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People Share Times When “There Was An Attempt” And Here Are 50 Of The Most Amusing Ones
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.
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#1
To Make The Special Olympics Look Bad
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#2
To Complain About A Child Selling Hot Dogs
#3
To Clean Up After Himself
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
#6
To Sound Literate
XxInstantKarmaxX 5 years ago
I just fell in the pool and couldn't find the hook my towel was on even though I looked. All I want is to eat food, go to the loo and wake up in a better mood for my tattoo. But some fool took my Ipad and now I can't google a tattoo design or watch the movie "look". :)
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.”
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
#8
To Start Cat Racing
#9
To Prove That Patton Oswalt Is A Failed Comedian
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 5 years ago (edited)
I love him! He is the narrator on the Goldberg's.
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.”
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.”
#10
...to Photograph Birds
#13
At Going Outside
#14
To Shame Atheists And Take Away Their Holidays
#15
I Mean... You Tried..?
Steve Barnett 5 years ago
'Having Voldemort trying to kill him at every opportunity finally took its toll on Harry Potter'
#16
To Be An Animal Activist
#17
To Arrest A “Drug Dealer
#18
To Make Fun Of A Bird
#19
To Shame Men
#20
To Sound Intellectual
#21
To Take A Cute Picture
#22
To Convince People To Be Pro-Life
#23
To Defend God
Hello it Smee 5 years ago (edited)
Or when he flooded the earth, you know the whole Ark thing.
#24
.... To Find Buried Treasure
#25
To Be Racist
Queen fhk 5 years ago
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!
#26
To Suggest A New Idea
#27
To Glorify The President
#28
To Eat A Mozzarella Stick
#31
There Was An Attempt To Run For Mayor
#32
To Replace I'm Sorry With Thank You
Charlotte 5 years ago
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.
#33
To Prove How Unfashionable These Jeans Were
#35
To Provide Front, Side, And Rear Photos For The Car Insurance Rep
#36
To Virtue Signal...
#37
To Get A Cardi B Tattoo
Some Cool Guy 5 years ago
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
#38
To Be Deep
#39
To Display Plus Size Clothes Without Causing Offence
Roger Haywood 5 years ago
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)
#40
To Stand Up For The Joker
#41
To Get A Heartwarming Tattoo
#42
To Fuck The Police
#43
To Keep A Streak Going
#44
To Befriend A Porcupine
#46
To Sound Tougher
#47
To Criticize A Garbage Man
#48
To Be A Professional Company
Pamela24 5 years ago
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!).
#49
To Create 3 Mexican Countries
#51
To Compliment Her Tattoos
#52
To Explain Who Barack Obama Is
#54
To Karma Whore On Reddit
Dave In MD 5 years ago
Also the astronaut program announced its first group of astronauts in 1959, she would have been 12.
#56
To Make An Infographic
#57
To Bash A Girl With Acne
Lord Mysticlaw 5 years ago
I hate when adults hate on teens and kids on the internet. Grow tf up.
#58
To Take A Panoramic Photo Which Included Their Dog
#60
To Amputate
a dose of reality 5 years ago
2,5 min, not 25 sec Apparently he also took of a guy's testicles by accident when amputating his leg.
#61
To Cut In Line
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
Most likely the lady who cut the line went berserk : "If I hadn't cut the line I would have been eighteenth, GIVE IT TO ME!!!"
#63
To Ambush British Vessels
#64
To Cook Smiley Buns
#65
To Escape Prison
#67
To Identify A Threat
Mademoiselle Nat 5 years ago
And what was the problem even if he was writing in a foreign language?
#69
To Champion "Straight Pride"
#70
To Say That Boomer Is A Racial Slur
Mel.Sautori 5 years ago
If when comparing the badness of two words, you don't actually say one of them, that is the worse word!
#71
To Ask Twitter
#72
To Make A Serious Ad Campaign
Marky Mark 5 years ago
This man's face has become a famous meme called "Hide the Pain Harold". He is actually a european model for stock photos so it makes sense he would appear in ads.
#73
To Raise Self-Esteem
#74
There Was An Attempt To "Shame" Someone Who Was Suicidal
#75
To Stop Suicide
#76
To Understand A Joke
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
Whoosh, BANG!!! (Joke flying over his head and breaking the sound barrier.)
#77
To Be Patriotic
Samantha Lomb 5 years ago
Liberia is connected to America because that was a country established for freed slaves, so the flag is likely a derivation of the US flag. But yeah the homophobe is also an idiot, which shouldn't be surprising.
#78
To Play Hard To Get
#79
To Be Inclusive
Connie Hirsch 5 years ago
Every once in a while, straight people should know what it feels like to be erased. (Note, I'm straight.)
#80
To Spread Anarchy
#81
To Be Offended For Another Group Of People
Kari Panda 5 years ago (edited)
That’s something I never understood... Don’t include different ethnicities: “You‘re only using white people, you‘re racist!” Include different ethnicities: “You‘re contributing to stereotypes, you‘re racist!” I mean... as long as you don’t portray a culture as inferior or ridiculous, how is including it wrong? Would they prefer Mario to wear a suit and a tophat and play the piano in this scene?
#82
To Be Non-Binary
#83
To Dress Up Like A Matrix Character....
#84
To Have A Smart Shower Thought
#85
To Be Anti-Government
#88
To Avoid Death
#89
By Google To Identify A Cat.
#90
To Be Deep
#91
To Get Into The Library
#92
To Understand A Girl
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Yeah, that's a good litmus test for they won't be keeping up with you.
#93
To Blame Hispanics...
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
Hate crimes have surged nearly 20 percent during the administration of President Donald Trump, according to a new FBI report on hate crime statistics. The report also shows that hate-motivated murders, largely committed by white supremacists, spiked to their highest number in 28 years. https://www.newsweek.com/hate-crimes-under-trump-surged-nearly-20-percent-says-fbi-report-1547870
#94
To Criticize The Local News Station
#95
To Help Someone Trapped In An Elevator
#96
To Market Her Oils
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
I got lectured at the bus stop once for wearing perfume, apparently I should only be using essential oils coz I am going to get cancer from wearing perfume.
#97
To Construct A Tough And Resilient Airplane
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
The insanity of the idea. Where are you going to fly to when there's a nuclear war going on?
#98
To Be Poetic
#99
To Show China In A Positive Way
Katherine Boag 5 years ago
Yep, the US response to covid was way better, the best response, so great
#100
To Not Be Racist
#101
To Write A Math Question
#102
There Was An Attempt To Catfish
Vanta Black 5 years ago
If he was 23 prior to 2001, he's anywhere north of 42 now, depending on what year this photo was taken. Or it's just not him in the photo.
#103
To Figure Out Trump’s Natural Skin Color
#105
Oldschool Cool
#106
To Have A Selfie With Mona Lisa
#108
To Cure Cancer
#109
To Have Fun With A Halloween Decoration
#111
To Take Away Car Privileges...
#112
There Was A Attempt To Steal A Joke
#113
To Blackmail Jaromir Jagr
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
So now the world knows that Jaromir Jagr isn't gay and she's a gold digger. Jeez, big news....
#114
To Roast Males
#115
To Scare Someone
#116
To Make A Cute Picture Of A Family Wearing Masks
#117
To Save The Teens
#118
To Infect Someone With A Virus
#119
To Understand A Joke
#120
To Ask About Dirty Toilets...
#121
To Be Edgy And Poetic
Jayne Kyra 5 years ago
"Hurt" is a noun, adjective, and a verb. The first poster is correct on the tenses and used the word as a verb instead of adjective.
#122
To Promote Equal Rights
#123
To Recreate The Spider-Man Meme
#124
To Install A Kitty Door
#125
To Have A Black Friday Week "Sale"
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
I laughed when I saw Catch of the day advertising on the TV last night. The Black Friday deal prices were pretty much the same prices that they always are.
#126
To Be Sexist
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
Haha, Notice how womens problems start with Men. Menopause, Menstruation, Mental breakdowns etc lol.
#127
To Make A Selfish Photoshop Request
#128
To Predict A War With Iran
Aleksandra Elias 5 years ago
In the meantime, on Nov 18, 2020, Trump wanted to launch a strike on Iran
#129
To Recreate A Wholesome Family Photo
#130
To Help The Blind Read The Sign
#132
To Get An A
#133
To Be Inclusive
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
Wait, is this for real? Since when did controllers have a gender.
#134
To Correct The Student's Answer
#135
To Protest Homophobia
#136
There Was An Attempt To Protest Racism
#137
To Get Gold
#138
... To Choose A Sexual Orientation
#139
To Have Their Dick Sucked Tomorrow
#140
To Write 7 Rings In Japanese
#141
To Make A Dark Mode Only Meme
#142
To Be Sassy
#143
To Count Words
#144
To Rick Roll On Reddit.
#145
To Make People Stop Making Rape Jokes
#146
To Make His Death Look Like A Suicide
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
Because the vast number of "coincidences" surrounding his death aren't suspicious at all. Cell mate removed from his cell on the same day he "suicided". Surveillance camera "out of order" on day he "suicided". Guards "forgot" to check on him after an earlier "suicide attempt". He also got off very easy in 2008 with a non-prosecution agreement for state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.
#147
At Least He Tried
#148
To Sneak A Hot-Dog In The Back Pocket
#149
To Sound Poetic
#150
There Was A Attempt To Steal A Joke
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What do you think ?
L B 5 years ago (edited)
Made my day. More of this please 😊 me and my mom once explored pepper spray. We bought one and guess what-had to to try it.And we did in a single room sprayed smelled... like adult, educated woman and cried for hours... I wonder why 🤔
Lauren Caswell 5 years ago
That's like the don't look reflex: when someone says "don't look" we all look to know what we aren't supposed to be looking at :D
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L B 5 years ago (edited)
Made my day. More of this please 😊 me and my mom once explored pepper spray. We bought one and guess what-had to to try it.And we did in a single room sprayed smelled... like adult, educated woman and cried for hours... I wonder why 🤔
Lauren Caswell 5 years ago
That's like the don't look reflex: when someone says "don't look" we all look to know what we aren't supposed to be looking at :D
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