam even thanked PewDiePie for reviewing the subreddit in which, if I recall correctly, the mod said that they were quite overwhelmed with how popular the subreddit became and that they didn't quite know how to handle the subreddit from there on out. I assume the mod team was kinda dead at that point already.”

#6

Juicy Pie

Juicy Pie

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Lawrence
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am as impressed with mom's stack of speakers as I am with the vagina core of the apple pie.

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#8

Mother Nature Knew

Mother Nature Knew

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The redditor added that the moderator team and maintenance declined so hard, there was only one user remaining. “Even the main creator of the subreddit left for reasons I don’t know,” they said.

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That one user wasn’t interested in keeping up with the maintenance of ‘They Knew’ and was looking for people to take it over; and that’s how u/YaBoiPotatoDestroyer got to the position they are in today. They told Bored Panda that they’re planning to take more matters into their hands and to create a new moderator team to take good care of the subreddit.

“What I like the most about the subreddit are the new creative ways to find inappropriate messages that make you say: ‘They Knew’,” the moderator said.

“This subreddit is pretty much used for comedy content and I suppose it's also beneficial if you can use the images on a project where you’d normally have a hard time finding what you were looking for.”

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The collection of pictures found in the ‘They Knew’ subreddit is clearly a colorful one. It boasts all kinds of unexpected sightings, from bizarre church billboard graphics to peculiar-looking ads, and everything in between, which poses the questions—what do they have in common and why are they funny?

What connects the images is the fact that the people responsible for whatever is depicted in them must have known exactly what they were doing. And it’s likely that they’ve arranged things in a peculiar way, creating certain juxtapositions or incongruity that we find funny.

#15

How I Bang Your Mother

How I Bang Your Mother

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OhnoI’vebeencensored
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My TV always cut it off as "How I Met Your Moth" which I feel would have been a much more interesting premise.

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#16

Whoever Made This Thing Didn’t Like Carrying It

Whoever Made This Thing Didn’t Like Carrying It

CrappyWaffleGun Report

#17

Gonna Be A Great Day!

Gonna Be A Great Day!

maccumhaill Report

Incongruity theory is one of the three theories of humor (together with approaches based on superiority and relief). It is based on the factor of surprise typically in the form of unexpected outcomes or punchlines that seem incompatible with the situation. That might be one of the reasons ‘They Knew’ community members start giggling when they see a rather naughty-looking sign on the door of a family friendly store and similar images.

#18

"The Mixed Up Truck"

"The Mixed Up Truck"

Orgot Report

#20

Where My Iowans At?!

Where My Iowans At?!

mitchbequiet Report

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Ashley Conover
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw this back in 2017 on travels. A poor innocent woman with us didn't get it. No one explained it to her She was very Mormon.

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According to The Conversation, the second one, based on superiority, is believed to be the oldest theory of humor out of the three. (Philosophers Aristotle and Plato arguably alluded to the idea thousands of years ago.) This approach accentuates the misfortunes of others, making their inferiority the butt of the joke. The third one, known as the relief theory, is built on releasing certain built-up tension through humor and laughing, especially at jokes related to taboo topics. 

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#21

The Kid Definitely Knew

The Kid Definitely Knew

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Nakus
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ok Johnny, just turn a little to your right..that's perfect

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#22

Everything Reminds Me Of Her

Everything Reminds Me Of Her

gideonindc Report

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Veronica Sawyer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew up near here...we've always done the Dolly Parton salute, when we drive by (nips to the sky!)

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If the pictures shared on the ‘They Knew’ subreddit look like your type of humor, make sure to view our previous collections of their images here and here.

#24

I Asked If It Was Ironic Or A Bad Design Choice - Was Told I Needed To Think About It Myself

I Asked If It Was Ironic Or A Bad Design Choice - Was Told I Needed To Think About It Myself

Golux_Ironheart Report

#25

I Shower To Get Clean... Not To Feel Even Dirtier

I Shower To Get Clean... Not To Feel Even Dirtier

LucidCunning Report

#26

They Certainly Knew

They Certainly Knew

RemarkableExplorer66 Report

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#29

Yep, They Knew

Yep, They Knew

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#30

It’s Possible They Didn’t Know

It’s Possible They Didn’t Know

camhumphreys Report

#31

Came Across This Bic Lighter Display At The Dollar Store

Came Across This Bic Lighter Display At The Dollar Store

PennyLane_87 Report

#35

They Had To

They Had To

ArthurButNotKing Report

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#36

They Knew

They Knew

SnazberryDriver2021 Report

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Cyber Returns
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mega Cutz 20, High Street Eats, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear England, NE28 8PF, 0191 262 0785 Now you know where to find it

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#38

The Graphic Guy Had It

The Graphic Guy Had It

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Seamus Crumley
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know a better one. I watch the IPL, (Indian premier league) cricket. De Koch was bowling to another batsman, the commentator had no choice but to say - 'De Kock to Arshdeep and Hardik is at longoff'

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#39

When They Named It, And When They Named Its Symbol

When They Named It, And When They Named Its Symbol

HerbertRTarlekJr Report

#41

At Least One Person In The Church Knew

At Least One Person In The Church Knew

christejada32 Report

#42

Received This Award…i Am In The Insurance Business

Received This Award…i Am In The Insurance Business

StrunkerOSU Report

#43

They Must Have Known…

They Must Have Known…

gurneyguy101 Report

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#45

Kellogg’s New Advertising Department Needs A Lower Case T For “Time To Leave”

Kellogg’s New Advertising Department Needs A Lower Case T For “Time To Leave”

devilish_enchilada Report

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Caroline Kimber
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The K on the right looks like it has a disco ball for a head and they're doing the Staying Alive dance :)

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#51

I'm Pretty Sure The Owner Didn't Know What They Did (Non English Speaking Country)

I'm Pretty Sure The Owner Didn't Know What They Did (Non English Speaking Country)

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#52

Sac City Hmmmm

Sac City Hmmmm

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Note: this post originally had 71 images. It’s been shortened to the top 52 images based on user votes.