Even those with great people skills at times have trouble interacting with others. We all know how awkward and painful it can be to go through misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and lost opportunities.
But every once in a while something beautiful happens; we connect to another human being. We know exactly what they mean, and — even better! — we're certain they get us too.
Since these magical moments are so rare, we need to treasure them. Which is what the subreddit r/OddlySpecific is trying to do. Kinda.
From the fantasy equivalent of pangolins to fast walkers passing other fast walkers, it collects very specific comments that also somehow feel really relatable. Continue scrolling and check out some of the stuff they have.
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u/UndeadCaesar, a moderator of r/OddlySpecific, thinks this online community is really focused on separating out the oddly-specific content from the just-general memes. "Since implementing the 'does it fit here' bot comment at the top of every post, I feel the quality of content has really improved, as usually if enough people are passionate enough about something not fitting in to open the comments and downvote the bot comment, the community is usually right," they told Bored Panda.
"I don't have to do a lot of manual moderation of the community even though it's fairly large now (Top 150 if I recall correctly), usually only stepping in to remove frequent reposts that aren't caught by the repost bot."
u/UndeadCaesar took over r/OddlySpecific after the original creator abandoned the sub and it got overrun with t-shirts saying 'This dad was born in AUGUST, loves GUNS AND BBQ, hates COMMIES, and has a CRAZY WIFE WHO BOUGHT HIM THIS SHIRT' and reposts. "I think it's a much better place now, higher quality content and a more active community," the mod said.
"I think what separates posts that go viral from ones that don't are the ones that hit that fine line of being specific enough that it's striking but about a topic general enough that anyone can relate to it."
From what u/UndeadCaesar has seen, they believe people connect to oddly specific content because it can accurately convey an emotional state with all that "extra" info and seem almost irrelevant at the same time — this duality is really entertaining.
The Different Types Of Badgers
Yes but once they do they turn out to be serial killers and bury you in their garden.
With 676K members, r/OddlySpecific is an excellent example of just how well we humans talk to one another. A sentiment philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who studied how easily communication between people goes wrong, would probably still be wary of.
While living in Norway, he wrote a book that was published in 1931. The book, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, asked a really big question: how do human beings manage to communicate ideas to one another? According to The School of Life, Wittgenstein's answer was that language triggers within us pictures of how things are in the world.
Now I Have This Fear
Wittgenstein thought of this while reading about a court case. During the proceedings, in order to explain with greater efficacy the details of an accident at a road junction, the court organized a visual representation of the accident using models.
In Wittgenstein's view, much like in these r/OddlySpecific posts, words enable us to make pictures of facts. Something tells me he would be a member of the subreddit were he still alive.
I Also Can't Stand Them
That's usually when I realize my windshield is particularly dirty and needs a spritz.
Okay, Then
Yep. All my vehicles have names. Some even have vanity plates with their names on them because they deserve a little bling.
Respecc To All Teachers
We are sadists. We get to mess with your minds for a whole year, you never know if I'm actually telling the truth because I'm also the one making the test so you'll just have to trust me I'm not lying to you. Nah, just kidding. I love teaching because young adults are the most amazing people out there. They're kind, curious, talkative, epic fun, and just naive enough for me to have a little fun with every now and then.
Dad's, Start Taking Notes
Hopefully He's Ok
I Mean He's Not Wrong
I pretty much always eat alone. I have noticed that when the hostess asks how many, I say "just one" and I am trying really hard to stop using "just".
This I Found From Another Subreddit
The Bison *will* Kill You
Is this for real? If it is, it's pretty terrible that there are people stupid enough to go into the animal enclosure. Although I shouldn't be surprised.
This Is Quite Specific
It's their snack though. As long as they're not giving it to some kids but not others I don't see a problem.
Not A Bad Gig
LOL, that must be true seeing all those mystic album covers where some guys are in the middle of a forest looking like boy scouts who got lost.
Or, You Know, Something Else
My father's father was Adda. Because I tried to call him Dadda (my father was away on national service) and that was all I was prepared to concede. Because I was first grandchild, all the others called him that too.
Roooxaaaaanne!
If he shot you to the beat of Roxanne you would get the 16th bullet about the time the guys laughing in the song.
Found This Gem Today On Instagram
Aight Who Wants To Do A Triathlon With A Shark
In real life the deadliest animal is the mosquito, followed closely by humans who are the deadliest mammals on this planet. Just one example; The tangerine toddler with a dead count of over 500 000 people.
That's A Good Plan...
This is such a stupid comment, and it's made so often I just wish it would die. Shows like Friends and The Big Bang Theory are recorded in front of a live studio audience. It's not a "laugh track" like you would hear in MASH, for example. Any actor playing comedy learns to pause when there is laughter, and to not say the next line (or punchline) until the laughter is starting to subside. If you take a show like this and deliberately and artificially remove the laughter, of course the show seems weird and unfunny, because the pace seems wrong. Secondly, laughter is a shared experience and is always greater than when alone. Seriously, if you don't like the show, then don't watch it. Don't bitch about it on the internet.
Note: this post originally had 118 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
these are weirdly funny and i'm here for it
The second half was way better than the first half. Superb.
these were lovely. more, please!
these are weirdly funny and i'm here for it
The second half was way better than the first half. Superb.
these were lovely. more, please!