50 Times People Had No Clue What They Were Looking At And This Online Community Had To Explain It To Them

Interconnectivity is probably one of the main reasons why such a niche community can flourish. As smartphones and other internet-connected devices have become more widespread, 31% of U.S. adults now report that they go online "almost constantly."

Additionally, 85% of Americans say they go online on a daily basis. That figure includes the 31% who say they're online almost constantly, as well as 48% who say they go online several times a day and 6% who go online about once a day.

(Only about 8% go online several times a week or less often, while 7% of adults say they do not use the internet at all.)

But just because people can, doesn't mean they should simply flood the subreddit with all of the objects they can't identify.

The community would like everyone to:

• Post a clear, well-lit, in-focus, large-format image;
• Photograph small items from up close;
• Photograph large items from a proper distance enough to see them in full;
• Since the manufacturer's markings help them immensely (even if they look like gibberish to you), remember that you can typically locate them on the bottom, base, or underside of an object;
• Keep in mind that production tags, inserts, or attachments such as a labels or stamps also help them identify objects.

"If you are looking for a certain item for sale visit r/helpmefind," the rules of 'What Is This?' suggest. "We only identify."

"If there's a medical issue that concerns you to the point of posting about it online, you could try asking in r/AskDocs, r/Health, r/medical, or r/AskVet. But you should be seeking professional help, not amateur speculation."

"Our intent is to identify objects & items, not conditions, diseases, infections, or the like," the moderators of the subreddit explained.

For many, feeling unsure about the things right in front of them is at least a little bit frustrating. This feeling of uncertainty can lead to worry and distress because, more often than not, we humans tend to assume the worst. The not-knowing and living in anxious anticipation is simply hard for us, and we are almost programmed to hate it.

Interestingly, one study has revealed that our stress levels max out when uncertainty is the highest. The volunteers in this experiment were asked to play a game where they had to overturn rocks. If a snake appeared under one of them, they would get a painful electric shock. The results revealed that people would rather definitely get an electric shock now than know there's a possibility to get shocked later. Or in other words, uncertainty is more stressful than predictable negative outcomes.

We are hardwired by evolution to focus on the unusual things in our surroundings and try to associate them with threats or safety. Something new in our environment may potentially be very good (something else to eat or an object that might prove useful to us in other ways) or very bad (a dangerous thing that we should avoid).

In either case, people who paid attention to new things did a lot better over time than people who ignored them, and we are the descendants of the people who were curious. So when you think about it, you could say that 'What Is This?' helps us progress.