41 Funny Photos Without Context That Get Weirder The Longer You Look At Them

Hmmm. Hmmm? Hmmm! Allow us to introduce you to r/hmmm, a popular online community on Reddit that boasts over 1.8 million members, who call themselves internet aesthetes, and search the world wide web for artistic, meaningful, odd, and obscure photos. ‘Hmmm’ (technically written with a lowercase ‘h’) is the sound of deep thinking as you contemplate the weirdness of out-of-context internet pics. And we’ve collected some of the most bizarre ones to share with you, Pandas.

They’re stranger than strange, some to the point of hilarity, and they’ll likely make you go ‘hmmm’ as you look at them, trying to guess the story behind the elaborate images. It’s time to put your imaginations into overdrive, so get ready to have a good laugh and put your minds to use.

Bored Panda reached out to the team behind the r/hmmm subreddit. The head moderator, CosmicKeys, was happy to shed some light on the community and what it stands for. "The idea for /r/hmmm was to create a highly curated subreddit with a quality bar where all the pictures are interesting, meaningful, aesthetic, and shine a light on how random image culture on the internet had become its own genre of art. I think we are popular because we maintain this quality bar," they told me that high quality and a focus on aesthetics are both vital to the long-term success of the subreddit.

They also revealed the reason why each and every photo on the subreddit has the title 'hmmm.' "The titles are all 'hmmm' because it means you can experience the image without someone forcing their personal interpretation onto it in the form of a title. Whether it's funny or sad is up to you to determine. It is also about purity. In order for your post to go through, you need to submit to a rigid tradition. People willing to do that generally care enough to post excellent content."

Scroll down for our full interview with the head moderator, as well as with author and comedy expert Ariane Sherine, who gave her take on bizarre images that lack context.

As you scroll down, remember to upvote the pics that you liked the most. Got any wacky theories about what’s going on in each one? Share your thoughts about them in the comments. If you’re in the mood for some more photos that will raise the bar for what you find peculiar, then you’ll definitely want to check out Bored Panda’s previous articles about the r/hmmm community right over here and here.