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75 Times People Were Confused By What They Saw, So They Turned To The “What?” Online Group
CuriositiesMAR 13, 2026

75 Times People Were Confused By What They Saw, So They Turned To The “What?” Online Group

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If you think you know everything there is to know, think again. The world can very often be a strange and unusual place. And no matter how intelligent and experienced you are, there will always be something to take you by surprise.
The wittily titled ‘What?’ online community is a place for people to share photos of all the confusing and amusing things that they stumble upon in their daily lives. We’ve picked out some of their most bizarre and funniest snapshots to get your brain working overtime trying to guess what you’re looking at.

#1 What In A Hell?!

What In A Hell?!
Sullymyname333:

Ranch flavored Jees-Its. Nice.
52points

#2 What? My Bank Account Was Overdrawn By $1 Billion

What? My Bank Account Was Overdrawn By $1 Billion
I opened my banking app this afternoon and immediately thought “What the…?” My kid said “I’m cooked.” Called the bank and apparently they do this to put a hold on an account. Never thought I’d be a negative billionaire. Hopefully it gets sorted out soon.

Complete_Entry:

That is an incredibly stupid way to place a hold on the account.
Once this is fixed (if this is fixed) choose another bank. Because your bank is dumb.
51points

#3 What Would Cause A Dent Like This Other Than Someone Doing It Intentionally?

What Would Cause A Dent Like This Other Than Someone Doing It Intentionally?
xanoran84:

Rock chucked from a lawn mower.
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48points

Staying curious and inquisitive throughout your life is one of the best things you can do. Not only does it make life so much more interesting and enjoyable, but it also greatly benefits your mind.

In a nutshell, adults who remain curious about the world lower their risk of dementia, improve their memory, have greater meaning in life, and have better cognitive functioning and psychological well-being.

Another upside is that new experiences stretch out your perception of time, so your life feels fuller and longer.

#4 What’s With My Sunglasses Adding This Weird Pattern On My Rear Windscreen?

What’s With My Sunglasses Adding This Weird Pattern On My Rear Windscreen?
OnMyOwn_HereWeGo:

They are polarized lenses. You are seeing the UV protection on the window. Now rotate them 90 degrees to be vertical and be fascinated even further.
EDIT: Thank you to those who pointed out that the pattern is caused by the tempering process. TIL
44points

#5 What Is This?

What Is This?
I'm guessing it's some sort of offering but I'm not sure and I'm curious. Found it hanging from a twig on a tree in a small park.

claricepatrice_:

Feng Shui coins. Attract wealth and ward off evil spirits.
39points

#6 What Is This Letter That Got Sent To Me

What Is This Letter That Got Sent To Me
No return address but my name and address were hand written on the envelope.

MollyG418:

My friend and I used to write completely absurd non-sequitor letters to each other back in high school. This sounds like one of them.
37points

Being open-minded essentially means that you are curious, empathetic, and humble about your knowledge. It also means that you’re willing to consider other perspectives and new experiences.

According to Verywell Mind, all of these qualities can be cultivated through practice, even though personality traits and even genetics influence how open-minded you are.

“Open-mindedness involves being receptive to a wide variety of ideas, arguments, and information. Being open-minded is generally considered a positive quality. It is necessary in order to think critically and rationally.”

A core part of open-mindedness is that you ask questions about the world and actively search for information that challenges your beliefs. On the flip side, someone who is close-minded isn’t receptive to other new ideas and is only willing to consider their personal perspective.

#7 What Is Growing In My Basement?

What Is Growing In My Basement?
InsertRadnamehere:

You’ve got the non-fruiting body of some kind of wood eating fungus going there.
I would recommend tearing up the wood to see what kind of damage and how much it has spread.
Then dealing with the moisture that’s fostering the wood rot and enabling it to grow. Then rebuilding.
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36points

#8 What’s With The Metal Crocs?

What’s With The Metal Crocs?
ObjectiveSignature53:

Most likely an early form of steel-toed boot. One of those ingots would mess you up real quick if you dropped it on your foot, and they were probably concerned about that.
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36points

#9 What Is This

What Is This
I was cleaning out my great grandmas house this weekend and found this hanging on the kitchen cabinet, is this just decorative or is it something you actually use?

chet_happens_51:

Looks like a tool to pull out or push in an oven rack.
35points

During an earlier interview, one of the main moderators keeping the massive ‘What?’ online community running smoothly, u/CatRosalina, told Bored Panda all about the community.

She revealed to us that the original creator of the ‘What?’ subreddit quickly abandoned it. However, u/CatRosalina soon became a moderator after the group’s founding and saved it from fading away.

According to the moderator, ‘What?’ wasn’t the only internet community that she found herself saving. She also stepped in to help out ‘Fourth World Problems,’ a subreddit for folks who pretend to be cavepeople.

#10 What Is It?

What Is It?
About 6" long, does NOT have anything to do with splitting wood, just good place to photograph. Found buried in county dirt road.

RudeOrSarcasticPt2:

This, to me, looks like one of the metal teeth on a scoop bucket of earth moving equipment.
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34points

#11 Name Of This Self Defense Tool?

Name Of This Self Defense Tool?
My mom gave me this self-defense keychain, she told me she had it when she was in college (late 80s early 90s). The second picture is how I imagine you’re supposed to hold it lol. Does anyone know what this is called? Also I’ve wondered how legal it is.. idk it seems similar to brass knuckles lol. Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts!!

Big_Nefariousness_74:

Spiked Kubaton.
The spikes are held in between the first and middle, and middle and ring fingers, respectively. The pointed end is usually held in reverse grip. Essentially ninja, eye-gouging, brass knuckles
32points

#12 What Is This Chair With A Tall Back?

What Is This Chair With A Tall Back?
I saw it at the goodwill. I tried using Google lens but it didn’t find it.
What’s with this chair?!

oandroido:

It's a stepstool.
29points

“I had previously been just a standard member of the [‘What?’] sub, when I noticed there was a ton of spam. The sub owner was active on Reddit, but wasn't moderating the sub. I reached out to them in hopes of becoming a mod to help out, and they offered to just give the sub to me. I happily accepted, and immediately went on a cleaning spree,” u/CatRosalina told Bored Panda earlier.

“I chose to do so because I felt the sub had potential. It has a very basic name, simply ‘what,’ which is extremely hard to come by, since most short name subs have already been taken. ‘What’ is also a very common word, often used to refer to various other kinds of content across Reddit,” she said.

#13 What Is This Sea Creature I Saw In Iceland

What Is This Sea Creature I Saw In Iceland
It was washed up on diamond beach.

Anon:

That’s just the guts and gills that once belonged to a fish.
26points

#14 What Is This ? Found It In Flea Market

What Is This ?  Found It In Flea Market
voidtypefairy:

It's a magick talisman used for witchcraft altars. Possibly a 'Devil's Trap' talisman.
25points

#15 What Caused All This Dust?

What Caused All This Dust?
I had a friend live with me for almost exactly 1.5 months and we deep cleaned the room before she moved in. After moving out nearly every surface absolutely covered in dust and dirt. This fan doesn’t turn off so it’s difficult to get a good picture of it, but all of the black spots on it are supposed to be white. Same for the ceiling and walls, all dark spots are typically white.

Prior to her moving in, this was a daily-used work office for 2 years and it had never collected this much dust, dirt, and webs. I took these pictures after cleaning a bit, so there was even more than pictures.

Extra context: Her husband and 1 y/o also lived in the room. All of the collected dirt is primarily on the right side of the room near the window (if that matters).

What could have possibly caused this much collection?

Savings_Art5944:


Candles.
Had a client whose wife was a candle person. Burning all day and night. It clogged his server in his closet and it would get hot and glitch out. All the fans in the switches... It was a mess. Messed up the HVAC and vents.
Or Incense sticks. I also had a client that managed 711. His office was the server room as well. He burnt incense all day and night as well. It was the most dirty computer environment I had ever seen. The incense smoke condensed into fine dust. It got everywhere.
24points

“Sometimes, people react to images/memes by referencing a sub. So, by keeping the sub clean and appealing with little spam, I feel that the sub could receive exponential growth from people referencing it all over Reddit, and discovering that the sub is worth joining. Additionally, I personally feel that keeping subs like this clean and usable does its members a huge favor by keeping their favorite subs enjoyable, like a kind of Reddit community service,” the moderator said, sharing her thoughts.

"While the sub’s original purpose was for things that are confusing in a humorous way, some have also used it to answer questions that don’t fit anywhere else on Reddit, making this sub an excellent resource for those looking for a quick answer from a decently active community," u/CatRosalina explained.

#16 What’s Causing This On My Chimney?

What’s Causing This On My Chimney?
This has been building up on the wall of our chimney and we’re not sure what’s happening. Is it bad?

WyvernsRest:

The chimne is not insulated from outside.
This is moisture transfer through the wall.
24points

#17 What Is This

What Is This
In communal dorm showers 😖😖 curious what happened.

PolyGlotterPaper:

This looks as if the sewage has backed up, and was so slow to drain that the sludge itself settled. Call a local plumber for sure.
Source: Plumber
24points

#18 What Are These Small White Animals On My Iberico Ham Leg From Spain? They Are Very Very Small And Moving Around

What Are These Small White Animals On My Iberico Ham Leg From Spain? They Are Very Very Small And Moving Around
FiTroSky:

These are called "cheese mite" (in this case "spanish ham mite"). They thrive in aging room where humidity is high and food, obviously, everywhere. It's perfectly normal to have them up to a point (as long as they are on the dried fat outside, not in the meat inside), just wash the entire ham thouroughly with a wet cloth and "paint" it with some oil.
But be VERY careful to not store your ham next to cereal box or pasta/rice or they will find a new food source and you'll get an invasion. Again it is not dangerous but they're very VERY tough to get rid of (maybe more than bed bugs) if you live in a place with a high humidity %.
It is "safe" to eat, unless you have mite allergy, they're not dangerous at all. They are even used in some cheese aging like mimolette.
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23points

The age of an online community that continues to be active to this day can tell you quite a bit about its success. The longer a group exists, the greater the possibility that it’s doing something right in terms of producing quality content, meaningfully connecting with and relating to its audience, and carving a unique niche for itself.

And the ‘What?’ subreddit shines here. Having been founded in November 2008, it is nearly 18 years old, and will soon be able to vote.

It is thoroughly impressive how active the ‘What?’ online group still is despite its age. At the time of writing, the subreddit gets a whopping 306k internet users visiting it every single week. What’s more, these visitors make over 2k contributions in the group every week by posting the confusing and often funny things they find in their day-to-day lives.

#19 What Did We Find In This Antique Locket?

What Did We Find In This Antique Locket?
My wife and I sell jewelry and recently bought this vintage/antique locket at a flea market. Inside we found a wax seal but cannot make out what it is. Any ideas? Sticky note was our best attempts to recreate it. Thanks!

RoadClassic1303:

After doing some digging that looks to be the family seal of the Orlock family from England. They have held positions of power since the late Midieval times -- the most famous of them whom you may have heard of, Frederich Orlock, got imprisoned for showing his privates to the Prince and wouldn't stop even after being asked to put it away multiple times. He was sent to jail for 10 years, and on the literal first day he was released, he ran up to the Prince and showed him his unit again. You have a very cool piece of history right there!!
23points

#20 What Is This Creepy Letter? Has Anyone Seen One Like This?

What Is This Creepy Letter? Has Anyone Seen One Like This?
Received this letter in the mail. It was addressed directly to me and the senders address says 'The Future' with a PO Box. Post marked from Columbus, Ohio. (Keeping in mind all our info is redacted online due to my husbands job). We have no family or friends anywhere near Ohio at all, nor have I ever been there. We are in the state of Arizona. Inside the envelope is a single notecard with a handwritten note that just states "Meet you in Jerome" after googling, there is a Jerome, Ohio near Dublin, Ohio. (Yes I know there's a Jerome, AZ) But I have no idea what the heck this letter or note is or who its from. So creepy and weird!!! Any ideas???

ScreenPresent7490:

It’s from some magician in that city and you can only buy tickets if they send you a letter.
22points
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