Puppies, kitties, parrots, squirrels, and other critters, just like people, come in all forms and sizes. However, one particular shape has earned itself almost a cult-like status on the internet.There’s a subreddit called ‘Round Animals’ and its 35K members, who dub themselves ‘spherical beasts,’ absolutely adore these endearing creatures. They share pictures that capture the charm of these round companions, and clicking through the images, we thought that you’d enjoy them too.So open your hearts and continue scrolling to enter this digital sanctuary and meet its inhabitants.This post may includeaffiliate links.
Puppies, kitties, parrots, squirrels, and other critters, just like people, come in all forms and sizes. However, one particular shape has earned itself almost a cult-like status on the internet.
There’s a subreddit called ‘Round Animals’ and its 35K members, who dub themselves ‘spherical beasts,’ absolutely adore these endearing creatures. They share pictures that capture the charm of these round companions, and clicking through the images, we thought that you’d enjoy them too.
So open your hearts and continue scrolling to enter this digital sanctuary and meet its inhabitants.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
There might be a psychological explanation as to why we find these creatures so adorable.Onestudyfrom 2007 found that the amygdala, a part of the brain that is involved in processing fear, reaches significantly higher activation levels when a person is shown pictures of sharp everyday objects (e.g., angular corners of a sofa) compared with their curved contour counterparts.So we might perceive round animals as less dangerous.
There might be a psychological explanation as to why we find these creatures so adorable.
Onestudyfrom 2007 found that the amygdala, a part of the brain that is involved in processing fear, reaches significantly higher activation levels when a person is shown pictures of sharp everyday objects (e.g., angular corners of a sofa) compared with their curved contour counterparts.
So we might perceive round animals as less dangerous.
Google data designer Manuel Lima believes the reason for this comes from our days as cave people."[Circles are] softer, they provide some safety, as opposed to angular shapes–the teeth of an animal, the hard shape of a rock. Those are signifiers of danger," he oncetoldFast Company.
Google data designer Manuel Lima believes the reason for this comes from our days as cave people.
“[Circles are] softer, they provide some safety, as opposed to angular shapes–the teeth of an animal, the hard shape of a rock. Those are signifiers of danger,” he oncetoldFast Company.
Other research also supports the notion that we connect the shape with happiness.In 1978, psychologist John N. Bassili conducted anexperimentin which he added luminescent dots to the participants' faces.When the people were asked to perform expressions of happiness, the dots would form into curvilinear, upward, open shapes, while expressions of anger created downward, angular forms.
Other research also supports the notion that we connect the shape with happiness.
In 1978, psychologist John N. Bassili conducted anexperimentin which he added luminescent dots to the participants' faces.
When the people were asked to perform expressions of happiness, the dots would form into curvilinear, upward, open shapes, while expressions of anger created downward, angular forms.
Lima’s last theory also talks about the curved shape of the human eye, which slightly distorts the world at the edges of the “frame”–similar to the distortions in a crystal ball or a fish-eye lens, though not quite so exaggerated.Circular shapes tend to complement this physical construction of the eye. “[Circles] fit so well into that visual apparatus,” he said.
Lima’s last theory also talks about the curved shape of the human eye, which slightly distorts the world at the edges of the “frame”–similar to the distortions in a crystal ball or a fish-eye lens, though not quite so exaggerated.
Circular shapes tend to complement this physical construction of the eye. “[Circles] fit so well into that visual apparatus,” he said.
The subreddit ‘Round Animals’ was created in 2018, the same year when AV Club ran anarticleon them too.
We couldn’t agree more!
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Linas Simonaitis
Larysa Perih
Animals