ADVERTISEMENT

Sometimes a wholesome experience is just around the corner. All we have to do is let it into our lives.

On April 30, author Mitali Perkins published a tweet, describing the unexpected encounter she had with a random teen. "I was walking alone yesterday when an unsmiling teen on a bike whizzed by," Perkins wrote. "Our eyes met. He circled back, and I couldn't help bracing myself for our encounter. 'Hey, lady,' he said gruffly. 'Five ducklings. Under the culvert ahead.' Then he did a wheelie and sped off."

The tweet instantly blew up (as it should) and already has over 138K likes. But most importantly, it has inspired other Twitter users to share their own pleasant moments with strangers. Below are some of the sweetest ones.

Perkins said she didn't know what to make of the situation at first. "The teenager seemed angry and there was nobody else around," she told Bored Panda. "We were separated racially and generationally, so I wasn't sure of his intentions. I was on guard, that's for sure." Luckily, everything turned out for the best.

"Encounters with 'strangers and aliens' across borders of culture, age, and power are often moments where I receive God's presence and love," Perkins explained. "These divinely human connections have become a private collection of delight and I go on the hunt for them now."

But what allows us to break the boundaries of our differences? To trust people outside our circle and form meaningful bonds, even if just for a few seconds? Well, one study suggests it's their looks

"We found that attractive subjects gain a 'beauty premium' in that they are trusted at higher rates, but we also found a 'beauty penalty' when attractive people do not live up to expectations," said Rick Wilson, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Political Science and Professor of Psychology and Statistics at Rice University. Wilson is the co-author, with Catherine Eckel, professor of economics at the University of Texas-Dallas, of a study titled 'Judging a Book by Its Cover: Beauty and Expectations in the Trust Game.'

ADVERTISEMENT
#5

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

emaestra Report

#6

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

bereesiekat Report

Add photo comments
POST
always2bfaithful avatar
DDmaybeandor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He told her he was concerned for her safety and why he was staying so that she wouldn't be creeps out by him sitting and staring, then he kept his distance and left her alone so she knew he was genuine. Sounds like a great guy.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

The researchers took 206 students from Virginia Tech, Rice University, and North Carolina A&T to participate in a two-part experiment to examine trust and attractiveness. In the first part, subjects were photographed and took part in a series of trust games. In the second part, another group of subjects evaluated the photographs for attractiveness. Researchers controlled for gender, race, facial expression, glasses and jewelry so those factors did not enter into the decision.

Each person posed for four photographs — two neutral and two smiling — and then he or she picked one to be used for the game. Each participant was also given 10 'lab dollars' to exchange during the game. Then they were shown photographs of other students and told to send any amount they wanted to each of them. The experimenter then tripled the amount and gave it to the second student. Then the recipient decided how much to return to the sender. Students kept the money that was exchanged.

ADVERTISEMENT
#8

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

gishgirl13 Report

Add photo comments
POST
katnissfox avatar
Equine_Ravenclaw_Directioner
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aw. She seems shy and that must have been hard to come up to her like that. What a sweet girl!

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

In the second part of the experiment, another group of students evaluated the photos for 15 traits, including attractiveness. In the trust games, on average, more money was sent to attractive people. Likewise, trusting attractive people was justified because they tended to reciprocate with higher amounts of money.

"Attentiveness to attractiveness may be embedded as part of our cognitive apparatus," Wilson said. "There are evolutionary reasons why humans might be attentive to attractiveness, including that historically it signaled good genes, substantial parental investment or status."

#9

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

cmdibley Report

Add photo comments
POST
angelab_1 avatar
Angela B
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Their response made me laugh out loud. Kindness is everywhere.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#10

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

dbq_sheesh Report

Add photo comments
POST
wendillon avatar
Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Free English practice for them and a nice way to pass the time for you, everyone wins!

View more commentsArrow down menu

Perkins had been on a solo retreat just before encountering her new friend, Kevin. The author saw him again the next day when she came back to try and find the ducklings. "During those three days in silence, I'd been wondering if my presence on social media was useful in any way to the planet. I came home, met Kevin, and posted the story. And then I was overcome by the string of beautiful stories that people began to share."

Reading the tweets one after the other was really meaningful to Perkins. "There's a story of Jesus interacting with a small boy and a hungry crowd. The child offered five fish and two loaves, and I imagine Jesus taking them with a smile as he began to feed many people. I felt an affirmation of my small contribution of words to the world—that they, too, can be used to bring sustenance in some way even if flawed and simple. Keep writing, Mitali, I heard, even in a sometimes disheartening venue like Twitter. And so I shall," she said.

ADVERTISEMENT
#15

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

Kirstenofnorth Report

Add photo comments
POST
kaoconno avatar
kathoco
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a teenager living in the northern Rockies, I drove a little Honda Civic that easily slid into ditches. You just needed to wait until someone came along in a big truck with a cable and hook and pulled you out. They ALWAYS stopped to help.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#24

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

PlichtaAnne Report

Add photo comments
POST
sheilamcenany avatar
Sheila McEnany Markowitz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How fortunate they caught you in time. A friend put diesel into her Honda, years ago, and had to replace the engine.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

FastColorado Report

Add photo comments
POST
julietemily64 avatar
Chaotic-pansexual-Gemini
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my goodness I love that. I do this to every person I see walking a dog. But I have a fairly non-threatening appearance and I’m feminine. But dogs are cute to everyone!!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

LSawyerED Report

Add photo comments
POST
skwatandost avatar
Aski Markup
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lovely, but I wonder how many times such a situation has ended badly.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#31

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

leylairoyale Report

Add photo comments
POST
iankoch avatar
Ian Koch
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oof. good thing that person came along, or something bad might have happened.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#40

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

SidewaysQ Report

Add photo comments
POST
mjw0sysascend_com avatar
lara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am short, too. I am always the last one who knows it is raining.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#44

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

carol_stirling Report

Add photo comments
POST
demi_zwaan avatar
Demi Zwaan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As long as you're not in a rival gang, gang members are often very nice and helpful people.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#46

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

schwartzlady3 Report

Add photo comments
POST
kadri-annraidlepp avatar
Kat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Racism goes both ways. The only place where a color should matter is when sorting your laundry.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#48

Wholesome-Moments-With-Strangers

izzymks Report

See Also on Bored Panda