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This man could buy everything, but instead he wakes up and chooses one thing that cannot be bought, to be a caring person
We reached out to Ryan, the creator of “The Odd, Mysterious & Fascinating” to hear how the page began and what it’s been like seeing it grow. “I created this particular page to share some of the odd and strange things you see circulating around the internet,” Ryan told us. “This page has grown to 35k likes/75k follows in just under a month. It is extremely exciting watching something grow so fast. This was also done organically and without ads.”
We also asked him how he decides what to share on the page. “I share things that I believe others want to see and that will bring new followers to my page,” Ryan says. “The odd, bizarre and strange things are what I’m usually drawn to.” And clearly, based on the growth of the page, he’s not the only one who enjoys learning about weird things.
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When it comes to why Ryan enjoys sharing these posts, he told us, “I believe sharing these interesting stories keeps social media fresh and engaging. It also helps the younger audience engage as we do not post monotonous political posts or paid ads.” Lastly, Ryan wanted to add that right now he has a “total audience of 3 million followers spread out across several pages”, but his audience was even larger at one time. He went on to explain, “In 2019, I had a singular page with approximately 6.5 million followers that was disabled due to wrongly assigned community standards violations. It has been an extremely difficult battle rebuilding my audience after that happened.” While starting back at square one must have been devastating, Ryan clearly is a pro at what he does, given the traction this page is already getting. If you enjoy this list, be sure to head over to Facebook when you’re done and give “The Odd, Mysterious & Fascinating” a like.
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The phenomenon of being drawn to odd and mysterious things is not new. “Freak shows'' were popular components of traveling shows in Europe and America throughout the Victorian period. These shows starred people with various unique physical features that captivated and confused audiences. Anything from being extraordinarily tall or short to being a woman with a beard could draw great crowds. Long before we had the internet and countless books at our disposal to learn about and see images of things we don’t encounter in our everyday lives, these “freak shows” were mind-blowing. Of course, we live in a much different time today. We have much better education about disabilities and unique physical features, and thankfully, it is now unacceptable to mock these things. But our human tendency to find fascination in things we do not understand lives on.
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One popular way to seek out a topic few of us understand is by learning about true-crime stories. One might think learning about real-life atrocities would lead us to live in fear, but many of us actually find these stories exciting. Psychologist Dr. Chivonna Childs told the Cleveland Clinic, “Watching true crime doesn’t make you strange or weird. It’s human nature to be inquisitive. True crime appeals to us because we get a glimpse into the mind of a real person who has committed a heinous act.” Whether it’s John Wayne Gacy Jr. or Ted Bundy, hearing about someone who is capable of committing such gruesome crimes is almost beyond belief; we can’t help but be intrigued.
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Interestingly enough, true-crime stories also appeal disproportionately to women. But Dr. Childs says that it makes sense, considering that women are statistically more likely to be the victims of violent crime. “We want to watch true-crime in part to learn how to avoid being a victim,” she says. “It can teach us to be prepared in case we’re ever in that situation.” While it’s impossible to predict how any of us would react when confronted with a violent attacker (a situation hopefully none of us every find ourselves in!), I’d like to think that the hundreds of documentaries, podcasts and videos I’ve ingested featuring true-crime tales would do me some good.
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When it comes to the kind of media many of us are interested in, true stories via documentaries and podcasts have become insanely popular in recent years. Podcasts like Serial, My Favorite Murderer, The Dropout and Swindled have gained massive audiences, all by detailing stories that seem too outlandish to be true. Documentaries have also taken over streaming platforms, with Tiger King becoming the most watched show on Netflix for over 3 weeks in a row upon its release. Audiences are hungry for documentaries about anything that's mysterious to us, including celebrities. Some popular documentaries focusing on the lives of celebrities are Hulu’s The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears and Netflix's Miss Americana and The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes.
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Time Magazine’s Judy Berman broke down “docu-mania” in a piece last year, analyzing the rapid rise of true stories on streaming platforms. She addressed the fact that there used to be a stigma around documentaries, with audiences assuming they are more like text books on a screen than riveting stories. But recently, and even more fueled by the pandemic, we are devouring documentaries faster than ever before. The Hollywood Reporter even stated that, “Access to archival footage, remote post-production capabilities and even teleconference interviews mean audiences are likely to see several docuseries born out of COVID-19’s binding circumstances.” Desperate to piece together what audiences were begging for, studios began digging up everything they could to pump out compelling, never-before-heard tales.
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