Ambiguity is inevitable. So when people run into it in everyday life, they often rely on their own assumptions, prior experience, or personal biases to fill in the gaps.
Found an anonymous "Thank You" note on the fridge? It's probably your partner expressing gratitude for the lunch you prepped them and not the ghost living under the bed. Noticed an abandoned umbrella in the park? Probably some absent-minded romantic left it there, and not Mary Poppins.
But too few cues can lead to confusion, a notion that the Facebook group 'Please, may I have a Crumb of Context?' successfully illustrates again and again, as its members share random pictures that raise more questions than they provide answers.
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Off topic: my notifications don't go back to 0 when I've looked at them but keep rising. I'm over 100 and it's getting annoying. Anybody else got that problem? Or even a solution??
Same here. I wrote BP about mine and everything I tried to resolve the issue on my end. Nice to know it's not just me, so I'll stop trying on my end.
Load More Replies...Ducks can move pretty fast when they want to. Especially when it's dinner time.
I was just in the middle of my mono-bike ride home from the ball when i suddenly forgot that my bike and I would be going back to being ducks at sunset
Sooo...that would make it a human centipede..? Hopefully he didn't mean like the one in the movie...🤢
"Oh yeah?! Well I hope YOUR wife gives birth to a delicious Devil's Food Cake, and you spend the rest of your days agonizing between eating it and cuddling it!"
'nuff said. Wife's centipede offspring will just to foot their own shoe bills.
Would they be buckle shoes? slip-ons? Because you could also spend a fortune on laces!
You should have seen the one that got away. Actually hold on a minute, I got a picture.
It can feel like that if the pretzel is good enough, but only for a moment before all your anxiety returns...
Load More Replies...All I basically eat are pretzels! I’m apparently eating the wrong kind of pretzels though.
It's gotta be the big, soft ones! Are you eating the tiny hard snack ones?
Load More Replies...Seems pretty evident: if you live in NJ you probably want to go somewhere else instead.
Load More Replies...Actually, you are correct. It is geographically the most diverse state. Lots of cool stuff there.
Load More Replies...The reason for this it is easier to make a fake ID from certain states, so underage people in the New York area often get a fake mimicking a NJ license. It is such a big problem that some bars and liquor stores in NYC make young people with NJ IDs prove other ID or don't take the ID at all
"Officer, I am visiting from New Jersey because I needed a place to pretend I haven't made myriad poor life choices. THAT is why! Can I just have one Pennsylvanian chocolate to wash the taste of shame from my tongue?"
Which why? Why are they from New Jersey? Why did they leave New Jersey? Why does New Jersey exist?
They tried to buy eggs and flour under the age of 18, and now the police are quacking down on antisocial behaviour.
We can all breathe a sigh of relief. They've finally been brought to justice, their reign of terror is over. Gary Larson tried to warn us about ducks many times.
I once sold some to a one of my regulars and he told me to put it on his bill.
Load More Replies...I genuinely wanna know the real story behind this photo, I get sent this one a lot on social media
I’m guessing Wales is being plagued by feral teenagers egging houses.
Or maybe those naughty hooligans are baking cakes without permission! J/
Load More Replies...The context is Hallowe'en. There are a number of places that will not sell eggs and flour to children in the run up to Hallowe'en. Some teenagers have taken to egging (throwing eggs) or flour bombing properties as part of the 'Trick or Treat' concept'
That is NOT what Trick or Treat is about.
Load More Replies...Please throw food at me. I can't afford to buy it anymore.
I'm Australian and my first thought was "muck-up day". There is a day when the final year high school students are finishing forever and they trash the school, throw stuff at people. It's freaking horrible.
I was getting on the school bus around muck up day one year and some kids from another school came to egg us. One of their eggs hit the bus driver in the face! I think they ended up getting another bus driver for us, because he couldn't see. I already hated egging, but this shone a light on exactly how cruel it could be.
Load More Replies...Yep, definitely a cake making operation .Sponge is the gateway drug to harder cakes like fruitcake
Load More Replies...Same in most places in uk when its mischief night / Halloween. They just use bricks now which is also more inclusive for vegan / vegetarians
Peeling an unboiled egg is a skill known to very few ...
Load More Replies...I have been woken by the soft crunchy sound of my cat eating a mouse under the bed.
I once woke up from the sound of somebody clipping his toenails under my bed. It was in a bunk bed on the night train in vietnam, but I guess it still counts.
I have woken up at 1:34am from hearing the soft but distinct, vaguely mushy, faintly crunchy sound a cat eating the gift they brought me. I guess they changed their mind 🙄
I once woke to find tiny organs, spine, and beady-eyed head spread about on my bedside rug.. along with what appeared to be an empty mouse suit. No idea how I slept through that atrocity.
Load More Replies...I think I have you beat on this one. I once was awakened around that time to the distinct sound (and motion) of my college roommate masturbating on the bunk beneath me. *SHUDDER!*
I Really don't want Any context for this and I wish eye bleach for the staff who had to deal with 😞 But it riles me that the selfish actions of one affect all the rest of us. Certain medical conditions require quick access to loos and can prevent people like myself from being able to go to that location if no other loos are available 😔
In the US it is against the ADA to not have access to a restroom in a public business.
Load More Replies...I bet they were vandalised. Shops lay these things on for their customers use, but some people go in and destroy them. Ripping sinks off the walls, blocking toilets and flushing the chains until they overflow and the stores are forced to close them.
That happened to our bathroom at my last restaurant job. Someone ripped the paper towel dispenser off the wall, pooped in and around the sink, dumped the garbage can everywhere, and smeared hand soap all over the mirrors. I was like…..why tho? Some people really do get joy from making other people’s lives worse, I’m so glad I’m not one of those people.
Load More Replies...You said "bathroom" 3 times. Bathroom genie will now appear to clean your... Wait! Where's the bathroom?!
I used to work for a fast food restaurant attached to a gas station that also had some amenities for long haul truckers (i.e. A couple showers, room to sit and eat or relax in with a TV) and there were a few incidents of people passing out in the bathrooms after overdosing on street drugs and definitely had teens using it to smoke marijuana. For a time only the truck drivers or restaurant employees were allowed use of the facilities.
Now you got me thinking about what SOS means. Makes me a little nervous.
Load More Replies...And if you don't feed them they'll just mug you for the food anyway.
Load More Replies...I will always regret that I didn't get to see an incident with a rogue seagull in Llandudno that my friend witnessed. It swooped down, stole a woman's foot long hotdog out of the bun, slapped her twice in the face with it and flew off. I think that is the funniest mental image I have ever heard of
Sounds like something someone with a truck full of overnight baguettes would say.
This one is just a play on words. Many UK vans will say stuff like "no tools or equipment are left on this van overnight" and supermarket delivery trucks say "no cash is kept on this van at any time" etc to show thieves that it's pointless breaking in. Some companies like to add 'funny' ones that match their business like this one obviously delivers baguettes, seen them on chocolate ones where they say "none of our amazingly tasty chocolate is kept in our vans overnight" and a few other companies. I guess the missing context is knowing that vans in the Uk add these warnings for real on some vans?
I've seen a lot that say "No pasties left in this van overnight".
Load More Replies...Aside from the Turkish cat.. what sort of rating is this? Setups for 14 yr old boys?
Misconstrued reference to an 80's anti-drug ad, in an attempt to be sarcastic.
For those of you who are not American Gen x or Elder Millennial. It's a reference to an equally nonsensical government sponsored anti-drug campaign than ran on TV in the US in the 80s. It showed an egg being cracked into a frying pan while a very serious sounding voiceover said, "This is your brain.... This is your brain on drugs....Any Questions.".
As a millennial, it definitely played on the tv when I was a kid, it was absolutely part of my childhood core memories. I hear millennials joke about it from time to time. It’s not just gen x and boomers :)
Load More Replies...More eggs!! I said earlier, eggs seem to be the little baby chickens of confusion..
I'm old and it's not obvious. It's age as well as country specific.
Load More Replies...they wanted to make sure you were paying attention before dropping the actual message
You’re too young, you wouldn’t understand the politics that led to the November 14th Cheezit battle
Load More Replies...Just cheez-its though? Still allowed to have better cheddar's, nips, any other kind of cracker? Whatever happened with the cheez-its, the door is still open for it to repeat itself with some off brand cheesy cracker
Teenage girls using the dust as fake tan again? God I thought we'd left the 00's behind! 😂
I always thought Cricket rules to be pretty obscure, but this is even more complex than I imagined.
Even without the weird dot to dot thing that image is strange. is that the wicket keeper or the batter who is catching the ball? why is the cricket bat just sitting there? who hit the ball? Why is the dark haired woman just standing there looking at the ball?
I did this puzzle book and had a similar "WTF is that?" moment when I finished this dot-to-dot
The demogorgon from stranger things? (I had to look up the spelling)
"...and remember, kids, always bring your horribly mutated reindeer to every cricket match! No game is complete without it!"
Setting aside whatever that thing is...I can't even think of what would make sense to fill in that empty space. Or maybe my issue is that I don't know anything about cricket.
I dont want a mass extinction im good here on Earth but if it was a big shiny RED button saying, DO NOT PRESS i would have a problem stopping myself ☘️☠️
If it were real the, paint would not have had time to dry before someone lifted the lever.
So many times I’ve been tempted. Where can I find this bar? It sounds so much easier than global thermo nuclear war.
Anyone care to calculate how many s**t particles there are per square centimeter of fruit?
I think the contents are fake. It's completely full, the milk, butter (there is an extra plexiglass thing in front of it, seeing as there is another handle and else the butter and cheese would fall out? I see no hinges to that plastic, so either it is glued on it, and the hinge is for closing the bathroom stall, or the butter and cheese are glued to the tray.
Yeah, I'm assuming it's some kind of art piece about, you know. The digestive cycle.
Load More Replies...No one under the age of eighteen should be allowed in here because what if they try to take the eggs
would be interesting if there was also a trampoline on the ceiling
My guess is that it's an art installation. There's even one of those little sign on the wall with (I suppose) its name on it. (A few minutes and a reverse image search later : I can confirm, it's called "Demi mesure" (half measure), by canadian artist Patrick Bérubé : http://libertyroulette.blogspot.com/2010/12/russian-trampoline.html)
That's way better than my first theory. I was thinking weird sex thing.
Load More Replies...It's like the 7.5th floor in Being John Malkovich (1999). Trampoline is perfect for a "little" exercise 😵💫
That was my first thought! That movie gave me so much anxiety.
Load More Replies...People small enough to safely jump may also be small enough to fall through the gaps between springs. Yikes!! Watch those tikes!!!
what if that's not a light, but an opening into a brightly lit room?
"Tomber dans les pommes" which translates from French into English as "falling in the apples"....basically it means to faint :) I think this bird is demonstrating that 😂
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Or I’m wasted away again in Margaritaville.
I've seen this happen to cats a LOT. Couples? not so much.
Load More Replies...Its called an "Experience Tube" and I think its a joke/art product. you can buy one on their website. its described as an analogue device that connects human interfaces together using facial recognition (installed in human brains) and replaces peripheral distraction with stripes and laughter. You're meant to put it on, stretch it out so you can see the other person and have a distraction free conversation with them.
I very much prefer to connect my (inter)face directly to my wife's (inter)face in a process known as "kissing".
Load More Replies...I think it's the ppl with prayer hands. Before I read the comments I was convinced this was a religious cult with very strict gender segregation, and this was sone stupid new way to feel close to a date without actually being close.. I was still trying to figure out the yoga mats when I gave up and read the comments. Now I can't re-see the cult..
Load More Replies...Imagine being stuck in there with, not only your own breath, but the other person's as well.
You know how some kids would peek through a cardboard paper towel roll? Those kids grew up to become these people.
I mean, I can work out the context. It’s a thrift shop where the proceeds are put towards spaying and neutering of pets and/or strays.
Correct. I happen to recognize this one, as I've been there... it's on Broadway in Seaside, OR. My wife bought a nice set of plates from this volunteer-run thrift shop.
Load More Replies...Reversing the downvote. Nothing offensive here.
Load More Replies...Pets are spayed (females), not spaded. I've heard too many people say it that way. Sorry if your comment was in jest.
Load More Replies...This is a step too far in making multiple services available in one business
And now I have the riff in my head for the day. Thanks, I guess...
Load More Replies...Wasn't that what the referee said when the rugby captain threatened to take his team off the pitch when their score was chalked off?
Load More Replies...Can you tie a knot?----I cannot---So you can knot?----No, I cannot knot.----Not Knot?---Who's there?
Fenders for a boat. Usually rubber. They tie onto a rail with a small rope, and stop the boat banging against the jetty or other boats.
Load More Replies...Apparently, the word of the day is "eggs." Eggs. Eggs. And now I can't stop. Eggs.
Per Ozzy Osbourne, I thought it was "You gotta hear this f****** guy!" He was referring to a 9 y.o. Japanese kid play the guitar on Crazy Train.
The difference between guy culture and gal culture. I'd like to believe it comes from something like the difference between playing pickup games with whoever in the neighborhood is available (opponents are best friends), and playing only organized sports (opponents are nameless enemies). My wife believes otherwise.
Load More Replies...I don’t see why this needs context, it makes perfect sense to me. (Then again I’m a musician)
I see no downvotes - but I see comments like this asking “why the downvotes” quite often. I think when the article is very new and only a few people have commented/upvoted comments, it’s easier to see the downvote fairies at play. Usually by the time the article is this old (when I’m posting this), the downvotes have long been cancelled out :) no need to stress, you won’t get rid of downvote fairies, they’re always going to exist sadly
Load More Replies...Aah yes, rejected cartoons by Don Hertzfeldz. Nice to see I'm not the only one with that stuff permanently burned into the back of my mind.
REJECTED by Don Hertzfeldt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7JyjZI3LUM
so, using the banama™ for scale, that is not a particularly large spoon but a rather tiny person
Depends. If you are a coworker it's a question. If you are the boss it's a fact.
Load More Replies...There's a landscaping place around here and their sign says "Open by appointment or accident."
Opening time : when I feel good and ready ". Closing time : " when I've had it up to here " !
Assuming it’s a restaurant of some kind I hate that I understand and get it 😂 this is how our roster is written, we don’t have an official close time, ‘close time’ is a feeling made by the chef or maître de 😂 it could be anytime between 9pm -1am
Forget construction work in the morning, imagine trying to sleep through one of those f**king leaf blowers!
Load More Replies...Gas powered leaf blowers are for asshøles and idiots.
Battery powered ones are loud too. Not as loud, but loud nonetheless. The bonus is, is that they don't have that awful smell
Forget the rake or broom in the first place, just leave the leaves there
If I did that to my cats, I would die the death of a thousand scratches.
If somebody did that to my cats they would die the death of "no teeth left".
Load More Replies...Too bad you have to tailgate to read all of that.
Too bad you still can't read it even if you tailgate.
Load More Replies...GOD do I wish I had a camera at the time I saw a vehicle with a ton of bumper stickers plastered on its back side. Most notable in the mass: "A recklessly distracted driver killed my friend"
On US highways, cops generally allow you to do 9mph (15 kpm) over the limit, and on some highways, it isn’t uncommon for the traffic to be moving 15-20mph over. If you want to go slower and stay in the traveling lanes, rarely will anyone tailgate you. People get tailgated when the travel in the passing lane, creating a traffic jam for others and forcing people to (unsafely) pass on the right.
To paraphrase George Carlin, “how come when you are driving, everyone going slower than you is an idiot and everyone going faster than you is a lunatic?”
Load More Replies...I know the rest of it is bad, but don't you always have to censor license plates?
C'mon people! This is the second example of Banana Abuse! Speak up BP! Control your crowd!
I know that's only two, but don't wait until there's a bunch!
Load More Replies..."All of them." Chuck Norris's reply when asked how many pull ups he can do.
Shucks, you found out our secret - there's one in every bathroom, didn't you know?????
Load More Replies...No, this works well. If your ham is too damp, the dryer is right there.
Five Fingers is an NBC adventure/drama series set in Europe during the Cold War. It was based on L. C. Moyzich's story "Operation Cicero". It ran from October 3, 1959, to January 9, 1960.
Will someone help me i tried to read this as “Cupu Bthe”
Load More Replies..."The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup." I imagine this means after a wild night.
Fine fine. Now have a cup of Gourmet Supreme so you can better espresso yourself.
How am I supposed to know if I can carry my coffee on my butt if I don't have the angles??
Looks like a Goniometer. Used to check level of flexibility in joints. No idea why you would need it from Walmart.
Walmart is a cheap joint, but they're not very flexible on prices
Load More Replies...Oooooh - is this explaining why they put those big “jackets” on the railway bridge pillon they were building near us? Makes perfect sense, now.
It's obviously something to do with hydration, but apart from that I have no idea.
Why can I only hear that said with an Australian accent though?
Load More Replies...Vampire on noodles? Edward on spaghetti? Robert on Bolognese? Cedric on pasta?
This is a still from a very non-pc show from the late '80s/'90s. Waaaay before the conversation on trans men started.
Load More Replies...They are wearing jumpers with their first initial on. Crumb of context provided. You're welcome 😂
I thought this one was pretty clear withOUT the added context. But thanks.
Load More Replies...I don’t think this one needs context. They’re all wearing sweaters with their initial.
"I got spurs that jingo, pingo, gingo, as I go riding merrily along. ringo."
Load More Replies...Woah bud, I’m gonna need some ID for that comment
Load More Replies...I grew up in 2-story house in the Philippines. Upstairs, there was a huge playroom, and 4 bedrooms. When I was around 11 years old, me and my babysitter were hanging out in the playroom. She went to the bathroom, and I got bored so I went downstairs to check out the fridge. I heard her come out of the bathroom, and she started screaming my name. After the 3rd time, she stopped. I thought she figured out that I was downstairs. After a few minutes, I saw her coming down the stairs. As she looked at me, she froze and just stared at me. I asked her what's wrong, and she said she just saw me in the playroom before she went downstairs. She was really freaked out about it, and I don't know--I used to not believe in these things so I just laughed at her. The second time it happened, I was probably 16. I was hanging out at my brother's room cause it's the room with the fastest internet. And then I heard my 6-year old brother (I have 2 brothers) calling me and looking around for me, I didn't a
Had a really bad day today. This gave me a big belly laugh that I truly needed.
I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm glad you found some laughter. Sometimes, a big chuckle can lift you out of the deepest hole.
Load More Replies...Woah bud, I’m gonna need some ID for that comment
Load More Replies...I grew up in 2-story house in the Philippines. Upstairs, there was a huge playroom, and 4 bedrooms. When I was around 11 years old, me and my babysitter were hanging out in the playroom. She went to the bathroom, and I got bored so I went downstairs to check out the fridge. I heard her come out of the bathroom, and she started screaming my name. After the 3rd time, she stopped. I thought she figured out that I was downstairs. After a few minutes, I saw her coming down the stairs. As she looked at me, she froze and just stared at me. I asked her what's wrong, and she said she just saw me in the playroom before she went downstairs. She was really freaked out about it, and I don't know--I used to not believe in these things so I just laughed at her. The second time it happened, I was probably 16. I was hanging out at my brother's room cause it's the room with the fastest internet. And then I heard my 6-year old brother (I have 2 brothers) calling me and looking around for me, I didn't a
Had a really bad day today. This gave me a big belly laugh that I truly needed.
I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm glad you found some laughter. Sometimes, a big chuckle can lift you out of the deepest hole.
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