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Odds are, you’ve been on the internet for so long that barely anything shocks or fazes you anymore. After a while, we simply get desensitized to most stories and it takes something truly powerful to make our jaws drop. Right? Luckily for us, the internet’s chock full of hilarious, downright bizarre, and utterly weird material to keep us entertained all year long. And Twitter is a wonderful source of things that will make you ask out loud: “What?!”

Twitter user Hikikomorphism started up a viral thread asking people to share the obscure facts and anecdotes from their lives that make people react like in the legendary “The What?” meme (aka the “Rug Doctor Woman Ad” meme). You can bet your bottom dollar that people delivered! Scroll down to find their peculiar tales, upvote the ones that caught you off guard, and if you’ve got any similar ones to share, the comment section is eagerly waiting for you, Pandas.

Image credits: hikikomorphism

#1

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Samantha Lomb
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They do totally look like the little old men that hang out at farm sales and greasy spoons in the morning

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#2

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Becky Samuel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jesus. A guy misses out one word and you accuse him of being an animal cruelty case. Kick him *out*. That's it. Performative outrage is getting pretty old.

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Night Owl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd be forever thankful for that cat if I were him. And don't even think about kicking animals

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BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good thing cats are good at keeping people awake. You better have bought him some expensive food for the rest of his life.

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Mere Cat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cats do sense these things. A few weeks before my due date, one day my two cats started acting weird. Wouldn't leave my side, purring, being restless. I even took a picture of them laying on their backs, side by side next to me (usually they keep their distance to each other). The next night, my water broke and soon we had our baby. (One cat became the security guard for the baby, watching over as she slept and going to the resque as soon as he heard a cry. The other is clearly training her to be the ultimate petter and cat's best friend.)

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Suz66
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s amazing that people are so focused on the cat and whether or not they were going to kick it, (they didn’t btw,) rather than the miracle that the cat alerted them they were having a stroke! This person would be dead otherwise. For those who said they wish the person was dead have no soul! That’s terrible. The cat was unharmed and I believe they meant to say kick the cat out.

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Tristan J
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The full thread implies that he meant what he said, as he referenced failing to kick cats because they ran away. Anyone who deliberately kicks a cat has no soul, and I don't see why so many people are excusing this abhorrent behaviour just because the person had the misfortune of ill health.

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Devil's Advocate
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Animals are very aware to things that we don't notice, if your cat or dog start acting weird around you, something could be seriously wrong! We went to the Safari park when my wife was pregnant, and they all ignored me (guy with the food!) and swarmed around her instead!

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Arctic Fox Lover
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Um... if you were about to kick that cat, you probably should have died. You don't deserve what that cat accidentally did for you. You don't deserve a cat at all if you kick them.

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CincyReds
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why the f**k would you kick your cat? Asshole, maybe he wouldnt have done this if he knew you wer just going to kick him

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snipergun
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, if your pets act unnaturally annoying or strange, they know something you don't. Should listen to that.

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

Felt a sharp pain in my chest that woke me up. Fell back to sleep a few minutes later. Woke up next morning feeling terrible & weak. No health insurance so fought through two weeks of feeling terrible & never fully recovered. Six years later I was in the hospital for a heart problem the doctors said was the result of a ‘major heart attack’ years before. I never put it together until then.

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Denny Cwiek
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Guess that made you feel like a jerk for wanting to kick him, ay?

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Ben Press
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should be punched in the face for even thinking about kicking a cat. He saved your f****d up life and you don't even deserve him.

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kkathleen517
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You f**king asshole, you were going to kick your cat? Why don't you come over to my place and I can kick you in your fat asshole head and help you with that stroke problem you animal kicking sack of s**t

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kat lia
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was having a stroke, probably he was not thinking right.

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Teresa Spanics
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope that you made a full recovery and will have many long and happy years with your dear sweet boy kitty 😻💖

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Lyn Moffett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Deadness???? Is that even a. Word? Why the hell would you kick your cat? If you felt tired just give it a gentle push. Hope you bought it a special treat!!!

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JJM
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Melissa, I think you missed the part about the stroke!

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nala simba
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who kicks a cat!? Cats and dogs do not talk. He saved your miserable life. Treat him like a King from now on!

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Joy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope Lifesaver Puss aka Professor X-Puss was given the juiciest tuna and lots of cuddles. You cat loves you ❤

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RoseTheMad
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your first response was to kick the cat... yea, that cat deserves a better owner. Edit: I mean, Clearly their current owner is an asshole and deserves to have no companionship in life because they're a psychopath. The poor cat however, deserves a new home where kitty is loved.

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Tristan J
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do not understand who is downvoting this comment. It is what the post said, and your response is perfectly reasonable and not controversial

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Desiree McKinnon
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sure he meant 'kick him out' as in remove the cat from the room and shut the door.

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Tristan J
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whilst a wholesome interpretation, the full twitter thread suggests otherwise

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When Bored Panda reached out to the author of the thread, they mentioned that they didn't expect it to get such a large audience for their post. "I would prefer not to be perceived," they added.

Hikikomorphism’s thread got more than 23.4k likes and was retweeted over 35k times. What’s more, the popularity of the post spread to other platforms as well, including Imgur, where it got over 93k views and 2.5k upvotes in the span of a single day. Most of these stories made me do a double-take, but I’m curious to know if you thought they were as bizarre as I did, dear Pandas.

Meanwhile, let’s take a gander at the origins of the “The What?” meme that Twitter user Hikikomorphism referred to. The meme’s a favorite of mine and a couple of my closest colleagues, and it’s a wonderful reaction pic when we’re faced with something our minds have a tough time processing.

#4

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tuzdayschild
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet he feeds them and they come because they've learned that "woooolie" means food.

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#6

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Cactus McCoy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They say dogs help with depression. I just imagined it to be more subtle.

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Somewhat surprisingly, the photo from the “The What?” meme comes from an old Rug Doctor advertisement that could be seen in various retail stores. According to Know Your Meme, the earliest examples of this ad to be found online date all the way back to November 24, 2014.

The woman in the ad eventually became a meme because of her blank stare and smile. The meme is currently most often used to express confusion and disbelief. The very first time that the meme was used was on June 26, 2017, when redditor Kittty_velor posted the photo on the r/funny subreddit. The post featured a close-up of the woman’s face, though it didn’t have the iconic words “The What?” on them.

#8

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Serial pacifist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, of course you continue the hike. You tried the shortcut, and they said no.

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The meme spread and took on various formats that utilized the woman’s ‘creepy’ gaze for the purpose of hilarity. It crystallized into the meme we know today after the words “The What?” were added to it during the Storm Area 51 event in 2019. That’s when the meme started spreading on Twitter and beyond. Now, it’s the perfect reaction pic to weird anecdotes on Twitter that make us wonder whether we’re in a bizarre comedy or if this really is real-life.

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#11

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CatWoman312
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First of all wow! Second off all that had to be the easiest 12 pounds you ever lost

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#14

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Samantha Lomb
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We got trapped in my high school by corn drifts. The farm nearby picked the ears and then just shredded the rest of the corn plant and left it in the field instead of chopping it for silage and when the wind kicked up it blew huge mounds of corn plant around the school and blocked our doors and bent the fence on the tennis court over

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#16

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Kate
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait, how do you cheat -- use your psychic twin powers for real, or....?

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#17

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank God for the vaccines and now we don't need to do such extreme things😏

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