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Some plans just don't play out. They may even sound good in our heads but when it's time for action, all that we're left with is our intentions.
About a year ago, we did a piece on the subreddit r/ThereWasAnAttempt. But since then, the community has featured so many amusing fails, we just had to do an update. So here it is.
From hugging a bodybuilder to texting teenagers "in their languages", here are some of the funniest hiccups that recently appeared on the sub.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
To Give The Worst Land
"In 1913, Sarah Rector, a 10-year-old black girl received a land allotment of 160 acres in Oklahoma. The best farming land was reserved for whites, so she was given a barren plot. Oil was soon discovered there & she became the country's first black millionaire."
Vicky Z 3 years ago
That is such a sweet revenge!! And I'm not sure if this is about the same person but there is a case where they had to declare her white so she can have the benefits the rich whites had! As a black person she couldn't have these benefits no matter how money she had
Higgleton 3 years ago
Amazed they respected those land rights and didn't find some way to screw her
Narwhal Blast 3 years ago
They probably tried, she just held strong! Good for her!
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Eppe 3 years ago
There's another plot twist. According to wikipedia she had been enslaved by Muscogee native Americans, and the best farming lands were reserved for both white people and Muscogee tribe members.
Aria Whitaker 3 years ago
Not quite. Her PARENTS were descendents of black people enslaved by the Creek, she was always free, as were her parents. From that article: "Her parents, Rose McQueen and her husband, Joseph Rector (both born 1881)[3] were descendants of African people who had been slaves owned by the Muscogee Creek Nation Creek Indians before the Civil War,[4] and which became part of the Muscogee Creek Nation after the Treaty of 1866. As such, they and their descendants were listed as freedmen on the Dawes Rolls, by which they were entitled to land allotments under the Treaty of 1866 made by the United States with the Five Civilized Tribes.["
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Markus Holstein 3 years ago
And then she was declared legally white because that was the only way to give her the privileges she was now entitled to for being rich without having to abandon racial segregation
Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago (edited)
The best farming land was reserved for the whites? Like, an official openly racist law?
Al Cook 3 years ago
Well it does say 1913. Open racism was completely acceptable, normal and even expected back then.
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similarly 3 years ago
Nice story, but I do have to say she was not the first African-American millionaire. In fact, Sarah Breedlove (Madam C.J. Walker) who is often credited as the first African American millionaire, wasn't either. https://www.salon.com/2018/02/26/madam-c-j-walker-wasnt-the-first-african-american-millionaire/
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
Well it's a win for her, but a fail for the government. Which is as it should be.
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Gloria J Williams 3 years ago
Some gifts come in strange places. She may have been on a barren plot, but she reaped a great harvest.
jennifer_34 1 year ago
Read what happened to the Osage people of Oklahoma when they tried to cash in on the oil filled land they were given.
Viki Banaszak 3 years ago
A 10 yr old with 160 acres sound awesome to me even if it isn't prime land. The oil is a big ass bonus!
Riley Quinn 3 years ago
To be a fly on the wall of those white men who tried to screw her out of decent land.
Jess Thompson 3 years ago
I actually read that she was “raised to the position of a white” because of this, whatever the hell that means 🤦🏾♀️
Big Blue Cat 3 years ago
Of course they can. They might need a trustee if it's worth a lot but they can own property. Think about a child of wealthy parents for example. If the parents pass away when the vhild is still a minor, it wouldn't be very fair that their inheritance would be legally taken away.
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Droopsnoot 3 years ago
Great symbolism, the true wealth is on the inside (as lomg as you don't interpret that as "black on the inside" bullshit)
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 3 years ago
Was not she the one who got so rich that the city named her an "honorary white citizen"?
Godgifu Godfred 3 years ago
False. The best land was reserved for members of the Muscogee Tribe which had owned her parents as slaves.
Aria Whitaker 3 years ago
False. Her parents were free, as was she. They were the DESCENDENTS of africans enslaved by the Creek....
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Miguel justino C 3 years ago
They should make a movie based off of this. She creates and funds her own police force that burns down the white side of town.
Mazer 3 years ago
Same with the Black Hills of the Dakotas, which hold gold, on reservation land, exploited by whites, same with oil and water. Just more examples of bigotry and greed. The very worst is the USA, buying back plutonium tailings for other countries who use nuclear power and those railings being dumped on native Americans lands, then to add insult to injury, development of homes is approved on the railings, the homes sold to native families only to see the home buyers sickened within years etc etc etc
Let’s Be Kind 3 years ago
“The very worst is the USA” - can you please verify the research you did into the history of all nations that allows you to make this determination? It would be interesting to see your list of atrocities from all nations in history in order for you to have determined that the USA is “the very worst.” Especially since the USA is considered a relatively new nation compared to the entire history of mankind.
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#2
To Trick The Allied Forces
"During WW2, the Germans built a fake wooden airfield with wooden aircraft, vehicles, and hangars in order to trick the Allies. The RAF, having known of the secret project for months, patiently waited for them to finish and then dropped a single fake wooden bomb on it"
One of the subreddit's moderators, F4T4-M0RG4N4, told Bored Panda they think what sets it apart from other similar communities "is how the posts within the subreddit are usually direct posts, whereas r/fail, [for example,] has mostly links to YouTube, and most Redditors prefer to stay on Reddit than to be redirected to another site altogether," they explained. "Besides, I also think that because of the size of r/ThereWasAnAttempt, it's a lot easier to get a post to be seen (plus, the algorithm helps)."
F4T4-M0RG4N4 said the mod team tries to be as impartial as possible, allowing the members to shape r/ThereWasAnAttempt however they see fit. To a certain extent, of course. "The most common problems are [the same that are] seen throughout all subreddits that I mod/have modded in the past, but it's mostly spam and hate speech (which we always remove), though hate speech is mostly in the comments."
#3
To Spread Anarchy
#4
To Comfort A Foster Kitty By A Deaf And Partially Blind Pup
#5
To Protest
"As for the community of the subreddit, I don't think I could really summarize it," the moderator said. "This is another thing I see throughout most subreddits, but the communities are made up of many different people, with different stances on ideas and different personalities. That's also what I love about Reddit, everyone is on here using the platform, be it for better or worse, you get a little bit of everything."
F4T4-M0RG4N4 also wanted to use the opportunity to express their gratitude to everyone involved. "I would like to thank everyone on the subreddit for my unique modding experience!"
#6
To Take A Family Beach Photo
#7
To Steal Snacks
#8
To Rob A Store
"On April 19th, 1995, a man robbed a bank disguised with lemon juice on his face. Since he knew lemon juice could be used as invisible ink, he thought it would make his face invisible on camera."
Psychotherapist Amy Morin, LCSW, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind and the author of the bestselling book "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," believes that failure is something we all endure and it's important to know that there are things we can do to feel better about it.
First off, embrace your emotions. Morin highlighted that failure is often accompanied by a variety of emotions, including embarrassment, anxiety, anger, sadness, and shame, just to name a few. Those feelings are uncomfortable, and many people will do anything they can to escape the discomfort they cause but according to research, allowing yourself to feel bad is actually motivating. It can help you work harder to find better solutions so that you'll improve next time.
#9
To Be A Good Kitten
River Webb 3 years ago
smart kitty, first tried electricity to get rid of your human, and now a snake
#10
To Make A Poster
#11
To Steal Food
Jane Florence 3 years ago
I get palpitations every time I see this picture! Gah, poor thing wouldn’t survive in my house - too many clumsy people rushing about slamming doors…
Next up, we should make an effort to recognize our unhealthy attempts to reduce pain. "You might be tempted to say, 'I didn't actually want that job anyway,' but minimizing your pain won't make it go away," Morin explained. "Distracting yourself or filling the void you feel with food, drugs, or alcohol won't heal your pain either. Those things will only provide you with some temporary relief."
After that, we can start focusing on healthy coping skills instead. "Calling a friend, practicing deep breathing, taking a bubble bath, going for a walk, or playing with your pet are just a few examples of healthy ways to deal with your pain," the psychotherapist explained. "Not every coping skill works for everyone, however, so it's important to find what does for you."
#12
To Escape The Vet
#14
To Sell Bigger Burgers
"A&W created the third-pounder. It was the same price as McDonald's quarter-pounder. It bombed massively. When they tried to find out why, it was discovered that Americans thought they were being cheated because three is a smaller number than four. A&W — realizing they can't explain grade school fractions to fully grown adults without coming across as condescending assh*les — quietly took the burger off the menu"
A review published in Clinical Psychology Review that looked at 46 studies examining reactions to failure found that a "more positive attributional style" was a strong factor in how resilient people were to the emotional distress caused by failure. In other words, they saw failure as a result of something specific and external rather than something internal.
"When you find yourself thinking that you're a hopeless cause or that there’s no use in trying again, reframe your thoughts," Morin suggested. "Remind yourself of more realistic thoughts about failure such as: a) failure is a sign that I'm challenging myself to do something difficult; b) I can handle failure; c) I can learn from my failures."
However, you will probably need to repeat a phrase or affirmation more than once in order to ward off negative thoughts or to reinforce to yourself that you can bounce back.
If you've spent most of your life avoiding failure, it can feel really scary when it finally catches you off-guard. However, facing your fears can really improve your quality of life.
Practice stepping outside your comfort zone, and over time, you'll learn that messing up isn't as bad as you thought.
#15
To Wrap A Gift For Christmas
#16
To Catch A Live Mouse
#17
To Car Safety
"A concept design for car safety belts from the 1960s"
#18
To Champion "Straight Pride"
#19
To Go Outside
#20
To Drink The Milk
"He thought he could get to the milk by licking the outside of the bowl"
#21
To Make A Cute Panorama Picture
#22
To Lie About Traffic
#23
To Promote The Use Of Machinery
River Webb 3 years ago
"want to get rid of your wife but don't know how? Electricity will do it!"
#24
To Stop Google Eyes
#25
To Have Fun With A Halloween Decoration
Chris Wade 3 years ago (edited)
When the police actually show up you know you won the neighbourhood decoration contest haha
#26
To Protest
"Not sure if she's anti-gun or pro-domestic violence"
#27
To Open Door
"Door was jamming from inside so phoned for a guy to repair it. He managed to open it, left his tools outside, came in and shut the door. Now we both stuck."
#28
To Be Encouraging
#29
To Hide An Illegal Marijuana Farm
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Yup. They even fly police helicopters around when it snowed, to bust people like this.
#30
To F**k With A Cat
#31
To Hug The Bodybuilder
Samantha Lomb 3 years ago
I guess someone learned an important lesson about not touching people without their consent.
#32
To Advertise For A Photo Studio
#33
To Take A Family Photo
Call Me Mars 3 years ago
The cat on the bottom reminds me of the Chesire cat from Alice in Wonderland.
#35
To Make A Nice, Wholesome, Jesus Themed Light Switch
#36
To Formulate An Interesting Question
#37
To Put A Hat On A Frog
#38
To Give Jfk A Memorial
#39
To Handcuff This Man
#40
To Be Handicap Inclusive
#41
To Build A Nest
#42
To Make Kids Learn Angles
#43
To Create A Novelty Drinking Device
#44
To Make An Anti-Drug Ad
#45
To Make You Feel Safe
#46
To Make A Positive Statement About Law Enforcement
Chris Wade 3 years ago
How did the people involved not realize what it looks like?! Shocking lol
#47
To Outsmart The Police
#48
To Get $1,000
River Webb 3 years ago
what are you talking about? she typed some of the lyrics to waka waka she's obviously Shakira!
#49
To Save The Teens
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Alice By Heart 3 years ago
I have come to the realization that face swaps are the devils work lol
Alice By Heart 3 years ago
I have come to the realization that face swaps are the devils work lol
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