One of the reasons that observational comedy is so popular is because it points out those things that we all just know, but don't really think about. We all experience certain everyday situations; at the shop, on a bus, in the office. There are hundreds of small, mundane occasions when we all pretty much think and feel the same way, we just don't realize it.
We here at Bored Panda have collected a list of just these kind of occasions, and there are sure to be plenty of them that'll leave you nodding along in bemused recognition. Scroll down below to check them out for yourself, and add your own in the comments!
#1

Keeping track of your passwords can be difficult, it's a fine line between good online security and being able to remember the damn things. And it's only getting more complex. Capital letters, numerals, but don't you dare try using that dash. Just coming up with a decent one takes a certain talent!
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559points
#2

This is the perfect time to test out your neutral face, look straight ahead, maybe whistle a bit, relax. It can get awkward though if there's no exit except at the checkout, and you have to squeeze your way through, drawing the attention of everyone...
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#3

Thank god for the autosave. This one seems more of a 'retro' experience for me, however those easy excuses for not handing in an assignment are long gone.
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485points
#4

I regard heavy machinery as anything heavier and more complex than the remote. I'm high, unpredictable and a risk to everyone. Now leave me alone.
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473points
#5

As life gets easier, the easy things seem harder. Whereas we used to happily traipse up and down the high street for our shopping, the act of getting up off the couch to grab our credit cards now feels like a major inconvenience. If this is you, try saving your card number and expiration dates on your browser, and if you can summon the effort, memorize those 3 little numbers on the back. Good luck and Godspeed!
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455points
#6

This is an awkward one, because once you are past a certain point it becomes desperately impolite to ask. As an Australian you get a slight pass because you just call everyone 'mate' anyway, but eventually you're gonna get caught out!
But why do we forget people's names? The simplest, and most brutally honest reason is that we're just not interested. We are much better at remembering things that we are motivated to learn, so if somebody keeps forgetting your name, they probably just don't really care about you. Sad!
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422points
#7

Only 3 years? And here I am stressing out about the time I crapped myself at Jake Mcgrath's 5th birthday party. Sadly, some things will just never leave you.
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#8

We grab our phones multiple times a day, often for no reason other than habits based on addiction, for pleasure, and obsession, for relief from the anxiety of 'missing out.'
Writing in Psychology today, Dr. Larry D. Rosen believes that your motivation for constant connection is a combination of pleasure and anxiety. "How much of each, I believe, is based on the individual," he says. "Personally, I would say I grab the phone about 75% of the time for anxiety reduction and 25% of the time for pleasure. I watch others and when I see some smiling as they tap keys and await return missives, I assume that they are feeling pleasure. Most often, I don’t see them smile at all, but maybe express an almost a visible sigh of relief." How about you?
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#9

Who pays attention to single minutes? Most of us know more-or-less how long 10 minutes feels. "I'll be with you in 10," yeah, you pretty much know what you're getting. But a single minute can be taken for granted, that's like, no time. Except at the gym.
"Hold that plank for one minute," somebody tells you. "No problem," you think. "Piece of cake." It's only then do you realize how excruciatingly long those 60 seconds can be. You watch in creeping horror as the seconds slowly drip by, oblivious to your shaking, sagging ordeal, before you collapse around the 40 second mark in a quivering sweaty heap. That one minute is now your personal Everest.
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365points
#10

The term 'voice confrontation' is used to describe the phenomenon of not liking your own voice, and comes from the false expectations you get from hearing yourself 'internally' most of the time. Because we hear ourselves through our bone structure, we are tricked into believing our voices are deeper and richer than they actually are.
Speaking to The Guardian Dr Silke Paulmann, a psychologist at the University of Essex, says, “I would speculate that the fact that we sound more high-pitched than what we think we should leads us to cringe as it doesn’t meet our internal expectations; our voice plays a massive role in forming our identity and I guess no one likes to realise that you’re not really who you think you are.”
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#11

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#12

Yes, this happens all the time. Some people just give off that vibe, don't they? The best way to deal with it? Just walk away my friend, unless you wanna get peri-annoyed and post-annoyed too.
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341points
#13

We all have those engagements where you'd rather be absolutely anywhere else in the world but there. In these cases, the period beforehand needs to be savored to its fullest, like every sweet minute on your snooze alarm.
Sometimes something as simple as sitting half-naked alone in a towel can be the sweetest thing, because you are not THERE. Or maybe you're just a bit of a space case and zone out from time to time.
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331points
#14

Packing is never fun, there's always the temptation to take more than you need. That's never a good thing, as it makes your bag heavier, stuff is more difficult to find and you're essentially just taking items of clothing along for the ride.
So why do it? Well, it's in our nature to delay decision making, so if we just pack it all and decide what to wear later, our lazy brains are happy. Underwear is different because it's small, so you feel like you can throw in plenty and it won't matter. Plus, putting on a fresh pair of boxers always feels better than fresh pants, or a jumper. Doesn't it?
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328points
#15

This phenomenon is known as a 'mondegreen,' which The New Yorker explains is a "misheard word or phrase that makes sense in your head, but is, in fact, entirely incorrect."
It has all got to do with the way your brain processes the sounds you hear, and is governed by things like knowledge and familiarity. For example the classic 'excuse me while I kiss the sky,' is often misheard as 'excuse me while I kiss this guy,' because kissing guys is a common occurrence, kissing skies not so much!
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#16

Another situation where you truly embrace every minute. Even though you know that these three minutes aren't gonna make the slightest difference to your level of morning freshness, you are gonna savor them, drink up every second of sweet, cozy sleep. Aaaaand it's over in a flash and you're getting up anyway. Was it worth it? You bet it was!
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318points
#17

I kinda miss the days when we had four channels and that was it. For dinner you had news, news, soap opera or The Simpsons, easy choice! Now it's at least an hour of fraught decision-making, eventually resulting in a complete lack of commitment to anything. Gah.
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#19

Are you still afraid of the dark? Kids are hardwired to be afraid of the dark, evolutionarily it made sense, as we are exposed and vulnerable when we can't spot potential danger.
Thomas Ollendick, professor of psychology and director of the Child Study Center at Virginia Tech explained why to Live Science. "Kids believe everything imaginable, that in the dark robbers might come or they could get kidnapped, or someone might come and take their toys away." Essentially, their fears stem from "the unexpected," he said. While kids grow out of such fears, if the anxiety reaches extreme levels and is considered a phobia, called nyctophobia, Ollendick says that can last through adulthood if left untreated.
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#20

You can bite your tongue and not give that person a piece of your mind, you might even be able to stop yourself giving a frustrated or sarcastic sigh. But keeping a good poker face takes discipline and practice, one social skill that I'm just gonna have to keep working on.
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291points


