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We all know very well that things in this world tend to backfire. Call it a law of nature, a frequent twist of fate, or destiny. “Look who’s laughing now” is a phenomenon that has happened to virtually every one of us, and no matter what you do, it repeats again and again, and again.

The Reddit community “There Was An Attempt” is dedicated to precisely the comic absurdity of all the attempts in life that went against the plan, or turned in the wrong direction. Created in August 2015, the subreddit now has 1.9m members that are not immune to the funny attempts that “were there.”

“People enjoy the slapstick comedy of it. At the end of the day, everyone is laughing,” the subreddit’s moderator told Bored Panda in the interview that you can read in full below. And now we leave the stage to the ensued hilarity.

#2

To Complain About A Child Selling Hot Dogs

To Complain About A Child Selling Hot Dogs

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Bored Panda spoke to redditor u/F4T4-M0RG4N4, the moderator of the r/ThereWasAnAttempt subreddit, who said that the community has evolved a lot since it was created 5 years ago.

“When I first joined the team, it was mostly a screenshot sub. A few months back, there was some drama about how there were only three mods who ran the subreddit (which at the time had around a million members).” As a result, they invited more people to join the moderator team and removed the screenshot posts.

#5

To Make Speaking 2 Languages Sophisticated

To Make Speaking 2 Languages Sophisticated

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#6

To Sound Literate

To Sound Literate

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For those who’re wondering what, precisely, “there was an attempt” refers to, u/F4T4-M0RG4N4 explained that it’s basically about “someone attempting something but ultimately failing.”

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Conceptually, it’s similar to “if someone tried jumping off a trampoline into a pool but when they tried to jump, the trampoline tore. In that case, you could say, 'Well... there was an attempt, at least' and that’s where our subreddit comes into play.”

The posts are mainly about “some people having a dumb idea, trying out that idea, and failing.” This misery is what makes it so funny. 

#7

To Prevent The Homeless From Sleeping Here

To Prevent The Homeless From Sleeping Here

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#8

To Start Cat Racing

To Start Cat Racing

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Jihana
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is just adorable 🤣 Also: why would you think a cat would get out of a box?

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#9

To Prove That Patton Oswalt Is A Failed Comedian

To Prove That Patton Oswalt Is A Failed Comedian

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Today, the moderator team only allows video submissions and cross-posts, “which are posts that were in one subreddit but were reposted to another (kind of like retweeting.” This format works better for r/ThereWasAnAttempt, since screenshots can more easily become reposts, for one.

Especially when there’s one similar subreddit that’s specifically for social media clapbacks and comebacks, but its content mainly features screenshots.When it comes to their 1.9 million member count, the moderator said that “I don’t think we have the exact same post frequency as, say, a meme subreddit.”

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Partly, it’s because it isn’t easy to repost something from r/ThereWasAnAttempt. “I could probably look at the new section for r/memes and see quite a few frequent reposts.”

#14

To Shame Atheists And Take Away Their Holidays

To Shame Atheists And Take Away Their Holidays

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#15

I Mean... You Tried..?

I Mean... You Tried..?

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Steve Barnett
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

'Having Voldemort trying to kill him at every opportunity finally took its toll on Harry Potter'

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#17

To Arrest A “Drug Dealer

To Arrest A “Drug Dealer

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#18

To Make Fun Of A Bird

To Make Fun Of A Bird

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DforDory
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least he realised it. If you can't laugh at yourself, you're doomed.😁

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#19

To Shame Men

To Shame Men

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#22

To Convince People To Be Pro-Life

To Convince People To Be Pro-Life

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you got a tiny Voldemort in your womb, abortion might not be the worst idea.

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#23

To Defend God

To Defend God

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#25

To Be Racist

To Be Racist

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Queen fhk
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Am proudly a Muslim just like a Christian proudly a Christian and also like an atheist who is proudly an atheist!!!!!!! It's our believe when people think about freedom of speech, they forget about hurting other people's religion, but when we stand for our rights we are themed as paranoid. Just leave us alone, stop looking for trouble which you wouldn't get and exercise Human Rights fairly not partially degrading other people's religion. I quote everyone is different yet you try to make everyone the same religion, race, tribe all " Differences matters, yet that makes us who we are, denying our differences is denying the truth " I am A PROUD MUSLIM, it's me not you allow me to practice my religion in peace and stop popnosing on my affairs, everyone deserves right to religion just as u think!

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#26

To Suggest A New Idea

To Suggest A New Idea

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Flawless! And you should be able to make a audio contact with other people in real time so you can tell them, instead of typing a message for them.

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#28

To Eat A Mozzarella Stick

To Eat A Mozzarella Stick

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#32

To Replace I'm Sorry With Thank You

To Replace I'm Sorry With Thank You

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Charlotte
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But actually this is a technique I used in customer service. For example when you put a customer on hold to go get more info, you ask them if they’re happy to wait. When you get back you thank them for waiting. If you say “sorry for the wait” it suggests you did something wrong, when really you were just doing your job. It leaves a different impression on the customer and genuinely impacts satisfaction.

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Phoenix
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting! I've been told I apologize too much... will try this technique!

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How about “I apologize for being late”, instead of making it seem like the OTHER person is now obliged to say “You’re welcome” to you for the privilege of having to wait for YOUR entitled ass to show up?

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Mishte Tine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? “I’m sorry” is reflexive for m. Perhaps due to my Canadian roots. (Hee. Sorry. See?!) My kids would laugh at me because I’d apologize to walls and doors - not kidding. I still do it. It’s called manners. Ingrained manners is not a bad thing.

jettewangwahnon avatar
Jette Wang Wahnon
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To all in customer service.....some waiting is accepted by most of us,BUT being tortured by the first few bars of Vivaldi´s The 4 Seasons played over and over and over again is excruciating !

maemosse avatar
Mae Mosse
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sorry is my most used word. When I have a blackout, on coming round I automatically say sorry. No sure “thank you” would work in that situation.

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Cheryl Fontaine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Uh, no, when you do something offensive I'm sorry works best... and if it's past ten minutes, guess what, I'm not waiting.

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Liz Fareira
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree! When you are the cause of the offense, and you are in fact sorry for offending, you should acknowledge what you have done, i.e. say that you are sorry, and if possible, make amends or make it right to the extent reasonably possible. Honestly, if someone has mistreated me, and not only is unrepentant but actually *thanks* me for enduring their mistreatment, I will feel much less inclined to have further dealings with that person. To trample on someone else like that is simply disrespectful, and that is actually toxic. In the context of customer service scripts, etc. it would be most professional to ask the person to please hold the line for X time, and then when you return, thank them for their patience.

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Ed Lesperance
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Sorry" demeans you and sets up you thinking you are a failure. It's a bad habit. Alternatives: "I apologize," I regret." Less toxic.

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Marina
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you put the hating and the jokes aside, this is actually good advice

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#33

To Prove How Unfashionable These Jeans Were

To Prove How Unfashionable These Jeans Were

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#35

To Provide Front, Side, And Rear Photos For The Car Insurance Rep

To Provide Front, Side, And Rear Photos For The Car Insurance Rep

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#37

To Get A Cardi B Tattoo

To Get A Cardi B Tattoo

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Some Cool Guy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I never realized that there is a level of messed up that someone would want to get an Anne Frank tattoo on your damn FACE

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#39

To Display Plus Size Clothes Without Causing Offence

To Display Plus Size Clothes Without Causing Offence

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Roger Haywood
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Considering that there are no plus sized mannequins, I think its good improv. (I'm on the larger size myself, and I'm nowhere near offended)

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#40

To Stand Up For The Joker

To Stand Up For The Joker

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Welcome to the Internet, where you can be offended by literally everything,

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#42

To Fuck The Police

To Fuck The Police

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#47

To Criticize A Garbage Man

To Criticize A Garbage Man

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Sanne H.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don’t know how it’s in other countries, but here in NL apparently it’s one of the best paid low-education jobs available. A friend of mine did it as a student job while in university and apart from the smell he was quite happy with it.

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#48

To Be A Professional Company

To Be A Professional Company

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Pamela24
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All that's gonna do is make more people drive drunk. If Uber is so concerned about people throwing up in their cars or being violent (which is understandable) they should charge a deposit and/or allow the drivers to have pepper spray or something to defend themselves if necessary (not guns!).

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#49

To Create 3 Mexican Countries

To Create 3 Mexican Countries

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#50

To Hide

To Hide

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Note: this post originally had 150 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.