Nowadays, there seems to be a Facebook group for everything:crocheting, books, cooking, circus, you name it—it’s been covered. But some are far less specific than the aforementioned examples.Take thepublic group‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See,’ for instance. While it’sclearlyfocused on “weird and interesting things,” what that entails can be quite random.If you’re now curious about the kind of content the group is focused on, I’ll let their posts do the talking. Scroll down to find some of them on the list below—where you will also findBored Panda’sinterview with Professor of Psychology at Stetson University,Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson—and make sure to upvote your favorites!This post may includeaffiliate links.RELATED:“This is a community where you can always expect the unexpected,” one of the group’s admins, Kushani Gunathilaka, toldBored Pandaback in August, when we released ourprevious editionon the ‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See’ Facebook group.“It’s never boring and always exciting. <…> You laugh, you enjoy, you feel, you relate and you even learn things here. All of this makes the community an enjoyable space for me and surely for the rest of the members,” the admin said back when the group had around 87k members. Now, just roughly half a year later, it already boasts over 247k members.Thousands of people joining the group in a matter of months shows that people are clearly drawn to all that is weird and interesting. But why is that?We turned to Professor of Psychology at Stetson University, Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, looking for some sort of an explanation, and he noted that in a general sense, we’ve likely evolved to pay more attention to unusual things that are outside the range of normal activity.“Strange things could indicate danger or opportunities, so we pay a bit more attention to those. They also attract our curiosity as we try to make sense of the unexpected,” he said.“We’ve evolved to be a curious species and trying to make sense of our environment has been good for us,” Dr. Ferguson continued. “This is a generally focused trait which is probably what has made it so adaptive, and how our species has become so adaptive over so much of the planet despite different environments.”Talking to Bored Panda about how, if at all, people can benefit frompositive, funny, and interesting—even if somewhat weird—content online, Prof. Ferguson said that first and foremost, such content can be mentally stimulating.“Further discussing unusual phenomena can be a social activity reinforcing social bonds,” he added. “Humor, of course, is valuable in lifting negative moods and, again, as a social activity.”In the expert’s opinion, what makes online groups so popular nowadays is the ease that they provide when it comes to connecting with like-minded people. “It tends to be much easier to meet others with similar interests online, particularly if those interests aren’t very mainstream (like bowling, for instance, might have been decades ago). It allows us to cater to niche interests a lot more easily, though it also probably pulls away from sucking it up and doing shared activities that are more common in the recent past,” Dr. Ferguson said.Talking to Bored Panda back in August, the admins of the group shared that they always want to present their followers with something new; something that might make them go “Huh, I’ve never seen this before!”. Bearing in mind that we arecurious beings, as Prof. Ferguson pointed out, their tactic seems to be working. And we’re here for it!For more weird and interesting content to awaken your curiosity, browse Bored Panda’s category dedicated to all sorts ofcuriosities here. Happy scrolling!See Also on Bored PandaContinue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign InSee Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored PandaModal closeAdd New ImageModal closeAdd Your Photo To This ListPlease use high-res photos without watermarksOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Nowadays, there seems to be a Facebook group for everything:crocheting, books, cooking, circus, you name it—it’s been covered. But some are far less specific than the aforementioned examples.Take thepublic group‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See,’ for instance. While it’sclearlyfocused on “weird and interesting things,” what that entails can be quite random.If you’re now curious about the kind of content the group is focused on, I’ll let their posts do the talking. Scroll down to find some of them on the list below—where you will also findBored Panda’sinterview with Professor of Psychology at Stetson University,Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson—and make sure to upvote your favorites!This post may includeaffiliate links.
Nowadays, there seems to be a Facebook group for everything:crocheting, books, cooking, circus, you name it—it’s been covered. But some are far less specific than the aforementioned examples.
Take thepublic group‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See,’ for instance. While it’sclearlyfocused on “weird and interesting things,” what that entails can be quite random.
If you’re now curious about the kind of content the group is focused on, I’ll let their posts do the talking. Scroll down to find some of them on the list below—where you will also findBored Panda’sinterview with Professor of Psychology at Stetson University,Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson—and make sure to upvote your favorites!
This post may includeaffiliate links.
RELATED:“This is a community where you can always expect the unexpected,” one of the group’s admins, Kushani Gunathilaka, toldBored Pandaback in August, when we released ourprevious editionon the ‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See’ Facebook group.“It’s never boring and always exciting. <…> You laugh, you enjoy, you feel, you relate and you even learn things here. All of this makes the community an enjoyable space for me and surely for the rest of the members,” the admin said back when the group had around 87k members. Now, just roughly half a year later, it already boasts over 247k members.Thousands of people joining the group in a matter of months shows that people are clearly drawn to all that is weird and interesting. But why is that?We turned to Professor of Psychology at Stetson University, Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, looking for some sort of an explanation, and he noted that in a general sense, we’ve likely evolved to pay more attention to unusual things that are outside the range of normal activity.“Strange things could indicate danger or opportunities, so we pay a bit more attention to those. They also attract our curiosity as we try to make sense of the unexpected,” he said.“We’ve evolved to be a curious species and trying to make sense of our environment has been good for us,” Dr. Ferguson continued. “This is a generally focused trait which is probably what has made it so adaptive, and how our species has become so adaptive over so much of the planet despite different environments.”Talking to Bored Panda about how, if at all, people can benefit frompositive, funny, and interesting—even if somewhat weird—content online, Prof. Ferguson said that first and foremost, such content can be mentally stimulating.“Further discussing unusual phenomena can be a social activity reinforcing social bonds,” he added. “Humor, of course, is valuable in lifting negative moods and, again, as a social activity.”In the expert’s opinion, what makes online groups so popular nowadays is the ease that they provide when it comes to connecting with like-minded people. “It tends to be much easier to meet others with similar interests online, particularly if those interests aren’t very mainstream (like bowling, for instance, might have been decades ago). It allows us to cater to niche interests a lot more easily, though it also probably pulls away from sucking it up and doing shared activities that are more common in the recent past,” Dr. Ferguson said.Talking to Bored Panda back in August, the admins of the group shared that they always want to present their followers with something new; something that might make them go “Huh, I’ve never seen this before!”. Bearing in mind that we arecurious beings, as Prof. Ferguson pointed out, their tactic seems to be working. And we’re here for it!For more weird and interesting content to awaken your curiosity, browse Bored Panda’s category dedicated to all sorts ofcuriosities here. Happy scrolling!See Also on Bored PandaContinue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign InSee Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored Panda
RELATED:
“This is a community where you can always expect the unexpected,” one of the group’s admins, Kushani Gunathilaka, toldBored Pandaback in August, when we released ourprevious editionon the ‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See’ Facebook group.“It’s never boring and always exciting. <…> You laugh, you enjoy, you feel, you relate and you even learn things here. All of this makes the community an enjoyable space for me and surely for the rest of the members,” the admin said back when the group had around 87k members. Now, just roughly half a year later, it already boasts over 247k members.
“This is a community where you can always expect the unexpected,” one of the group’s admins, Kushani Gunathilaka, toldBored Pandaback in August, when we released ourprevious editionon the ‘Weird & Interesting Things You Must See’ Facebook group.
“It’s never boring and always exciting. <…> You laugh, you enjoy, you feel, you relate and you even learn things here. All of this makes the community an enjoyable space for me and surely for the rest of the members,” the admin said back when the group had around 87k members. Now, just roughly half a year later, it already boasts over 247k members.
Thousands of people joining the group in a matter of months shows that people are clearly drawn to all that is weird and interesting. But why is that?We turned to Professor of Psychology at Stetson University, Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, looking for some sort of an explanation, and he noted that in a general sense, we’ve likely evolved to pay more attention to unusual things that are outside the range of normal activity.“Strange things could indicate danger or opportunities, so we pay a bit more attention to those. They also attract our curiosity as we try to make sense of the unexpected,” he said.
Thousands of people joining the group in a matter of months shows that people are clearly drawn to all that is weird and interesting. But why is that?
We turned to Professor of Psychology at Stetson University, Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, looking for some sort of an explanation, and he noted that in a general sense, we’ve likely evolved to pay more attention to unusual things that are outside the range of normal activity.
“Strange things could indicate danger or opportunities, so we pay a bit more attention to those. They also attract our curiosity as we try to make sense of the unexpected,” he said.
“We’ve evolved to be a curious species and trying to make sense of our environment has been good for us,” Dr. Ferguson continued. “This is a generally focused trait which is probably what has made it so adaptive, and how our species has become so adaptive over so much of the planet despite different environments.”
Talking to Bored Panda about how, if at all, people can benefit frompositive, funny, and interesting—even if somewhat weird—content online, Prof. Ferguson said that first and foremost, such content can be mentally stimulating.“Further discussing unusual phenomena can be a social activity reinforcing social bonds,” he added. “Humor, of course, is valuable in lifting negative moods and, again, as a social activity.”
Talking to Bored Panda about how, if at all, people can benefit frompositive, funny, and interesting—even if somewhat weird—content online, Prof. Ferguson said that first and foremost, such content can be mentally stimulating.
“Further discussing unusual phenomena can be a social activity reinforcing social bonds,” he added. “Humor, of course, is valuable in lifting negative moods and, again, as a social activity.”
In the expert’s opinion, what makes online groups so popular nowadays is the ease that they provide when it comes to connecting with like-minded people. “It tends to be much easier to meet others with similar interests online, particularly if those interests aren’t very mainstream (like bowling, for instance, might have been decades ago). It allows us to cater to niche interests a lot more easily, though it also probably pulls away from sucking it up and doing shared activities that are more common in the recent past,” Dr. Ferguson said.
Talking to Bored Panda back in August, the admins of the group shared that they always want to present their followers with something new; something that might make them go “Huh, I’ve never seen this before!”. Bearing in mind that we arecurious beings, as Prof. Ferguson pointed out, their tactic seems to be working. And we’re here for it!
For more weird and interesting content to awaken your curiosity, browse Bored Panda’s category dedicated to all sorts ofcuriosities here. Happy scrolling!
See Also on Bored Panda
Continue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited contentAd-free browsingDark mode
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
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