People In This Online Group Find Weird, Wonderful And Strange Things In The World, Here Are 50 Of Their Best Posts

Facebook groups like the 'Weird, Wonder And Strange' and the 'Weird Wonder And Strange 2' are the perfect examples of just how generous the world is with throwing things at us to think about. And often, we don’t even need to lift a finger to realize there are plenty of interesting things happening around us. Whether it’s oddities within nature that capture our attention, architectural wonders that consistently surprise us, or the power of human kindness — there are so many elements left to discover about our home planet.

But more often than not, we get stuck in our routines, sounds, and sights that swiftly make our daily living boring. Taking the same commute and speaking to the same people each morning several times per week means we become so familiar with our surroundings, we may miss the magic around us. So it makes perfect sense that we humans should strive to learn and experience more, right?

That’s why social media projects like this are bound to catch our eye. Sharing interesting facts and images we never knew about before makes us feel stimulated to find yet another brand new sight to see. And as it turns out, our brains are actually wired to appreciate and seek out novelty.

As Joshua Klapow, Ph.D., a psychologist and creator of Mental Drive, previously explained to Bored Panda, we naturally adapt to things that happen frequently and regularly. "We literally are hardwired to move the common occurrences into the background of our consciousness so that we can look out for novel things," he said. "This happens because things that are not obvious, that are not common, that stand out, could pose a threat to our well-being, or could be something really rewarding."

Psychologist Klapow pointed out that we often take things we do and see every day for granted, "only to pay more attention to those actions and interactions that grab our attention. The obvious goes in the background, so we reserve brain bandwidth to notice the novel, standout occurrences in our life."

Seeking new experiences — even comparatively minor ones — also makes us feel genuinely delighted. "There is a connection between novelty and happiness," Dr. Laurie Santos, a cognitive scientist who teaches the "Psychology and the Good Life" course at Yale, told GQ.

"Novel stimuli tend to activate regions of our brain that are associated with rewards.” But there’s more than just the dopamine rush: "Novel things also capture our attention … you’re more likely to notice things and be present. There’s lots of evidence that simply being more present can improve our mood and happiness," Santos explained.

Moreover, novel experiences seem to be beneficial for the development of our brains and our moods. Clinical psychologist and affective neuroscientist Dr. Aaron Heller is a co-author of a study that tracked enlisted subjects from New York and Miami and monitored their spirits. The researchers then did a further analysis in which they took notice of how many new places participants visited.

"What we found was that for every person, on days when they displayed greater exploration, greater 'roaming entropy', they reported feeling happier. It's as simple as that," he said. "The experience of novelty, or going to places you had never been before, actually seemed to have an even larger association with positive emotion on that day." The best part? People who are in a good mood are more motivated to explore, and those who explore more tend to have better moods. These positive emotions also tend to seep into the next day, and even the day after that.

New adventures also lead to new lessons that extend our knowledge. As you’re scrolling through this list, you may stumble upon an unseen phenomenon that will inspire you to analyze it further. When you spend time learning something unknown, you also expand your horizons and build a greater perspective of the world. You also notice the benefits in no time.

According to Marilee Sprenger, an international educational consultant in the fields of social-emotional learning, literacy, vocabulary, and brain research, one of the most fascinating aspects of our brain is that it can change, and it does so every day.

"Neuroscientists want us to understand that the brain is plastic," Sprenger told us in a previous interview. "Every time you learn something new, your brain grows new connections. As we practice this new learning, the connections between brain cells get stronger and more resilient. If it is useful information, it stays with us, possibly forever."

Keeping your brain active is vital, Sprenger argued. "Because the brain has plasticity, you can also lose what you’ve learned. Keeping your brain and your body active can make a big difference in your ability to concentrate, focus, and remember. The more you know, the easier it is to take new learning and new experiences and connect them to information already stored in your brain."

"Whether you learn something new or pursue the study of an individual topic (like I do with the brain), you are keeping your brain active. If you focus on only one thing and not pursue other avenues, you could lose connections in other parts of your brain. So, diversification is good," she added. 

"Frankly, I am a nerd. I would rather read a new book on the brain than go out with friends. But I force myself to go. I know those social connections will help me on many levels," the expert explained. Thankfully, the social media page in question opens the doors to a variety of different topics, inviting us to soak up some breathtaking views and new knowledge. What did you think of these pictures, dear readers? Which ones did you enjoy the most? We’d love to hear your thoughts down below!