Every now and then, we come across content online that causes a visceral reaction. Adorable photos of puppies might make your heart feel like it's bursting out of your chest, and heartwarming pics of fathers who love their children more than anything might make you shed a tear.
But unfortunately, it’s not only positive content that can make us feel something. Below, you’ll find a list of extremely frustrating posts from the Facepalm subreddit that might incinerate any faith you have left in humanity, as well as a conversation with Beowulf Rochlen, host of the Facepalm America podcast. We’ll warn you right now that you may not enjoy looking through these pics, but we hope you can manage to find the humor in some of them!
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Who Ever Runs That Station Is Dumb
There’s no question that the internet is full of facepalm-worthy posts. With fake news running rampant and terrible photoshop jobs all over social media, it’s not hard to find something that makes you question how it ended up online in the first place. And no one knows that better than the members of the Facepalm subreddit. This community, which was created in August 2009, has amassed an incredible 7.4 million members who love calling out the most frustrating and disappointing moments the world has ever seen.
While we’re all familiar with the experience of seeing something that makes us want to facepalm, it was not until relatively recently that this word made its way into dictionaries. According to Merriam-Webster, the earliest known use of the word ‘facepalm’ was found in a Google Group in 1996. “Christie facepalmed. ‘Well, her hair was red this morning, right? It's blonde now. You figure it out.’” Since then, however, the term has taken on many lives as not only a verb, but also a noun, adjective and interjection. It also finally made its way into the dictionary in 2017.
What's Yours?
To learn more about the topic of facepalming from an expert, we reached out to Beowulf Rochlen, host of the Facepalm America podcast, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about what inspired him to start his show. "I thought there needed to be a podcast that dealt with both issues in the news and with the many, many goofy things Americans are inclined to do," Beowulf shared. "So I launched a show on which I interview guests, chat with listeners, and discuss issues such as 'why do Americans have avocado anxiety?' and 'why is there a Speaker of the Pub in Washington DC?'"
We were also curious why the host thinks it's important to discuss these topics. "There’s a lot of serious news out there," he noted. "And while I don’t avoid that, I think that in order to process the negative, people need something that will make them laugh and keep them engaged with the world around them. Fortunately, Americans are experts at providing facepalm-worthy moments to laugh at, such as US Senators who declare they 'don’t want reality' and Florida sheriffs who send baby pacifiers to suspects."
"Lets Spent 10 Grand On Jewerly."
When it comes to how Beowulf decides what to discuss on Facepalm America, he told Bored Panda that he has no shortage of inspiration. "I find it difficult to turn on my phone or laptop and read the news without encountering a story that makes me want to bury my face in my hand in order to avert my eyes from the silliness and stupidity being described," he shared.
"But I filter through the news every day to find stories every day that seem to me to strike the right balance of informative and inane. While I suppose I should be used this kind of thing by now, I was taken aback by a story that outlined a new law that would allow 14-year-olds to be bartenders and another in which San Francisco was proposing to use killer robots in their city," the host continued.
Ironic Idiots
We also asked Beowulf if he believes Americans are particularly prone to doing facepalm-worthy things. "When it comes to facepalmery, I think that America is still number one," he noted. "But that doesn’t mean other countries are giving up. Many people I know are proponents of American exceptionalism when it comes to being facepalm-worthy. But I think that all people around the world are created equal when it comes to their potential for engaging in behavior that just leaves you shaking your head."
If you're interested in listening to some great, facepalm-worthy content, be sure to check out Beowulf's show Facepalm America on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And for more information or to connect with the show, you can find their website right here!
Such A Dumba*s
What About Nurses Who Wear Them 8 To 10 Hours A Day
"Don't Be Gay"
IM TRYING GOSH DARNIT BUT ALL THESE WOMEN 😭
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According to research only a minority of homosexual men in relationships have a**l intercourse at all. The conservative christian shouty brigade are more obsessed with it than the actual gays!
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Nasa needs a new space telescope...to search the vacuum between her ears
She is so ignorant it hurts my brain. So sad these people exist.
Load More Replies... As Stephen Fry has observed, a homophobe is someone who spends a significantly larger portion of their day thinking about an*l sex than any homosexual.
Or do they and they just did it without appropriate preparation and now they’re doing the whole “she doth protest too much, methinks” thing?
Load More Replies... First of all, what about lesbians? They are gay as well... Are they OK, as long as they don't insert anything in each other bum? Secondly: if nothing was supposed to be inserted in the a**s, how do you explain the fact that prostate stimulation is so pleasurable?
First of all, let me just say that I certainly don't deny that it is. But what could be the evolutionary advantage of doing anything like that with that particular hole?
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Stupidity isn’t intelligence,it’s one person causing many others significant mental pain and torture. A stupid person was never meant to be inserted into an intelligent conversation, and it leads to tons of issues if or when they are. Don’t be stupid.👍🏻
I tried to stop being gay, but the best I could do was be pansexual. I tried!!!
People also realize that not all gay males have a**l sex right? Edit for spelling
Are you sad? Just don't be. Are you gay? Just don't be. Easy! :D Thank you for the perfect solution!
Can she tackle caffeine, piercings, tattoos, plastic surgery, alcohol, smoking, fried foods, sugary drinks, screens, cars, sports, hair dye, preservatives, forever chemicals, pesticides, sedimentary lifestyles, pets, meat industry, leather, work animals, hard flooring, pollution, plastic, metal objects, guns, bows, instruments, acting, repetitive work, social media...
Living is dying lady, the best we can do is enjoy it with people we love.
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She should worry about her own a*s and stay out of everyone else's. I don't understand this recent obsession some people have taken to what consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home. Especially by people that only do missionary every third Thursday at 730pm. It is almost like "mind your business" is a foreign concept.
"a male penis" what about a female one? Also I like being half gay cause women are f*****g cute.
So... if the two guys are just giving BJs to each other, not A**l then its ok? I mean it doesn't cause the "pain and health issues" and that's her problem right?
Aside from the intense homophobia, there are more to relationships than sex
It's all a**l sex for some people isn't it? Like they would be fine if 2 people of the same sex kissed instead.
if it caused one person bodily torture and harm then how does it happen. i dont think you understand how people work. im a llama and i understand people more
Wow, who knew that I could just not be gay! All my problems are fixed, thank you random citizen!
I'm not changing because of a stupid homophobe. Dam, people are annoying and stupid. Not all homosexual relationships are about sex. I think hetrosexuals have more sexual relationships than homosexuals.
Wow, yup....EXCELLENT put-down, and those who persist in assuming it's a 'life-choice' need serious professional help!
Woman, maybe give a**l sex a try. You might actually enjoy it. You're replacing one stick for another.
#1- Some guys are into bodily pain and torture. And #2- If it fits, I sits. P.S. #3- I'll stop being gay when I get up tomorrow. Thank you for reminding me! I keep forgetting and always end up falling on a d**k.
I'm a woman and I enjoy *double checks post* a male penis being stuck into my a**s. Yes, that's a much nicer way to say what I wanted to say
This HAS to be a parody account. PLEASE Gd, tell me it’s a proxy account! 😳
Idn many women I have dated over the years seem to love me it.
Did BoredPanda honestly censor a**l. What the hell is up with this c**p 💩 site snd its idiotic censorship?
Without proper precautions - all kinds of, from STDs to broken teeth and damaged throat and choking. However, it speaks volumes not about the harm of homosexuality, but about the need of sex education and precautions. Because regular sex between a man and a woman can be just as harmful and full of hurt. Also, a**l sex is not limited to homosexuals. Also, sex is a part of relationship, but not the only part.
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Actually, she has that backwards; it is that the a**s isn't meant to be entered, and doing so can lead to damage. This is true of both male and female anuses, as is the idea that love and sex don't always revolve around penises. Especially for gay women. Who are also, you know, gay.
Okay first, if you wear protection and do it right, it's not harmful. Second, her whole thing was about not being gay which isn't something you can control. And there's nothing wrong with being gay. People can blame it on the bible all day long, but there's a lot of other things in the bible that people choose to ignore. For instance, men aren't suppose to shave their beards. Women aren't supposed to be in the church. People ignore these things, but focus on who some people love. I just don't understand it
Load More Replies...Due to how popular facepalming has become, it’s not hard to find compilations online of the most facepalm-worthy moments CEOs, Donald Trump, and celebrities are guilty of. And while everyone is capable of having a ditzy moment or making a stupid mistake every now and then, all of these facepalm worthy moments do beg the question: are people getting dumber? Well, according to new research from the United States, it appears that Americans actually might be. Studies analyzing the IQs of citizens in the US have found that their intelligence scores in logic and vocabulary, visual problem solving and analogies, and computational and mathematical abilities have declined in recent years.
Now I Get It!
The whole nonsense inspired me to write a short story in which people react to the zombie apocalypse the same way people reacted to the pandemic. One guy tries to remove a zombie's "mask" to prove it's just an actor and gets eaten alive while yelling about how it's all just a hoax. Yeah, a hoax that just pulled your spleen out.
Cancelling Orders Because Of Some Rainbow Cookies Smh
Some proposed explanations for America’s declining intelligence are unhealthy modern diets, increasingly trashy media or a decrease in the quality of education systems and the prevalence of reading, Jessica Stillman at Inc. explains. But she notes that it’s impossible to know exactly what caused the decline in IQ scores, it might even be a technical detail of the IQ tests themselves, meaning we have no reason to fear that we’re getting dumber. “IQ tests generally measure crystallized intelligence more, so changes in schooling that de-emphasize memorization might be driving a decline in scores,” Stillman writes. “If this explanation is true, students remain as smart as ever (just way more reliant on Google).”
Foreign Sounding Name = Must Be Immigrant = Must Suck At English. Logic 101
A lot of immigrants speak two or more languages fluently, which I'll have a guess is one more than this guy. :/
Don't Have A Cashapp
Well Well Well..how The Turntables
While not every post on this list features exclusively online interactions, many of them do. And there’s a chance that many of us just say dumber things online than we would in real life. According to a piece Rich Duncan wrote for The New York Times, the internet seems to amplify the stupid things that we do and say. “You can get a perfect score on your SATs and it will barely register in a world of 200 million tweets a day. But give just one stupid answer in a beauty pageant, and you’ll be the laughingstock of the world before you have time to clear your name on the next morning’s Today show,” Duncan explains.
You Hate To See It
There is one mistake in this text : Bill Gates doesn’t hop on the internet to read what these morons write, he’s wise enough to mute them. And to avoid social networks to start with.
They're Confused
Checkmate
While some like to argue that the internet is making us stupider, as we can rely on Google to solve all of our problems and we’re often confronted with ridiculous views on the world from questionable influencers who probably shouldn’t have platforms, Brian Resnick at Vox has a more optimistic take on the issue. He claims that the internet isn’t making us stupider, but instead more humble. When we know that the answers to our questions are actually out there, a simple Google search away, we’re less likely to spew our beliefs when we’re not 100% sure they’re correct. We recognize that we might not actually know all the answers, but someone, or something, out there does.
Hello Steve
Incredible
Hans, you ignorant slutboy, how about you take a look at the Koran? I think you’ll find a lot of it sounds really familiar, because a good portion of it is just like the Bible. The golden rule, the stories and parables are essentially the same, just from another culture’s perspective. If religion is so important to you, don’t limit yourself to just studying your own. Expand your mind and study other religions too. Hell, at least take a Comparative Religions course, ffs. Your head will explode when you find out just how much alike we all are.
It Would Have Been Nice A Heads Up
Resnick also notes that having the vast knowledge of the internet available to us also raises the stakes for us to be correct. If your child asks you what the capital of Argentina is, you might not just blurt out the first city that comes to your mind, but instead take a moment to wonder if it really is Buenos Aires. “Whether this is good or bad depends on context,” Resnick writes. “But here's an optimistic takeaway: It's not so bad for us to be reminded there's an impossibly large amount of information in the world, to take a step back and be humbled and in awe of it.”
Safety Precaution Is Not 100%
Hear Me Out
Or praising a little kid for selling lemonade (or whatever it was) to pay off his fellow elementary classmates overdue thousands of dollars in lunch money so the kids could finally be allowed to eat lunch again? Or the high school science kids who built a remote control wheelchair for a kid since the kids insurance wont cover it? Or the woman who walks 15 miles a day to get to work and back because blah blah blah blah....... These "Feel good" stories are anything but. They just prove how awful the USA is.
Well You're Not Wrong
if the air conditioning works, why the heater? if the heaterworks, then why the air conditioning, if both work, why blankets?
It seems that there are infinite things online that might make you facepalm nowadays, but try not to lose faith in the world because of that. It’s likely that people were always doing and saying ridiculous things that would make you shake your head, but unfortunately, these actions are now immortalized online. If you want to follow a feed that brings you as few facepalm moments as possible, consider following uplifting pages and not clicking on news articles with headlines that already have you rolling your eyes. Sometimes, it’s okay to avoid information you know will frustrate you.
A First-Person Autobiography?!
"Greatest egotist of all time"...except of course for his successor who loved to plaster his name on anything and everything, uses his name as a trademark, won't read anything unless his name is in it etc. Americans, please make sure you don't make the same mistake in 2024, since it impacts upon the rest of us too
Wearing Shoes Not Necessary For Our Survival !
She Didn't Deserve It
Clearly it was the illegal kind of sleep. That's, uh, a thing, right??
We hope we haven’t frustrated you too much with the photos on this list, pandas. Keep upvoting the ones that make you want to facepalm, and feel free to share some of the most facepalm-worthy moments you’ve ever witnessed in the comments below. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring photos that might make you lose faith in humanity, you can find another list on this same topic right here!
Correct
They Really Have Gotten To Us
My school: we can’t possibly make you wear a mask and pfft nobody cares about the guy wearing disgusting sexual sweatshirts- OH NO YOU CAN SEE HER BRA STRAPS WHAT IS THIS ANARCHY?!?!
Logic 100
"Why are you so fat?" "Because every time I have sex with your wife she gives me a biscuit."
Maybe Rethink That Again... Peter
Well, the slaves tried, but got murdered for their pains.
Tomi Lahren
One Person Still Counts As "Somebody"
The barista should then have completely ignored the customer, seeing how there was no one there...
That’s The Point Of The Book!
Definitely don't read anything that makes you uncomfortable. You might end up learning something and we can't have that. Especially not in a school.
It Won't Kill You :)
On Jokes
It's Safe
All Zero Of Them
Technically The Truth
They prefer the quarter [of a] pound burger to the third [of a] pound, because everyone knows four is bigger than three.
Not That Hard
« Military time » 😂 Most of the countries in the world use the 24 format and it has nothing to do with the military. it’s so much more logical and practical (the reason why the military uses it) As usual, look who seems unable to do such a simple task..
“Fear For Public Safety” Seriously?
It's A Great Time To Be A White Debt Collector
Where Can I Get A Purse
What do purses and masks have to do with each other?
It Would All Become A Giant Conspiracy
I Can't Stop Laughing At This. I Have No Words
Disgusting
“We want all these first world luxuries! But the people who provide them don’t deserve a living wage! But if you’re not happy with your job, you should work hard and get an education and a better-paying one! It’s your own fault if you don’t get paid enough! Wait why aren’t people staying in low-earning jobs?”
Must Be Those Damn Phones!
Yeah, I work for the state government. The legislators recently voted to give themselves 5.5 percent raises, which the Governor has to fix because it's legally capped at 5, while they are trying to double how much I pay for health insurance for me and my child and give us the lowest raise they can think of.
Uninteresting Title
The Founders Would Say The F**k Is An Ohio
Suspended For Showing The Truth?
Note: this post originally had 135 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
BoredPanda, the only freaking website they will censor a**s, a**l, and murder. Does this site pick a new word to censor each damned week?
Given the current state of the US, the 4th of July is the perfect day to celebrate "people failing hard and frustrating everyone around them". Maybe they should put that on American coins instead of "E Pluribus Unum"...
"Let me get the lemons" in the Mia Khalifa post is getting downvoted why? The comment is a reference to the title...
(I asked here bc I can't reply to their comment)
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BoredPanda, the only freaking website they will censor a**s, a**l, and murder. Does this site pick a new word to censor each damned week?
Given the current state of the US, the 4th of July is the perfect day to celebrate "people failing hard and frustrating everyone around them". Maybe they should put that on American coins instead of "E Pluribus Unum"...
"Let me get the lemons" in the Mia Khalifa post is getting downvoted why? The comment is a reference to the title...
(I asked here bc I can't reply to their comment)
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