We have all made a decision that seemed perfectly reasonable in the moment, only to look back later and wonder, “What was I even thinking?” It happens to the best of us. One minute, everything seems perfectly under control, and the next, you’re staring at the aftermath of your own judgment and wishing you could rewind five minutes.
We’ve compiled photos of people whose decisions went spectacularly wrong. Some of them will definitely make you laugh out loud while also making you feel sorry for whoever had to deal with the aftermath.
Grab your favorite snack and scroll down for questionable choices that might make you feel a little better about the last time you embarrassed yourself.
#1 Martez. Stuck On The Playground
Image source: Palitato
#2 What If I Decide To Let My White Dog Out After I Mow My Lawn?
Image source: sunshinyanny
#3 Who Tf Does This?
Image source: bigsteve72
We can all make decisions that look completely ridiculous in hindsight. This is because our brains are not designed to know exactly what will happen next. We make choices using the information we have at the time, along with our assumptions, emotions, habits, and occasionally an unhealthy amount of confidence.
Research on decision-making shows that both ordinary people and experts can be affected by cognitive biases that distort how they judge situations. This means that being smart doesn’t come with a lifetime warranty against doing something spectacularly silly.
#4 Halfway Through A Box Of Raffaellos And I Find This 🤢
Image source: moteey
#5 Aaaand There Go My $300 Headphones
Image source: toddsiegrist
#6 What Could Go Wrong If I
Image source: ColourSpectre
People can be surprisingly bad at recognizing the limits of their own knowledge when making decisions. The Dunning-Kruger effect describes how people can have an inaccurate view of their own ability, especially when they lack skill or knowledge in a particular area. This can be quite dangerous when a decision requires you actually to know what you are doing.
You might feel confident because you don’t realize what you’re missing or what the situation really entails. Unfortunately, when confidence outweighs competence, a terrible idea can look like a perfectly reasonable one.
#7 My Mom Accidentally Left Her Mirror In Front Of The Window Over The Day. After Coming Back She Found This
Image source: Saftgeaicht
#8 What Does It Mean When This Light Comes On?
Image source: SoDakZak
#9 Idiot In Truck With A Terrified, Unsecured Dog In The Back With No Tailgate On The Interstate
Image source: entenduintransit
Sometimes, a terrible choice feels reasonable because we genuinely think everything will turn out fine. Psychologists call this optimistic bias. In fact, research has found that people often judge negative events as less likely to happen to them than to other people.
This can make a risky choice feel a lot safer when you’re the one making it. Your brain is basically saying, “Sure, this could go badly, but probably not for us,” which is a very confident way to walk toward trouble.
#10 We Just Bought A Sofa For Upstair. Let’s Say The Sofa Was A Little To Big
Image source: Tegeltjes
#11 It’s My First Summer In Arizona. Left My Laptop In My Car. Lesson Learned
Image source: CarbonWood
#12 Dog Damaged Passport. Flying In Two Days
Image source: drainedfromlife
People can find it hard to backtrack when they have already put a lot of time, money, or effort into an idea. This is known as the sunk cost fallacy. A study on the subject showed that people are more likely to keep going after they have already invested a lot.
Nobody wants to feel like all that effort was for nothing, so we keep pushing even when everything is clearly going off the rails. Sadly, sometimes, trying to save a bad idea only gives it more chance to become an even bigger problem.
#13 When The Bakers Make The Mix Wrong And Don’t Realize Yeast Doesn’t Just Stop Working Because It’s In A Dumpster
Image source: anonymous
#14 The Fall Of The Paella
Image source: Dusty_Machine
#15 Man Gets A Tattoo He Found On His Pup, Not Knowing It Means He’s Neutered
Image source: [deleted]
Decision fatigue can make good judgment harder. Research suggests that repeatedly making decisions can increase our tendency to choose less effortful options.
After a long day of making one choice after another, your brain may be very interested in taking the path of least resistance. That is when “I’ll just go with this” might seem like the easiest option, only for it to create a much bigger mess than you expected.
#16 No One Is Happy Here
Image source: Elbobosan
#17 Chase Attempted To Withdraw $99 Billion From My Checking Account. It’s Still On Hold
Image source: Masterpnutz
#18 …just Post The Damn Hours!!!
Image source: celsiusred
Our emotions can also get in the way of making a really good call. Emotional states can influence how we evaluate risks and rewards, and strong feelings can make it harder to think clearly.
This means the choice you make while you are angry, excited, scared, or stressed may be very different from the one you would make when you are calm.
So when you say, “I wasn’t thinking straight,” it’s not always just an excuse. Your brain really can process a situation differently when your emotions are running the show.
#19 My Roommate Bites Her Butter Then Drops It On The Pan When She Cooks
Image source: [deleted]
#20 My Bank Told Me Off
Image source: Jahoe
#21 My Dad Asked Me If I Wanted An Egg Sandwich. I’m Not Even Mad, This Is Genius!
Image source: SamManiac1998
It’s easy to judge the people in these photos because you can see how things turned out. This is where hindsight bias comes in. Studies have shown that people tend to see past events as more predictable after they already know the outcome.
Once something has already gone wrong, the problem can look painfully obvious from the outside. The person making the choice, however, didn’t have the luxury of seeing the ending first. This is worth remembering before we get too smug about somebody else’s spectacularly bad call.
#22 Just Poured Milk Into My Jug Of Protein Powder Instead Of My Shaker
Image source: InTheHamIAm
#23 Who Knew That Forgetting A Login Would Make You Question Whether Water Is Wet? Surely Not Me
Image source: EasyMac2000
#24 Turned My Back For A Minute And She Did Her Business In 20 Cups Of Uncooked Rice
Image source: TheLoxFox
The good news is that mistakes can teach us something and help us make better calls. Of course, the lesson is usually more memorable when you have personally experienced the consequences.
While no one enjoys discovering they were wrong, the human brain has a pretty useful consolation prize: the ability to think, “Well, I’m definitely never doing that again.”
#25 My Pepper Grinder Broke This Morning
Image source: scoobdrew
#26 I’m An Idiot… Just Painted The Stairs To My Basement Now I’m Trapped
Image source: [deleted]
#27 Going 75 Down The Interstate And Struggling To Keep The Front Wheels Down
Image source: allplaybutnowork
As the popular saying goes, to err is human. We can laugh at the ridiculous mistakes on this list because, deep down, most of us have at least one decision we would happily erase from the history books.
Which one of these made you laugh the hardest, and what is the worst decision you’ve ever made that seemed like a good idea at the time? Tell us in the comments. We promise to judge you only a little.
#28 My Car Played An April Fools Joke On Me By Rolling All Four Of My Windows Down While It Snowed Overnight
Image source: yourfavoriteweeb
#29 This Guy Holding A Mattress To The Top Of His Car
Image source: The-Minmus-Derp
#30 Vinyl Siding Melted Because Of BBQ. How Intensive Is Repair?
Image source: WizardWell
#31 Don’t Overload Your Trailer, Folks
Image source: raycraft_io
#32 Narrowly Avoided Getting In A Car Crash During Cake Transport
Image source: narwharkenny
#33 I Was Fitting A Pull-Up Bar — Yes, I Am Now More Intimately Familiar With The Concept Of Drywall
Image source: ReverendMar
#34 Anyone Got Any Tips For Getting A Spot Of Paint Out Of A Carpet 🤦
Image source: mrbroadhurst
#35 Hit A Bump… The Eggs Broke And I Then Got To Clean Egg Juice Off My Groceries
Image source: Wide-Librarian216
#36 Boat Ramp vs. This One
Image source: sparkyinmt
#37 Dropped My Phone In Industrial Paint Today
Image source: [deleted]
#38 This Car In A Parking Lot Where I Plow Snow On The East Side
Image source: jfzastrow
#39 DIY Fail
Image source: jetaimezombies
#40 Wcgw If My Dumb Neighbor Put Hot Charcoal From His Grill Into A Trashcan
Image source: [deleted]
#41 Left A Slip-N-Slide Up For 2 Days
Image source: [deleted]
#42 Wcgw If I Drain A Deep Fryer Into A Plastic Bucket?
Image source: bootsmegamix
#43 The Breakfast Bar At The Hotel I’m Staying At Automatically Adds An “Optional” 18% Gratuity
Image source: ddawkins19
#44 The Tip That Someone Left Last Night
Image source: thebrokenwindow
#45 Am I Drunk?
Image source: PluckPubes
#46 Had A Driver Quit After Her Shift, No Notice. Cool, No Harm No Foul. Proceeded To Blame Me For Her Losing An Apartment She Applied For…5 Weeks After She Left
Image source: _Firedream
#47 The Vegan Option Served At A Fancy End Of Conference Dinner
Image source: mgntylr
#48 Pizza Delivery Guy Dropped The Pizzas At The End Of My Sidewalk Then Came Up And Rang The Doorbell And Walked Past Them Again And Was Back In His Car Driving Off Before I Answered The Door
Image source: DarkHeraldMage
#49 People Parking Like This (White Car Is Mine)
Image source: [deleted]
#50 Honey, I’m Home!
Image source: Potential-Film259
#51 The Quality Of Toilet Paper At My Dentist’s Office
Image source: biscuitvillage
#52 First Day On The New Job
Image source: SuperNothing90
#53 Dip In Peace
Image source: Silly-Fix-4547
#54 Fly In My Friend’s Pizza
Image source: XxGtbirdxX
#55 The Way My Sister Eats Pizza
Image source: spaceandthew00ds
#56 The Bathroom Mirror Fell
Image source: malfonsss
#57 Dont Get Ur Drunk Friends To Tighten Your Shoes At A Party They Will Just Glue Em 😭🤣
Image source: HotCharlie1
#58 Side Of Onions
Image source: desertsunami
#59 Always Check Which App Is Open
Image source: jvega3_
#60 I Was The One In Charge Of Unlocking The Building Today. This Will Be A Fun Conversation
Image source: alec7717
#61 How Is This Even Possible?
Image source: _aniebananie9
#62 I Accidentally Put My Leather Gloves In The Washing Machine
Image source: gene100001
#63 Hauling Lumber!
Image source: golfdaddypga
#64 Help! I Messed This Cat Door Up Bad
Image source: OpportunityNo7517
#65 People Who Paint Over Switch And Outlet Covers Making It Near Impossible To Remove
Image source: Wanni25
#66 Crayons Melted Onto Seat Of Car
Image source: mister_drgn
#67 I Walked Around The Office All The Way Up Until Lunch Before Somebody Pointed It Out
Image source: McPostyFace
#68 My Monster Froze
Image source: drinkingjetfuel2
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