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“Bread-Shaped Bread Factory”: 35 Structures So Odd They Could Be AI-Generated
Let your weird light shine bright so that the other weirdos know where to find you... That's what comes to mind when we think of some of the buildings people have dared to design and erect. Often, it's not even a case of thinking outside the box. But rather, destroying the box completely and creating a whole, new, never-seen-before, architectural shape.
Think India's National Board of Fisheries headquarter building, which is shaped like... a fish. Or the St. James Quarter in Edinburgh, Scotland, nicknamed the Golden Turd... we'll leave you to figure out why. These are just a few of the unique structures around the world that have people stopping in their tracks and doing double or triple-takes, just to make sure their eyes aren't deceiving them.
Someone recently asked, "What's a weird or funny building in your country?" and the replies came rolling in faster than tractors on a construction site. Some structures are mind-blowingly creative, others are plain bizarre. All are proof that the planet we live on is anything but vanilla.
Bored Panda has put together a list of our favorites for you to scroll through while you plan your next sight-seeing adventure. Let us know which ones you find the most interesting by hitting the upvote button.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
This Is The Headquarters Of The National Fisheries Development Board (Nfdb) In Hyderabad, India. This Building Is Just So Weird And Funny
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 1 week ago (edited)
Nice plaice you have here. You can feel the sole of the building. Must have been a haddock to design.
Lotekguy 1 week ago
I'm glad this is all in print since I'm hard of herring.
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Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago
This building needs a balcony with an awning on its right side so the poor fishy can gain its missing fin...
rustyscate 1 week ago
I love it! It reminds me, vaguely, of the MEPS building in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, shaped like a boat. (Military recruiting office where you take your placement test and swear in) I was an 89 bravo ammo tech
The world would be so boring if everything and everyone was exactly alike. Thankfully, when it comes to building design, the sky is the limit... At least, in many places around the world.
China made headlines in 2016, after announcing that the government planned to ban "bizarre" and "odd-shaped" buildings. Ironically, the country was at the forefront of unique architecture, and was home to some of the wildest buildings in the world at the time.
RELATED:
#2
France, The "Palais IDéal", Built By A Single Mail Carrier On His Spare Time, With Odd Rocks That He Found In The Paths
Bi.Felicia 6 days ago (edited)
A bit more info- It was built by Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman, who spent 33 years (1879-1912) collecting stones and constructing the palace entirely by himself. The palace is a unique example of naive architecture and art environment, blending influences from various cultures and styles, including Hindu temples, Egyptian tombs, and Swiss chalets. Cheval was inspired to build it after stumbling upon an unusually shaped stone during his mail route. The structure is 12 meters high and 26 meters long(approx 40ftX85ft)and includes various sculptures of animals and figures, as well as inscriptions and poems. It has been recognized as a major work of art and classified as a French Historical Monument.
Take Beijing's "big pants" building, for example. The state-owned China Central TV Headquarters is an icon in the country's capital and was one of the first unique and "weird" structures.
The steel and glass building got its nickname from its unusual and experimental angular looped shape. It is made up of two leaning towers, joined on the upper floors by a 75-metre cantilevered bridge, and looks very much like... you guessed it: a huge pair of pants.
The structure and facades were completed ahead of the Summer Olympics in 2008 for all the world to see. But the building was only officially opened in 2012.
#3
This Is The Last Remaining Example Of The Original Shell Gas Stations. It's Located In Winston Salem, NC
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 1 week ago
If you hold your ear to it you can hear the sound of ecological catastrophe.
Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago (edited)
Once upon a time, service stations provided, oh what did they call it? Oh yeah, *service*! People would pull up and an attendant would, um, *attend* to them; putting in the amount of fuel requested by the customer, checking their oil and radiator levels, and, if needed, clean their windscreen. The customer had no need to exit their vehicle and enter the building. That was simply a place for the till & where the attendant could hang out when there was no customers. Imagine that! Sounds like a fairy tale...
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Remi (He/Him) 1 week ago
the entries switch places according to the up and down votes, so what was #47 at the time you made the comment is probably something completely different from what it is now
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#4
The Kindergarten "Katze" (Cat) In Karlsruhe-Wolfartsweier, Germany. Right Over The Left Paw Two Small Windows At A Yellow House Can Be Seen. That Once Was My Bedroom
#5
USA. It's The Headquarters Of A Company That Makes These Types Of Baskets
Tango Wox 1 week ago
Well it was until the company went under. iirc its been for sale for a while now.
rustyscate 1 week ago
The USA has big weird people and big weird buildings at least we are good in that way! 🤷♀️
GrowingThruConcrete 1 week ago
no one wants it, if I had the $ I'd turn it into a 90s pop culture museum
#6
At No Surprise To Anyone, New Zealand Has Sheep Lmao
Nikki Sevven 1 week ago
The way they're looking at each other, there will be a bunch of lamb buildings in the morning.
The "big pants" was once billed as "the greatest work of architecture built in this century" by architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff.
"At moments monumental and combative, at others strangely elusive, almost retiring, it is one of the most beguiling and powerful works I've seen in a lifetime of looking at architecture," Ouroussof proclaimed.
But that didn't stop China's president from criticizing the building, and going a step further by announcing a proposed ban on "weird" architecture in the country.
#7
France
In the 1970s and 80s, the French government wanted to strengthen swimming instruction. This required building many swimming pools. A model was developed and almost 200 were replicated throughout France.
These pools look like flying saucers (and they can partially open). Weird but a bit cool, I think.
Roxy222uk 1 week ago
Oh, do you remember when governments wanted to make life better for their citizens? Or did I just dream it?
April Pickett 1 week ago
The mechanics still work? They haven't been abandoned like so many other structures from the 70s and 80s?
Michael Grant 6 days ago
The Canadian government also did this in the 50's-60's but with covered skating rinks. They looked like a large quonset hut. They were all over rural Canada.
Upstaged75 6 days ago
As a kid I used to play tennis and in the winter they put up a "bubble" over the courts. I never liked how loud it was in there - it was partially held up by air pressure and there were blowers going constantly.
#8
United Kingdom. This Is A Private House That Has A Shark In The Roof
Roxy222uk 1 week ago
As far as I know this is in Oxford, there’ve been complaints, but the council can’t legally get them to remove it.
UKDeek 1 week ago
It is in Oxford, (Headington to be exact) and was sculpted by artist John Buckley and installed in the house, without permission, by journalist Bill Heine on the 41st anniversay of the dropping of the atomic b**b on Nagasaki. Many attempts were made to have it removed as it broke planning laws, but was saved by Michael Heseltine after an appeal in 1992. I won't add a link, but just search Headington Shark and you will find plenty of information.
Load More Replies... Ghostchaplain16 1 week ago
Is anyone else hearing the theme from the movie "Jaws" as they look at this?
Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago
That would be an ingenious way around council planning permission. "That's my TV antenna. Where's the law that says TV antennas have to be a certain shape?"
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Norfolk and good 1 week ago (edited)
We don't have HOA's in the UK because we generally believe that people can do what they like to their own house, and if the neighbours don't like it that's their problem.
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#9
Taiwan Has A Bread Shaped Bread Factory
Apatheist Account2 6 days ago
The staff have been through thick and thin together, barely making a crust.
The CCTV "big pants" skyscraper was just one of China's "weird" buildings that came under fire by president Xi Jinping in 2014 when he gave a two-hour speech lamenting bizarre structures. The Chinese leader also hit out at twp bridges over the Yangtze and Jialing rivers in Chongqing, which have been compared to female private parts.
Fast forward two years later, and in February 2016, China announced that it would no longer allow such creativity when it comes to city skylines. In a document, the country's State Council forbade "oversized, xenocentric and weird" buildings, stating that all new buildings should be "suitable, economic, green and pleasing to the eye".
#10
Canada. The Gooderham Building In Toronto Is Fun!
Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago
In my reply to myself is a link to the google maps entry for the Geelong Arts Centre. Coolest looking façade I've ever seen!
#11
The Warped House, Poland
Ghostchaplain16 1 week ago
Imagine popping out of the local watering hole late at night and looking at this. "Here, Tom, better take my keys."
#12
Australia. He Is Beloved Tho!!
Bruce Mardle 5 days ago
I once read an on-line conversation where people were saying they had the worst job ever. One said they gave Pap smears to unanaesthetized koals.
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Vivian McBride 6 days ago
There used to be some animal-shaped buildings in southern California. I remember a couple of dogs.
Lee Gilliland 6 days ago
And the giant hot dog near the LA Brea Tar Pits.
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Appartment Building In Amsterdam
Lotekguy 1 week ago
I'd be really, really careful about what I put on the part of my apartment that doesn't have another unit under it. No grand pianos or pool tables.
Rick Murray 6 days ago
When your address is apartment four and a third on floor six and five eighths...and everybody just thinks it's some bizarre Harry Potter reference.
#14
Hotel In Zaanstad (Nethwrlands) Lots Of Traditional Shapes Of Dutch Houses Together
#15
Scotland. The St James Quarter In Edinburgh, Affectionately Nicknamed 'The Golden Turd' For Obvious Reasons
angelmomoffour62 1 week ago
It is lopsided. The one from the top looks like it's going to fall.....
Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago (edited)
If you go through life always expecting symmetrical tụṛd piles, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. They're typically shıt!
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#16
South Korea. The Cafe’s Name Is Literally ‘Grasshopper Cafe’, Located In Jeongseon, Gangwon Province
Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago
I'd be tempted to always use a certain descriptive F word before saying that name...
#17
Czech Republic. The Dancing House, Prague
It resembles a dancing pair (the man on the right, the woman on the left)
Photo By Danny Alexander Lettkemann, Architekt, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Spidercat 1 week ago
The architect who designed this recently dïed. He also designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Frank Gehry.
Cee Cee 1 week ago
And at the request of Marge the Springfield community centre in The Simpsons!
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#18
Italy. The Church Tower Of A Flooded Village
Jeroen Maes 1 week ago (edited)
There are no houses left, the tower is the only remaining structure. I've seen the lakebed when the lake was dry due to maintenance to the dam (late 1970's)
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Raymond Core 1 week ago
It's not a flood. This is a lake created by a dam. There is a whole village that goes with that church.
Pedantic Panda 1 week ago
Yes, the village and valley were flooded to make the lake/reservoir.
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#19
Australia. I Would Say It’s This Hotel Shaped Like A Crocodile In Kakadu, Nt
#20
The Atomium, An Iron Atom 165 Billion Times The Size Of A Real Iron Atom. Belgium
WindySwede 1 week ago
Wiki "in the shape of a unit cell that could represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times."
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Stardust she/her 1 week ago
Atoms do NOT look like this because they instead have funky shaped orbitals. Well I guess the S orbitals are the most normal looking (they’re spherical) but the P, d and f orbitals have completely different shapes. This is most likely a lattice of iron atoms
WindySwede 1 week ago
See my comment under 'Ryan's comment, more info on Wikipedia about it. (Its an iron crystal)
Load More Replies... Lotekguy 1 week ago
This looks so much better in person with all those curving reflective surfaces.
#21
Church In The Shape Of Chicken, Indonesia
More Information 1 week ago (edited)
"[Censored]! Wait, that's not a woodpecker, it looks like someone's-.."
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Siege Rook 6 days ago (edited)
The real question is: but y, tho? Like, seriously. Why? EDIT: Apparently the designer *intended* for it to be a dove... and missed the mark by a country mile.
#22
USA. This Dinosaur Is A Gift Shop, In California
Stacie-LZ 6 days ago
I used to live near this. They used the site to film the movie "Pee Wee's play House"
SkyBlueandBlack 6 days ago (edited)
Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Edit: they painted the T-Rex to look like Pee Wee after Paul Rubens passed, but I've heard it's since been painted green again.
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#23
There Are A Few, But The One That's Truly Whimsical And Witty In My Opinion Is Casa Orgánica, In Naucalpan. (State Of Mexico, Not Mexico City)
#24
The Shoe House In Lancaster, PA USA!
SheamusFanFrom1987 1 week ago
There was an old woman who lived... Oh, someone else lives there now? Hopefully she doesn't have too many children, gives her kids more than broth with at least some bread, and tucks them in rather than whipping them soundly to bed... XP
Bewitched One 1 week ago
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
Siege Rook 6 days ago
"There was an old lady who lived in a shoe... she had so many kids, her uterus fell out! OH!" ~Andrew Dice Clay
#25
There’s A Guy In Colorado Who Spent Some 40 Odd Years Building A Castle
Melody 1 week ago
Sooo my comment where I provided a link to an article was automatically hidden. (Are links not allowed anymore? I haven't been on here much recently because the content has gone downhill so much.) But it's called Bishop Castle.
Load More Replies... Bruce Mardle 5 days ago
I'm sure I read about this recently. (Another BP page?) The dragon head breathes fire! Or did I just imagine that?
Bi.Felicia 5 days ago
A little more info- Bishop Castle, an elaborate stone and iron structure located in the San Isabel National Forest in Rye, Colorado. It is a one-man project started by Jim Bishop in 1969, who worked on it for over 60 years. The castle stands 160 feet high and features three main floors, a grand ballroom, cathedral windows, spiral staircases, and a fire-breathing dragon sculpture. Over 1,000 tons of rock were gathered and set by hand to construct the fortress. The castle is open to the public for free, though donations are accepted to support the property.
Melody 5 days ago
60 years? But... It's only been 56 years...... ARE YOU FROM THE FUTURE?!
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#26
Us. Saw This One In New York
Bob Brooce 1 week ago
I'm glad this one is here (well, it's actually a bit SE of Riverhead, NY at the very beginning of Long Island's south fork) because if it wasn't I'd have mentioned it in the comments at the bottom of the page. There used to be a lot of duck farms on eastern Long Island.
Andy Frobig 6 days ago
I figured it must be on the Island, but I've lived in a lot of parts of the state, so when I read something's "in New York" I automatically think "that doesn't narrow it down much"
Load More Replies... Siege Rook 6 days ago
Okay, unlike the Chicken Church above, this one ACTUALLY looks like a dove. Mostly.
Adorable Davelands 6 days ago
That's actually a photo from the old location. It was saved and moved to its current location around 1990. It is a tourist shop now. I was there a couple of months ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Duck
Panda McPandaface 6 days ago
How did you sneak a link into your comment without it automatically getting hidden!?
Load More Replies... PenguinEmp 1 week ago
No it's now a historic building with a gift shop. It was built in 1931 by a man who wanted to sell ducks.
Load More Replies... #27
This Is A Museum In The City Of Niterói, State Of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
#28
Taiwan
Temple of the 18 Lords which boasts the “worlds biggest dog statue”, you walk in through its butt and go up stairs until you can look out of it from a platform inside sorta like the Statue of Liberty. But the door was sealed shut a few years back
Panda McPandaface 6 days ago
Seems cruel. I mean, how would you like having your rear end welded shut?
#29
Toad Museum, Thailand
SheamusFanFrom1987 1 week ago
Gamabunta from Naruto really fell on some hard times to have to make money housing antiques in himself...
#30
Crocodile Stadium, Bursa, Turkiye
Janelle Collard 6 days ago
At least that's interesting to look at. Way better-looking than Levi's Stadium. Just sayin'...
#31
Elephant Building Bangkok
#32
Los Angeles, It Has To Be The Walt Disney Concert Hall
Designed by Frank Gehry. Personally not a fan of his architectural works, and I don’t personally like it but it makes for a good statement piece. Close seconds are The Broad Museum and Petersen Automotive Museum.
Paulsible deniability 6 days ago
Right after he read the description above.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 1 week ago
Also not a Gehry fan, but he did do a magnificent job here of making something incredibly heavy appear to be about to take flight.
WindySwede 1 week ago
To me it looks like an solar powered nuclear plant. The nuclear building, see stripy building left, at almost the top.
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Scarlett O'Hara's Ghost 1 week ago
For a second after I saw it was a Disney building, I thought for sure it came from the imagination of Dali!
WindySwede 1 week ago
To me it looks like an nuclear power plant, the stripy reactor building on the left side..
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#33
This Is East Beach Café In Littlehampton, UK. People Call It 'The Turd'
#34
Vegas, USA
Whatshername 6 days ago
Agree, even on my third day I still found it very distracting.
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Panda McPandaface 6 days ago
I don't really fancy visiting Vegas and certainly not living there, but I would like to experience this globe - it just looks phenomenasl.
#35
Indonesia. It Became Viral Few Months Ago, It's A Mosque Built By A Military General, Located In His Hometown LOL
Phantom Phoenix 1 week ago
Has anyone seen the design plans for the ballroom?
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Australia
Just for those unsure this is the Luna Park entrance in Sydney, Australia. It was built in the 1930’s and was popular during WW2 particularly for servicemen. Back in the late 70’s one of the Roller Coasters “The Ghost Train” caught fire and 7 people lost their lives. It is noted the park had failed the fire safety precautions needed to run the coaster. The case has been closed and reopened several times on who is responsible and has recently been reopened with new evidence and is being investigated. Despite this, 7 people tragically lost their lives on something that could have been prevented. That ride is no longer in service and a memorial stands in its place.
Daisydaisy 1 week ago
We love our giant Luna Park faces - there's one in Melbourne too. Having grown up with them, I'm startled to see that people find them something other than adorable! 🤣
Rick Murray 6 days ago
It looks like a possessed haunted doll to me, but hey, I figure if you put up with Australia's wildlife, trivial things like possessed haunted doll faces won't bother you in the slightest. 😉
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#37
Taiwan
These flying saucer houses, I couldn’t find any of them new, there’s a very rural spot that has a neighborhood full of them, but I think most were torn down last year
Rick Murray 6 days ago
Didn't they have something like this near Amsterdam? Dimly recall a video about them on YouTube.
#38
Barcelona, Spain
#39
Whale On The Danube Bank In Budapest
#40
Kazakhstan. We Have Got A Lot Of These. Egg
#41
Singapore. The Art Science Museum
#42
We Got The Kunsthaus In Graz. Always Makes Me Uncomfortable
StretcherBearer 1 week ago
I like it even though it is sort of pretentious. Like Art in all capitals. Purposely designed to be contentious and edgy. Retro edgy? I don't know. Neat though I can see it being off-putting especially for folks with the phobia of small holes. My stepson absolutely detest barnacles. He would hate this.
#43
Union Of Architects Of Romania (Uar). And Yes, Those Are The Top Floors, They Are The Same Building
Ghostchaplain16 1 week ago
Yikes! How to ruin wonderful original architectural design with a modern add-on. What a missed opportunity.
#44
Vancouver House, A Residential Building In Downtown Vancouver, Bc, Canada
lenxia buda 1 week ago
It just looks like a stack of wooden pallets...? One that's about to fall over! 😕
Ghostchaplain16 1 week ago
An A for creativity if it's architecturally sound, but my fear of heights negates any chance I'd live there.
Rick Murray 6 days ago
I just looked it up on Google Maps and it's actually not quite as bad as it looks in this picture. Still definitely in the "hell no" territory, but not an Eldritch location.
#45
Legozilla? Tetris Tower? Actually, It's The Ayer Rajah Telephone Exchange (1978) In Singapore
#46
Japan. This Is Asahi Beer Museum
#47
In The Middle Of NYC. Edit: Leaked Documents Have Proven That Inside This Building Is The Nsa And Telecommunications
MontanaMariner 1 week ago
Nope. Built in the 70's by AT&T to protect sensitive communication equipment thanks to the Cold War. Designed to withstand extreme heat and cold, largely fireproof, and built to withstand a nuke.
Rick Murray 6 days ago
Built to withstand a nuke? Uh-huh, good luck with that...
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#48
The Markel Building, AKA The Baked Potato Building, Here In Richmond Va
It was commissioned back in the early 60’s and the architect was literally inspired by a baked potato wrapped in foil that he was served at an architects luncheon. It’s ugly as all hell, but I love it
Toujin C'Thlu 1 week ago
I don't live far from Richmond, so I've seen this building a few times while out and about
#49
Noah’s Ark In Kentucky, USA
MontanaMariner 1 week ago
Tourist trap for religious weirdos (Creationists, etc.) It's been proven by ship builders that it would barely float and would be largely unnavigable.
Peter Bear 1 week ago
To be fair, 'able to float' is really all the thing was supposed to do. They weren't using it to travel.
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Lotekguy 1 week ago
It would be more interesting to see if it floats while it's filled as a megachurch. Test that faith!
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#50
The Beer Can House
It started off with the owner (during the late '60s) covering his yard and walk with concrete and mixing in different things (marbles, little statues, etc) and just kind of...expanded from there. Iirc, he claimed he did it because he didn't want to mow his lawn anymore XD
Never Snarky 1 day ago
Not wanting a lawn is admirable, but what replaces it frequently takes more work. Voice of experience.
Marie Adamson 6 days ago
Did you know that if you say 'beer can', it sounds like a Jamaican saying 'bacon'?
Nikki Sevven 1 week ago
Concrete is not the answer here. Clover in the sun, moss in the shade. Mow the clover occasionally, not as often as grass.
WindySwede 1 week ago
If you want an lawn, and have the possibility, get an lawnmower-robot. But clover (uncut) is appreciated by pollinators though.
Load More Replies... #51
Germany. Bierpinsel In Berlin
Hugo 1 week ago
Specifically (artist's) paintbrush, but it also means numskull or simpleton.
Load More Replies... April Pickett 1 week ago
What is it? Oh, it's a restaurant. It's now closed due to ownership/government issues.
#52
Russia. Grocery Store In Moscow
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Rick Murray 6 days ago (edited)
So - if it's British and it exists, it is called "the t**d". 😂 [edit: seriously BP? censoring a word used multiple times in the article? 🤦🏻♀️]
SchadenFreudian Psychology 6 days ago
In northern Virginia, we have the Toilet Bowl Building and the Darth Vader Building.
Rick Murray 6 days ago (edited)
So - if it's British and it exists, it is called "the t**d". 😂 [edit: seriously BP? censoring a word used multiple times in the article? 🤦🏻♀️]
SchadenFreudian Psychology 6 days ago
In northern Virginia, we have the Toilet Bowl Building and the Darth Vader Building.
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