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Some funny coincidences make you giggle. Others make you think there’s no way that was a coincidence in the first place. When you see an ad with a somewhat ambiguous slogan or product placement that is so poorly arranged, it becomes a joke on its own, a thought is likely to cross your mind—the people in charge must have known what they were doing.

A lot of times, they do. Some of them surely know what they are doing and continue to do it, nevertheless. And their effort often ends up on the subreddit, fittingly titled ‘They Knew’. We have gathered some of their best examples, ranging from naughty slogans to odd looking food, and much more. Scroll down to find them on the list below, where you will also find our conversation with the moderator of the subreddit.

#1

They Knew This Room Number Was Perfect

They Knew This Room Number Was Perfect

kiwiiikee Report

#2

Good On You George!

Good On You George!

eskihomer Report

#3

Imagine That, It Fits Perfectly!

Imagine That, It Fits Perfectly!

ListenItWillHear Report

Bored Panda got in touch with redditor u/YaBoiPotatoDestroyer, who is currently the one maintaining the subreddit and guarding it from, in their own words, “spam, bad posts, and repetitive reposts”. They shared that they became a moderator a couple of years ago, together with a fellow redditor that is no longer using the platform. 

Nowadays, u/YaBoiPotatoDestroyer is the only one responsible for ‘They Knew’. “I wanted to mod for the community because I like the subreddit and I love moderating since I've previously been a mod for r/S**tPostCrusaders,” they said.

#4

Middle Age Church

Middle Age Church

seguace_di_hog_rider Report

#5

Bicycle Stand

Bicycle Stand

Almighty4 Report

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The moderator told Bored Panda a little about the subreddit’s history. “A Reddit user, whose name I don’t know, had the concept that became ‘They Knew’. The user itself and the mods at the time were just maintaining the subreddit as it slowly grew, until one day PewDiePie made a video on the subreddit reacting to its content.”

“The subreddit gained a massive popularity boost and the modteam even thanked PewDiePie for reviewing the subreddit in which, if I recall correctly, the mod said that they were quite overwhelmed with how popular the subreddit became and that they didn't quite know how to handle the subreddit from there on out. I assume the mod team was kinda dead at that point already.”

#6

Juicy Pie

Juicy Pie

LuxGK Report

#7

They Knew

They Knew

JustinSane48 Report

#8

Mother Nature Knew

Mother Nature Knew

DriftlessHang Report

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The redditor added that the moderator team and maintenance declined so hard, there was only one user remaining. “Even the main creator of the subreddit left for reasons I don’t know,” they said.

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That one user wasn’t interested in keeping up with the maintenance of ‘They Knew’ and was looking for people to take it over; and that’s how u/YaBoiPotatoDestroyer got to the position they are in today. They told Bored Panda that they’re planning to take more matters into their hands and to create a new moderator team to take good care of the subreddit.

#9

Well

Well

SircFGC Report

#10

Oh Yeah They Knew

Oh Yeah They Knew

FakeBenson Report

#11

Big Black Lightning

Big Black Lightning

_kyuti Report

“What I like the most about the subreddit are the new creative ways to find inappropriate messages that make you say: ‘They Knew’,” the moderator said.

“This subreddit is pretty much used for comedy content and I suppose it's also beneficial if you can use the images on a project where you’d normally have a hard time finding what you were looking for.”

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#12

They Knew

They Knew

vsthemind Report

#13

Come Again

Come Again

buzben Report

#14

Dream Job

Dream Job

SupremeCookiesxX Report

The collection of pictures found in the ‘They Knew’ subreddit is clearly a colorful one. It boasts all kinds of unexpected sightings, from bizarre church billboard graphics to peculiar-looking ads, and everything in between, which poses the questions—what do they have in common and why are they funny?

What connects the images is the fact that the people responsible for whatever is depicted in them must have known exactly what they were doing. And it’s likely that they’ve arranged things in a peculiar way, creating certain juxtapositions or incongruity that we find funny.

#15

How I Bang Your Mother

How I Bang Your Mother

Epoxhy Report

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#16

Whoever Made This Thing Didn’t Like Carrying It

Whoever Made This Thing Didn’t Like Carrying It

CrappyWaffleGun Report

#17

Gonna Be A Great Day!

Gonna Be A Great Day!

maccumhaill Report

Incongruity theory is one of the three theories of humor (together with approaches based on superiority and relief). It is based on the factor of surprise typically in the form of unexpected outcomes or punchlines that seem incompatible with the situation. That might be one of the reasons ‘They Knew’ community members start giggling when they see a rather naughty-looking sign on the door of a family friendly store and similar images.

#18

"The Mixed Up Truck"

"The Mixed Up Truck"

Orgot Report

#19

Well Ok If I Need To

Well Ok If I Need To

Ferropal Report

#20

Where My Iowans At?!

Where My Iowans At?!

mitchbequiet Report

According to The Conversation, the second one, based on superiority, is believed to be the oldest theory of humor out of the three. (Philosophers Aristotle and Plato arguably alluded to the idea thousands of years ago.) This approach accentuates the misfortunes of others, making their inferiority the butt of the joke. The third one, known as the relief theory, is built on releasing certain built-up tension through humor and laughing, especially at jokes related to taboo topics. 

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#21

The Kid Definitely Knew

The Kid Definitely Knew

raverrocker Report

#22

Everything Reminds Me Of Her

Everything Reminds Me Of Her

gideonindc Report

#23

Exit Or Entrance?

Exit Or Entrance?

gdrai Report

If the pictures shared on the ‘They Knew’ subreddit look like your type of humor, make sure to view our previous collections of their images here and here.

#24

I Asked If It Was Ironic Or A Bad Design Choice - Was Told I Needed To Think About It Myself

I Asked If It Was Ironic Or A Bad Design Choice - Was Told I Needed To Think About It Myself

Golux_Ironheart Report

#25

I Shower To Get Clean... Not To Feel Even Dirtier

I Shower To Get Clean... Not To Feel Even Dirtier

LucidCunning Report

#26

They Certainly Knew

They Certainly Knew

RemarkableExplorer66 Report

#27

Pokémon

Pokémon

ESI85 Report

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#28

Bruh

Bruh

Human_Bean08 Report

#29

Yep, They Knew

Yep, They Knew

SlqSh_ Report

#30

It’s Possible They Didn’t Know

It’s Possible They Didn’t Know

camhumphreys Report

#31

Came Across This Bic Lighter Display At The Dollar Store

Came Across This Bic Lighter Display At The Dollar Store

PennyLane_87 Report

#32

Let The Little Children Come To Me

Let The Little Children Come To Me

Hallonsorbet Report

#33

Subway Sus

Subway Sus

WaleedDaGr8 Report

#34

“Please Use Other Door”

“Please Use Other Door”

Dpurcell92 Report

#35

They Had To

They Had To

ArthurButNotKing Report

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#36

They Knew

They Knew

SnazberryDriver2021 Report

#37

G̶l̶ass Rinser

G̶l̶ass Rinser

DreamWeaverY Report

#38

The Graphic Guy Had It

The Graphic Guy Had It

Iam_Unknown17 Report

#39

When They Named It, And When They Named Its Symbol

When They Named It, And When They Named Its Symbol

HerbertRTarlekJr Report

#40

Happy Easter 🤔

Happy Easter 🤔

invisabledj Report

#41

At Least One Person In The Church Knew

At Least One Person In The Church Knew

christejada32 Report

#42

Received This Award…i Am In The Insurance Business

Received This Award…i Am In The Insurance Business

StrunkerOSU Report

#43

They Must Have Known…

They Must Have Known…

gurneyguy101 Report

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#44

This Count?

This Count?

nomaddd79 Report

#45

Kellogg’s New Advertising Department Needs A Lower Case T For “Time To Leave”

Kellogg’s New Advertising Department Needs A Lower Case T For “Time To Leave”

devilish_enchilada Report

#46

Tempting To Eat

Tempting To Eat

0ntheverg3 Report

#47

Do They Know?

Do They Know?

lifecasting_keepsake Report

#48

Well

Well

lame_guy_101 Report

#49

How Did They Not Realise?? Xxx

How Did They Not Realise?? Xxx

IcyReplacement2707 Report

#50

These Bathbombs

These Bathbombs

Deano1234 Report

#51

I'm Pretty Sure The Owner Didn't Know What They Did (Non English Speaking Country)

I'm Pretty Sure The Owner Didn't Know What They Did (Non English Speaking Country)

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#52

Sac City Hmmmm

Sac City Hmmmm

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Note: this post originally had 71 images. It’s been shortened to the top 52 images based on user votes.