ADVERTISEMENT

Context is what helps us make sense of the world around us, including what we accidentally stumble across on the internet. Without context, we’re pretty much lost, left frantically wondering what it all means. In some cases, however, it’s specifically the lack of context that’s the entire point of online content.

The ‘Images with No Context’ Facebook page is a celebration of chaos, randomness, and more weirdness than you’d probably see on your social media feed on any given day. We’ve collected some of their finest pics and memes to amuse and confuse you. Enjoy your trip down the rabbit hole!

#1

Images-With-No-Context

Images with No Context. Report

Add photo comments
POST
HelluvaHedgehogAlien
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hi, I see my downvote fairy follower hath came again. Thanks for all the trouble of downvoting every single comment since yesterday noon, but I think you still missed some. :)

Load More Replies...
Tatenda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://www.gardenista.com/posts/finnish-artist-antti-laitinen-nature-trees-art/ This is done by Finnish artist Antti Laitinen in Estonia.

Bubs623
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't want this is, but I really want to walk through it and see where it leads.....

Bubs623
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know what this is.... sorry got excited and typed too fast.

Load More Replies...
Feno
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why do I feel like there’s a Terminator running around here somewhere…

Yvil
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If it was colorful inside this portal, I’d enter without a second thought. But it looks more like… The Upside Down from Stranger Things😣

Shyla Bouche
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gandalf finally made good on his threat to blow Frodo's door through the hole and out the back.

Candy Cane
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not burned or anything. Obvious answer is a Stargate was once sitting too close to the woods.

Linda R
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would simultaneously be drawn to enter and be terrified at the thought of doing so!

Book Worm Panda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, you see AnikaKarter and Richard Wahl. For them will want to press those three little buttons and select scam/spam on report. It's better than just downvoting again and again. I'll let you take care of them! (OH and to be even more affective you can check out their profile to find more comments. Since apparently that's a thing you can do) hope this helps! Edit: sorry this was meant for under sociallyanxiousslug's comment but if you see this you can find those comments and get rid of them!

Cpt. Robert Christian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ummm... Nope. Time to turn around and go home. Because nothing comes from a giant round portal leading to a dying/dead area.

Sandy Kavanaugh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All the vegetation is dead in that circle. They didn't have to use herbicides to make a portal.

Magpie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a detail of an artwork created by a Finnish artist Antti Laitinen. It is called "Broken Landscape".

Bad Alchemy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ya know, if my uncle had his chainsaw and got bored with yard work, he'd try to do something like this. I say try, because - bless his heart - he's better at imagination than execution.

Cuppa tea?
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was wondering how far and where the fireball I summoned went.

Marilyn Helling
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We tried something similar to that when I was a kid. It didn't turn out quite as good tho

HEADLESS ROACHS SISTER
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reminds me of Wonderland. Yknow that movie where the girl made her own them park?

Pineapple Incident
Community Member
1 year ago

This comment has been deleted.

JL
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This picture must have been taken after they moved the Stargate.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Bored Panda got in touch with content creator, comedian, and broadcaster Trev Lewis for his opinion on 'no context' memes and why they're so popular on social media. According to him, you could argue that they're the "purest distillation of what a meme actually is."

"The standard definition of a meme is, 'an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.' So, if a meme is nothing more than an image, and it's entirely up to the audience to interpret the symbolic meaning rather than offering any sort of caption or explanation, this is the very nature that memes are founded on," he said.

"It makes sense, then, that they are widely popular. If we think back to the earliest popular memes, stuff like the 'I Can Has Cheezburger?' cat, they were basically inside jokes for the terminally online. As the internet became more mainstream, so did memes, but it wasn't that long ago most people weren't familiar with the word and were often pronouncing it 'maymay.' There's something about an inside joke that makes people feel more passionate about it. I suppose it's the nature of exclusivity, or perhaps just the bond we feel when other people share in our niche interests."

ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED:
    #2

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    fair_weather_rose
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is just a bunch of peppers with googly eyes, I don't see what else is going on here to make it weird.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu

    Meanwhile, we were also curious about meme longevity, and how to achieve it. Broadcaster Trev was kind enough to share his take on this.

    "The truth is there is no perfect formula to give a meme longevity. There are a couple of things that can help, though. If a meme relies too heavily on current events, its relevance will likely fade along with those events. A standup comedy routine about food can be enjoyed for generations, but a talk show monologue about this week's news is going to expire quickly. It's the same principle. Someone may be able to resurface a screenshot that contains the original context, but already you're losing people if the joke has to be explained too much," he explained to Bored Panda.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    "The other thing that helps is, as this genre showcases, not relying on a written language to convey the humor. Slang is a lot like memes in that it's constantly changing and being discarded. A funny phrase today may be seen as corny tomorrow. There's also the language barrier. If an image is funny without words, that's a more universal meme than one that relies on English, Spanish, and so on. The more people enjoy and understand a meme, the more it gets shared, and the more likely it is to live on."

    #4

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Gossameringue
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I laughed so hard I had to see a sturgeon! Okay, thank you. I'll see myself out.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #5

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Clearly you have to add up to get to the 9s... so you press the 3 three times for each 9... so press the 3 nine times! XD

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

    At the time of writing, the ‘Images With No Context’ page had 58k followers who love the randomness of the content. And so do we. The Facebook page is a great example of what many people love the most about the internet—its ability to surprise us and get us to burst out laughing!

    Of course, which of the pics and memes you actually find funny will depend a lot on your sense of humor. That’s something that varies wildly from person to person.

    Some people prefer their jokes to be longer and more refined. Others might love dad jokes more than anything else in the realm of comedy. However, there are still plenty of folks who enjoy the post-modern weirdness of contextless images. There’s a lot of joy to be found in being thoroughly confused and not knowing the entire story behind a pic.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Even though we all have a unique sense of humor, comedy, at its core, is about being surprised. It’s about facing the unexpected or being shown an unusual way to see the world. Something we all have in common is that we love to laugh—what’s different is how our comedy tastes have changed since we were little.

    The more we’re exposed to comedy in the form of films, shows, and stand-ups, the more we can begin to refine that taste. It’s not something that’s static! Some of us used to adore telling dad jokes every chance that we got. However, as time passed, we changed and moved on to longer, more complicated anecdotes. And that’s okay!

    But something that makes us laugh doesn’t have to be overly complex or elaborate. Sometimes, all we really want is to see a silly meme of a cat in a cowboy hat.

    #10

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    fair_weather_rose
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Congrats! Now you can stop being depressed and overworked, and start being depressed and broke!

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

    However, no context pics can be a double-edged sword. In some cases, it can make the meme backfire because the joke, the silliness, they’re all a tad too obscure. And anyone who’s done comedy professionally probably knows that if you have to explain the joke to your audience, then you’ve already lost them. The context can be important to set up the joke.

    #15

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    fair_weather_rose
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Though many before him had failed, the great acrobat Mr. Tibbles was certain he could successfully complete the infamous kitty-kibble-headstand. The stunt, first perfected by the KittyClysm Brothers in the 1920s, had not been done since JoeyCat had burned the secret of a non-fatal landing, along with himself, several innocent stagehands, and a stack of old love letters, at the end of his last and best acrobatic show in 1942. Mr. Tibbles had studied hard, even going to the site of JoeyCat's grave with a ouija board, but now it was the moment of truth. Could he eat all the catfood in mid air while flipping through the air on his way down from the top of the tallest cat tree in the world? Only time would tell...

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu

    Meanwhile, some of the context for memes is something we instinctively get because of the times that we live in: we know what the joke is because the pic perfectly captures the spirit of the times. However, as time goes by, some of that historical context gets lost. That’s why not all memes will make sense to you, say, five years after they’re made. Others, however, are practically timeless because of how relatable they are, regardless of the social and historical context.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #17

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    fair_weather_rose
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This reminds me of a time in second or third grade when a boy in my class brought a bottle of Elmer's glue to school on April fools day. When anyone asked why he had it, he'd say "it's my lunch." We eventually figured out that it was filled with yogurt, but not before he ate most of it at snack time.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu

    If you feel like jokes keep going over your head, however, it might not necessarily be the comedian’s fault, especially if the rest of the audience is roaring with laughter. You might need a bit more context to get why some things are funny. It’s pretty easy to do that. You can binge-watch some quality humor TV, go to more comedy shows, or even sign up for a few stand-up or improv courses. Who knows, it might be the start of your very own blossoming career in comedy!

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #21

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    TurquoiseTzarina
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They're creepy and they're kooky Mysterious and spooky They're all together ooky The Addams family "Thing's" dishes?

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu

    Broadly speaking, the stranger and more bizarre the photo, the more likely it is to grab our attention. Especially in the massive stream of information that’s available to us on social media. Weirdness stands out from highly-curated, professionally photographed influencer content. So if you want to grab the internet’s attention, you have to find a way to stand out from the crowd while also staying as relatable as possible. It can be a tough balance to find.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Some people might find the utter lack of context behind the pics shared on ‘Images with No Context’ to be a bit unnerving. There’s no way to scratch our inner itch to find out what’s going on besides coming up with theories of our own!

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Human beings crave order and structure after all. We want certainty and control. Of course, life—or the internet—won’t always offer you that. It’s best to accept that randomness and surprises (both pleasant and not) are a part of life. Something that’s unavoidable. We won’t always be in control. And we won’t always get the context that we so desperately crave! Why, oh why, is that cat wearing a cowboy hat?!

    Tell us, dear Pandas, which of these pics and memes without context did you enjoy the most? Were there any that you loved so much that you forwarded them to a dozen of your friends? How do you think memes might change in the near future? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #39

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Li’l E.
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like that they are described as “celebrated.” Who is celebrating nipple shields? Why? We may never know.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #40

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Bobby
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Illegal immigrant caught at San Ysidro border crossing in 2001.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #48

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Daniel Atkins
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why did the chicken cross the wardrobe? To get to the other sideboard. Thank you and goodnight.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu
    Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
    Unlimited content
    Ad-free browsing
    Dark mode
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #56

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    fair_weather_rose
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Emergency snacks must be hidden in as many locations as possible if there is to be hope for the continuation of the human species. Which, in turn, is responsible for the continuation of vampi- I mean other people eating humans such as myself.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #59

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Firestorm Glow
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Little Santa in the window acting like a sad dog being put outside after chewing up the couch cushions. Or maybe he’s just a creep.

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #60

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    demigod ruhee
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The story behind this photo is that this girl loved K-pop so her brother threw her a party with something Korean he knew. But don’t worry after he gave her another birthday party Bts themed

    View More Replies...
    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #72

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Lakota Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You've heard the tale of the Poop Knife... now behold the saga of the Poop Spatula!

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #77

    Images-With-No-Context

    Images with No Context. Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Lonely Tentacle
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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