I’ll be completely upfront with you Pandas—one of my favorite parts about living on Planet Earth and being a human being (instead of, for example, a chill banana tree or a rat who can cook French cuisine) is the vast amount of new, creative, and interesting things I get to learn about each and every day. Life’s full of magic, even if it’s not as flashy and obvious as in the Harry Potter books and movies. And one of the cozy nooks on the internet that shows us just how neat the world can be is the ‘Mildly Interesting’ subreddit.

Rapidly closing in on the 19-million-member mark like a marathon runner in sight of the finish line, r/MildlyInteresting is a completely community-driven online group where people post photos of the things that interest them. Mildly, of course. And despite the name of the group, plenty of these photos are actually vastly and deeply interesting.

Redditor RedSquaree, who has been moderating submissions for r/mildlyinteresting for almost a decade now, went into detail with Bored Panda about how the type of content posted changes with the seasons and how much the subreddit has influenced people in real life. You'll find what they have to say below, so be sure to read on, dear Pandas.

While you’re checking out some of r/mildlyinteresting’s newest photos and upvoting the ones that made you smile, I’ll just quickly remind you that we’ve got some more of their amazing pics in Bored Panda’s earlier articles about the community here, here, and here. Happy scrolling!

#1 My 1000 Piece Puzzle Has A Cheat Code!

Image credits: TheManRoomGuy

#2 I Found A Pidgeon With One Feather Sticking Out Of It's Head

Image credits: Volmarras

#3 I Like To Make Little Drawings Of People That I See

Image credits: the_sneaky_artist

"Yes, the seasons affect the type of content we get," moderator RedSquaree told me when I enquired about this.

"This leads to content which is extremely common, particularly during the winter. Take frost on cars, for example. We get this kind of photo daily during winter months, and often we mark with an 'Overdone' flair because the people who hang about /r/mildlyinteresting will see these time and time again (whereas more casual readers probably still enjoy seeing them). Another common one is the pattern of ice or frost on the wheel, seen here," the mod gave Bored Panda a couple of examples of how the particular season, in this case, winter, affects what redditors are more likely to post.

Of course, holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving also influence what people tend to focus on. "We see posts about eggs, gifts, people receiving the same card from multiple people... and I'd bet, in the latter example, at least one person has lied about this and purchased two cards of the same type and posted a photo just for karma! Stranger things have happened," RedSquaree said.

#4 My Son Was Born With A Black Spot Of Hair In His Blonde Hair. It Grows In Black, And There Is No Birth Mark Or Discoloration Under It

Image credits: maceparks

#5 Calf In The Checkout Line

Image credits: rasta4eye

#6 One Of The Eggs I Bought Was All Wrinkly

Image credits: bake-lite

The moderator shared that one thing that they find interesting is that some people actually think about the subreddit when they spot something interesting and go to take out their phones to take a photo. That just goes to show how much influence the 'Mildly Interesting' community has on the collective psyche.

"Being an original content-only subreddit—and quite a niche one at that—causes those chain of events which I find fascinating. If our (not-so, these days) wee subreddit changes someone's behavior in real life—to find something nice where others might let it pass them by without a second thought—that's a great thing. Maybe the sub does inspire some people to appreciate the smaller things in life."

#7 Bought Bathroom Scales And My Weight Is Exactly The Same As On The Box

Image credits: RobYoun

#8 My City Has Public Defibrillation Stations And The Sign For It Looks Like A Video Game Health Bar

Image credits: Phyierpickle

#9 The Sand In Tahoe Is Magnetic And Stuck To My Phone

Image credits: bopete1313

According to the moderator, if we want to keep our sense of curiosity burning bright as we grow older, we ought to expose ourselves "to more novelty and ambiguity" in our day-to-day lives. Seeing or experiencing something fresh and unexpected brings you out of your routine and provides you with a different perspective in life. Hopefully, one that inspires you to dig deeper and learn something new.

"Much of our content is novel and/or ambiguous. Go about your day tomorrow and think, 'If I were to submit a photograph to /r/mildlyinteresting, what would it be?' Be on the lookout for things that are just novel and ambiguous enough to arouse only mild interest. Snap."

#10 The Surprising Amount Of Bite Marks On These IKEA Display Apples

Image credits: Berryyrreb

#11 The Font Size On My Contact Packaging Increased With My Prescription

Image credits: lrishhhhhhhh

#12 Dobby’s Fan-Made Grave In The Precise Location Of The Film!

Image credits: my-bug-world

For our last article about the ‘Mildly Interesting’ community’s enrapturing photos about life from different perspectives, I had a chat with redditor Cowbeller1, one of the group’s moderators, helping maintain the standards and the quality of the content. Luck, according to the moderator, is an important part of getting attention online.

#13 I Have A One Third Of A Dollar Bill From February 17th, 1776, Making It A Couple Months Older Than The USA

Image credits: that-weird-writer

#14 The Sun On My Window Made A Rainbow That’s Split In Half By My Chair Leg

Image credits: RichardMcLuvin

#15 These Chairs Made From Old Fire Hoses, In Front Of A Fire Station

Image credits: i_heart_carrot

The moderator divulged that we can’t always predict what posts will become very popular on the subreddit. “A lot of it has to do with luck. 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," the moderator said that it’s not an exact science.

Which, in a way, is actually inspirational and chill: that means that you can focus on sharing pictures of what you love and what you find interesting instead of vying for karma on Reddit.

#16 This Piece Of Wall That Got Rounded By The Sea

Image credits: TheCorpseOfMarx

#17 This Defunct Subway Entrance Is A Working Subway Entrance

Image credits: handsgrubber

#18 The Air Vents On A Subway In Stockholm Have A Hidden Pacman Easter Egg

Image credits: Oluge2009

The subreddit’s moderators value stability and original content above all else. “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 told Bored Panda earlier.