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We usually think of our friends as pretty great human beings. Whether we’re facing troubles, need encouragement to pursue our dreams, or simply want to celebrate the good times, they’re always by our side. Yet, even they are not immune to doing something dumb.

But instead of letting them spend hours obsessing over their blunders, we’re here to laugh with them. And Pallavi Gunalan, a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor, provided a perfect example of that. A few days ago, she made a tweet about her friend who tried to microwave a frozen burrito. Here comes the silly part — when it didn’t work, "she threw the burrito away and tried heating up a different one".

Pallavi’s story inspired hundreds of people to share the funny, ridiculous, and straight-up stupid things their friends ever said or did. So get ready to dive into some of the best answers Bored Panda has selected from the thread. Upvote the ones that made you laugh and share your own stories in the comment section below.

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    Pallavi Gunalan’s tweet prompted a deluge of reactions. Many users chimed in with countless encounters where they witnessed their friends doing something ludicrous or downright dumb. Later on, Pallavi also posted a follow-up tweet about her friend’s situation: "I gave her an extra microwave I had. Really hoping she didn’t throw it away."

    Well, let’s face it — we all have friends whose approach to life seems a little outlandish. While moments like these make us wonder whether people around us are not the smartest ones, we also start to remember the little mishaps we have done in our past. Basically, everyone has had their fair share of foolish moments.

    While we easily brand many situations in life as "stupid", the word still sounds a bit subjective. Just think about a situation where you miss your bus stop, believe you’ll ace a test without studying, or trip over because you were captivated by your social media feed. According to scientists, we instantly call these things stupid because we are very quick to label it.

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    #6

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    Otter
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have a friend who has 2 advanced degrees from top universities and who speaks 7 languages... give me wrong directions to her house. Where she'd lived for 10 years.

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    A study by researchers from Eotvos Lornand University in Hungary and Baylor University in Texas argue that studying why and when people call certain actions stupid can offer psychological insight. Not only because finding and declaring something as "stupid" is a simple everyday activity but also because it reflects how "people adjust their own behavior and expect others to."

    The researchers wanted to find out "why we call certain actions stupid irrespective of [a person's] cognitive abilities," and to do that, they needed to understand what people mean by it. The main author of this study, Dr. Balázs Aczél, told Medical Daily that he and his colleagues were surprised to find very few studies have been done on this topic before.

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    While it may seem odd to learn how people decide that a thought or an action is straight-up dumb, scientists went on a mission to tackle this challenge. "Given how frequently we find situations in everyday life in which we do, or would, call someone's action 'stupid,' one would think we should understand when and why people experience this feeling," Dr. Aczél said.

    Researchers collected and analyzed real-life examples of what people constitute as foolish. They gathered a sample of 180 news stories and other online content from news sites like The New York Times, BBC, and TMZ, and also blogs, forums, and other publicly available publications where people characterized actions described there as stupid.

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    They presented the stories to more than 150 Hungarian undergrad students, who had to fill out a questionnaire. People had to rate "the intensity of the stupidity on display," as well as explain why they thought any given action was stupid by choosing one of many categories (such as overconfidence and fatigue).

    #10

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    Trillian
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What's it with people in the US not believing anything they haven't personally tried or witnessed and yet this being such a religious country? I mean, come ON?

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    Trillian
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wealthy or not, would you not like ... I don't know ... TALK to your daughter if she did something like that even once?

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    The researchers divided participants’ answers into three distinct categories. The first one was called confident ignorance, when someone takes risks without having adequate skills and knowledge — and overestimating oneself is the highest level of stupidity. As an example, they provided a story about a burglar who meant to steal cellphones but lifted GPS devices instead, which led the police straight to him.

    The second kind of stupidity was called absentmindedness, and it refers to people who failed to do the right thing because of a distraction or, again, inadequate skills. The last category, a lack of control, results from obsessive or addictive behavior, "such as someone who cancels on a friend because they can’t pull themselves away from something."

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    DUN DUN (she/her)
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cuz it was the burrito's fault for not heating up inside the broken oven. What a shtupid burrito!

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    Cecily Holland
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’ve got one like that… If her brains were TNT she couldn’t concuss an ant

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    Dr. Aczél revealed they found 90 percent of students agreed on whether they would call an action stupid or not. "It shows that we use this label very similarly. Based on this, we would think that we must know what 'stupid' means," he explained. "People often think that it is strongly linked to low IQ. Our findings show that people attribute stupid to three independent situations."

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    Klorx
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Welcome to everyone’s favorite game: Sheltered, sleep deprived, or plain ignorant?

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    The findings of this study "bring us closer to understanding people’s conception of unintelligent behavior while emphasizing the broader psychological perspectives of studying the attribute of stupid in everyday life."

    "We would like to explore whether discovering incongruities in our environment has an adaptive function," Dr. Aczél mentioned. "Maybe if we observe stupid actions of others, then it may make us less likely to make mistakes ourselves. So, if we are right, then finding something stupid may make us upset, but also a bit smarter in our actions."

    #25

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    A Jones
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    1. Lack of self-care skills, 2. Lack of self-reliance, 3. Lots of dough, 4. Lack of realizing how things are made, 5. Lack of respect for farmed goods. and the list goes on.

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

    Lazy, self entitled, uppity little Madam. Did she have a Groom of the Stool as well?

    Ozymandias73
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Somebody's privilege is showing. And WTH is up with the parents??

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

    I had a friend who if she got a scratch on her phone screen protector she would throw her phone on the ground so it would crack a lot and her parents would get her a new screen protector without scratches

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

    Any bets her new dishes didn't get washed before they went in the cupboard?

    Kiss Army
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That was my first thought... my second thought was how gross it would be to use new dishes straight out of the box!

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

    That's what Count Dracula did with the dishes he fed Jonathan Harker with. It's in the original novel - a stack of shattered, dirty dishes down the side of a cliff.

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

    Reminds me of my sister-in-law, who told me her parents "didn't want to bother" with college loans, grants, or scholarships, so they just paid $30,000/year in CASH. I guess I get not wanting to take out loans (though with such low-interest, they'd make more money over time with a loan), but turning down grants & scholarships — potentially tens of thousands of dollars over 4yrs — just to "avoid the paperwork" is insane regardless of how rich you are!

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

    I've a actually known a few people who did this.... It's not so much "stupid" as wealthy, lazy, and wasteful

    Gladys Hayes Southerland
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had a client that refused to wash clothes. She would literally just buy new ones.

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

    I had a college friend who would buy a package of underwear everytime she ran out

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

    my mom did that before i was born except no new sets for her, just dissapproving looks

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

    This happens in an episode of HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL. The guy says he can afford it -- so why not?

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

    wow no wonder the USA provides 20% of the worlds waste despite been 5% of it's population

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

    Parents that always come to the child’s rescue makes it worse

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

    You are supposed to wash the new one before using them though. Does not solve the problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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

    Tell me you're a spoiled rich kid without telling me you're a spoiled rich kid:

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

    wow now this is unacceptable, each plate here is like $2 or more (ZAR 30), probably closer to ZAR 80 ($5).

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    #27

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    Dorothy Parker
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    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is a large nail-like kitchen item that you use for exactly that purpose. It's called, wait for it, a potato nail.

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    #29

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    Rijkærd
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Damn...she had an iron stomach....bet she could eat a railroad if it was slathered in ketchup

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    #30

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    UncleRussian
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    On a side note I love lint rollers but god damn it I for the life of me can't peel them properly half the time

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    #31

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    UncleRussian
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's one of them magical Bluetooth speakers that converts air particles into mana... The air crystal must've been broken

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    #33

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    #36

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    Julia Winfield
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    😂 yep that's how they get cleaned.. the just soak in water the entire cycle as if you'd left them soaking in a sink.. lol

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    #37

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    KJ
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And then complain about the poor quality of the product because it didn't taste/look correct.

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    #39

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    DandiPandi
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In all fairness, this just sounded like an honest mistake, like the cutting board was made to resemble a pizza stone 🤷🏽‍♀️

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    #40

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    Dorothy Parker
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    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Those last three words have never before been spoken or written. Remember where you were when you read them.

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    #41

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    Kimi Tomminello
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think this is more passive-aggressive "Put your own cheese away" than stupidity, though

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    #44

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    #45

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    Cecily Holland
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Degrees mean nothing when it comes to intelligence. 3 of my cousins are Surgeons. Still idiots

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    #48

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    ZAPanda
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    was this the same person who threw away a burrito after it failed to heat up? I see a market opportunity: self-heating food. hmmm.

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    #50

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    Rijkærd
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yep...this one cant finish a pizza cut into 8 slices because they are to many but can finish the same if its 6 slices...

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    #51

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    Seanette Blaylock
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's actually how I do it, since I prefer stronger taste and less broth.

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