165 Times People Spotted Something ‘Mildly Interesting’ And Documented It For The Internet To See (New Pics)

fannygisele Ağustos 06, 2021

Can I get a drumroll, please? It’s time for (in my humble opinion) one of the best recurring features on Bored Panda—a round-up of the best latest photos from the ‘Mildly Interesting’ subreddit. A community with nearly 18.8 million members, r/mildlyinteresting is a haven for original photos of, well, mildly interesting stuff. We’ve been mildly impressed by how friendly and genuinely creative the community is time and time again. And we hope that you’ve been, too, dear Pandas.

Check out their latest top posts below and remember to upvote your fave ones as you’re scrolling down. Oh, and when you’re done, have a look through Bored Panda’s recent posts about the subreddit over here, right here, as well as here. It’s cool. It’s witty. And it’ll improve your week. Mildly.

Photographer Dominic Sberna from Ohio shared his perspective on taking quality pictures and composition with Bored Panda. You'll find his insights into the world of photography below. You'll also find our interview with Cowbeller1, one of the moderators curating the 'Mildly Interesting' subreddit, below.

#1 One Of The Eggs I Poached This Morning Came Out Looking Like A Human Heart

Image credits: reddit.com

#2 My Giant Mini Penne

Image credits: reddit.com

#3 The Melting Snow On This Chair Looks Like A Tree

Image credits: reddit.com

Redditor Cowbeller1, one of the moderators at r/mildlyinteresting gave us a glance into how some of the most popular posts on the subreddit gain their fame. "A lot of it has to do with luck," they said that fortune plays an important role in photos going viral.

"Maybe you come across something interesting in your day-to-day life and remember to take a picture, maybe you're just lucky enough that something is interesting to the community. No real rhyme or reason aside from that," they shared their opinion.

As for the future, the subreddit plans to do what it does best: remain a stable and unchanging source of entertainment, as well as a cornerstone of Reddit "We will just continue doing the same thing. We've found that being boringly consistent is the best way to remain fair to the community. There haven't been any major changes in a while," moderator Cowbeller1 said.

#4 The People Who Made My Guitar Pick Couldn’t Be Bothered To Buy The Stock Photo

Image credits: reddit.com

#5 My Local Supermarket Is Selling Airplane Food Because Nobody Is Flying

Image credits: reddit.com

#6 A Street Lamp Fell Over Into The Snow Outside My Apartment. Turns Out They’re Massive- My Hand For Scale

Image credits: reddit.com

Photographer Dominic shared that over the past year he's expanded his network and gotten to know even more professional photographers. "Seeing the amount of time and planning some of them do is astounding," he praised his peers. "One such person I know made a 48 hour round trip (driving) to photograph a specific location recently."

According to the photographer, whether a professional relies more on their intuition or plans everything out with regard to the composition of a photo depends on each individual's style of photography. "But for the most part, planning is everything. This means different things to different people, but planning is important. Being instinctive comes down to an individual preference, I suppose, and is a different facet to the plan of attack," Dominic shared that thinking things through is vital to success.

#7 Live Power Line Fell, It Was So Hot That It Melted Through The Sidewalk And Turned The Sand Underneath To Glass

Image credits: reddit.com

#8 Found A Chip Almost As Big As My Hand

Image credits: reddit.com

#9 The Size Of A Fiber Optic Wire Capable Of Supplying A Home With High Speed Internet

Image credits: sippen730

As for whether or not a photo will be successful, Dominic is open that even the greatest professionals can't say for certain if a project will get the popularity it deserves. "We've all taken photos that we know are aesthetically sound, but they don't get the feedback we feel they deserve. Then, we'll take a photo that we like, but think is just another 'good, not great' photo, and it takes social media by storm. I've seen it happen," he said.

"Unfortunately, some of this has to do with algorithms, time of day being posted, and paid ads," the photographer explained that in the modern world, we have to be aware of the technical aspects that come with sharing photos online.

"A quality photo will not always get the praise it deserves. It's the truth of art. At the end of the day, one has to like their own work that they're putting out there. If others like it too, that's just an added bonus. Photographing what you want is extremely important to not lose artistic integrity and drive and it's also equally as difficult to tune out the noise," Dominic said.

#10 The Way The Snow Melted On My Walkway

Image credits: yassismore

#11 My Lawn Made A Natural Yin Yang Symbol After A Pool Stood There

Image credits: TheQueenIsDown

#12 My Dog Had A Paw Print On His Paw

Image credits: af0929

The r/mildlyinteresting subreddit celebrated a whopping 9 years of activity this February and there’s no stopping the community from growing larger and larger still. However much it expands, the moderators are doing what they can to make sure it doesn’t change too much. “We've been working hard to keep it that way,” redditor RedSquaree, one of the moderators of r/mildlyinteresting, told me in an earlier interview.

"The mildly interesting feel of the subreddit is maintained probably due to its rule about titles which weeds out all clickbait which is common in other subreddits. On our side, submissions have massively increased and the moderation team has been forced to expand," moderator RedSquaree earlier told Bored Panda that the mod team is very active and interested in maintaining the high quality of the content.

#13 The Way My Windscreen Froze

Image credits: Liamers

#14 Every $1 Bill I’ve Collected From Tips Over 2 Years (Roughly 1600)

Image credits: DrSuessMDphD

#15 My Cat Looking Like He Flushed Himself Down The Drain

Image credits: Iiri92

Rule-breaking isn’t tolerated and transgressors are quickly sanctioned. “We're removing more rule-breaking content than ever before; often the content is OC [original content] and can be resubmitted which is great,” RedSquaree explained the ins and outs of how the community and the mods interact.

“There haven't been any massive changes in how we do things recently, although over the past few years we have used bots to automate a lot of our moderation practices. We haven't changed the rules in years despite some temptations caused by fads. In my honest opinion, it has been for the best. The sub feels pretty much the way it always has."

RedSquaree earlier explained to us how the inspiration to create r/mildlyinteresting first came about back in 2012. The mod told Bored Panda how one thread led user Doginabathtub to create the community but who has been "missing in action for years, and left the mod team years after becoming inactive as a moderator,” RedSquaree explained.

#16 The Shadow On The Stairs Looks Like Another Set Of Stairs

Image credits: reddit.com

#17 My Discount Grocery Store Sells Bulk M&ms Separated By Color

Image credits: kumquat_repub

#18 Australian Flood Waters Meet The Ocean

Image credits: mafu79

"So, I suppose Woggietree named the sub he did not found! A few years ago we were featured in a h3h3 Productions video (linked in our sidebar) which was a great compliment and is perhaps a good marker of success,” the mod said.

#19 Wood Splinters That Look Like A City

Image credits: bignector

#20 An Old TV Repurposed Into A Cat Bed For My Cat’s Birthday

Image credits: BrewCoven

#21 I Made A Circle Out Of LEGO Bricks

Image credits: dunkar00ed

The main draw of the community is the original content. Only original photos can be posted, nothing else! It’s OC or the high road. “Our content is generated by our community and given that titles cannot be clickbait, there is a unique feeling of people seeing something mildly interesting, whipping their phone out of their pocket, capturing, and posting,” the mod shared how proud they are of their fellow redditors.

#22 Saw This Awesome Metallica Plate On The Freeway Today

Image credits: I_AM_YOUR_DADDY_AMA

#23 A Small River Going Over Another

Image credits: invadrrrr

#24 My Friend's Shoes Look Like They Are Screaming.

Image credits: ExplodingSofa

“The community feels very interactive (the content creators are all here) and laid back. This is probably why our comments sections are almost always nice and relaxed and, themselves, mildly interesting,” the mod said.