ADVERTISEMENT

Weirder than weird. Stranger than strange. Fiction has nothing on reality when the latter looks like the stuff shared on the r/hmmm subreddit. Reality wins the bizarreness department, hands down. To show you exactly what we mean, we’ve collected some of the most powerful photos shared on the online community that have literally no context and get funnier and more peculiar the longer you look at them.

If you’ve ever wanted to take a casual stroll through The Twilight Zone and Alice’s Wonderland, this is your chance. Posts that make you ‘hmmm’ start off by bombarding your nervous system to create a mounting sense of confusion. Then comes the barely-containable giggling as you upvote your favorite pics and send them to your friends and coworkers.

In the mood for some more scrumptious and hmmm-tious content when you’re done devouring this delicious digital course? We’ve got you covered, Pandas! Our team here at Bored Panda has featured the subreddit in all of its glory a number of times before. Check out our previous articles about the community here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

A whopping 1.92 million people follow the r/hmmm subreddit, and we can’t wait for that number to hit a solid, round 2 million soon. The online community puts deep absurdity first and raises contextless humor to an art form.

For instance, every single post has to have the word ‘hmmm’ in the title. And God forbid that you use an uppercase ‘H’ instead of a lowercase ‘h’! We can barely imagine the horror. 

#4

Hmmm

seven_critical_blows Report

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

Ferb, I know what we're doing today! We're going to scare the bejesus out of clueless homosapiens!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

Hmmm

DoggoRedound63 Report

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

Before GPS there was Google Maps. Before Google Maps there were paper maps. Before paper maps we used the old carpet method and crossed our fingers.

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

“hmmms are textless images that make you think about the context, do a double take, invoke a deeper meaning, or just leave you thinking about how or why they exist. As long as they give you a good solid hmmm... why would that bear be in a cubicle… hmmms should be aesthetic and meaningful, avoid anything that is merely r/mildlyinteresting,” the moderator team running the show explains.

Meanwhile, if you plan on posting stuff on the subreddit, then you should probably read the full list of rules. Thankfully, r/hmmm has an incredibly detailed FAQ that deals with the nitty-gritty details of what’s expected from members, what’s (dis)allowed, and what type of humor is best shared on other subreddits.

ADVERTISEMENT
#9

Hmmm

aoc_ftw Report

Add photo comments
POST
Tess
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was legit considering these as an option for sectioning off a room, and wondering how long they'd hold up against the cats. Now I have my answer, and suspect that the two 40kg dogs would not improve the odds.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

During a friendly earlier interview, Bored Panda had a chat about the sub with the head moderator of r/hmmm, u/CosmicKeys. They told us about the history of the community and the changes that came along throughout the years.

ADVERTISEMENT

"The idea for /r/hmmm was to create a highly curated subreddit with a quality bar where all the pictures are interesting, meaningful, aesthetic, and shine a light on how random image culture on the internet had become its own genre of art. I think we are popular because we maintain this quality bar," the head mod shared with us.

"The titles are all 'hmmm' because it means you can experience the image without someone forcing their personal interpretation onto it in the form of a title. Whether it's funny or sad is up to you to determine. It is also about purity. In order for your post to go through, you need to submit to a rigid tradition. People willing to do that generally care enough to post excellent content,” they explained to Bored Panda.

ADVERTISEMENT
#15

Hmmm

33Fanste33 Report

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

Upvote for cute Bernese Mountain Dog (I think, I could be wrong, there are other breeds that have similar tricolour markings), not so much the unsafe driving to pet it.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

"/r/hmmm was founded in 2016 by users from snoonet irc. It was technically created in 2008, but had no activity up until that point, so 2016 is the real creation date," they said that, technically, the subreddit’s founding date is very different from the one we can see online.

#18

Hmmm

RedCyroVEVO Report

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

It was bad spacing on the instruction. It said "Penis required for voting" when it should have said "Pen is required for voting"

Saint Thomas
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was in Belgium ^^ The guy made the news. His statement was "politicians 'drop their pants' for votes, so I guess I can drop mine while voting". In French, the idiomatic expression "baisser son pantalon" roughly means doing whatever is necessary to get what you want, even if it's humiliating. (To be precise it was in Flanders, but the expression is the same in Flemish "zijn broek laten zakken").

Vasana Phong
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He’s probably is in the wrong building that has a different business

Emie N.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had to read the comments to figure out this is a voting area. (And finally noticed lefthand bottom of screen) I just thought it was a changing station for clothes shopping and didn't understand what was wrong with it. 😆🤦‍♀️

Alexandra Sanders
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

uuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...buddy...whatcha doooooooooooooooooooooooooin'?

Elizabeth VanDyke
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm trying to imagine just what the h3ll is going on behind the curtain. Any ideas?

RL R
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Later at the urinal, "damn I cannot understand this damn voting machine...just a lever, no options, and just a flush of water"

Oliver Nelson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always hear to eat and masturbate before making big decisions.

Cindy Brick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, that's going to be a lot of people's opinions during the upcoming election.

Jill Hojnacki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The studious look on the face of the guy who has noticed . . .🤣

Bevo Nostro
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"If I do this nobody will notice the dead guy in the ziplocked storage case"

glowworm2
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh! That’s what the paper containing the candidates is for!

dab
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

something tells me there's a hanging chad in this booth

DeoManus Argentem
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Early voting started in Vermont, I guess? Bernie Sanders being next in line gives it away :p

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

"I would post daily pictures while chat was going for people to laugh at oddities from different corners of the internet. That grew into a large collection, so /r/hmmm was born. The name comes from a thread that would appear occasionally on 4chan, and the content was inspired by a website called spaceghetto," u/CosmicKeys said.

"The subreddit is about obscure and strange images, so over time as certain types of images have gone from obscure to popular we've made rules to exclude them," they hinted that, as internet culture changes, so does the sub.

ADVERTISEMENT

Meanwhile, comedy writer Ariane Sherine also shared her thoughts with Bored Panda about bizarre internet content. “The weirder and more surprising the photo, the more likely it is to make us laugh,” she told us.

“I tend to laugh the most at animals pulling human expressions while doing crazy things!” she shared what gets her giggling the hardest.

According to the comedy expert, humor is instantaneous. Meanwhile, context is essential only if there’s a total lack of it and if that limits the audience’s ability to ‘get’ the joke. As such, if you can’t relate to a joke, meme, or image, you might end up asking for someone to explain them to you. And that kills a lot of the comedic effect.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Context is important only if we’re unlikely to get a joke otherwise, as I think the sooner we get a joke, the funnier we find it. If it takes us a while then that initial shock and surprise is delayed and so we’re less likely to laugh and more likely to go ‘oh, I get it now!’” Ariane said.

“Some people are born with funny bones, but those who aren’t so lucky could watch a lot of great standup comedy and try to emulate the timing and pace. There are also some excellent comedy courses available online,” the comedy writer noted that everyone can improve their comedic timing with a bit of research and practice.

ADVERTISEMENT
#37

Hmmm

Jimsammy_ Report

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

Pretty sure if you hit those old Nokias with a rock, the rock would break. This is probably the strongest wall in existence

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
#47

Hmmm

SecondaryCartridge Report

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

I'll admit I was looking for something creepy amongst the trees.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#48

Hmmm

demetri47 Report

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

Please don't! Even if Covid wasn't a reality we were living with!

View more commentsArrow down menu
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
ADVERTISEMENT
#59

Hmmm

tangre79 Report

Add photo comments
POST
2WheelTravlr
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He heard "Jesus take the wheel" and figured why not take the whole darned truck.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#61

Hmmm

seven_critical_blows Report

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

I'd make a pun about a cat scan, but I can't quite figure out how to work a microscope into it. Plus, the cat isn't actually "looking" through it, so it wouldn't really be that funny anyway.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#62

Hmmm

ITypeWithMyNose Report

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

You know…. I um…. I don’t think I want any more information about this picture….

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#67

Hmmm

BoffoReunion83 Report

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

So sad!!!! 🥺 Don’t worry, you are far more adorable than that picture gives you credit for.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#68

Hmmm

Inevitable_Juice_666 Report

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

When you’re a kid and a friend tells you they’re going on a fun holiday, “take me with you!”

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#75

Hmmm

Yeeslander Report

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

That appears to be a Sinclair C5 with an impressive body kit giving it a roof, for the non-UK parts of the world this vehicle was a joke back in the 80s but was one of the world's first mass produced electric vehicles. Big up Sir Clive for his eco credentials! Way ahead of his time...

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#89

Hmmm

x2py Report

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

It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to work out what was wrong with the picture

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#102

Hmmm

seven_critical_blows Report

Add photo comments
POST
Epona
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gross, Bill (meaning the creepy way he's looking at Ariana versus the way he looks bored about the other woman - I don't know who she is). Just in case we forgot you were icky?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#104

Hmmm

Homebrew2021 Report

Add photo comments
POST
AJay
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you want a standing desk but have no money... but you have panelled floors!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#110

Hmmm

x2py Report

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

Edible perfboard. Seems reasonable, given the amount of electronics going to waste...

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda