Created 5 years ago, on the 18 of February, 2018, the page occasionally posts seemingly handpicked images that aren’t scary, but just somehow very slightly unsettling. I find it interesting how the images are all pretty much common everyday things in slightly unusual circumstances.
We’ve got soap in a frying pan with a bite taken out of it, a coconut crab trying to get into a trashcan, and, um, a toilet tree? Tree toilets?
We’re still unsure about that one.
Before we tackle a more serious topic, a word of warning, coconut crabs are no joke. Although ‘coconut’ is in the name, their diet isn’t as innocent as that may make it out to be. Turns out that besides fallen fruits and nuts, these crabs will eat pretty much anything - being ruthless predators, eating rats and local birds.
They’re also the largest crustacean spending all of its adult life on land, with a Guiness World Record to back it up.
Be afraid, be very afraid (of this crab residing in islands in the Indian Ocean you’re unlikely to ever meet in person).
Remember that feeling of “so horrible, yet I can’t look away” we talked about?
It’s called morbid curiosity. This fascination may apply to graphic news reports, horror movies, and, of course, strange pictures on the internet.
Scholars suggest that this curiosity actually has an important purpose - to help people understand dangerous situations and learn to avoid them in the future.
Studies also tried to see if this feeling relates to the consumption of violently themed music, finding that fans of metal and rap with violent themes scored higher on the Morbid Curiosity Scale.
While we’re on the topic, perhaps you’ve also had the thought to crash your car, or jump when you’re near a ledge?
Turns out that’s a thing too! We’re explaining all of your grim thoughts today.
It’s a thing aptly dubbed the “call of the void.” A 2012 study found that 1/3 of 431 students had experienced the feeling, with 50% never having had any tendencies to take their own life.
Similarly to morbid curiosity, the possible goal of this thought process is for people to realize what is a threat and be more cautious about it, your brain showing you what the consequences will be if you aren’t.
So now that we went super hard into some of the reasons why people like content that weirds them out, you can go back to examining these slightly “hmmm” pictures. Just remember, if you have seemingly negative or “strange” thoughts, your best bet is to analyze where they come from and what they mean, instead of repressing them.
And for now, enjoy these pics and take care not to cross any coconut crabs!
