50 Oddly Satisfying Things For Your Inner Perfectionist (New Pics)

We people are a strange bunch. Cut us off in traffic and we’ll lose it. Pour too much milk in our coffee and we’ll tell your manager about it. But show us a picture of a neatly mowed lawn and we’ll drool all over it. I don’t know if we’re hard or easy to please. But the subreddit r/OddlySatisfying can do it effortlessly. It’s like therapy for your eyes. But it also soothes the mind.

Created back in May 2013, it has grown into a 6.5-million-member community with thousands online at any given moment, sharing all the little enjoyable things they stumble upon. Like two little kittens sleeping in their bowls. Or stacked slabs of snow that look like a contemporary monumental sculpture.

We at Bored Panda have already covered r/OddlySatisfying, but there’s been plenty of awesome content since our last publication, so we decided to put together a new one. Continue scrolling and check out some of the most popular posts it has blessed us with recently.

#1 This Piece Of Art Created Only Folding And Creasing Of Paper

Image credits: d3333p7

#2 Making A Mosaic With Autumn Leaves

Image credits: PorkyPain

We managed to get in touch with Dr. Mitchell Creed, the head moderator and co-founder of r/OddlySatisfying, and they were kind enough to have a little chat with us about the subreddit even though they have plenty on their plate — Creed is also a physician in Long Island doing a fellowship in child neurology. Far from the derogatory Reddit mod stereotype.

“I came up with [the concept for the sub] back in 2013 while in grad school,” Creed told Bored Panda. “I never expected it to become so large, but coming up with the theme and everything, it was really important to me that the moderators do as little moderation as possible, including ‘policing.'”

They said the term ‘oddly satisfying’ is hard to explain precisely. “It does not have a true definition as it is such a subjective feeling; we all know it but cannot fully describe it to one another. It was important to myself, and all of the amazing mods who have been involved, to try to let the community decide what they find best to fit the definition.”

#3 The Way The Frost Highlights The Sculpture

Image credits: shawneffel

#4 This Is How You Handle A Broken Vase That Meant The World To You.

Image credits: Ellekm730

There are plenty of different types of things that regularly reappear on the subreddit. “We have had many themes become popular at various times: perfectly looped gifs, knolling, cleaning videos, kinetic sand, paint mixing, popping videos… too many to really recall,” Creed said.

“The only issues we really have had to deal with is the typical trolls posting NSFW content, spammers (in particular YouTubers trying to gain traffic for ad revenue) as well as a multitude of reposts (the latter of which continues to be an obstacle now that we are so large). The only one topic I believe we ever have tried to control has been posts related to numbers, as they became overwhelming during the ‘2048’ game popularity, so we made the r/OddlySatisPi_ing subreddit strictly for number posts.”

#5 The Colors And Lines

Image credits: tobago_88

#6 Us Postal Service Floor Tiles

Image credits: Haelfyr_Snoball

#7 River Of Flowers, Netherlands

Image credits: MTPokitz

Interestingly, the human eye does have its preferences when it comes to shapes and forms. In 2010, neuroscientists at the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins University joined forces with the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore to conduct an experiment.

The group had three hypotheses. They thought it’s possible that the shapes we’re fond of are more visually exciting, meaning that they spark intense brain activity. But at the same time, it could be that our favorite shapes are serene and calm brain activity. Or, they believed, we very well might gravitate to shapes that spur a pattern of alternating strong and weak activity.

#8 Orca Whale Captured At The Perfect Moment

Image credits: d3333p7

#9 Yogurt Arrangement At This Market

Image credits: Palifaith

#10 First Prize Winning Dahlia, Grown By My Dad

Image credits: felix_rae

#11 A Perfectly Times Pic Of Moon From Mie Prefecture, Japan

Image credits: Narendra_17

To investigate, the scientists compiled ten sets of images, which they hung on a wall at the Walters Art Museum. Each set included 25 shapes, all variations on a laser scan of a sculpture by artist Jean Arp.

They chose Arp’s work because his sculptures are abstract forms that are not meant to represent any recognizable objects.

Upon entering the exhibition, called “Beauty and the Brain,” visitors put on a pair of 3D glasses and then, for each image set, noted their “most preferred” and “least preferred” shape on a ballot. The researchers then reviewed them in conjunction with fMRI scans taken on lab study participants looking at the very same images.

#12 Cubic Window During Different Times Of Day

Image credits: solateor

#13 Who Wants Some Beautiful Eggs

Image credits: freewill-lastwish

#14 These Two Cats Sleeping

Image credits: UnsizedVajra33

#15 Pattern Formed By Beautifully Aligned Leaves! Almost Looks Like An Illusion!

Image credits: dipdaabyss

“We wanted to be rigorous about it, quantitative, that is, try to really understand what kind of information neurons are encoding and…why some things would seem more pleasing or preferable to human observers than other things. I have found it to be almost universally true in data and also in audiences that the vast majority have a specific set of preferences,” Charles E. Connor, director of the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, told Smithsonian Magazine.

#16 Beautiful Cable Management..

Image credits: Cyb3rw0rM1

#17 This Photo Of Thousands Of Crows Atop Of Snow Covered Trees, Illuminated By Street Lights Underneath.

Image credits: Fluid-Daydreamer

#18 The Dog I’m Dogsitting Looks Exactly Like Her Food

Image credits: Captainsboot

#19 This Fluffy Rainbow Color Cake

Image credits: earthmoonsun

The scientists discovered that visitors like shapes with gentle curves as opposed to sharp points. Plus, the magnetic brain imaging scans of the lab participants prove the team’s first hypothesis: these preferred shapes produce stronger responses and increased activity in the brain.

“One could speculate that the way we perceive sculpture relates to how the human brain is adapted for optimal information processing in the natural world,” the researchers suggested. “Shallow convex surface curvature is characteristic of living organisms, because it is naturally produced by the fluid pressure of healthy tissue (e.g. muscle) against outer membranes (e.g. skin). The brain may have evolved to process information about such smoothly rounded shapes in order to guide survival behaviors like eating, mating and predator evasion. In contrast, the brain may devote less processing to high curvature, jagged forms, which tend to be inorganic (e.g. rocks) and thus less important.”

#20 Mother Nature Slowly Reclaiming The Land, Disappearing Train Tracks.

Image credits: Fluid-Daydreamer

#21 Beach Candy (Sea Rocks)

Image credits: feelingood41

#22 A Little Slice Of The Sea – Drawn In Pencil

Image credits: AKinderSea

#23 Shades Of Blue Highlight This San Francisco Victorian Home

Image credits: d3333p7

Neuroscientists at the University of Toronto at Scarborough found similar results when looking at people’s preferences in architecture. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they reported that when the test subjects were shown 200 images—of rooms with round columns and oval ottomans and others with boxy couches and coffee tables—they were much more likely to call the former “beautiful” than the latter. Brain scans taken while these participants were evaluating the interior designs revealed that rounded decor prompted significantly more brain activity.

#24 Matsumoto Castle On A Winter Night, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Image credits: unloadedquake

#25 The Way Mom’s Key Lime Pie Came Out The Oven

Image credits: jessiquita1216

#26 This House On A Lake

Image credits: RampChurch

#27 This Cabin In The Heart Of Winter And Edge Of Night.

Image credits: asolitarycandle

Dr. Creed of r/OddlySatisfying hopes that the typical member of the subreddit is an individual who can have their day briefly uplifted from any moment of happiness that they can find through the concept. “The r/OddlySatisfying community has been known for being one of the kindest subreddits overall, which I hope continues for a long time,” the mod added.

“Personally, I still cannot wrap my head around how far-reaching this became, as I never thought it would take off in the manner that it did.”

#28 This Pattern Out Of Snow On A Patio Table

Image credits: HyperDude1905

#29 A Dandelion Bouquet

Image credits: Boojibs

#30 Cat Looking Out A Window Becomes A Mythical Tree Creature

Image credits: deathakissaway

Dr. Creed describes themself as an “incurable optimist”, and said that, “having the chance to have made such an, albeit small, impact on the world knowing this sub and community routinely brings a smile to people’s faces is well worth” the work that goes into it.

“Our mods and I do not gain anything monetary from this, and I believe that helps keep the decisions we made focused on the community itself, allowing them to make the content and votes that have become so popular.”

#31 Stained Glass Living Room

Image credits: Boojibs

#32 Camouflage Master

Image credits: GraveBreath

#33 Black On Black Vw Bus

Image credits: d3333p7

But there are opportunists who try to profit off of it. “I will say that any YouTube channel or Instagram stating that use our name are not affiliated with us in any manner, and such individuals routinely lift and steal content from our sub for monetary gain, which I believe really sullies the concept I initially envisioned. I really do not understand how they have the ‘blue checkmark.'”

Dr. Creed hopes to someday expand r/OddlySatisfying into something that could raise money for non-profit organizations and pediatric hospitals, but they are still taking things one step at a time.

#34 The Way The Snow Rolled Down On My Windshield

Image credits: sigmar_ernir

#35 Wooden Table With Double Helix Legs

Image credits: d3333p7

#36 This Sashimi Roll!

Image credits: AgeanAir

#37 When Constant Winds And Ice Meet A Fence.

Image credits: 5_Frog_Margin

#38 I’m Finally Done Clearing Out My Depression Nest Of A Garage After Weeks Of Hard Work. I Donated 55 Trash Bags Full Of Stuff And Threw Away 12 Cubic Feet Of Garbage. I Can Park My Car In There For The First Time In A Year.

Image credits: Rosebudsi

#39 Old Trunks And Suitcases On Custom Shelves Are A Cool Storage Solution

Image credits: sayknow

#40 A Cornucopia Of Mushrooms

Image credits: Boojibs

#41 This Beautiful Piece Of Pie

Image credits: gourdhorder

#42 This Welding Job

Image credits: d3333p7

#43 Wintry Layers Of The Sea Of Japan Shoreline

Image credits: beersjob

#44 Focaccia Bread Out Of The Oven, Per Request

Image credits: havkson

#45 Street Art By Artist David Zinn

Image credits: Raymands

#46 14 Wind Turbines Aligned In A Row In Nevada

Image credits: blazecapt24

#47 The Way These Wires Flow

Image credits: rosseepoo

#48 Stacked Slabs Of Snow

Image credits: dittidot

#49 My Community Just Applied A New Seal Coat On The Pavement

Image credits: PM_ME_ASSES

#50 Unusable Pool Transformed Into Looking Like New

Image credits: mrwhitedynamite

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Author: Justinas Keturka