“There Was An Attempt”: People Share The Worst Fails They’ve Seen (50 New Pics)

Some plans just don’t play out. They may even sound good in our heads but when it’s time for action, all that we’re left with is our intentions.

About a year ago, we did a piece on the subreddit r/ThereWasAnAttempt. But since then, the community has featured so many amusing fails, we just had to do an update. So here it is.

From hugging a bodybuilder to texting teenagers “in their languages”, here are some of the funniest hiccups that recently appeared on the sub.

#1 To Give The Worst Land

“In 1913, Sarah Rector, a 10-year-old black girl received a land allotment of 160 acres in Oklahoma. The best farming land was reserved for whites, so she was given a barren plot. Oil was soon discovered there & she became the country’s first black millionaire.”

#2 To Trick The Allied Forces

“During WW2, the Germans built a fake wooden airfield with wooden aircraft, vehicles, and hangars in order to trick the Allies. The RAF, having known of the secret project for months, patiently waited for them to finish and then dropped a single fake wooden bomb on it”

One of the subreddit’s moderators, F4T4-M0RG4N4, told We they think what sets it apart from other similar communities “is how the posts within the subreddit are usually direct posts, whereas r/fail, [for example,] has mostly links to YouTube, and most Redditors prefer to stay on Reddit than to be redirected to another site altogether,” they explained. “Besides, I also think that because of the size of r/ThereWasAnAttempt, it’s a lot easier to get a post to be seen (plus, the algorithm helps).”

F4T4-M0RG4N4 said the mod team tries to be as impartial as possible, allowing the members to shape r/ThereWasAnAttempt however they see fit. To a certain extent, of course. “The most common problems are [the same that are] seen throughout all subreddits that I mod/have modded in the past, but it’s mostly spam and hate speech (which we always remove), though hate speech is mostly in the comments.”

#3 To Spread Anarchy

#4 To Comfort A Foster Kitty By A Deaf And Partially Blind Pup

#5 To Protest

“As for the community of the subreddit, I don’t think I could really summarize it,” the moderator said. “This is another thing I see throughout most subreddits, but the communities are made up of many different people, with different stances on ideas and different personalities. That’s also what I love about Reddit, everyone is on here using the platform, be it for better or worse, you get a little bit of everything.”

F4T4-M0RG4N4 also wanted to use the opportunity to express their gratitude to everyone involved. “I would like to thank everyone on the subreddit for my unique modding experience!”

#6 To Take A Family Beach Photo

#7 To Steal Snacks

#8 To Rob A Store

“On April 19th, 1995, a man robbed a bank disguised with lemon juice on his face. Since he knew lemon juice could be used as invisible ink, he thought it would make his face invisible on camera.”

Psychotherapist Amy Morin, LCSW, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind and the author of the bestselling book “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” believes that failure is something we all endure and it’s important to know that there are things we can do to feel better about it.

First off, embrace your emotions. Morin highlighted that failure is often accompanied by a variety of emotions, including embarrassment, anxiety, anger, sadness, and shame, just to name a few. Those feelings are uncomfortable, and many people will do anything they can to escape the discomfort they cause but according to research, allowing yourself to feel bad is actually motivating. It can help you work harder to find better solutions so that you’ll improve next time.

#9 To Be A Good Kitten

#10 To Make A Poster

#11 To Steal Food

Next up, we should make an effort to recognize our unhealthy attempts to reduce pain. “You might be tempted to say, ‘I didn’t actually want that job anyway,’ but minimizing your pain won’t make it go away,” Morin explained. “Distracting yourself or filling the void you feel with food, drugs, or alcohol won’t heal your pain either. Those things will only provide you with some temporary relief.”

After that, we can start focusing on healthy coping skills instead. “Calling a friend, practicing deep breathing, taking a bubble bath, going for a walk, or playing with your pet are just a few examples of healthy ways to deal with your pain,” the psychotherapist explained. “Not every coping skill works for everyone, however, so it’s important to find what does for you.”

#12 To Escape The Vet

#13 To Face Swap

#14 To Sell Bigger Burgers

“A&W created the third-pounder. It was the same price as McDonald’s quarter-pounder. It bombed massively. When they tried to find out why, it was discovered that Americans thought they were being cheated because three is a smaller number than four. A&W — realizing they can’t explain grade school fractions to fully grown adults without coming across as condescending assh*les — quietly took the burger off the menu”

A review published in Clinical Psychology Review that looked at 46 studies examining reactions to failure found that a “more positive attributional style” was a strong factor in how resilient people were to the emotional distress caused by failure. In other words, they saw failure as a result of something specific and external rather than something internal.

“When you find yourself thinking that you’re a hopeless cause or that there’s no use in trying again, reframe your thoughts,” Morin suggested. “Remind yourself of more realistic thoughts about failure such as: a) failure is a sign that I’m challenging myself to do something difficult; b) I can handle failure; c) I can learn from my failures.”

However, you will probably need to repeat a phrase or affirmation more than once in order to ward off negative thoughts or to reinforce to yourself that you can bounce back.

If you’ve spent most of your life avoiding failure, it can feel really scary when it finally catches you off-guard. However, facing your fears can really improve your quality of life.

Practice stepping outside your comfort zone, and over time, you’ll learn that messing up isn’t as bad as you thought.

#15 To Wrap A Gift For Christmas

#16 To Catch A Live Mouse

#17 To Car Safety

“A concept design for car safety belts from the 1960s”

#18 To Champion “Straight Pride”

#19 To Go Outside

#20 To Drink The Milk

“He thought he could get to the milk by licking the outside of the bowl”

#21 To Make A Cute Panorama Picture

#22 To Lie About Traffic

#23 To Promote The Use Of Machinery

#24 To Stop Google Eyes

#25 To Have Fun With A Halloween Decoration

#26 To Protest

“Not sure if she’s anti-gun or pro-domestic violence”

#27 To Open Door

“Door was jamming from inside so phoned for a guy to repair it. He managed to open it, left his tools outside, came in and shut the door. Now we both stuck.”

#28 To Be Encouraging