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Eureka! The idea just pops into your mind, and it seriously feels like the best thing that happened today. For a brief moment, you ask yourself what could go wrong, but nobody was born with a degree in risk management.

One doesn’t need a study to state that 99% percent of those ideas are dumb. And that means you are left to deal with the consequences. Luckily, there’s a place to learn what not to do, known as the subreddit r/Whatcouldgowrong.

It teaches you a valuable lesson, which is basically that if there’s any chance the thing can go wrong, it most likely will. Spare yourself from post-What-could-go-wrong misery just like 3.9 million wise members of the group.

#1

What Could Go Wrong If I Complain To Costco

What Could Go Wrong If I Complain To Costco

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#3

What Could Go Wrong If You Cuss At Your Boss On Facebook

What Could Go Wrong If You Cuss At Your Boss On Facebook

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chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Always check who can read your posts. Such mistakes have caused a lot of drama.

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Bored Panda reached out to redditor u/Peanutbuttered, who is the creator of the internet-famous subreddit r/whatcouldgowrong, to find out more about their community. The redditor told us that after their friends introduced them to Reddit many years ago, they loved the concept of different subreddit communities allowing you to customize the content you wanted to see.

“I sat there thinking about ideas for a subreddit—at this time, it had seemed like every category had been thought of already. I thought it would be funny to make a content community where the only things submitted were just gifs of bad ideas with unfavorable outcomes.” u/Peanutbuttered clicked the button to make it go public, and the rest is history.

#4

What Could Go Wrong If I Park In That Space "For The Umpteenth Time"

What Could Go Wrong If I Park In That Space "For The Umpteenth Time"

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chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A skilled scaffolding crew takes minutes to built this while an unskilled man could take hours to dismantle it.

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#5

What Could Go Wrong If I Threaten To Shoot Up A Supermarket

What Could Go Wrong If I Threaten To Shoot Up A Supermarket

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We'd expect something like this from Karen, but it's scary to think that even a legal services professional (supposedly a well-educated person) can willfully be so ignorant and reckless.

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#6

What Could Go Wrong If You Park Your Car In A Non-Parking Zone At The Supermarket

What Could Go Wrong If You Park Your Car In A Non-Parking Zone At The Supermarket

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The community now has 4.0m members and gets submissions every day, but the creator of r/whatcouldgowrong said that it’s not up to them to approve the posts. “Reddit works by community voting, but we along with our content robots remove anything that doesn’t meet the rules,” they explained.

As r/whatcouldgowrong began to evolve, Reddit included it in a collection of popular subreddits where they “revamped the idea behind 'default communities,'” explained the creator. They said that since then, r/whatcouldgowrong “started to show up on the home page more often, which brought in more people.”

“The content is all pretty much the same, but the people participating in the discussion section of each post is no longer WCGW subscribers, but a combination of subscribers and general people from the rest of Reddit,” explained u/Peanutbuttered.

#7

What Could Go Wrong If I Decide To Let My White Dog Out After I Mow My Lawn

What Could Go Wrong If I Decide To Let My White Dog Out After I Mow My Lawn

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#8

What Could Go Wrong If You Burn 3.3 Tons Of Weed In A Residential Area

What Could Go Wrong If You Burn 3.3 Tons Of Weed In A Residential Area

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Scagsy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That officer looks like he got a bit too close and enjoyed it too.

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The creator of the community also said that their favorite submission is the one where “a guy is rolling down a hill in a shopping cart, and what happens is about what you’d expect. This is my favorite post because it inspired me to create the page.”

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Even though u/Peanutbuttered is aware that their subreddit is for quick entertainment, it still provides a lesson to learn. “My hope is that people who are thinking of attempting a stupid stunt will rethink their decision or maybe recall a post they saw on /r/whatcouldgowrong. Then they’ll think, 'maybe I should not do this,'” the redditor said.

In fact, u/Peanutbuttered concluded that in a perfect world, r/whatcouldgowrong wouldn’t exist “because people would know what is smart to attempt and what isn’t.” But since that’s not the case, at least, they hope the subreddit can help to prevent an injury or save a life.

#10

What Could Go Wrong If You Use A Walmart Bag When Bleaching Your Hair

What Could Go Wrong If You Use A Walmart Bag When Bleaching Your Hair

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#11

What Could Go Wrong If You Keep Your Feet On The Dashboard And Get Into A Car Crash

What Could Go Wrong If You Keep Your Feet On The Dashboard And Get Into A Car Crash

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#12

What Could Go Wrong If I Wear A Click Pen In My Hair

What Could Go Wrong If I Wear A Click Pen In My Hair

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#13

What Could Go Wrong If I Put A Heavy Casket In My Trunk Without Securing It

What Could Go Wrong If I Put A Heavy Casket In My Trunk Without Securing It

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#14

What Could Go Wrong If You Hoard

What Could Go Wrong If You Hoard

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Violet brown
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in the other picture, they broke my bones, in this picture they broke my heart😢

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#15

What Could Go Wrong If I Post My Pic With A Full Map Of The Prison Behind Me (2 Days Later, A Terrorist Group Attacked And Freed Everyone There—happened In Nangarhar, Afghanistan)

What Could Go Wrong If I Post My Pic With A Full Map Of The Prison Behind Me (2 Days Later, A Terrorist Group Attacked And Freed Everyone There—happened In Nangarhar, Afghanistan)

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Andrew Gibb
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

True story https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13184920#:~:text=More%20than%20470%20inmates%20at,Sarposa%20jail%20were%20Taliban%20insurgents.

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#16

What Could Go Wrong If I Open My Restaurant Against State Orders

What Could Go Wrong If I Open My Restaurant Against State Orders

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#17

What Could Go Wrong If I Don't Strap Down The Boat

What Could Go Wrong If I Don't Strap Down The Boat

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UncleRussian
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel like this should be the equivalent of running the red light and his boat licence should be revoked

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#18

What Could Go Wrong If I Leave The Car Window Down In Bear Country

What Could Go Wrong If I Leave The Car Window Down In Bear Country

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#19

What Could Go Wrong If I Hide Things In The Oven

What Could Go Wrong If I Hide Things In The Oven

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#20

What Could Go Wrong If You Have A Giant Blood Sticker On The Car

What Could Go Wrong If You Have A Giant Blood Sticker On The Car

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#21

What Could Go Wrong If My Dumb Neighbor Put Hot Charcoal From His Grill Into A Trashcan

What Could Go Wrong If My Dumb Neighbor Put Hot Charcoal From His Grill Into A Trashcan

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varwenea
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The neighbor could have started a fire. Dumb is right.

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every plastic trashcan for 50 years had the warning sticker: "do not put in hot ash". Obviously for a reason. I never thought anyone could be that stupid.

hoppytoad79_1 avatar
Tessa Thompson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Assuming anyone would never, ever be so devoid of sense they wouldn't do [action] is giving humans too much credit. There's a bottom to how devoid of sense humans, as a group, are, but it has not yet been reached, AFAIK. Every time it seems the bottom has been reached, someone else decides to keep digging. xp

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our trash containers are metal - can't melt, but the charcoals often cause the trash to burn, spreading a nasty smell all over the neighborhood.

chi-weishen avatar
chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not only the trashcan but also the content. Most of the things you throw away will start to burn when they get in contact with hot charcoal.

kobayashi-ken avatar
K.Kobayashi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our trash bin has a "no hot ash" warning molded into it, so it must be a fairly common mistake.

martti avatar
ML
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you share the bin, it is a tragedy. If you have separate bins, it is a comedy

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Brandi VanSteenwyk
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

His stupidity would be on display for all of the neighbors come trash day. And his pocketbook will be happy to pay for a new bin instead of someone's home.

ellal avatar
Ella L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

THATS WHY THERE IS A WARNING LABEL AND A DONT PUT HOT CHARCOAL OR ASHES IN THE CAN

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Katie YoureOnKatieCam
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone I know did this once. The entire side of their house caught on fire once they'd gone to sleep. (Luckily they survived)

christinaenerotheneroth3 avatar
Christina Eneroth (Eneroth3)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My uncle had a tenant do this but from the fireplace into a paper box on the wooden floor in their vacation house. He was not amused.

janealexander37 avatar
Jane Alexander
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Driving up highway 1 behind some guys towing a barbeque I began to notice pretty little red lights in the air blowing into the dry grass on the hillside. Pulled over to call 911 and lost them but learned that it's legal to call 911 while driving. Knowing that did come in very handy on another occasion.

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Sam T Godfrey
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Naah... you could wash that right off with some sulfuric acid.

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Cybele Spanjaard
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He would not be the first person to do that...brains out of action?

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Jane Petersen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have done this. The coals sat outside for 3 days and this still happened. A person knocked on my door to tell me she was driving by and saw the dumpster on fire! I was so embarrassed LOL

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okpkpkp
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have been using a charcoal grill for 40 years and have never emptied the coals while they were still hot. I usually wait two or three days and then I put them in a smaller garbage can.

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Carole Strawn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my neighbors burned his house down this way. A bad, bad decision.

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Donald Holder
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The cause of hundreds of thousands of house and forest fires every year world wide.

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#22

What Could Go Wrong If I Try To Eat An Octopus Alive

What Could Go Wrong If I Try To Eat An Octopus Alive

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Romenriel
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am far from being vegan, but you can't be mad at that octopus for trying to defend itself.

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#23

What Could Go Wrong If I Carry An Unsecured Cargo

What Could Go Wrong If I Carry An Unsecured Cargo

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excuse me, sir, would you like me to tell you about our Lord and Savior, Buddha?

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#24

What Could Go Wrong If You Throw Away Mix With Yeast In It

What Could Go Wrong If You Throw Away Mix With Yeast In It

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reminds me of when I worked for Pizza Hut in high school and threw out 55 gallons of over proofed dough every night.

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#25

What Could Go Wrong If You Attempt A No-Hand Wakeboard In Your Robes While Drinking Tea

What Could Go Wrong If You Attempt A No-Hand Wakeboard In Your Robes While Drinking Tea

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#26

What Could Go Wrong If I Fly A Drone Inside The House

What Could Go Wrong If I Fly A Drone Inside The House

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#27

What Could Go Wrong If You Park A Car For Days Illegally Under A Tree Full Of Egrets And Herons

What Could Go Wrong If You Park A Car For Days Illegally Under A Tree Full Of Egrets And Herons

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#28

What Could Go Wrong If I Don’t Check The Height Clearance

What Could Go Wrong If I Don’t Check The Height Clearance

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#29

What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Photo To Remember

What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Photo To Remember

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#30

What Could Go Wrong If I Have My Bird As An Advisor

What Could Go Wrong If I Have My Bird As An Advisor

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#31

What Could Go Wrong If You Think Playgrounds For Kids Are For Adults As Well

What Could Go Wrong If You Think Playgrounds For Kids Are For Adults As Well

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#32

What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Picture With This Gopher Snake I Found In The Road

What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Picture With This Gopher Snake I Found In The Road

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Richard Brown
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And thus was born a new superhero VENOM-SNOT! Able to paralyse bad guys by holding a nostril and blowing a poison snot dart out of the other!

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#33

What Could Go Wrong If You Get Into A Dog's Personal Space

What Could Go Wrong If You Get Into A Dog's Personal Space

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Erica
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dogs rarely bite without a warning...the first picture and the way his ears and body language are would be a clear indication he’s not happy

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#34

What Could Go Wrong If You Try To Take A Cool Beach Photo

What Could Go Wrong If You Try To Take A Cool Beach Photo

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#35

What Could Go Wrong If I Wear An Eagles Shirt On Photo Day

What Could Go Wrong If I Wear An Eagles Shirt On Photo Day

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Falcon
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The question is, who the hell designs a shirt that has EAG on the first row and then LES on the next row...

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#36

What Could Go Wrong If My Neighbor Uses The Longest Possible Drill Out There

What Could Go Wrong If My Neighbor Uses The Longest Possible Drill Out There

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Johanna-Nicollette Kidd
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just as well no one was standing there. Next time place a bottle of Tomato sauce on the floor&when they drill, they will find the blood like stuff might give them pause for thought

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#37

What Could Go Wrong If I Put My Pizza On A Plastic Board And Cook It In The Oven

What Could Go Wrong If I Put My Pizza On A Plastic Board And Cook It In The Oven

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#38

What Could Go Wrong If You Use Adhesive Letters On The Outside Of Your Massage Therapist Center

What Could Go Wrong If You Use Adhesive Letters On The Outside Of Your Massage Therapist Center

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#39

What Could Go Wrong If I Forget Sunscreen

What Could Go Wrong If I Forget Sunscreen

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Johanna-Nicollette Kidd
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your a pale skinned Ginger haired person, Never Forget Your Sunscreen Ever Again! Skin cancer, here you come

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#40

What Could Go Wrong If You Accidentally Throw An Unsecured Bottle Of Cheese Onto Your Laptop

What Could Go Wrong If You Accidentally Throw An Unsecured Bottle Of Cheese Onto Your Laptop

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Note: this post originally had 49 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.